another Aussie humber fv1601

[john piercey]

Hi guys newbie here,i have recently purchased an ex Aust army humber fv1601a chassis no 163021 from wheatbelt country Western Australia,truck in very good order for year but has been off the road for approx 30 yrs.I have engine now up and running,and freed stiff gear change but not picking up fuel from tank i suspect fuel pump diaphragm is shot,only real rust to speak of is 6 to 8 inch long section on lhs roof and small bubbles just below spare tyre door and some minor dents ,orig deep bronze green for most part but has faded remnants of its farming area fire unit red.I am chasing spark plugs ,points etc and maybe if possible gaiters for tracta joints/axles,some pioneer tool brackets missing from RHS top of cab and other small bits and pieces so if anyone in Aus knows of any leads etc it would be appreciated.Every bit of rubber is rock hard and needs replacing but as i said for the most part is in very solid cond.I have found MLU to have the most info on these vehicles thus far,there is scant info for the most part elsewhere,i have read Paul Handels article on Humbers in Aus service . Cheers hoping for some more Aussie input in the future PS i will post some pics when i can con my son in to helping me load them up . John

[maple_leaf_eh]

Good Luck with your project!

One lesson from the folks who are keeping old vehicles safely on the road, is to identify the commercial equivalent parts and replacements for your Humber. The easier it is to find a minor electrical component or well-hidden mechanical part, the faster your project will proceed.

One MLU long-timer told about taking a Land Rover part to his local auto-parts store and playing 20 questions. The answer came back it was from a 1960's Detroit small block V8 which was sold to the UK. The difference in price between the part in North America and one from UK was significantly less.

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

One lesson from the folks who are keeping old vehicles safely on the road, is to identify the commercial equivalent parts and replacements for your Humber. The easier it is to find a minor electrical component or well-hidden mechanical part, the faster your project will proceed.

.

Sadly there are very little parts on a Humber 1-ton that have a commercial equivalent, but .... some parts are shared with the Ferret Scout Car, which will help, like engine and brake components, electrical components. As there a number of Ferret owners in Australia and a few Humbers, this will help you. You should make contact with Tim Vibert in Victoria as he stocks a lot of British military parts for Ferret and such like.

regards, Richard

[Robert Sexton]

Originally Posted by john piercey

Hi guys newbie here,i have recently purchased an ex Aust army humber fv1601a chassis no 163021 from wheatbelt country Western Australia,truck in very good order for year but has been off the road for approx 30 yrs.I have engine now up and running,and freed stiff gear change but not picking up fuel from tank i suspect fuel pump diaphragm is shot,only real rust to speak of is 6 to 8 inch long section on lhs roof and small bubbles just below spare tyre door and some minor dents ,orig deep bronze green for most part but has faded remnants of its farming area fire unit red.I am chasing spark plugs ,points etc and maybe if possible gaiters for tracta joints/axles,some pioneer tool brackets missing from RHS top of cab and other small bits and pieces so if anyone in Aus knows of any leads etc it would be appreciated.Every bit of rubber is rock hard and needs replacing but as i said for the most part is in very solid cond.I have found MLU to have the most info on these vehicles thus far,there is scant info for the most part elsewhere,i have read Paul Handels article on Humbers in Aus service . Cheers hoping for some more Aussie input in the future PS i will post some pics when i can con my son in to helping me load them up . John

Hello John, another Humber found in the bush!. I too have the same model rescued from a farm shed in the eastern wheat belt,chassis number 6310009 so not far apart from yours.Mine is under restoration (a long and expensive process) but it is a rare machine. If you go to the restoration forum you will see a lot of info from the fellows in the east who have been down the path and have lot of knowledge that will be useful.If you carefully sand away the paint on the centre of the doors and on both sides of the bonnet where the front curves away you may well find the original insignia under the red paint. It is most likely that mine was operated by the 10th Light Horse before being decommissioned in 1969.Mine also has insignia on the left rear panel on the cargo body. kangaroo over crossed swords ,all in yellow paint.Parts are very scarce.
Robert

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Hi and Welcome John.
Humber, Cargo, Chassis # 6310021, original engine #13601, ARN 105 691
"declared for disposal list 5B/VSD/B27 21/5/69 "

I think the 5B is "5 Base", sure I will be corrected otherwise, as for the VSD/B27 no idea, possibly the sale tender/contract as there are other trucks with identical info.

The tracta boots are an awkward job to replace, they do come up for sale on occasion, but will perish shortly after fitting. Dave Mills is the man to speak to, he has pioneered the design of an easyfit replacement.

Plugs (RSN13P) come up on Ebay quite often, or available ( as Richard F. suggests) from Tim Vibert;
http://www.timvibert.com.au/

Tim will most likely have leads, fuel pump, and possibly both sets of points.
Points can be replaced with electric ignition, much simpler and more reliable, but not cheap.
(worth every cent though!!)

NB The fuel pump is not the same as the one used on the B40 (Champ) motor, one of the few parts not common through the "B" Range.

Pioneer brackets etc, easy enough to fabricate, yell out if you need pics, or you can probably buy used from Altmanns in Stawell,

Is this a restoration, or a get it up and running project?
As for questions, ask away.
Rich.

[john piercey]

Hi to all ,thank you for replies,i deduced(rightly or wrongly) at the time that ARN no may have been 691 as it was the 20th one after the initial one 631001 but knowing army could well have been miles off,so thank you Richard if that is actually the proper number.Robert may be good to actually catch up with you 0ne day and compare notes seeing we are so close,it appears some one has used a sanding disc on the bonnet areas to actually remove possible army markings (pics will show this when i get them on here) only orig marking is a 35 presumably PSI tyre pressure on lhf wheel arch,previous owner sandblasted and painted rear tub so no hope there.Tub is extremely well preserved but i think shade of green may be slightly off,i read g63 is the british standard and aussie shade orig used on 50s vehicles. Did any of these ever get painted camo green or olive drab later in their service lives or did they just stay DBG? I have just removed grille/front panel/bash plate/radiator and have been pleasantly surprised at "relative" ease at removing nuts and bolts i have had much newer vehicles hassle me more- READ- land rovers! I have read articles stating b60 RR motor etc but none say what actual Brand(Rootes) or otherwise or model no.s gearbox, same with diffs etc i dare say anyone with actual manuals etc will know.A Major refurbishment is what i had planned just repair,remanufacture/replace only as needed not a tear down and rebuild of apparently servicible units,and would like to keep some of its ambience/patina about it with mainly exterior paint being the biggest job to do(coz it really needs it)
John

[jeepfinger]

Hi John,

Have you been down to any of the meetings of the Military Club? I am sure that the late Bob Dimer owned one. I also saw one at Brookton show in 1998.
Dave

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

John, ARN's were not issued in order of chassis #, it was a case of next in line, so arriving at 105 691 via chassis counting would be an anomaly, in this case it was the 18th truck to be numbered, so good guess indeed.
Trucks were delivered in the factory finish, the British version of Deep Bronze Green, slightly different to the Aust. norm. This needs to be stressed when having paint mixed by the experts.... Many were over painted at some stage, but to my knowledge never in a Cammo. pattern.
It is has been remarked upon before how well the Humber bolts will come apart even after years of living outside, biggest exception is the tub floor bolts, shame you will miss out on them!
As Richard Farrant mentioned in a previous post, most Humber parts are unique, there was no off the shelf gearbox, transfer case, running gear parts. This design was part of a Grand Plan project that became so incredibly expensive it was shut down because Britain could not afford it, with only a handful of vehicles being finalised, now you know why.
(read Pat Wares "In National Service" or "Tugs of War")
Manuals are pretty ordinary, but you can't do without them.
Vintagemanuals.co.uk had copies made, there is a drivers handbook, spare parts cat, and a combined manual that covers Cargo, wireless and armoured.
Rich.

[john piercey]

Thanks Jeepfinger ,i havent been involved with or been to any shows with military clubs but will prob proceed to as i move forward,we (my son Colin) and i have a couple of ex army 1966 11a landys 1 ex NZ , 1 Aust both incomplete ffr units both rebuildable but not high on list at moment,Colin has Diamond T tank transporter 980 1942 to restore it is in remarkably solid cond with only a few parts missing and fairly minimal dents/rust etc fitted with Hercules DXFE diesel,will be looking for any technical information etc in the future.
Richard i really meant the straight camoflage green as in Protec paint colour rather than WW11 or auscam type camo,sorry to confuse you,i have seen photos of drab ones which made me ask although i am unsure if they were Aussie ones. the floor bolts with exception of 2 all came out nicely which considering the fine thread and length still stuns me they definately built them right first go. A replacement NOS or very very good spare RHF mudguard (wing) and rubber "wing finishing strip" came with vehicle as it had had a small bingle on front which i have straightend out although i think dented guard is still repairable i will fit the replacement.
John

[john piercey]

Any pics of the tool brackets and .303 top internal bracket/straps would be good Richard if you have any, it only has the butt mount left on both floor sides(would have been a real bugger of a setup in actual use i reckon)