fv1609 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 (edited) With a heavy heart after a 15-year loan of Hornet 05BK02, I drove it back today & returned it to the Tank Museum. When I took out the loan it was a non-runner with a burnt out clutch, cracked flywheel & no brakes. It looked like this: I have replaced the clutch, flywheel, servo, all brake pipes & hoses, alternator, generator panel, carburettor, starter motor, hydraulic ram, steering linkages, exhaust manifolds, silencer, exhaust pipe, IR headlight & their boxes etc. At its height it has been photographed with Gen Sir Mike Jackson & Gen Sir Tony Walker & regularly attended reunions of the Para Sqn RAC & attended the Great Dorset Steam Fair. Arrival today: and the final goodbye: Edited November 6, 2008 by fv1620 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Clive, You can proudly say, you saved it and had pleasure in its restoration and display over many years, meeting lots of interesting people along the way, who have filled in gaps of its history. Well done on what you did ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84KB11 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 You should be very proud Clive. From what she was then, to now you have done a great job and allowed many people to see and learn about a very rare and interesting vehicle. Are Bovvy going to put her on display, or is she going into the reserve collection? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Clive, I hope the Tank Museum take as good care of it as you did. It will be a real shame if it gets neglected and ends up back in the condition you got it. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rambo1969 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Thanks to your efforts another MV saved from the scrap heap. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Well done Clive and a sad day for you indeed. You better not be leaving this hobby... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Sorry to see the Hornet go Clive - whats on the list to replace it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 (edited) Thanks everyone for your comments. When I took it on originally it was for a 10-year loan. Then after a short while it became renewed annually which rather worried me, but that was the Museum covering themselves against some loans where the borrower had not kept faith. My wife thought I was daft to take it on, but nothing is forever. When we die we have to hand our vehicles over anyway. The joke was when the loan was first mooted it was as a result of indicating that to my mind the the most interesting vehicle in the Museum was so poorly displayed. I have to confess despite being a Friend of BTM I have no interest in tanks, only British wheeled armour. I was amazed that the loan offer was so readily forthcoming & when the contract had been drawn up I went to view it to see what I needed to drive it home. What I didn't realise was what I had agreed to borrow was not the display Hornet but the non-runner tucked away & left outside. It had spent some time at Beverley & I'm pretty sure it was the one at the Cavern museum. Remember that place? Nice sinister atmosphere underground but it was wet, wet, wet & everything got rust, rust, rust! Anyway to avoid loss of face & seize a unique opportunity to make this vehicle (I believe) into the only drivable one in the world, I took it on. It's cost money to restore & maintain it but even vehicles I have owned I never have made a profit when it is sold. So I'm no worse off. At its height I was told that it was in better condition & presentation than when it was in service. But the problem in recent years has been devoting enough time to maintaining to the standard I originally got it to. I was encouraged that it is being kept indoors & is likely to be used as a working display vehicle by the Museum. So I may see it again. When it was driven into the shed it impressed me what a strange but mean piece of kit it looked. I had never seen a Hornet being driven before as I was always in the driver's seat! Edited November 6, 2008 by fv1609 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 If you have just come to the thread or 'refresh' you will note that my user name is no longer fv1620 it is now fv1609 which is the main vehicle now. It is the oldest surviving pig in the world. At present it is bit sad to use fv1620 as that is in the past & have to move on. I have deleted FV1620 from the vehicle list & will shortly be removing FV1612 when that one goes shortly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Elsdon Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Clive, I hope the Tank Museum take as good care of it as you did. It will be a real shame if it gets neglected and ends up back in the condition you got it. Chris There are alot of people who now know of all variants of the FV1600 Humber Combat Truck family, thanks to Clive, and especially the Hornet. Bovvy had better watch out if they think they can forget about it and let it slip into neglect! Well done Clive, it could of remained rusting in anonymity, and alot of people would of been none of the wiser to it ever existing or the role it played in the cold war. Tremendous stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Well done Clive ! I am surprised the museum has not offered you a new project in exchange as I'm sure they would like a few more exhibits fully restored at no cost to themselves ! I'm glad I saw the Hornet in the flesh at Dorset and it is a credit to you ! :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 Thanks for comments everyone. It's not that I need another project; I have enough things going on here. The Tank Museum were I think a little surprised I wanted to return it as the arrangement had worked well for both parties. There comes a time when one has to rationalise. I didn't want to be the proud owner of many decomposing vehicles that I had neglected but never could attend to properly. Retirement has actually meant a reduction in time on my hobby, with increase in agricultural & house maintenance! Taken with the possibility of a move, cost of vehicle transport if that happens & the general down turn in the economy. I thought I should have a clear out. An unused vehicle soon ends up as place to store bits then that overflows to the floor, and then there is no room to move around at all. Productivity falls as you can't find anything, then you break things as you stand on then, knock over trays of bolts into oil patches on the floor that fuses into angle grinder dust & mud, then everything grinds to a halt to perform even simple maintenance tasks. So last year the Shorland prototype went, now the Hornet & soon the other Pig. That leaves me one Pig up together, but still more I want to do to it to bring up to spec, the Wolf due for a spruce up, the oldest Shorland in the world not been driven for 12 years, that needs restoring. Not to mention the Wolf trailer that needs welding up & the poor old Cipher trailer needs a general bodylift. So I won’t be stuck for stuff to do & then the distraction of the military document collection which is about 4,000 titles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Wow you sure are a busy lad!! Was your Shorland featured in last months CMV? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 Wow you sure are a busy lad!! Was your Shorland featured in last months CMV? Joris, I don't know as I don't take those magazines. But an awful lot drivel gets written about Shorlands which carries across to drivelpedia. Someone is constructing a new Shorland site for me & that will appear over the coming months I hope as time permits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick W Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Sounds like the museum has the right idea lending you a wreck only to reclaim it some years later fully restored! is that common practice for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 Sounds like the museum has the right idea lending you a wreck only to reclaim it some years later fully restored! is that common practice for them? It wasn't a case of them reclaiming it, although that was a worry in the early days particularly when the 10-year contract was unilaterally withdrawn & a renew every year contract initiated. I think there may have been some loans where the vehicles were abused or just neglected & I can now understand the need to keep a good eye on their loans. It was me who brought it to a conclusion. My full compliance with the terms of the contract had built goodwill over the years & I am sure could have continued for many years to come. I was just looking through some old bills for it. A set of service kits for the servo was £143 & that was 15 years ago! I have since learnt about alternative ways of sourcing, but I was learning the hard way. Like having to buy a GS truck just to get the flywheel. Learning that it was fitted to the engine using torque settings from Rolls Royce quoted in in-lbs not ft-lbs = busted threads! Not wishing to go on about it too much but its like a long-term relationship that has broken up. Hornet & I were closely identified & we had been through good & difficult times, but now separate existences. Yes I could visit it I suppose but, do you visit an "ex" who is taken on a different life? But the indications I got yesterday were very much that here is a drivable vehicle & it would be good to make use of with museum events, which is great. Now I will have to erase the levels of speil that I would give viewers of the vehicle based on the questioner's actual interest & military IQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 An unused vehicle soon ends up as place to store bits then that overflows to the floor, and then there is no room to move around at all. Productivity falls as you can't find anything, then you break things as you stand on then, knock over trays of bolts into oil patches on the floor that fuses into angle grinder dust & mud, then everything grinds to a halt to perform even simple maintenance tasks. Welcome to my World Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul connor Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Well Done Cliv Must have been emotional. You have made a huge difference and secured history! You are a huge Credit to the Hobby and preservation. once again! top stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lardrover Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Hi Clive Was going to offer commiserations and all that but I reckon if the Hornet has gone back and will be viewed regularly then it's a fitting accolade to your love and attention to your hobby. All the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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