RangerNeil

As an amendment to my earlier post - DVLA apparently (so they tell me) - no longer accept a Gaydon certificate but require a letter from a relevant club official on headed paper. having now got the service history for mine it ties in with the build date Gaydon supplied so I too have to argue with DVLA to get age related plates. The current "Y" reg ones now allocated tie in with it being registered against the CAST date, not the build date.

Age related plates might be fun with the "new look" DVLA!! Mine has a "Y" reg plate currently reflecting the cast date of 1982. I asked DVLA about getting the correct age related plate for the build year of 1973 - took a good half a dozen attempts before I got hold of some one who actually knew vaguely what they were talking about (no surpisre there then!), First thing I was told is they will no longer recognize a certificate from Gaydon - you must have an age verification letter from a DVLA recognized authority - in my case the MVT - on the proper headed paper, This can take a few months to get - been waiting 2 now just to hear when they are likely to be able to do it as it is a volunteer service and they have to find someone relatively local to where the vehicle is. Second thing I was told is the are related plate issued would relate to the age they have shown on their systems which for me is where the real fun begins as their super system says 55 FM 58 was built in 1975 whereas the Gaydon records show a build date of December 1973!! Rather important as next year she qualifies for road tax exemption based on Gaydons data!! So not only do I have to convince them that she qualifies for an age related plate I also have to prove one of their monkeys input the wrong damned build date onto the system to start with!! Oh - and from the RLC records she spent a few years in storage at Ashchurch before being issued to 216 (Tyne Tees) SqnRCT(V) where she stayed until cast from Ruddington in 1982.

Smoke dischargers are meant for use on "A" vehicles primarily, not "B" - notable exceptions being Pinkies and WMIKS. On these they were/are used to cover the egress from an attack run. Anything else - recce variants, home bred gunships etc, used the method described by M.I.B above

If the mil reg starts "10 FM" and the chassis is 109" there is a pretty fair chance the first and last items might be answered yes!!

Series only ever used the long ones. Defender/Wolf use the shorter ones - I think over the locker doors...... I made the same mistake a couple of years ago - needed a pair of side-mounts and got them from e-Bay only to find when I went to fit them they were too short. So I got the longer ones and still have the short ones if anyone needs a pair.

Normally the silver letters on black plates (no silver border unless on the later 110's/Defenders) are kept for shows, a few minutes to swap over from reflective civilian plates to the military ones. That said - you'd be amazed how many vehicles can be seen whizzing around during the W&P show going out to the supermarket, filling station or take-away that leave the show plates on. Kent police don't seem overly bothered then but I guess after the show finished it would be a different matter.

If it is of any help - these are the mounts used on a S3 for the 8m or 12m masts. The bumperettes are Defender ones as the Series equivalents are made from unobtanium these days...

You can apply to Gaydon for a history certificate which DVLA will accept as proof of age. My S3 on FM plates was built December '74 - but didn't enter service until August '78 - it spent 4 years sitting in a Central Vehicle Depot. EMLRA can no longer provide the history search - you can try a Freedom of information request but with a vehicle this old you will have better luck writing to the RLC museum who hold all the old "B" vehicle record cards and getting a report from them as to it's service history. I think they charge around £25 .