Beginners guide to Military vehicles

The first thing before buying a military vehicle is deciding what vehicle you want, there are so many factors to take into consideration.

How much do you want to spend?
What do you want to use the vehicle for?
diesel or petrol? fuel costs? MPG?
Tax exempt?
MOT exempt?
Daily drive?
Storage?
Parts? are they easy to get? are they expensive?
do you want a project to restore or do you want a vehicle ready to go?

A lot of people start off with an ex-military Land Rover & go on from there, I had always wanted a LW Land Rover, I was lucky in the fact that one came up at the right price, now if I wanted another vehicle I have a good vehicle to sell to buy a bigger more expensive one, you can pick up 1950s lorries for around the £1500/£2000 mark ready to rally, yet a WW2 lorry would cost you twice that unless you buy a project vehicle, have a look at the restoration that Pop Larkin is doing in the restoration section to see the kind of things that need doing to a vehicle of that age.
Don't rush into anything, join clubs/forums etc & gain as much info as possible, ask other members about their vehicles, I'm certain that they will only be too pleased to give you the pro's & cons of owning their vehicle.  Look at parts suppliers on the web for an idea of parts & prices, take your time & get the right vehicle for your circumstances.

So you’ve taken all the points into consideration & you’ve decided on a vehicle.  You look on sites like Milweb to see what is available & what sort of money they are fetching.  There are many similar sites on the net & a lot of dealers only too happy to sell you a vehicle, maybe it’s time to ask yourself a few more questions:
1. Are you mechanically minded?
2. Do you buy from a dealer or private?
3. Is the extra money you spend at a dealer worth it?

If you are mechanically minded you’ll have some idea what may be involved in fixing minor faults & even think about taking on a restoration project, if you’re not that way inclined then it can become expensive & for this reason alone it’s
worth considering a vehicle from the 1950s 1960s & 1970s. Vehicles of this era are so basic & parts can still be sourced, older vehicle can be difficult to get parts for & younger vehicles are more technical & can be expensive to fix, 50s 60s & 70s vehicles are so basic that anyone with a little mechanical knowledge can quite easily tackle most jobs.
If you have the funds & you don’t mind paying a little over the odds then go to a dealer, on the other hand if you have to watch what you spend & you want value for your hard earned cash then look at private ads, there are plenty of vehicle available.

When you go to look at a vehicle don’t be afraid to ask questions, how long has the current owner had the vehicle? Why is he selling the vehicle? What work has been carried out in the time the owner has had the vehicle? If applicable ask to see the current MOT certificate, on the new MOT certificates there is a section which will point out if there was an advisory notice, if it does then ask to see that too.

Check the vehicle thoroughly, look at where panels meet for corrosion & signs of repair, get underneath & check the chassis in the same way, while you're underneath check the gearbox, axles, diffs etc for oil leaks.
Give the wheels a good tug & push while listening for knocks, if it does knock it’s a sign of wheel bearings loose or in need of replacement, lift the bonnet & check for leaks, pull the dipstick & check the colour of the oil, take off the filler cap & look in it for white/grey sludge (not a good sign but can also be caused by lack of use), take off the radiator cap & look in the top of the rad for sludge, sludge in the radiator points to a head gasket problem if you're lucky or engine change if you're not, feel the engine, if it’s warm then it’s been warmed up prior to your visit & maybe something to wonder about, if it’s cold ask the owner to start it up, watch the exhaust for possible smoke & check for blowing, listen for knocks & rattles from the engine, if the engine was warm then take your time checking other things giving the engine a chance to cool down, use this time to check lights, washers, wipers horn etc, don’t just check the lights are working, look inside the headlights for corrosion, turn the steering wheel from side to side to check for play, older vehicles will have some play but too much could be a problem, check the tyres for uneven wear especially on the front wheels, look round the side walls for cracks & perishing.
if you have found faults jot them down, keep a note as they will become your bargaining points if you still want to purchase the vehicle, estimate the cost of repairs high & always assume the worst & you’ll never be disappointed.
Take the vehicle for a test drive, before you get out onto the road try the brakes, feel for the steering pulling to one side, see if any or all wheels locked up, test drive the vehicle in all gears & if possible drive it up a hill or two, try going up hill in a higher gear, if the clutch is worn out it will slip at this point, if it’s ok the engine will try to stall, at that point dip the clutch & change down a gear or two.
When you return to the owners address, park & leave the engine running, again lift the bonnet & check for leaks & listen for knocks & rattles.

If you've gone over the vehicle as mentioned & you're quite happy with it then it's time to negotiate, if you have found faults then now is the time to bring them up, good luck.

If you feel this is too much to take in, or you don’t trust your own judgement then ask a more experienced member to go with you, listen to their points of view & don’t let your heart rule your head, there are plenty of vehicles out there.

I think I’ve just about covered the majority of things to look & listen out for based on my own experiences & years in the motor trade.

This is just a general guide to cover most vehicles, other members will be more specific to particular vehicles. 

 If you would like more information about a specific vehicle then why not post your question on the forum, and we will be more than happy to help.

Ian.