Mechanic Needed, of the "Alvis Saracen" Variety

The hive knows all (except what those darn tools are for in the off-topic), so let's put that to the test.

A friend of a friend wants to buy an Armored Personnel Carrier.  Specifically an "Alvis Saracen".  Here's what we're talking about:

We've had two mechanics balk (meaning, they ducked out before seeing the vehicle).  We're looking for someone north of Oxford in the UK to look at a potential purchase candidate before said "friend of friend" buys this beast.

Which one of us knows that person?

Said friend of friend is an absolute glutton for punishment and wants to traverse the entire European continent in said vehicle.  They're just looking for someone to give it a good "going over" to make sure things are skookum before forking over the cash. 

(and before anyone says "dear god, that thing's limited to 45mph and gets like 10 gallons to the mile!!":  They're already completely sold on the idea.  There's no need to talk them into it )

Cheers everyone!

Wow, good luck to them. Maybe worth reaching out to the Tank Museum in Bovington to see if they know anyone? They are USA not too far from Oxford, but not close in UK terms. 

No contacts personally but I do watch a lot of Mr. Hewes on youtube and it seems like he does customer work at times or would at least know a lot of people in the UK tank community. 

Mr Hewes - YouTube

bbbbRASS said:

Wow, good luck to them. Maybe worth reaching out to the Tank Museum in Bovington to see if they know anyone? They are USA not too far from Oxford, but not close in UK terms. 

Ha! I love it. Reminds me of the quote "Americans think 100 years is a long time. Europeans think 100 miles is a long way."

I can imagine people in some countries these days may be a little alarmed when that thing pulls into their town.  He may want to put a white flag on it or something.

That's going to be an interesting PPI. 

Honestly, if he's in the UK you might suggest that he reach out to Eddie Hall on Eddie's social media; Eddie famously bought a tank or APC or something like that a while ago, and he might have a referral. 

Uses a Rolls Royce engine, right?  Take it to one of those dealers?

The drivetrain uses one differential.  Total.  All the wheels on a side are locked together.

Saladin, Saracen, and Stalwart all use basically the same drivetrain.  Wikipedia (so it is definitively correct) discusses the problem of drivetrain windup:

Standard operating instructions for the Stalwart recommend that after travelling some miles on firm ground, the vehicle should be bounced over a kerb or railway sleeper to lift wheels clear of the ground, one-by-one, so allowing them to spring back and release the windup.  Excess windup could easily lead to a broken gear in the bevel or hub gearboxes. To indicate this, white lines were painted across the ends of the hubs. Normally the lines should be parallel but as windup occurred they would become misaligned, indicating the need to release this.

In reply to Oapfu :

That idea was brought up, but it didn't bear fruit.  We were told to look for someone who was a mechanic, but from 40 years ago 🤣

I hit up some of my crusty veteran buddies, but the closest I got was a Challenger 2 mechanic (who is probably STILL laughing at this idea)

Ee were warned about the wind-up though, unfortunately it was by one of the mechanics that didn't show

In reply to Evan and Brandon:

I'll pass word about Eddie and Mr. Hewes.  I'm not familiar with them at all, but fingers are still crossed

Could one make this 2WD for commuting?

Try finding someone on here (aside from the seller).....British military vehicle owners | Facebook

So where is the build thread already?  😁🤣

So close, but so far - I know a mechanic who worked extensively on one, but in the US. He said it was like a lot of British cars, not hard to suss out but weird in their own way. Giant PITA to access the engine.

It does have a RR engine, but a WWII design (inlet-over-exhaust IIRC). Sold in some cars but almost no current RR dealer employee will have any famililarity. That's probably OK since the engine seems to be extremely robust. Dunno about the rest.

Hats off to anyone with the fortitude to drive any armored vehicle on a long trip! If they weren't an expert on the machine when the left, they will be when they eventually return. And have an iron patoot.

This looks like exactly the kind of scenario my son's 'That's a Terrible Idea! What Time? ' T shirt was intended for.

I was also thinking Mr.Hewes would be a good starting point.

And yes, we'll be needing a build thread.

In reply to dean1484 :

hahaha, nah.  They're not a member.  But maybe (just MAYBE) I could copy/paste their adventures here.

paddygarcia said:

So close, but so far - I know a mechanic who worked extensively on one, but in the US. He said it was like a lot of British cars, not hard to suss out but weird in their own way. Giant PITA to access the engine.

It does have a RR engine, but a WWII design (inlet-over-exhaust IIRC). Sold in some cars but almost no current RR dealer employee will have any famililarity. That's probably OK since the engine seems to be extremely robust. Dunno about the rest.

Hats off to anyone with the fortitude to drive any armored vehicle on a long trip! If they weren't an expert on the machine when the left, they will be when they eventually return. And have an iron patoot.

aw, brutal!

Hey, I'm calling this a win for GRM regardless of the outcome.  We asked for a mechanic, and you got one

Ok, on a serious note.  If he has any buddies back in the UK, give us a shout please

In reply to XLR99 (Forum Supporter) :

I'm gonna have to find me one of those t-shirts, that's awsome!

DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

Try finding someone on here (aside from the seller).....British military vehicle owners | Facebook

I dug through their page a bit.  One guy posted a year ago about an Alvis, but it was just a link to a youtube video.

I'm going to reach out today and see if anyone might know someone.

Thanks!

Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to XLR99 (Forum Supporter) :

I'm gonna have to find me one of those t-shirts, that's awsome!

Yeah I think GRM should actually produce them with the GRM logo on the front and the phrase on the back. So appropriate to so many things here.

S while sitting in the waiting rm at wife's appointment I had a brief synapse involving massive thread drift.  Anyone remember Tank Overhaul? Isle of Wight military museum; the owner mentioned owning a Saracen along with a bunch of other cool heavy things. Long shot as that was several years back, but it was entertaining to watch them work. There's also an episode about the Littlefield collection's Panther, which is now part of Collings.

In reply to XLR99 (Forum Supporter) :

That was 100% the video clip posted to the British Military Vehicle Owners Group

Nice memory, man.  No response from them yet though

Nice! I'm abit of an idiot savant; occasionally lose the car in the parking lot but can remember 80s song lyrics, Firefly episodes word for word, etc. Hope the long shot plays out!

Its free on Prime, not sure if you have the same access in the EU though. May have to rewatch it once I finish this week's Andor!

Second plug for Mr Hewes. He is THE used tank guy in Britain. Actually he's probably Vice grip garage for tanks.

In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :

I'm calling BS on "friend of a friend".  C'mon Bill, we all know it's you.  

In reply to 11GTCS :

True, but it can't haul as much stuff as a 4Runner so, no.  Bet it would pull a trailer.