County4x4

These things tend to come in sets you find - I've bumped into the owners of several of my van's sisters- eg mine is P371, and I've met 361, 367, 369 and 372. The green one has several sisters too - was in very good nick but Maun Motors who were selling it were looking for over 9 grand plus VAT about four years back! Several of that group - reg ended in CBT were sold around the time - some up Newcastle way and I've seen one of them here in Lancaster. The certainly get noticed anyway! Got any pics of yours - I only have pics of one SWB Mk5 I think. Cheers, Andy

To complete the set: Mk2 Modified Mk3 Mk4 And mine from another angle Andy

On the Mk 5 they had a standard Transit axle on the back with a 5.14:1 diff, The transfer box has a Borg Warner plate on it. Not entirely sure about the rest of the front end - much of it is County's own, but we're kinda hampered by having no workshop manuals! According to MJ Allen who handle the spares these days, there is no such thing, but one guy did turn up on the Transit forum saying he had one. He was going to get a copy out so we could duplicate it and pass it on, but after a few messages saying his scanner had broken etc etc, he disappeared and we never got it. I do have manuals and parts lists for the beam axle models if anyone needs a copy - though it's a fairly chunky manual so would take a while to copy! Haven't heard of anyone else with bellhousing troubles tbh. There have been a lot of Mk4's on ebay lately with knackered front ends though - usually diff troubles it seems. That could well be down to people using the 4WD system on hard surfaces which it's not designed for. There's no centre diff so the transmission will wind up in no time if the wheels can't slip a bit. Here's a few pics for anyone who hasn't seen the County Transit around: Mk3 Mk5 Mine:001_tongue: Andy

There have been a LOT of problems with the new all wheel drive system on the Mk7 Transit by all accounts. It's one of these "clever" systems that senses what's happening at each wheel and adjusts itself automatically without the driver having any input. To be honest - I'd prefer to be in charge of it myself! The set up on this model is not really aimed at serious off roading as ground clearance is just the same as a standard van. I run a Mk5 County with IFS, and have no complaints at all really. It's low geared so will never be a flying machine, and fuel consumption with the naturally aspirated 2.5 is a bit higher than for a "normal" van - but not excessive - only a matter of a few mpg difference. I get just under 400 miles to a tankful using 25ml of acetone per tank. Consumption would be better with a turbo and it would help performance too - the N/A 2.5 is only 76PS after all, so not a lot of grunt there. I have a 100PS turbo van which I may take the engine out of for the County. No problems at all with tyre wear or noise - and that's on fairly cheap AT tyres. Obviously with a very aggressive tyre noise and wear could be greater. Approach and departure angles are very good - especially without the dirty great Ramsey winch living under the back end! It's nice to drive on the road too - I was expecting a lot more roll in bends but it feels very stable and rolls very little to be honest. I've also had a Mk3 County which was a lot more agricultural feeling than the Mk5 - that was on beam axles front and rear, and no power steering either - but it did have an overdrive gearbox so was a bit better on the motorway! Again - once you got used to the steering it was quite nice to drive. The County conversions were an expensive do - the Mk5 basic conversion was around £12.5k on top of the cost of the van - the winch added another 2.5k. County converted Mks 2, 3, 4 and 5, but never the Mk6. As for other versions - Iveco tends to be very pricey when anything goes wrong, and the Merc Sprinter is fairly well known for falling over in standard form - never mind with raised ground clearance! Andy

Talking of cool customers - a mate sent me this clip. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=189_1227719651 Just trying to imagine the conversation when he got home: "Good day at work darling?" "Yeah not bad love, wing fell off the plane - not much else to report though" Andy

That's the first one I've seen actually badged as a Husqvarna - but it is definitely one of the Chinese (probably) copies. Bought one meself just for cutting old pallets up recently, and in all fairness, at under £90 delivered from Germany, it wasn't a bad buy, and it does the job admirably. Build quality isn't up to much as you would expect - but certainly no complaints as far as value for money goes at that price. As far as this ad goes, well someone is definitely taking the p**s with that price. Makes me wonder how some folks sleep at night. Andy

It's a mower mate - or at least it was. Started life as a Scag SWZ - one of these: It's articulated in the middle for steering, and in mower racing circles it's known as Group 2 Wheels, as opposed to a Group 2 Roller, which looks more like your common or garden cricket wicket type mower - you know the sort that leave nice stripes on your lawn. Andy

And the first racing mower I built: (should this be on the landscaper forum?!)

Current daily driver: Another daily driver now for sale: Weekend ride until I "retired": Andy

Beechwood fires are bright and clear If the logs are kept a year, Chestnut's only good they say, If for logs 'tis laid away. Make a fire of Elder tree, Death within your house will be; But ash new or ash old, Is fit for a queen with crown of gold. Birch and fir logs burn too fast Blaze up bright and do not last, it is by the Irish said Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread. Elm wood burns like churchyard mould, E'en the very flames are cold But Ash green or Ash brown Is fit for a queen with golden crown. Poplar gives a bitter smoke, Fills your eyes and makes you choke, Apple wood will scent your room Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom Oaken logs, if dry and old keep away the winter's cold But Ash wet or Ash dry a king shall warm his slippers by. As with all this stuff, your mileage may vary - I used to burn a lot of dead elm and never had a problem with it - maybe the dead bit is the key? My old head forester wouldn't have the stuff in his house though - some old suspicion about it - "Elm hateth and waiteth" Funny old bugger he was..... Andy

Coke is marvellous stuff for all sorts of jobs. Hadn't heard of de-scaling, but have often used to it free rusted bolts, stuck injectors and so on. It will dissolve teeth and meat if they are left in a glass of it too. Just trying to think of an instance of when you'd want to do that now....... Nope! Andy

Always feel a bit sorry for starlings personally:sad: Round here, there's often a piece in the local rag when they are doing their late afternoon flights saying what an incredible sight it is and telling folk where and when to go and have a look at them. But also round here, a row of old conifers was felled near the railway station because the starlings had chosen to roost there and the locals were making a fuss about them. I suppose they'll be happy when there are no birds or anything else slightly unhygienic left eh? Oh - not that I particularly agree with shifting them on - but there is some sort of electronic noise thing you can get. Had one in a factory I used to deliver to, and I hope it was one of those noises you stopped hearing once you got used to it, 'cos it used to annoy the hell out of me when I was in there! Holland's Pies in Accrington used to get regular visits from a local Falconer just out of interest! Andy

Thing is - technically speaking - if I pressed that there "buy it now" button, would that not constitute a legally binding agreement? Not that I've got 27k knocking about in loose change - but you get my point! Andy

Great post! And some of those pictures really put our little "problems" into perspective don't they? Guess we should remember to count our blessings... Andy

This is a pic from one of his previous listings: It is a rather odd advert though - I don't think giving a buy now price that isn't the buy now price is in line with ebay policy! Andy

If you lose the first "http://" from that link it will work. Cheers, Andy

Hehe - thought those two County's sounded familiar! We exchanged a few messages on the subject over on the Transit forum recently! Small world innit?! Andy

The briquetting process is a little more tolerant of moisture levels than pelletising for instance, but you need to be a fair way down from the levels in green chip. Too much moisture causes problems because when the briquettes are compressed by whatever means, the moisture turns to steam and expands - blowing the briquettes up in the process! I would also think that chip may be a bit coarse on its own - you'd need some finer materials in there as well to get it to bind properly. It's the lignins and resins etc in the wood itself that are softened by the heat generated by compression - around 80 tons per square inch if memory serves - and these basically glue the briquette together. I looked at an Indian built machine a year or two back which worked on a piston compressor rather than a hydraulic press or screw extruder - the installed cost would have been in the region of £45k. Fantastic piece of kit though - looked like "Old English" engineering - all huge lumps of cast iron and massive bearings with two half ton flywheels - not like these modern Euro jobs all encased in sheetmetal cabinets with buttons and lights and computer links to the manufacturers etc! It was pretty basic but very durable by all accounts - not like the screw extruders where the plants have welders working full time repairing the screws - they sometimes only work for an hour before they're knackered and need re-facing! They will also work with chopped straw, bark, nut shells, rice husk etc etc. Cheers, Andy