Christmas 1947 No1 on my wish list was??

[PainlessWolf]

Alamein,
You might be thinking "Buick Straight Eight" as I recall the adverts. As to my Aunt's actual type of Packard, I have no idea. I only knew it was such as she would tipple with the rest of the family and let on loudly that she had got the car with profits from running liquor up in the Appalachians during the 30's.
regards,
Painless

[43rdRecceReg]

Crash gearboxes? Aaargh! 43rd R&R.
As were Cents transmissions as of course you will be aware.

Hmm, well My Dad and Uncle were the Brown Beret (Recce) then Black Beret (RAC/Rtr) men in the family. The weirdest, and definitely the most dangerous vehicle I ever drove, was an ancient Fordson tractor (though I've also driven the old David Browns that were used to tow Lancasters, Wimpeys etc.). It ran on TVO, but you started it on petrol with a starting handle. If it kicked back, it could break your wrist. As for boneshaking..it didn't even have a seat as such, and NO suspension. It also had a crash gearbox and, if you weren't good at pulling the individual (rear) drive wheel brake levers (same as tank), it had crash tendencies too
It took tins and tins of Popeye's spinach to pull them!

[alamein]

jarndice my Dear Old Chap, (How Old????)

I was upgraded creme de la creme Recce Troop BFPO30, (Border Patrols Travemunde-Harts Mts.) driving a Ferret with the pre-select box which unusually was a similar box with a GCP that DD London Transport Buses had around the seventies iirc, rather than a conventional clutch pedal?

I can assure you the Cent' was much more of a handful gear changing than ever the Daimler Ferret was.xxx

Loved E'm both though, but it was especially sweet to hear that Cents V12 Meteor fire up at the rear sometimes?

PS. I have plenty of original genuine black and white photographs , (some with my ugly mug in shots) to substantiate my claims and authenticity of having been there and done that?

[jarndice]

Alamein, I am so old that when I was a boy there were so few people that nobody had a surname we knew each other by their first name,
One question about your experience with the Ferret, How did you get on with that crazy steering wheel, ?
I drove one once as part of a training program that embraced almost all military vehicles in service at that time of all classes, A, B, and C. in other words Armour,( Tracked as well as wheeled,) Soft skinned,( Wheeled, Motorcycles, four and six wheelers with and without trailers )and finally Plant, such as (Caterpiller, Ferguson,(One day I might tell you a story about a Ferguson Tractor) and other mobile plant) but not Rail or Water .
Although later I had the entertainment of driving an Alvis Stalwart across various water courses,
All in all It was one of the most interesting times of my life.
I spent some time in Germany as part of a NATO team assessing equipment in service with in my particular case, Belguim , Dutch, German and British forces, Driving German Army Magirus Deutz aircooled 6 wheelers,as well as Opel Admiral Staff cars, Dutch Daf 4 Wheelers, Belguim Minerva Land Rovers, Daf /Van Hool Coaches as well as Bedford Coaches and the piece de Resistance, a 1943 Bedford QL rebuild office truck And too many others to name.
Plus the only 4 star Land Rover complete with anti infra red paint and black leather seats in the whole of Northern Europe.
Shaun.

[alamein]

jarndice

Great past times and events well worth remembering Chap for ever and a day.

[alamein]

By far the most awkward exercise as a Ferret driver, was getting in and out through the front drivers hatch? Steering it was a doddle by comparison.

But as a 10 stone lanky lightweight I could manage it , and as the saying went, if you ain't thin you'll struggle getting in,and more importanly getting out.... if hit?

Applies to tank hatches too, so..... no tubbies please, like corks in bottles comes to mind?

Like said,I have a good assortment of piccies in B&W, including a very good one of the complete troop in column o' route ready to move off?