1954 Daimler Ferret armoured car
Discussion
Cheers chap, to be honest crass as it sounds, I have two decent sized tins of Hammerite silver laying around and it seems to paint on these rough castings etc quite well so I may try that.
I've been cracking on a bit and to be honest I'm very much in two minds whether to go balls out and remove the gearbox or not. It'd definitely be a proper job and I imagine be a lot easier in the long run. Another bonus is that it allows drainage of the fluid flywheel oil as there is no provision underneath to actually drain it into a tub, you have to let it run onto the hull floor
Here is the straightened gear change bracket and pin. Looking a bit better than it was previously!
A few interior photos, there's the side seat to remove, some wiring and the intercom etc.
So far I've removed more than it looks, air filter, driver's seat, gear lever, speedo cable, vision blocks, ammo boxes, covers, map tray and both prop covers.
I've been cracking on a bit and to be honest I'm very much in two minds whether to go balls out and remove the gearbox or not. It'd definitely be a proper job and I imagine be a lot easier in the long run. Another bonus is that it allows drainage of the fluid flywheel oil as there is no provision underneath to actually drain it into a tub, you have to let it run onto the hull floor
Here is the straightened gear change bracket and pin. Looking a bit better than it was previously!
A few interior photos, there's the side seat to remove, some wiring and the intercom etc.
So far I've removed more than it looks, air filter, driver's seat, gear lever, speedo cable, vision blocks, ammo boxes, covers, map tray and both prop covers.
Edited by LewG on Sunday 8th January 20:09
Once again a bit of farting around in the shed this evening. Had a look over the reconditioned gearbox to make sure all was well and it wasn't rusty inside. With a spanner over the gear change lever it selected gears a treat and turns over with no rough spots, should be ready to just drop in after a clean up.
Brake bands and selectors inside.
You have to love the sheer quality of the thing
Peering inside the transfer box. This takes EP90 gear oil and the main box single grade 30 engine oil.
Here is the record card for the box itself, amazing they were still reconditioning this relatively antiquated stuff even back in 1991. On the back it details exactly what was changed.
Took the spare wheel and emergency hatch off the side for better access too. Bearing in mind this was supposed to be removed quickly in an emergency it took a good 5 minutes with WD40 and a hammer to get it off
Brake bands and selectors inside.
You have to love the sheer quality of the thing
Peering inside the transfer box. This takes EP90 gear oil and the main box single grade 30 engine oil.
Here is the record card for the box itself, amazing they were still reconditioning this relatively antiquated stuff even back in 1991. On the back it details exactly what was changed.
Took the spare wheel and emergency hatch off the side for better access too. Bearing in mind this was supposed to be removed quickly in an emergency it took a good 5 minutes with WD40 and a hammer to get it off
Edited by LewG on Monday 9th January 23:02
Progress!
Towed the beast out of the dark depths of the chicken shed and into the workshop this evening. Recently I purchased myself a fantastic 100 quid eBay Chinese folding engine crane and assembled it last night with a view to possibly having a go at lifting the gearbox out of the Ferret before the weekend. I was a bit dubious at the quality of the crane at first, now dubbed 'Red Chin' due to its communist tendencies and 4.8 tensile strength bolts of varying lengths, all lacking washers
With the weight taken it came off the engine a piece of cake. All was going well until we run out of height on the crane.
At this point I wasn't backing down so I found a bit of old fence post and rested it across the top of the hull, then strapped the gearbox in place with a pair of big ratchet straps.
Red Chin was then repositioned, and then it could be lifted fully out. Here's my best mate posing for victory. Note only slight bowing of crane
We then installed it in an old Land Rover. Not bad for an evening's work.
Towed the beast out of the dark depths of the chicken shed and into the workshop this evening. Recently I purchased myself a fantastic 100 quid eBay Chinese folding engine crane and assembled it last night with a view to possibly having a go at lifting the gearbox out of the Ferret before the weekend. I was a bit dubious at the quality of the crane at first, now dubbed 'Red Chin' due to its communist tendencies and 4.8 tensile strength bolts of varying lengths, all lacking washers
With the weight taken it came off the engine a piece of cake. All was going well until we run out of height on the crane.
At this point I wasn't backing down so I found a bit of old fence post and rested it across the top of the hull, then strapped the gearbox in place with a pair of big ratchet straps.
Red Chin was then repositioned, and then it could be lifted fully out. Here's my best mate posing for victory. Note only slight bowing of crane
We then installed it in an old Land Rover. Not bad for an evening's work.
With regards to the comment on MOD silver paint. This paint is manufactured specifically not to dry. It stays almost wet and indeed does rub off on boots overalls etc. the reason being if the outside of the hull came under non penetrating small arms fire there wouldn't be splinters of paint flying around the inside of the vehicle.
The paint was used on all FV,'s throughout the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. I can clearly recall boots being silver sided from my days commanding Tango 18.
The paint was used on all FV,'s throughout the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. I can clearly recall boots being silver sided from my days commanding Tango 18.
Got a few bits done on Ferret today, for a start I drained the oil out of the fluid flywheel and scraped a load of muck out the bottom of the hull. The plan was to gunk down and pressure wash the old gearbox til we had a bit of a pressure washer malfunction, with that fixed to add insult to injury the hosepipe then froze up still, got there in the end and put the old box on a pallet in the storage shed. I then transferred a few brackets and linkage rods over to the 'new' box. Got the day off tomorrow so hopefully I can get the lower hull cleaned
still, got there in the end and put the old box on a pallet in the storage shed. I then transferred a few brackets and linkage rods over to the 'new' box. Got the day off tomorrow so hopefully I can get the lower hull cleanedDidn't get a huge amount done today but I did take the hoover up there and hoover all the main dirt and gunk out from the floor. The hoover pipe was so greasy I had to pour engine degreaser and boiling water through it several times in an attempt to get it clean again
It wants a lot more washing and degreasing but without a friend there to give us a tow over to the pressure washer that wasn't really going to happen.
I pulled the tarp over the top and shut the hatches then got my little electric heater in there to bring the temperature up a bit. Having wiped down the bigger flat surfaces on the sides of the hull I started painting. Visual progress and all that.
It wants a lot more washing and degreasing but without a friend there to give us a tow over to the pressure washer that wasn't really going to happen.
I pulled the tarp over the top and shut the hatches then got my little electric heater in there to bring the temperature up a bit. Having wiped down the bigger flat surfaces on the sides of the hull I started painting. Visual progress and all that.
The painting is definitely getting there. I've put in a couple of nights this week to try and push forward with it. Got a front hatch to paint tomorrow, around the wiring and then clean the floor up ready for a coat.
Once this is done I need to clean up the brake pipes or replace if necessary, refit the repaired bracket, top up the flywheel and heat/bend a few bust linkages etc. Feeling quite positive we'll have it back in pretty good time actually, once the main lot of this work is done I'd like to top up all my other levels as I know for a fact the hubs have leaked a fair bit out. Oh the joy of 65 year old British engineering!
Once this is done I need to clean up the brake pipes or replace if necessary, refit the repaired bracket, top up the flywheel and heat/bend a few bust linkages etc. Feeling quite positive we'll have it back in pretty good time actually, once the main lot of this work is done I'd like to top up all my other levels as I know for a fact the hubs have leaked a fair bit out. Oh the joy of 65 year old British engineering!
Got the last main section of hull painting finished this evening, the paint looks like it has a poor finish on the floor but it's just dust where I sat on an old mat in there.
Ordered some ISO 15 lightweight hydraulic oil for the fluid flywheel as doing a bit of reading allegedly ATF is too thick and can also damage the old fashioned seals.
The fuel filter bowl was absolutely horrific and well overdue some attention, the petrol poured out completely red in colour
Outer sprayed up with a bit of blue engine enamel I had laying around.
Finally my best mate has just purchased this. Should look good in convoy with the Ferret!
Ordered some ISO 15 lightweight hydraulic oil for the fluid flywheel as doing a bit of reading allegedly ATF is too thick and can also damage the old fashioned seals.
The fuel filter bowl was absolutely horrific and well overdue some attention, the petrol poured out completely red in colour
Outer sprayed up with a bit of blue engine enamel I had laying around.
Finally my best mate has just purchased this. Should look good in convoy with the Ferret!
Thanks chaps! As for the RL or 'Oral' as it's been christened I'm not sure, he's not on PH but it should be a fairly interesting little project. Fundamentally it's a good base vehicle from what we can see, the chassis is in good condition as are the wooden bearers that support the rear body. The wooden sides themselves aren't rotten and although the cab does have the odd bit of rot here and there it appears to be mainly on the surface.
Engine requires a bit of attention, the exhaust manifold is cracked but thankfully the truck comes with a whole spare engine with good manifolds, apart from that it appears to just need general service bits, the plugs and leads look well past best which probably wasn't helping its running as it seemed to be running on 5 and only occasionally the full 6
Sort of had an evening off from the Ferret tonight, heated the gear change control rod and bent that back as it was bent at the clevis threads due to the little mishap earlier in the thread. Gear change pivot itself is greased and ready to go back in. If the weather treats us this weekend I'll clean down the 'new' gearbox and look at possibly putting it back in. We shall see
Engine requires a bit of attention, the exhaust manifold is cracked but thankfully the truck comes with a whole spare engine with good manifolds, apart from that it appears to just need general service bits, the plugs and leads look well past best which probably wasn't helping its running as it seemed to be running on 5 and only occasionally the full 6
Sort of had an evening off from the Ferret tonight, heated the gear change control rod and bent that back as it was bent at the clevis threads due to the little mishap earlier in the thread. Gear change pivot itself is greased and ready to go back in. If the weather treats us this weekend I'll clean down the 'new' gearbox and look at possibly putting it back in. We shall see
Now I know that it's going to be running a "big six" of 4.9 litres, but if your mate's plate is SXF 298, then it might surprise him to learn that DVLA think it's got an 8,800cc petrol engine lurking under the cab...
From experience, on the Green Goddess, you're going to be lucky to see 8mpg to 10mpg out of one of those. Any plans to go LPG, or swap out the engine for something less thirsty?
From experience, on the Green Goddess, you're going to be lucky to see 8mpg to 10mpg out of one of those. Any plans to go LPG, or swap out the engine for something less thirsty?
We were a bit confused by that too, the original engine (now spare) was apparently seized and so was swapped for one out of a Goddess. Obviously they're just the same 4.9 so that is strange. He should give DVLA a call really and see how they established that.
They did say if the engine turns out to need a lot more work than anticipated they'd consider a Cummins like a 6BT or something. Not the way I'd do things as I always prefer original, even at single figures to the gallon. Or gallons to the mile
They did say if the engine turns out to need a lot more work than anticipated they'd consider a Cummins like a 6BT or something. Not the way I'd do things as I always prefer original, even at single figures to the gallon. Or gallons to the mile
LewG said:
We were a bit confused by that too, the original engine (now spare) was apparently seized and so was swapped for one out of a Goddess. Obviously they're just the same 4.9 so that is strange. He should give DVLA a call really and see how they established that.
They did say if the engine turns out to need a lot more work than anticipated they'd consider a Cummins like a 6BT or something. Not the way I'd do things as I always prefer original, even at single figures to the gallon. Or gallons to the mile
A guy on Retro Rides is doing an engine transplant on a Green Goddess, massive amount of work, but he's making a cracking job of it.They did say if the engine turns out to need a lot more work than anticipated they'd consider a Cummins like a 6BT or something. Not the way I'd do things as I always prefer original, even at single figures to the gallon. Or gallons to the mile
That looks a really nice example Chubb, are you heading along to War and Peace this year? I'm seriously considering making the drive down there for a few days, Dad was always too much of a pansy to do it
Is that the Goddess that the guy was turning into a vintage looking race car transporter on there? That thing was awesome!
I made a big step today, washed down the 'new' box, fitted the bracket that bust originally and a few clips and such, greased all UJs and then Operation Gearbox went into full swing. Lifted it in and thankfully it slotted onto the splines a piece of piss. With it all mounted I got all linkages and props connected. Hit a bit of a snag in that the forward/reverse pivot has seized up due to 26 years of staying in one place. One to sort for tomorrow as I started at midday and finished at 9pm. A long day!
Is that the Goddess that the guy was turning into a vintage looking race car transporter on there? That thing was awesome!
I made a big step today, washed down the 'new' box, fitted the bracket that bust originally and a few clips and such, greased all UJs and then Operation Gearbox went into full swing. Lifted it in and thankfully it slotted onto the splines a piece of piss. With it all mounted I got all linkages and props connected. Hit a bit of a snag in that the forward/reverse pivot has seized up due to 26 years of staying in one place. One to sort for tomorrow as I started at midday and finished at 9pm. A long day!
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff