And in 2003! My mate remembers looking out of his window in Reading and watching one having an escort by the Fuzz. It was flat out, doing 2 or maybe 3 mph on the straight with it's bell going.
I love re-visiting some classic HubNut. What a long way you've come with videos! It's also so good to see that you've not lost the spark for the ridiculous, nor the love for the criminally underappreciated!
This reminds me of the film “ Flight of the Phoenix” with James Stewart using up all the ignition cartridges to clear the cylinders and turn the engine over with the other desperate thirsty survivors looking on “ COME OOONN, COME OOONNN !!!!” 😂😂
You don't need a key. On the side of the engine cover there's two glass fuses. Pull one out and wedge it between the two holders. Ignition on. Old army trick!
Fantastic! Really enjoyed watching that - I've been in similar situations quite a few times like that myself, trying to get something started that hasn't run for ages (although in my case, it was mostly old tractors that actually needed to be used during haytime as 'last resort' back-ups, when the inevitable happens and the main machines fucked up). What I've mostly found, be it cars or tractors, (assuming they weren't completely fucked when parked up), is some new oil, drain the tank of old fuel and contaminants and replace with fresh stuff, assess the fuel pump and starter motor and replace all filters (fuel and air), and assuming those boxes are ticked, these old motors will cough back into life with relative ease. Fairly recently, my Brother-In-Law sold his 1955 Bedford flatbed truck that had been sitting in one of our barns, that hadn't turned over for 17 years. The guy who bought it came to pick it up with his Brother (a mechanic and classic car/truck enhusiast), and after just an hour of diddling about, got the old girl started, and driven down the road, it's enormous 6-pot petrol engine singing sweet. Imagine trying this with a modern vehicle in 50 - 60 years time, that has a knackered ECU or serious electrical problems or something! You really can't beat 'old-tech', compared to the throwaway consumer durables that we have in modern times. Anyway, thanks again for a most entertaining video :)
I love the AVO-8 multimeter. I had one of these as an apprentice many years ago and bought a couple recently for old times sake. Great old meter for working on classic vehicle electrics..
Barry Jones I've still my dad's old model 8 AVO meter, unfortunately not working, I think the hairspring on the needle is broken & the 15 volt batteries are hard to find now.
Badgertronix I did firefightering in the mid 70s in London ,the green godes had bells and we got escorted by a police car on every sout, boy could they go
I remember as a kid when the Green Goddesses were dispatched to put out an arson attack on Wellacre school in Flixton, Greater Manchester, back in the 70s...Geeze, that was one rough school, I believe it was some pupil who set the school on fire.
It's amazing to think that these old gals are still in use by the army, and always pulled into service when the regular fire service needs supplementing or replacing if on strike... :)
I think there was such outrage when they were deployed in 2002 that the government jumped on the bandwagon and sold them all off. Wonder what they replaced them with? Bet they cost a fortune and have never been used...
I love how every “will it start” vid on TH-cam starts. What have we got to start it? A flat battery and some old fuel from the bottom of a Jerry can. 👍
Excellent video. It reminds me of the guys in Canada, Cold War Motors, "Will it Start" videos. If you haven't seen the Cold War Motors Videos, you're in for a treat. They take the worst rusted-out cars from the 1950's and 1960's and do whatever it takes (with no budget) and get them running again. Regards, Tom
There are at least 4 of those Goddess's at the Aircraft Museum at Davidstow (Cornwall) . When I first moved to this HOUSING ESTATE (Kent) 30 years ago, one of my neigbours had one and used to show it.Some of the other neighbours complained (they lost thier houses in the financial crash!) so Kama does sometimes happen. It was in a similar state to this one when it arrived, but over the years he respored it- including rpalcing the engine with a BN one, in a crate ex-MOD. It even had the CC portable pump, hoses and strainer.The Goddess has gone now but not the neighbour- in fact hes our councillor- Mr Gordon Newton!
Apologies for lateness. Only just seen this. The build up and tension was truly amazing. Even I was jiggling on my seat willing it to start, and a whoop de whoop was exclaimed when it finally coughed into life. Lovely watch.
These old British army trucks did sterling service in the Arabian Gulf in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. With their 4*4 drive they could tackle sandy tracks well. They are a good utility vehicle such as mobile workshop, tender etc for farms and outlying regions.
There was another fireman's strike in the late 70's, in which I participated as Goddess driver and pump-man. Those wooden wartime crates were a lot of fun as we tore around Reading at 35 miles an hour with a Police escort.
One drove past me in 2002, and did a sharp right turn. It was noisy, leaned alarmingly on it's leaf springs, and sloshed water everywhere. It made me realise how good modern truck tech is.
drove on in the fire strikes got it to 60 empty of course heres a wee tip for you as we had major issues with the ones we used at the start is the fuel tank is coated inside with red lead and after years flakes off and gets stuck in your fuel lines so if you can get a chance get it reconditioned but yeah funny old things to drive its like stepping back in a time machine
I was in the Auxiliary Fire Service at Wallasey, Cheshire in 1956. Two of those were stationed there for us to train (play) on. Could reach 60 mph with a following wind. Did well in competition and used them in anger at Buchanan’s flour mill fire at the docks. Still remember the registration numbers: NYV 135, NYV 136. Stolen away with disbanding of Civil Defence Corps. Next appearance, driven by army lads as Fire Brigade strike breakers. If they were naval equipment it would be like ‘The Ship that Died of Shame’.
Having trained and worked on many a similar Army Bedford engine, it pained me watching these guys trying to start that engine. Heck! we were trained to worked on these engines in the dark.
Playing catch up with the latest vids, but just had to revisit my first ever HUBNUT video, some friends of mine toured around Europe in one of these, and i gave it a total tune up before they left London, it was originally a coach which was turned into a mobile home, then gutted in a fire, lots of melted aluminium i remember, but the engine was untouched. this was in the mid80s, but made it around Europe in a way i don't think a bands tour bus would be allowed to today. LOL, Cheers Ian.
Drove a Green Goddess ( Miss Piggy ) in London during the 1st Firemans strike in 1977 , great fun but nearly crapped myself when I put her sideways down a road on ice , golden rule - check the hand throttle at the rear of the vehicle and after shout make sure the water tank is full as she would hop down the road on hard braking ( water surge in the tank )
I used to have an AVO meter, and I was stupid enough to give it away to my future brother-in-law. It was an excellent peace of kit made of bakolite. Silly me!
Great, your comment at the first start attempt and no response, "Subtle!" And a very subtle comment. When pouring start gas, engine is (usually) over-gassed, thus choke should be off, throttle butterfly all the way open to provide over-air, until kickover. That thing had to be running on 6-year old gas. That's the amazing part. It's funny how the male species must continually reaffirm its competence by performing old, cold starts of decrepit contraptions. It must be the EMT or Frankenstein gene in operation.
This was probably the most disturbing video I've seen! The poor little car trying to charge that high amp battery and swing over that old, stiff, neglected engine and starter sent shivers down my spine! I almost shed a tear for the car.
The Fake Russian You'd be the first person to shed a tear for my car! She did alright, used about 40 miles of diesel doing it but it was well worth it!
Andrew Haines I did say almost :D To be fair every Renault I've had has been ok. I've had far more problems with BMW 7's, older jags, (pre-2000), Rovers and Fords although, the current Ford has been brilliant. Now that's a kiss of death with me spending a week with it up in the air haha
The Fake Russian My old laguna got binned just as it started to cause me hassle, that was free though, I'd done 12k in it with no real issue and lots of it lives on in the gooner you see here! This gooner cost me £150 and so far has been faultless. 1200 miles for the above video without a hiccup, it's just done 200 miles with no issue etc. First sign of major trouble (clutch goes etc) and it goes in the bin and another car is obtained!
The Fake Russian must just be Meganes then. Awful. No end of issues then had to scrap it when the mechanic took one look at the rattling steering rack & said it was an accident waiting to happen! Also wouldn't have passed the new MOT as the engine management light had been on for three years! Mazda bought for 600 and no advisories and everything is tickety boo!
The point to it! The satisfaction of knowing she still lives pity someone doesn't bring the old girl back to life to be displayed at shows as a working example of a forgotten time. Loved the will she won't she of this video great job lads Rob
Simon here... great video and you should of put one of your stickers on it lol. My neighbour has two of these in his back yard,he takes one to shows and the other one for spares.when they was selling these off my neighbour paisley £700 for both. I should of bought a couple as well but I was in two minds. They are great fun to drive. You should come over and look at our interesting stuff between the two of us. You can put it on here if you like. Drive down in Tuk and drive home in something else 👍😉
Lol. They weren't much fun to drive for real, particularly when at first they had semaphore signals which you operated with a rope pull and a hand driven bell! Later they fitted a single blue light on the the cab roof, along with two tone horns! Top speed 40 mph until you got to a corner, water tanks full of water, now that was fun!
Like a sporting event watching the old girl go. Everyone rooting for the home team. She made a Goalllllll !!! in the end. Very fun and good work team ! Cat Sue-way & Cat Coach Rich. LA. USA.
Now that brings back a few memory's, In 01/02 when the firemen went on strike I was towards the end of my time in the Royal Navy and ended up as a green goddess commander in Eastbourne. Trying to get one of those beasts anywhere quickly in response to a call out was somewhat challenging and going round corners was frankly terrifying! I don't think they had any baffles in the water tanks .
When it was cranking, three consecutive cylinders had compression. You can tell by the sound of the cranking that the piston was moving slower. The next three pistons were moving faster because of less compression, and you can momentarily hear the the cranking speed increase.
For over 30 (might even be 40) years our little NZ rural community had a Green Goddess (painted red) RL Bedford 4x4 fire engine, that took a long time to get started, and was very slow. There was only one farmer, in whose farm shed the truck was parked, who knew how to get the motor going in under 5 minutes. That old girl was 'retired' in 2005, and taken away, but I've no idea if it was kept as a museum piece. [I forgot earlier to mention that I also trained as an Army driver in RL 4x4's. They served multi purpose, and the REME guys kept most of them ticking over. 86 octane petrol as I recall. The army/military vehicles were built in NZ, whereas Green Goddesses were imported CBU, and repainted red.] Footnote: found this in my Suggested list th-cam.com/video/Yo9WvwDroJc/w-d-xo.html Take note the person who said a GG does "not like choke when starting".
Interesting, my uncle had one in New Zealand in about 1984 that had been converted into a horse truck. (The horses hated it as the ramps were too steep and high) This one had been painted green but had red underneath it. I remember the choke, just open the engine cover and put your hand over the intake....It cost far too much to run at about 8 MPG
Great video lads - but it is not necessary to rev the jumper car to more than about 1500 rpm - the alternator reaches it's max output once the voltage regulator cuts it in and does not increase in line with the revs after that.
I've started up many an old motor over the years, cars, van's, lawnmowers than have been stood years and the key to getting them going is- 1. A good battery 2. Fresh fuel 3. A can of Ezi start or similar If it's struggling to start either you have no spark easily checked, no fuel or it's gone off, also check for blockages in lines or carb. An engine needs 3 things to.start spark, fuel.and air oh and a little compression helps lol 😎👍 It's mostly just the fuel goes off and blocks up the carb, pouring a little fuel directly into the throttle body prior to cranking over will give it that help to get it going. Failing that use ezi start very carefully, just a little spray into the air intake does it but spray first, stand back and crank over it can backfire and flames can blow out the air I take!! 😮😯😁 I enjoy a challenge getting an old engine going and have never failed yet to get one started, I luv it when I hear those words, 'you'll never get it started!!' 😁😁😯😎😊👍
Not designed for speed but the 4x4 variation is far better than modern fire appliances off road. Also, these can be left for hours pumping water and need very little attention compared to modern appliances. Easy to slag these off but they are good old things, I'd have one over the modern crap the brigade uses now.
Did it have the Coventry Climax pump and engine still included in one of the rear side compartments. The engine that became the power train for the Hillman Imp..
The old Bedford RL drove a number of them during my services and they do have a crash gearbox in them. drove one from Somerset to the lake district at a maximum speed of 50mph sometimes 55mph downhill with a tail wind lol Originally built for the AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service)in preparation for what we call now "the cold war", and as such it wasn't needed, so was held in government hangers and serviced every year until 1994 where they were sold to private owners.
She looks like she would make a great home, strong old girl alway like them big and strong. Thank you for the invitation to her wakeup call. Thank You Loader.
7:15 too 7:17 couldn't of said it better myself. I laughed so much at that. Well done for getting it started for absolutely no purpose at all. Nice one
the best way before starting is to remove the points and plugs and check the gaps.if the points are lucas made then the gap is 14 to16 in.the plug gap is 028 to 032in. if the distributor is an ac make then the points gap is .19in to,021 in. do not pour petrol down the carb.anyway the engine needs a serious stripdown.when the engine runs properly they are a very quiet engine. the timing should also be checked.this will be 5 degrees before top dead centre.
6 miles to the gallon? I know a fella who used to have a fire engine from about that era. His wife made him get rid of it because it only did 9 miles to the gallon. Taking it to the Great Dorset Steam Festival would cost not far short of £100 in fuel just to get it there and back!
Trick.... use 2 batteries... one for the coil/points temporarily stand alone and the other (jump wired main vehicle battery) as the starter/vehicle supply. This way even though the laboured starter battery gets dropped volts you still get a big fat spark.
I also was a truck fitter for 8 years before joining the RAC,i have converted about 15 of these RL's to gritters,for spreading salt..ideal cheap chassis,petrol motor also good as the diesel fuel in later lorries froze...i was revving the nuts off one of these in the workshop's it was running great.!!! until i switched the ignition off at half revs,and switched it on again...BANG.!!!!! The exhaust blew off compleatly,and the round silencer was converted to a flat sheet of metal on the floor.!!! oh hell foreman Ray an excellent welder re welded it,and fitted it back on,never the same after that....he was not impressed,we had so much fun with these old trucks,AEC trucks with a machine gun mount on the roof.? we changed the tyres from sand bar to snow tyres...simple motors,but the diesel so noisy..not like trucks today..a lot of military stuff made good gritters,most were 4 wheel drive,all those years ago..?
++ Shane Singleton ++ We've given far too much of our heritage away to you ungrateful lot already. Why would you want it? So you could claim it was really an american vehicle after all?
@@HubNut Me too, and I spent 20 years in Automotive research! haha. I'm retired now and I meditate by tinkering with old engines, the joy I get from bringing one back to life is indescribable!
I also remember these being “brought out of mothballs “ and used by the army in London in the 1979 fireman’s strike
And in 2003! My mate remembers looking out of his window in Reading and watching one having an escort by the Fuzz. It was flat out, doing 2 or maybe 3 mph on the straight with it's bell going.
1977
I love re-visiting some classic HubNut. What a long way you've come with videos! It's also so good to see that you've not lost the spark for the ridiculous, nor the love for the criminally underappreciated!
This reminds me of the film
“ Flight of the Phoenix” with James Stewart using up all the ignition cartridges to clear the cylinders and turn the engine over with the other desperate thirsty survivors looking on “ COME OOONN, COME OOONNN !!!!” 😂😂
Some of the best recordings have no point at all, thanks mate
You don't need a key. On the side of the engine cover there's two glass fuses. Pull one out and wedge it between the two holders. Ignition on. Old army trick!
Ex Military vehicles are really good because they hardly do any miles and are very well looked after. Some Bedford AWD's are still used to this day.
Great to see Professor Brian Cox helping out in his spare time. Things can only get better.
he's a prick
Fantastic! Really enjoyed watching that - I've been in similar situations quite a few times like that myself, trying to get something started that hasn't run for ages (although in my case, it was mostly old tractors that actually needed to be used during haytime as 'last resort' back-ups, when the inevitable happens and the main machines fucked up).
What I've mostly found, be it cars or tractors, (assuming they weren't completely fucked when parked up), is some new oil, drain the tank of old fuel and contaminants and replace with fresh stuff, assess the fuel pump and starter motor and replace all filters (fuel and air), and assuming those boxes are ticked, these old motors will cough back into life with relative ease.
Fairly recently, my Brother-In-Law sold his 1955 Bedford flatbed truck that had been sitting in one of our barns, that hadn't turned over for 17 years. The guy who bought it came to pick it up with his Brother (a mechanic and classic car/truck enhusiast), and after just an hour of diddling about, got the old girl started, and driven down the road, it's enormous 6-pot petrol engine singing sweet.
Imagine trying this with a modern vehicle in 50 - 60 years time, that has a knackered ECU or serious electrical problems or something!
You really can't beat 'old-tech', compared to the throwaway consumer durables that we have in modern times.
Anyway, thanks again for a most entertaining video :)
I love the AVO-8 multimeter. I had one of these as an apprentice many years ago and bought a couple recently for old times sake. Great old meter for working on classic vehicle electrics..
Barry Jones I've still my dad's old model 8 AVO meter, unfortunately not working, I think the hairspring on the needle is broken & the 15 volt batteries are hard to find now.
Barry Jones avos rule
Same, mine lives in my shed long since retired, but great to look at
Great fun. Love the comment at the end "Was there any point to that? Not really."
It's what classic vehicles are all about.
Thanks for posting.
Nice to see and hear an old beauty running again even if she does have sticky valves.
Glorious. Very strange sight seeing these flying through London in the early 2000s with the sirens going during the firefighter strikes. Nice find
I love the cup holder. Or is it a petrol holder?
Badgertronix I did firefightering in the mid 70s in London ,the green godes had bells and we got escorted by a police car on every sout, boy could they go
Works for me, so anytime ya go driving is Miller time.
I remember as a kid when the Green Goddesses were dispatched to put out an arson attack on Wellacre school in Flixton, Greater Manchester, back in the 70s...Geeze, that was one rough school, I believe it was some pupil who set the school on fire.
It's amazing to think that these old gals are still in use by the army, and always pulled into service when the regular fire service needs supplementing or replacing if on strike... :)
Not any more. They sold them all off in 2004.
Oh, I hadn't heard about that sell-off, seems a shame really... :\
I think there was such outrage when they were deployed in 2002 that the government jumped on the bandwagon and sold them all off. Wonder what they replaced them with? Bet they cost a fortune and have never been used...
Ah well, this country's buggered if we ever need backup fire engines again... :P
The cover is now fire engines that were replaced in front line service,so maybe 8-10 years old
I love how every “will it start” vid on TH-cam starts. What have we got to start it? A flat battery and some old fuel from the bottom of a Jerry can. 👍
And hope and prayers. Or is it Farts and Swears?
I hardly think it was staged..
I remember the army using those during the national fire mens strike in the 70s in Belfast. They where escorted by armoured personnel carriers
Thank God for that, I can stop squeezing my phone now. Avo's lovely tools.
Excellent video. It reminds me of the guys in Canada, Cold War Motors, "Will it Start" videos. If you haven't seen the Cold War Motors Videos, you're in for a treat. They take the worst rusted-out cars from the 1950's and 1960's and do whatever it takes (with no budget) and get them running again.
Regards, Tom
I approve of their work.
There are at least 4 of those Goddess's at the Aircraft Museum at Davidstow (Cornwall) . When I first moved to this HOUSING ESTATE (Kent) 30 years ago, one of my neigbours had one and used to show it.Some of the other neighbours complained (they lost thier houses in the financial crash!) so Kama does sometimes happen. It was in a similar state to this one when it arrived, but over the years he respored it- including rpalcing the engine with a BN one, in a crate ex-MOD. It even had the CC portable pump, hoses and strainer.The Goddess has gone now but not the neighbour- in fact hes our councillor- Mr Gordon Newton!
Apologies for lateness. Only just seen this. The build up and tension was truly amazing. Even I was jiggling on my seat willing it to start, and a whoop de whoop was exclaimed when it finally coughed into life. Lovely watch.
Loved seeing the antique AVO Meter!
I have one, in NC USA!! Excellent piece of kit. You can still get the proper batteries for the resistance ranges.
Model 6?
Avo eight I think I had one up until recently when it was stolen.
These old British army trucks did sterling service in the Arabian Gulf in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. With their 4*4 drive they could tackle sandy tracks well. They are a good utility vehicle such as mobile workshop, tender etc for farms and outlying regions.
There was another fireman's strike in the late 70's, in which I participated as Goddess driver and pump-man. Those wooden wartime crates were a lot of fun as we tore around Reading at 35 miles an hour with a Police escort.
Why was there a police escort?
One drove past me in 2002, and did a sharp right turn.
It was noisy, leaned alarmingly on it's leaf springs, and sloshed water everywhere.
It made me realise how good modern truck tech is.
No point at all but it was fun. I remember seeing them on the road in the1980s when the Essex Fire Brigade went on strike.
drove on in the fire strikes got it to 60 empty of course heres a wee tip for you as we had major issues with the ones we used at the start is the fuel tank is coated inside with red lead and after years flakes off and gets stuck in your fuel lines so if you can get a chance get it reconditioned but yeah funny old things to drive its like stepping back in a time machine
I was in the Auxiliary Fire Service at Wallasey, Cheshire in 1956. Two of those were stationed there for us to train (play) on.
Could reach 60 mph with a following wind. Did well in competition and used them in anger at Buchanan’s flour mill fire at the docks. Still remember the registration numbers: NYV 135, NYV 136. Stolen away with disbanding of Civil Defence Corps. Next appearance, driven by army lads as Fire Brigade strike breakers.
If they were naval equipment it would be like ‘The Ship that Died of Shame’.
Having trained and worked on many a similar Army Bedford engine, it pained me watching these guys trying to start that engine. Heck! we were trained to worked on these engines in the dark.
Playing catch up with the latest vids, but just had to revisit my first ever HUBNUT video, some friends of mine
toured around Europe in one of these, and i gave it a total tune up before they left London, it was originally
a coach which was turned into a mobile home, then gutted in a fire, lots of melted aluminium i remember,
but the engine was untouched. this was in the mid80s, but made it around Europe in a way i don't think a
bands tour bus would be allowed to today. LOL, Cheers Ian.
Drove a Green Goddess ( Miss Piggy ) in London during the 1st Firemans strike in 1977 , great fun but nearly crapped myself when I put her sideways down a road on ice , golden rule - check the hand throttle at the rear of the vehicle and after shout make sure the water tank is full as she would hop down the road on hard braking ( water surge in the tank )
Wow what a fantastically large and ancient voltage meter cracking bit of kit as you say sweet as a nut
I used to have an AVO meter, and I was stupid enough to give it away to my future brother-in-law. It was an excellent peace of kit made of bakolite. Silly me!
Yeah iv had that sinking feeling of sellers remorse mostly with the minis iv sold horrible feeling i feel for you fella
Great, your comment at the first start attempt and no response, "Subtle!" And a very subtle comment. When pouring start gas, engine is (usually) over-gassed, thus choke should be off, throttle butterfly all the way open to provide over-air, until kickover. That thing had to be running on 6-year old gas. That's the amazing part. It's funny how the male species must continually reaffirm its competence by performing old, cold starts of decrepit contraptions. It must be the EMT or Frankenstein gene in operation.
This was probably the most disturbing video I've seen! The poor little car trying to charge that high amp battery and swing over that old, stiff, neglected engine and starter sent shivers down my spine! I almost shed a tear for the car.
The Fake Russian You'd be the first person to shed a tear for my car! She did alright, used about 40 miles of diesel doing it but it was well worth it!
The Fake Russian Never shed a tear for a Renault. They deserve all they get!
Andrew Haines I did say almost :D To be fair every Renault I've had has been ok. I've had far more problems with BMW 7's, older jags, (pre-2000), Rovers and Fords although, the current Ford has been brilliant.
Now that's a kiss of death with me spending a week with it up in the air haha
The Fake Russian My old laguna got binned just as it started to cause me hassle, that was free though, I'd done 12k in it with no real issue and lots of it lives on in the gooner you see here! This gooner cost me £150 and so far has been faultless. 1200 miles for the above video without a hiccup, it's just done 200 miles with no issue etc. First sign of major trouble (clutch goes etc) and it goes in the bin and another car is obtained!
The Fake Russian must just be Meganes then. Awful. No end of issues then had to scrap it when the mechanic took one look at the rattling steering rack & said it was an accident waiting to happen! Also wouldn't have passed the new MOT as the engine management light had been on for three years! Mazda bought for 600 and no advisories and everything is tickety boo!
The point to it! The satisfaction of knowing she still lives pity someone doesn't bring the old girl back to life to be displayed at shows as a working example of a forgotten time. Loved the will she won't she of this video great job lads Rob
Only just found this. It is possible to swing start those Bedford engines. Did it many times when I was in the TA.
I drove these in the sixties in South Africa when I did my military training. Just loved these 5.0 straight six petrol engines.
"she runs" "shes alive" the excitement in their voices show they really are proud
Rightly bloody so.
Great Video 👍🏻
Simon here... great video and you should of put one of your stickers on it lol. My neighbour has two of these in his back yard,he takes one to shows and the other one for spares.when they was selling these off my neighbour paisley £700 for both. I should of bought a couple as well but I was in two minds. They are great fun to drive. You should come over and look at our interesting stuff between the two of us. You can put it on here if you like. Drive down in Tuk and drive home in something else 👍😉
Lol. They weren't much fun to drive for real, particularly when at first they had semaphore signals which you operated with a rope pull and a hand driven bell! Later they fitted a single blue light on the the cab roof, along with two tone horns! Top speed 40 mph until you got to a corner, water tanks full of water, now that was fun!
Like a sporting event watching the old girl go. Everyone rooting for the home team. She made a Goalllllll !!! in the end. Very fun and good work team !
Cat Sue-way & Cat Coach Rich.
LA. USA.
Now that brings back a few memory's, In 01/02 when the firemen went on strike I was towards the end of my time in the Royal Navy and ended up as a green goddess commander in Eastbourne. Trying to get one of those beasts anywhere quickly in response to a call out was somewhat challenging and going round corners was frankly terrifying! I don't think they had any baffles in the water tanks .
Those front seats aren't easy to get into either! I can see why time was finally called on them.
Love thee old dog! With some good old love he’d make a beast on thee road once more! Carry on men!
How refreshing,for you tube, a British video about a British vehicle.
I've got quite a few of them...
Mustie would be proud.
Mustie would now be ripping the engine to pieces to find out what was wrong with it!
When it was cranking, three consecutive cylinders had compression. You can tell by the sound of the cranking that the piston was moving slower. The next three pistons were moving faster because of less compression, and you can momentarily hear the the cranking speed increase.
For over 30 (might even be 40) years our little NZ rural community had a Green Goddess (painted red) RL Bedford 4x4 fire engine, that took a long time to get started, and was very slow. There was only one farmer, in whose farm shed the truck was parked, who knew how to get the motor going in under 5 minutes. That old girl was 'retired' in 2005, and taken away, but I've no idea if it was kept as a museum piece.
[I forgot earlier to mention that I also trained as an Army driver in RL 4x4's. They served multi purpose, and the REME guys kept most of them ticking over. 86 octane petrol as I recall. The army/military vehicles were built in NZ, whereas Green Goddesses were imported CBU, and repainted red.]
Footnote: found this in my Suggested list th-cam.com/video/Yo9WvwDroJc/w-d-xo.html Take note the person who said a GG does "not like choke when starting".
Interesting, my uncle had one in New Zealand in about 1984 that had been converted into a horse truck. (The horses hated it as the ramps were too steep and high) This one had been painted green but had red underneath it. I remember the choke, just open the engine cover and put your hand over the intake....It cost far too much to run at about 8 MPG
hughvane Onga Onga had one too.
Mustie1 would have that going in about 15 minutes after stripping the carb down LOL, it sort of lives now
nethalus lol.😂 a fellow mustie file
He has many fans. Myself included.
i won't say no to that, Mustie1 is one amazing mechanic, i'm a but jealous really :P
Thinking the same,
nethalus naw, mustie's too busy with his beaver right now lol.
Great video lads - but it is not necessary to rev the jumper car to more than about 1500 rpm - the alternator reaches it's max output once the voltage regulator cuts it in and does not increase in line with the revs after that.
It did need more than tickover revs, but agree it didn't need quite so many.
Brings back memories,I used to own Yellow (N.I) Goddess SYH393 great vid,keep them coming!
Good grief an AVO 8! My dad bought one of those in the mid 60s for 40 pound, quite a bit back then, I still have it and it works great.
when she fired up it brought a massive smile to my face,brilliant
Oh she is ancient, lovely, history and very special❤ I have one on my model railway layout🚂💖🤗🙏🏻
I've started up many an old motor over the years, cars, van's, lawnmowers than have been stood years and the key to getting them going is-
1. A good battery
2. Fresh fuel
3. A can of Ezi start or similar
If it's struggling to start either you have no spark easily checked, no fuel or it's gone off, also check for blockages in lines or carb.
An engine needs 3 things to.start spark, fuel.and air oh and a little compression helps lol 😎👍
It's mostly just the fuel goes off and blocks up the carb, pouring a little fuel directly into the throttle body prior to cranking over will give it that help to get it going. Failing that use ezi start very carefully, just a little spray into the air intake does it but spray first, stand back and crank over it can backfire and flames can blow out the air I take!! 😮😯😁
I enjoy a challenge getting an old engine going and have never failed yet to get one started, I luv it when I hear those words, 'you'll never get it started!!' 😁😁😯😎😊👍
"Today's Shitefest Shenanigans..."
Never has there been a better way to open a video.
I was flown from Germany in 2002 to learn how to drive one of these death traps in preparation for Op Fresco but deployed to the Gulf instead.
Haven’t finished watch yet but I’m on the edge of my seat!!!
Now we are waiting for the sequel Ian , will it move?.
great video i love messing about doing things like this.
it'll move but will it stop?
Good point there sir, may be a handy placed Renault will stop a runaway lol.
Boo!
Very sorry i ment to say a brand new Bentley , might as well damage some thing horrible right?.
Wait for the next Shitefest. (Shitefest...sounds like my first marriage)
Not designed for speed but the 4x4 variation is far better than modern fire appliances off road. Also, these can be left for hours pumping water and need very little attention compared to modern appliances. Easy to slag these off but they are good old things, I'd have one over the modern crap the brigade uses now.
Loved driving the old Noddy Bedford.
i think this is the only reason i would buy a renault laguna - to contact the dead
Did it have the Coventry Climax pump and engine still included in one of the rear side compartments. The engine that became the power train for the Hillman Imp..
Excellent video and you got the engine going.
When I was in the army I did many weekends on these things as the firemen were on strike
The old Bedford RL drove a number of them during my services and they do have a crash gearbox in them. drove one from Somerset to the lake district at a maximum speed of 50mph sometimes 55mph downhill with a tail wind lol
Originally built for the AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service)in preparation for what we call now "the cold war", and as such it wasn't needed, so was held in government hangers and serviced every year until 1994 where they were sold to private owners.
They weren't all sold off until 2007!
Another great vid....been looking forward to this all day!!
Bravi ragazzi
Where abouts in Scotland? Me and my fiancee went to Broughty Ferry, Dundee and loved it. Beautiful country.
Apparently 4wd and can go anywhere with a very enthusiastic water pump that can shift 100s of gallons in minutes
Anywhere except round corners.
An old Avometer 8, I used to service those back in the 70s!
So did I at Weeton lancs
Got me excited and I half way around the world.
Did anything become of this Green Goddess? Worthy of restoration!
Still sitting there... There are plans, but sadly the owner has many vehicles, and many plans...
@@HubNut So it's not been abandoned as such?
Get that running! The army could use that up in Manchester now!
She looks like she would make a great home, strong old girl alway like them big and strong. Thank you for the invitation to her wakeup call. Thank You Loader.
7:15 too 7:17 couldn't of said it better myself. I laughed so much at that. Well done for getting it started for absolutely no purpose at all. Nice one
the best way before starting is to remove the points and plugs and check the gaps.if the points are lucas made then the gap is 14 to16 in.the plug gap is 028 to 032in. if the distributor is an ac make then the points gap is .19in to,021 in. do not pour petrol down the carb.anyway the engine needs a serious stripdown.when the engine runs properly they are a very quiet engine. the timing should also be checked.this will be 5 degrees before top dead centre.
We did not have time to strip the engine down. The question was, with it run? The answer is, sort of.
I need a part two of this!
We do still have vague plans to go back and actually try to get it driving. Might take a few days of tinkering to achieve that though...
nice to see these at the steam fairs with their original engines, thankyou
Of COURSE it will run. They don't build em like they used to! I would happily sacrifice any renault to make that goddess run lol
No point but bloody good fun!
Were you camping in someone's workshop yard? Fair play mate, looks like fun!
Pretty much! He's got an enviable amount of space. That's his back garden.
6 miles to the gallon? I know a fella who used to have a fire engine from about that era. His wife made him get rid of it because it only did 9 miles to the gallon. Taking it to the Great Dorset Steam Festival would cost not far short of £100 in fuel just to get it there and back!
Brilliant, a most enjoyable video to watch. Real men in sheds kind of stuff 👍
Blow lamp down the carb woulda started it in seconds. I used to operate these, only way for instant start.
Amazingly these were used as recently as 2003/4 during the firemen’s strikes
Trick.... use 2 batteries... one for the coil/points temporarily stand alone and the other (jump wired main vehicle battery) as the starter/vehicle supply. This way even though the laboured starter battery gets dropped volts you still get a big fat spark.
I also was a truck fitter for 8 years before joining the RAC,i have converted about 15 of these RL's to gritters,for spreading salt..ideal cheap chassis,petrol motor also good as the diesel fuel in later lorries froze...i was revving the nuts off one of these in the workshop's it was running great.!!! until i switched the ignition off at half revs,and switched it on again...BANG.!!!!! The exhaust blew off compleatly,and the round silencer was converted to a flat sheet of metal on the floor.!!! oh hell foreman Ray an excellent welder re welded it,and fitted it back on,never the same after that....he was not impressed,we had so much fun with these old trucks,AEC trucks with a machine gun mount on the roof.? we changed the tyres from sand bar to snow tyres...simple motors,but the diesel so noisy..not like trucks today..a lot of military stuff made good gritters,most were 4 wheel drive,all those years ago..?
They were used in Glasgow in the 70s when the binmen were on strike.
Firing on 5 out of 6 cylinders and considering the job done? That's Autoshite!
I’m falling in love with the green goddess
Oooh I'm famous! I think this is the first time in the history of ever a £150 Laguna has jump started a mobile pump...
Cor! I haven't seen an Avo 8 since Uni!
I think that old girl deserves an engine rebuild. or at least take a look at the tappets and pushrods. Would love to see a follow up video.
Sadly, it's up in Aberdeen, and I'm down in Wales, but I'll try and find out if there is further progress. Owner hopes to clean it up for sale.
It's too bad that to ship it across the pond to the states is probably more money than I make in a month. lol. Otherwise i'd be interested in it.
++ Shane Singleton ++ We've given far too much of our heritage away to you ungrateful lot already. Why would you want it? So you could claim it was really an american vehicle after all?
Was on the Godesses in 1976/7, during the first fire strike. Interesting six weeks. Though I was going to die, a couple of times.
the choke is only useful when the carby has it's fuel supply connected. think about it. If you're pouring it neat that is as choked as you can get.
I only got my head around this a few weeks ago as it happens. Learning all the time!
@@HubNut Me too, and I spent 20 years in Automotive research! haha. I'm retired now and I meditate by tinkering with old engines, the joy I get from bringing one back to life is indescribable!
Ready to go back into service.
That would be such a cool vehicle to make a road trip with.
I do like these old firetrucks.
the monster started at 8:56
Nice old truck. Did matchbox ever make one ?
Great restoration project...
Not my restoration project alas.
Great content, subbed!