Humber FV1600

[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

Hi Richard - yes, you are right the whole thing is a lot like a big Champ, with the transfer case at the back just effectively forming part of the rear axle. Also as you suggest, this vehicle just has a low first 'crawler' gear - selecting this also engages 4WD, which can be manually engaged in any other gear. The Humber has a conventional reverse gear, unlike the Champ where reverse is seperate from the main box and applies to all gears.

YES - get one of these trucks, preferably save a dead one because they are so rare and they deserve to survive. That burnt one in the bush on this tread is better than any unrestored example you would find in the UK. They are also universally misunderstood ever since the CT class of vehicles was dropped by the MOD in (I think??) 1956. We need to drop the obsession with load carrying weights - we sound like a convention of freight haulers. This vehicle is not about load lugging. Think of the Apollo rockets (sorry I am being extreme...) they really didn't have much payload either. Or maybe a submarine compared to a freighter.

Don't worry about the winch position - with those 20 inch wheels at each corner and short wheelbase, when you go off-roading you will be shunting stuck Toyotas out of the way. Also the underbelly is well protected and quite smooth with skid plates so there are not many snag points to stick on even if it does ground out. The winch cable works at each end with nice big fairleads along the chassis and at each end. Also the full inependant suspension means that all 4 wheels stay firmly on the ground in most circumstances so it will pull through most situations.

The main cause of axle failure when pushed off road or tugging out tree stumps is lack of oil - 5 oil points per axle, most were used for years without any lubrication, maybe just to the diff - and the axle is vlnerable when dry-as-a-bone. More a maintenance failure than a design fault.

This vehicle will go as fast over rough land as it will over the road - you can get 45-50MPH over dirt, and it will feel like it is flying. Driver skill is required to make sure you don't overdo it and kill yourself, but those speeds in a normal old (even new...) 4x4 and you will bite your tounge, smash your teeth and loose all you stuff out the back.

And then there is the awesome deep fording. Properly prepared this woill out-do ANY of its contemporaries and most modern stuff. A friend of mine summed it up well when he compared to most 4x4s in the water, this is a Hippopotatamus compared to a Labrador - this thing can LIVE in the water, not just splach through it.

Get one, you won't regret it. On top of that, these are so cool just to cruise to a bar on a sunday with the screens folded down, something you can't really do so well in a 40' load carrier.

Regards,
Tom
Portsmouth,
UK

[MurrayC]

Thought I would chime in with a photo of the Veteran Car Club of W.A. (Military Section)'s Humber, owned and driven by Graham Reed, during the 2007 Anzac Day parade here in Perth. This vehicle saw service with the 10th Light Horse Regiment based here in Perth and is carrying veterans from the 2/16 /battalion.

[MurrayC]

While I have the box unpacked, this is a Humber, also believed to have been owned by 10LHR and now hidden away in a shed by the Army Museum in Fremantle. I think it's fairly low down on the list of their restoration projects.

[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

Hi Murray, its great to see these photos. Nice to see more veterans enjoying a ride as well, and thanks to the great suspension it will have been comfortable, too!

Wow - I want to move to Australia. Your restoration project Humbers are like auction photos taken in the '60s in Britain.
I would love to do some research one day to locate all known survivors or at least to a count - does anyone else know? Clive ?? - (you have come up with some pretty impressive bits of info, like the date my wreck was auctioned off, etc.)

But I have seen photos of more Humbers HERE, on this thread, than all the survivors I know about in the UK.

I guess in Australia they don't seem that rare, because they are as common as a lot of other European machinery, but I think the truth may be that you have 90% of the survivors over there, wheras with things like Ferrets, we have here in the UK about 20 times the number that you have over there.

[Les Freathy]

Thought you guys might like to see these
the first at a rally in Kent
second back in the 60s at Chiddingstone nr Tunbridge Wells
third looks like its on the continent possibly Belgium
cheers
Les

[Les Freathy]

and

[fv1620]

Originally posted by Humber-One-Ton Tom

I would love to do some research one day to locate all known survivors or at least to a count - does anyone else know? Clive ?? - (you have come up with some pretty impressive bits of info, like the date my wreck was auctioned off, etc.)

Tom, I only have stuff on the UK Humbers & to complicate things further the export Humbers were actually designated as Commers!

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Hi all,
Terrific to see all these side on photos as well, usually see only photos from the front for some reason (possibly not the best angle). These side on and 3/4 shots seem to show the "true" Humber....impressive or What!
Cheerio
Rich.

[fv1620]

The irony of all these trucks going into a breakdown recovery role is that the FV1606 was intended as a breakdown truck but never saw the light of day.

I have all the FVRDE Design Specs for the Humbers & these were Ministry of Supply documents. The FV1606 never got that far, what I have is a War Office Specification dated 1950. The intended role was to recover broken down Humbers, but of course they never break down, so it got no further in development!

[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

Originally posted by Les Freathy
Thought you guys might like to see these
the first at a rally in Kent
second back in the 60s at Chiddingstone nr Tunbridge Wells
third looks like its on the continent possibly Belgium
cheers
Les

Les - these pictures are really stunning. Instinctively I prefer a military vehicle in military trim but these do make damn cool breakdown trucks.

I like the way my old one looks in the orange and black 'Hay-on-Wye' livery (a few posts back) but that paint was in truth falling pff and the thing was really manky - the passenger gutter fell off when I was looking at it - so it needed re-painting beyond a doubt and ended up sand for Suez.

I once saw a a pic of a nice fire truck conversion, and also a really nice station wagon / shooting brake, like a predecessor to a Toyota Landcruiser. 4 doors and all nicely done, back in the 60s this must have been a great thing to run around in.

Do you have any more pics in your collection of the open cab version you posted on this thread way back sometime ago? - I would like to see any open top pics as the wreck I am doing now has a wrecked roof that needs to be choped off and I would sooner make the resulting vehicle a replica of one that was actually built. I like the pics of 03 BK 52 in Jochern Vollert's excellentbook on the FV1600 range but the sidescreens on the one in your pics look easier to re-make.

Here's a picture off the web at:
http://britains-smallwars.com/suez/David/Major_41.jpg

Regards, Tom
Portsmouth
UK

[Brian Gough]

Hi all,

From the Historical Fire Engines Europe image gallery :

http://www.historical-fire-engines.c...?image_id=1604

Brian

[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

Thanks Brian, That's a really great machine and looks like it's still around somewhere.

Just the stuff on this thread is a good start to get the list or register of survivors going. I don't really know what form it should take but maybe some kind of online form that anyone can add too. Has anyone ever done a register before? Anyone any good at computer forms?

I would estimate about 50 - 75 survivors in the UK. I may be way out, but hard to know until you count.

Here's 2 for starters -

Veh 232 (02 BK 32) - FV1601A w/winch, reg. no. XSL 881, first registered June 2001 - Currently in Mold, North Wales, UK (as of last week)

Veh 209 (02 BK 09) - As above, reg. ABP 849B (reg. 1964) - off road since 1970s - Currently in Emsworth, Hampshire, UK undergoing rebuild project.

If anyone that knows of any Humbers or has one just lists it in a message with maybe a photo, I will eventually make time to trawl through and start a list table of 'known survivors'.

Heres 02 BK 32 in 2004

Regards, Tom
Portsmouth,
Hampshire

[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

And another

[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

And some nasty rust up close

[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

And some more rust

[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

And this is about 6 months later

[fv1620]

A friend of mine has 6 Humbers.

Here is one of the rare ones, 18 BK 91.

[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

And so is this.
(I still can't re-size my images, but I took these on an old camera that took small images...)

Regards,
Tom
Portsmoth
Uk

[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

Clive - what are you doing up at this time of night, you bloody loony!

Blimy, I need to get some sleep!

Here's a last picture, November 2004 cab all bolted back together

Tom
Portsmouth
UK

[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

Oh heck, last one I promise!

That's it for now.

Tom

[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

Originally posted by fv1620
A friend of mine has 6 Humbers.

Here is one of the rare ones, 18 BK 91.

Clive - I had to come back - the penny just dropped - so what's the deal with 18 BK 91 then? Where does that number fit in?

[Les Freathy]

OK Tom these should help if you are going soft top, understand the problem with rust in the cab a friend a few years back bought a wreck and i decided it would be good idea to have a hammer round from the inside , one strike and all i got was hoots of laughing and the rust man cometh. They are a major problem though if the rust has really set in inthe end i found a good cab from a laid up recovery version with a very good cab on it and we transposed that. The recovery when use was spectacular it had a Detriot diesel and a exhuast stack through the bonnet and would pull almost any type of truck, the jib was not as per the last photos i posted but a really stong affair resembling a mini T.F.L crane . No word of a lie when under full load it was not uncommon for the stack to glow. looked great in the dark
cheers
Les

[Les Freathy]

2nd

[Les Freathy]

dont try the bottom photo, bet that soon went rusty

[Les Freathy]

and again

[Les Freathy]

A few years back this attempt was carried out to recreate the prototype, wonder if the owner had the same rust problem. Keep us informed of progress Tom

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Hi all
Photo of Humber FFR in Australian National Service 1956/57, possibly 8/13th Mounted Rifles. Photo courtesy of Barrie Wilson who can't remember when, where, or why he took it an is only interested in Jeeps anyway (some people will never learn...)
Cheerio
Rich.

[fv1620]

Some very rare Humbers in Pounds Scrapyard, Portsmouth, UK in early 1970s. Anyone know why these ones are rare? I think one of these is 18 BK 91 I posted earlier.

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Here's one for Humber fans. Link is to Doug Grevilles Heavy Metal Site. If it does'nt work his site is listed in MLU Links. Reading between the lines Doug may have reservations about Humbers.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/lsm/dhmg/humb001.html
Hooroo
Rich.

[fv1620]

Originally posted by Humber-One-Ton Tom
Clive - I had to come back - the penny just dropped - so what's the deal with 18 BK 91 then? Where does that number fit in?

It a FV1621 Malkara Test towed a FV2304(R) Test Trailer. There were on 10 of these. 5 operational, 5 in reserve. It had a compressor in the back with hole in floor to a PTO. the story goes that Pounds was pleased to strip these vehicles done & the compressors were sold off for charging up air bottles for divers.
The one in the pic still has its markings of Cyclops Sqn 2RTR who were the Troop Trials unit for Malkara prior to the formation of Para Sqn RAC.

On the side doors are silver RTR badges on black = 2RTR
On front 3 Div red/black badge
Other wing yellow/red badge of RAC
TAC number of 32 signifying Cyclops

On formation of Para Sqn RAC Feb 1965, the TAC number changed to 2 & the 3 Div sign changed to a Pegasus/Belleraphon badge.

In fact this saturday I am driving the Hornet (FV1620) to Bovington Camp for the reunion of the Para Sqn RAC which includes Cyclops people as well. Usually present is the Missile Test Troop sargent whose vehicle was 18 BK 91.