Humber FV 1600 one ton truck

Has anyone had any experiance with this type of truck used during the mid 50s by our army? Any one carry manuals or parts ?

Cheers

Sorry can't help with any info other than there's one for sale with a trailer in Shelley WA for 3 grand, which is cheap for what you get. These things could go just about anywhere, I used to drive them in the Army back in the 60's. They had a winch underneath which could be used either out the back or front, trouble was if the strain got to about 2 1/2 ton the vehicle's engine which powered the winch would cut out as a safety thing, then you had to unload the strain on the cable before you could get it going again, not easy when you're stuck in mud or halfway up a steep slope, (been there, done that). We used to call them 'Hot Boxes' 'cos that's just what they were, bloody hot inside, little ventilation or airflow through the cab even with the top hatches and windscreens open, the heat from the Rolls Royce engine was fierce, you never needed a heater in winter. Originally the engine was fully sealed against water and could take quite deep creek crossings but as they aged they used to leak quite a bit, generally a damn good vehicle with a comfortable ride even on rough ground.
Go to 'whatsinyourpaddock' and look under trucks on the right of the page, for a look at the one in WA, type HUMBER in search, it doesn't look bad and the trailer is worth half the asking price to a Military collector.
WWII 4 ton Ferret armoured Scout Cars used the same engine as the Humber and were very reliable and quick if serviced regularly.
As far as Info goes, try some of the Military Vehicle collector clubs they should be able to help out with parts sources and general info on mechanicals and servicing.
Good luck and keep us informed.
Any pics would be good too.
Tony SA

Tony, thanks for the note, the reason I am enquiring is I am seriously looking at the truck in Shelley, and fiqured it to be a reall good price, cheap I suspect because they are not nice to work on. I was given one years ago when I was up north as a station hand, but never got to pick it up, badly rusted and missing a starter.

cheers

Gordon

Heres one they rusted badly the trailers are very good i have some body fittings and hooks,light brackets etc of a tub i found

Hey Gordon, when you consider all things, that's a lot of truck and trailer for very little money these days, if you don't intend to hammer the hell out of it it should still have a lot of life left. Looks like it didn't get a lot of civilian work after the Army got rid of it, unless it's been restored, but it still looks original, so if it was maintained well it shouldn't give too much trouble. As stated, some of the Military Vehicle Clubs could help with info and possibly parts sources, you could also check with the Humber Club in the UK, there's got to be heaps of bits for these over there, or there's North Africa where these things were used a lot, just take a shovel and start digging in the desert, you never know what you'll find !!
Just joking but good luck no matter which way you decide to go.

Regards, TC, SA

Tony thanks, and Crib, thats the one in the photo, I reckon you are right, this one has done very little, only 22 thousand miles on the clock. I believe it is original but has not been run in over 18 mnths. I have found a Humber site in the UK and they restore some real junk over there as they rust out very quick in the pommy climate and salty roads. From what I heard when in the station county they proved not to be very reliable, more the point most station hands could be pretty rough and these vehicle s were probably to sophisticated for the average bush mechanic. Guess I will find out soon as I am a bush mechanic !!

Cheers

Well,
chaps, have put a bid on the Humber after seeing it today, spoke to the chap who drove it to where it is now and he said it was fine. So will see what happens now

Cheers

Got an email back from the Humbers seller to inform me it is in fact going for auction some time in May June and when I looked at that website I see a reserve of $15,000 which to be honest is more like what it should have been so Whatsinyourpaddock listing for this vehicle is completely missleading as to price and what is happening. I am not pleased of course but after having seen the vehicle I could honestly not fiqure out why so cheap. I will not pursue the matter, but just inform you all that all may not be as it seems. Still it is a good unit, and the chap says there has been a lot of interest in it. All a bit dodgy :'(

Cheers all
the positive of this is I will have a little spare cash to tidy up my old AB182 inter and my mungery old pick up truck !!

Hey Gordon, at that reserve and the way you've been pissed around, don't you just hope he gets stuck with it. Probably the reason he had a lot of interest was purely because of the low price and nothing more, it don't pay to get greedy 'cos buyers of those things are few and far between.

Tony

Hi there,
Just came across this thread on the Humber.
There was a bit of interest on this one over here in Vic. with some confusion on the price also. Think it went for about $10 000.
For those interested in these masterpeices of British design.....
See here:

www.mapleleafup.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5712

and here

www.livesteammodels.co.uk/dhmg/humb003.html

Cheerio
Rich.