1954 Daimler Ferret armoured car
Discussion
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
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
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!
Cheers guys, it's been a fairly quick turnaround for me thus far as I usually end up taking months or even years on this sort of thing
Funny you should say that there seems to be a fair few everywhere really. Years ago on 'ferretheaven' as it was known then in the days of dial up internet, I spotted a post on there from a guy in Everton saying that he owned a Mk1/2 Ferret and was there any other owners in the area. Sent him a message saying surely not Everton in Bedfordshire, 2 miles up the road from us at Sandy? Sure enough that was the one, and he's since become a close friend of the family. I've also worked for him so it's funny how these things affect your life in more ways than you expect.
Maybe the 'designer' of the Cybermen was ex Ferret crew and had a few nightmares waking up in the middle of the night confronted with a menacing fuel filter?
I fixed the forward/reverse pivot this evening, smacked a two foot pry bar underneath it between shaft and hull floor and it would not budge. Got some heat onto the casting, there was an almighty bang and away it went. Plenty of PTFE spray and grease and it works a treat now. Another small victory.
It's all filled with oil so now ideally I'd like to get it to the point of running and driving with minimal covers over the box so that I can make clevis adjustments etc where necessary.
Funny you should say that there seems to be a fair few everywhere really. Years ago on 'ferretheaven' as it was known then in the days of dial up internet, I spotted a post on there from a guy in Everton saying that he owned a Mk1/2 Ferret and was there any other owners in the area. Sent him a message saying surely not Everton in Bedfordshire, 2 miles up the road from us at Sandy? Sure enough that was the one, and he's since become a close friend of the family. I've also worked for him so it's funny how these things affect your life in more ways than you expect.
Maybe the 'designer' of the Cybermen was ex Ferret crew and had a few nightmares waking up in the middle of the night confronted with a menacing fuel filter?
I fixed the forward/reverse pivot this evening, smacked a two foot pry bar underneath it between shaft and hull floor and it would not budge. Got some heat onto the casting, there was an almighty bang and away it went. Plenty of PTFE spray and grease and it works a treat now. Another small victory.
It's all filled with oil so now ideally I'd like to get it to the point of running and driving with minimal covers over the box so that I can make clevis adjustments etc where necessary.
Edited by LewG on Monday 6th February 22:56
down to the petrol station first and foremost then off to Tesco for supplies. Going like a top.MyPasswordIsntSecure said:
Just thinking, whats the drill for a flat tyre? some type of mega-jack? and the strength of Arnie?
Hello chap, they are run flats with hugely thick sidewalls etc so technically shouldn't really go flat but in the event you lose a wheel or get a tyre blown off etc there is an old school bottle jack in the side bins. I lifted the spare wheel on myself yesterday, still aching!Update on Ferreting as of late.
Took it out for a run on Saturday and went to some local woods and green lanes.
It still didn't feel quite right on the road and looking at the rear tyre it appears to have gone flat again unfortunately. I do have spares but they're on different colour rims so maybe if I'm careful I can swap the outer rim over as they are splits.
The new gearbox is a bit louder in lower gears so hopefully that will quieten down a bit with some use.
Went to move it out if the shed today to make way for the TVR as I wanted to change its engine mounts. Ferret then decides to conveniently die in the doorway.
We've never had running problems with it before bar some crap getting lodged in the fuel tap so I firstly checked the filter and tap. Both were relatively clear. I then blew the lines through and tried pressuring the tank. It'd run for about 30 seconds and cut out so I wondered if it was ignition issues disguising themselves as fuel problems. After priming lines and filter I turned the bowl O ring round and tightened it up. Started and run like a sewing machine. Strange!
Overall a bit one step forward and two steps back
Took it out for a run on Saturday and went to some local woods and green lanes.
It still didn't feel quite right on the road and looking at the rear tyre it appears to have gone flat again unfortunately. I do have spares but they're on different colour rims so maybe if I'm careful I can swap the outer rim over as they are splits.
The new gearbox is a bit louder in lower gears so hopefully that will quieten down a bit with some use.
Went to move it out if the shed today to make way for the TVR as I wanted to change its engine mounts. Ferret then decides to conveniently die in the doorway.
We've never had running problems with it before bar some crap getting lodged in the fuel tap so I firstly checked the filter and tap. Both were relatively clear. I then blew the lines through and tried pressuring the tank. It'd run for about 30 seconds and cut out so I wondered if it was ignition issues disguising themselves as fuel problems. After priming lines and filter I turned the bowl O ring round and tightened it up. Started and run like a sewing machine. Strange!
Overall a bit one step forward and two steps back
Thought I wouldn't faff around trying to repair the buggered tyre so I dragged a good spare out of the parts pile this morning to clean up and fit. It was covered in about 5 layers of crusty paint, the level of prep on the last coat was obviously zilch as removing it there was actually mud underneath
Out with the needlegun:
Bit of rubbing down and some primer:
Final coat, touch up the nuts et voila!
Out with the needlegun:
Bit of rubbing down and some primer:
Final coat, touch up the nuts et voila!
Certainly can Shadow, basically it's a 1957 Bedford RL, used for donkeys years by the British Army as a 3 ton 4x4 lorry, and based on its civilian Bedford equivalent. This one is ex Auxiliary Fire Service where all the Green Goddess fire engines were from, and was apparently a hose carrier. The idea was to be able to get to remote locations and provide water over great distances should the worst happen, particularly during the fairly unstable years of the Cold War. As to how successful they would've been let's remain thankful they never had to be put to use in the first place
We had a look at the brakes this afternoon on the rear offside wheel as they seem to be sticking on at the moment. Apart from surface rust on the inside of the drum all looked to be in good condition so we cleaned it up and put it back on for now. Pressing the pedal seemed to result in very little movement at the wheel so it looks like we've got to look further back in the system to the master or other areas. The brakes are assisted by engine vacuum as an old school servo would be, looking at the hose to the inlet manifold there's a big hole in it so that's not helping anything! A bit of fettling and hopefully we'll be able to smoke down to the pub in it
We had a look at the brakes this afternoon on the rear offside wheel as they seem to be sticking on at the moment. Apart from surface rust on the inside of the drum all looked to be in good condition so we cleaned it up and put it back on for now. Pressing the pedal seemed to result in very little movement at the wheel so it looks like we've got to look further back in the system to the master or other areas. The brakes are assisted by engine vacuum as an old school servo would be, looking at the hose to the inlet manifold there's a big hole in it so that's not helping anything! A bit of fettling and hopefully we'll be able to smoke down to the pub in it
Looking forward to coming events soon with the Ferret, there's a PH Sunday Service coming soon at Santa Pod so I'm looking at taking it there. I've just booked three spaces at the War and Peace Show down at Paddock Wood in Kent, so it'll be me, Lewis (AceOfHeartsj) in his Landy and hopefully Matt in his Bedford all heading successfully across the Dartford Crossing come late July. Probably ambitious but we'll give it our best shot
Took it into the fatherland at the weekend for a wash and a bit of a spruce up with their steam cleaner. My God does the engine bay look cleaner!
Had to stop for a drink on the way back
Took it into the fatherland at the weekend for a wash and a bit of a spruce up with their steam cleaner. My God does the engine bay look cleaner!
Had to stop for a drink on the way back
As requested!
Basically so far the idea seems to be get it going and stopping obviously. The truck came with rough worn tyres on it but also came with a spare set of wheels and ever so slightly larger 12.00x20 tyres to fit. Matt has cleaned the rims up ready for paint and had them fitted by our local HGV tyre place.
Despite the previous owner's insistence that with a bit of fettling it could be driven and the brakes worked fine, evidently this was not the case
The master cylinder and servo did pretty much nothing and so was completely stripped, cleaned and resealed.
Looking better after paint
All linkages need freeing off and cleaning/protecting. We've been taking the wheel cylinders off as well as they were seized or manky through standing. The actual shoes and drums look quite good, although getting the drums off in the first place was not easy. A bit of heat for the screws and beat it with a big hammer!
The pistons were seized in the wheel cylinders so Matt made up a grease fitting on his lathe, pumped grease in and they popped out a piece of cake.
One is moving and sealing nicely, the other not so great!
Work with the engine is ongoing as we simply could not get it to run right. More on that later
Basically so far the idea seems to be get it going and stopping obviously. The truck came with rough worn tyres on it but also came with a spare set of wheels and ever so slightly larger 12.00x20 tyres to fit. Matt has cleaned the rims up ready for paint and had them fitted by our local HGV tyre place.
Despite the previous owner's insistence that with a bit of fettling it could be driven and the brakes worked fine, evidently this was not the case
The master cylinder and servo did pretty much nothing and so was completely stripped, cleaned and resealed.
Looking better after paint
All linkages need freeing off and cleaning/protecting. We've been taking the wheel cylinders off as well as they were seized or manky through standing. The actual shoes and drums look quite good, although getting the drums off in the first place was not easy. A bit of heat for the screws and beat it with a big hammer!
The pistons were seized in the wheel cylinders so Matt made up a grease fitting on his lathe, pumped grease in and they popped out a piece of cake.
One is moving and sealing nicely, the other not so great!
Work with the engine is ongoing as we simply could not get it to run right. More on that later
Edited by LewG on Wednesday 29th March 15:34
More Bedford progress, the cylinder head has been sent away to our local engine shop T&L Engineering. They come well recommended as we've had several bits and pieces done by then in the past and they do a fantastic job.
The exhaust manifold was absolutely wrecked with huge great cracks in it as it's a 3 piece with sliding joints. It made for an interesting fiery light show running it at night, a bit worrying right next to a weepy carburettor
I took it to work and cleaned it up only to smash pieces off. Oops. Nevertheless I ground out/drilled the cracks to stop them spreading any further, then got abother mate with cast welding equipment to have a go at it.
Definitely an improvement in the end!
The exhaust manifold was absolutely wrecked with huge great cracks in it as it's a 3 piece with sliding joints. It made for an interesting fiery light show running it at night, a bit worrying right next to a weepy carburettor
I took it to work and cleaned it up only to smash pieces off. Oops. Nevertheless I ground out/drilled the cracks to stop them spreading any further, then got abother mate with cast welding equipment to have a go at it.
Definitely an improvement in the end!
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