PatB

I know camera lenses can make quite a difference, but that looks to be nearer square than 8 x 4. 8 x 8?

Mind you, 7 quid for an X04 isn't too bad these days.

Not sure it was entirely legal then, either, but, looking at old photos, and comparing with contemporary C&U regs, it seems to have been common for the authorities to turn a blind eye to minor infringements.

Presumably K's. At the price, when I looked, it would be good fodder for anyone who enjoys rebuilding whitemetal kits, or who wants to learn to build one before trying anything expensive.

The truck, though, didn't last very long. According to the DVLA, it was first registered in September 1986 and last ran out of tax in April 1990, so was on the road for less than 4 years.

Happens a lot here in Oz. I blame cheaply produced custom mags printing lots of syndicated articles from the US, or simply lying that feature vehicles that clearly never go anywhere other than on a trailer are "fully road licensed".

Based on the Indian Pacific branding applied to the Hymek, I suspect it's an effort at something Australian, rather than the classic US Budd.

Not sure about that photo, but of the previous shot, the last one ran out of tax in July 2013, according to the DVLA.

I've watched a few on YouTube as well. Some of it's still very funny, but a lot is distinctly so-so, some is just dross, and there's a lot of stretching out an initially good idea far beyond the point of tedium. I do enjoy most of Gilliam's animations though.

And missionaries, if Spike Milligan is to be believed.

Shouldn't that be in the "Prototype for Everything" thread?

He's a Kiwi. I suspect that it's compulsory.

It makes some of the spoof warplanes, described in Bruce McCall's book Zany Afternoons, look quite sensible. The British Humbley-Pudge "Gallipoli" heavyish bomber (endearingly outdated and harmless), the Soviet Snud U-14 transport (with distinctive cranked fuselage, caused by someone creasing a blueprint, and, in Stalin's Russia, not admitting to it), and the German "Dinkel" (basically an aluminium tube stuffed with fireworks confiscated by the Reichsministry of Sportive and Jolly Activities) have always rather appealed to me.

Whilst I can't claim direct experience, I've always been under the impression that, prior to the Clean Air Acts, the predominant colour of any exposed masonry in a large urban area was grey/black.

I'm afraid that, although Oz citizenship rendered me partial to a cheese sausage, it didn't take as far as lamingtons are concerned, and I'd rather have a nice battenburg. Going back to the subject of ancient motors, after cleaning everything again, and reducing the duty cycle on the auto shuttle, I got 5 hours out of my modified mech before it finally "failed to proceed" without a poke, which was quite pleasing. It seems happy to work for a lengthy period, and then becomes more reluctant. I'd put it down to overheating but it doesn't feel excessively warm to the touch. I've just received some new brushes and springs, so I'll try swapping those. I can't really see anything wrong with the old ones, but it's always possible the springs have lost their temper at some point, and aren't providing enough pressure. These motors are so basic, there's really not a lot else to fiddle with. Onwards in small steps. Edit: I've just put in the new brushes and springs. The springs are somewhat different from the existing ones. The originals are (I think) phosphor bronze, based on the colour. The new ones are something silvery (presumably either steel or a coating of something), and are appreciably stronger than the ones I took out, clicking into place quite emphatically. Testing on the track shows noticeably more reliable starting. Previously, when changing direction, the first few inches of travel were a bit tentative. I now assume this was due to the slightly slack brushes taking a few motor rotations to settle into place. This seems to be no longer happening. Now it's properly warmed up it seems to be faster for a given controller setting too. Let's see how sustained the improvement is.

This sort of thing is relatively common in Oz. Because a car licence allows you to drive up to 4.5T gross weight, there is a thriving industry in "derating" heavier vehicles. Basically it's an administrative exercise with the registration authorities. The only physical change to the vehicle is amending the data plate. The result is that there are a lot of light trucks around with laughable "on paper" load capacities, particularly those with heavier bodywork, like refrigerators. Put in a driver, passenger and one pallet and they're over their legal GVM. Very popular with hire companies though.

Could always try turning up with a hacksaw and telling the owners that you've come to cash in your investment .

Also scope for a version based on spotting how many variations of BR steel mineral wagon are visible.

There's an Inglenook adaptation in there, if nothing else. Presumably the skips were hand pushed, although some of the gradients look a bit steep for that to have been easy.

Well, I think that answers one mystery that's been nagging at me for nigh on 50 years. I have a very early memory of a display of slot cars in a shop and, whilst I have long forgotten what the rest were, I have always had a mental picture of something with an upmarket BMC nose. However, it's always seemed rather unlikely that anyone would have made a Wolseley 16/60 slottie. Finally I can say that the most likely candidate I've ever seen is that MG 1100.

I suspect the insanity of Raleigh Chopper prices in recent years is yet another manifestation of "unfulfilled childhood dreams syndrome". For examples of "unfulfilled adolescent dreams syndrome", has anyone seen what ghastly 1980s small motorcycles are going for these days?

Indeed I am, and, were I to ever actually do this, a Major or Lancer would be potential candidates too, if a suitable base vehicle came along at the right time and price. My main concern with either would be B-Series fuel consumption. The need to be self-sufficient in fuel over long distances favours the Minor's smaller power unit. Realistically, the most useful aspect of their mechanical similarity would be the ability to use Minor upgrade parts (tele shock conversions spring to mind) on a Major. Mind you, I'd expect the Major back axle to be tougher than the Minor's, and I also know that a number of Majors have donated their brakes to Minors.

I agree that some modification will be inevitable, although my thought would be to keep things as close to standard as possible, and, where practical, keep mods to those in keeping with the car, so, eg, no fancy electronics. Beefed up suspension and engine mountings would be likely, and sump and fuel tank guards a must. I can see tele shocks being an advantage. I doubt if lever arms would survive corrugations for long. OTOH, I wouldn't envisage any engine/performance mods, beyond serious air filtration and making sure no breathers were open to atmosphere. The red dust gets everywhere and is highly abrasive. The go-to steel wheels for Minors here are the Wolseley 1500 type, as found on local market Morris Majors/Austin Lancers. They're still 14" but the rim width is such that commonly available light truck tyres will go on safely. I've heard about the ribs in tubeless tyres wearing through tubes but haven't actually had it happen in road use on motorcycles or cars. It may be different on unsealed surfaces where the tyres are constantly working. The biggest enemy of tyres in the outback is the sharp (and iron hard) stick or stump, lying in wait to stake you. A lesser, but still present risk in some areas are patches of road "repaired" with razor sharp rock crushings from a local mine. These can slice up a road tyre very nicely, as I discovered a few years back when I lost 2 tyres in 200 m and ended up having to drive 80 km into town on three tyres and a decidedly thruppenny bit shaped rim. I've considered a winch but, given the siting (I can't see where it would go that won't either reduce ground clearance or interrupt airflow to the rad), mounting and electrical issues make me lean more towards a self-contained hand type like a Tirfor, or even relying on the winching ability of the obligatory h-lift jack. The jack approach appeals as, with such a small vehicle, it makes sense for as much equipment as possible to serve multiple purposes. I would not envisage being on any kind of deadline, so if it were to take a day or two to traverse a difficult section it wouldn't matter that much. There is much further research to be done, which is, of course, far cheaper, easier and more comfortable than actually doing it. For example, I need to find out how old, carburetted engines run on Opal fuel. Opal was introduced into outback Oz to counter a petrol sniffing epidemic in remote communities. Whilst I'm not 100% sure what's in it, I assume it's made unsniffable by a reduction in the more volatile fractions. No problem in an EFI system, where the injectors do a pretty good job of atomisation straight into a hot cylinder, but will it work through the jet of an SU and a relatively convoluted inlet tract? I don't know, but the answer has significant implications for fuel management. Anyhow, the whole thing should keep me happily mentally occupied for a while yet.

Thanks for the tip. Amazon won't ship a hard copy to Oz from the UK, but I was able to find a used copy that would ship from the US, so all good there. As I mentioned, this is currently a purely theoretical exercise, but a fairly detailed one, as is my wont. I'd already added a half shaft and possibly a diff centre to my mental list of spares to be carried. The need to beef up suspension mountings had also crossed my mind. The main enemy of vehicle longevity on outback tracks are corrugations, which I can see hammering the running gear of a vehicle carrying the sort of load that would be necessary. It's seriously remote out there, so just the fuel and water requirements add up, before even considering camping gear, food, recovery equipment, tools and spares. It's doable, though. Many of the problems the usual 4wds encounter are, at least in part, self created by being such huge, heavy rigs. 4 Tonnes gross weight is by no means unusual, much of which is made up of the equipment required to extract a 4T vehicle from a bog. The law of diminishing returns was never so apt.

I must admit to watching prices for modest 1950s classics with some interest, both here in the Antipodes and in the UK. Indeed, I'd already seen that Y advertised (not 50s, I know, but I cast my search terms quite wide). Reason being, I'm engaging in the purely theoretical exercise of seeing what I'd would take to obtain, ideally, a Morris Minor - but other, similar cars would serve - and prepare and equip it to drive some of the 1950s "bomb" roads of Central Australia. Something of an ambitious project, as the roads in question are more usually traversed by groups of big 4wds, carrying all the comforts of home. Blame watching too many YouTube videos of MCC trials for making me look to see how Oz could offer a similar challenge. Then I started looking at YouTubes posted by said 4wd owners, and thought to myself that most of the main tracks (when in good condition; they do vary by season and traffic) don't exhibit much that would irrevocably stop a light, well equipped 2wd with reasonable ground clearance. Hmm. I've been looking for one last great automotive adventure. Maybe I can find it on my own doorstep. It does rather depend on Moggy values not going stratospheric before I can get around to obtaining one though.