1954 Daimler Ferret armoured car
Discussion
IanUAE said:
Fantastic! Cheers PH, much appreciated. Not sure if I'm allowed to post gun pictures but I have the Bren off it at the moment stored away. It's an ex Canadian one dated 1943, from what I remember when we bought it aside from being deactivated it was still in its greased crate. 
Enjoy spudgun and congratulations to your mate on his new purchase, looks great! They can be a bit of a pain to work on in places but fundamentally it's all doable stuff, just get building your muscles as nothing is light on them 
I might pop out later too if the weather holds, chilly though!
I might pop out later too if the weather holds, chilly though!
Just got back from the Cottenham road run today, a round trip of about 60 miles plus the road run itself. Great fun, and thankfully we avoided any rain
Basically it does a circuit of 5 villages or so, we stop off on the green for a break and a chat to everyone, then move on. The amount of people who came out to see everyone drive past was quite something, and the Ferret got loads of waves.
I've got a couple of days off this week so now there's some miles under her belt I'm going to change the gearbox and final drive oils and have a good check over everything particularly on the new hub to make sure everything is still tight. It did throw a bit of coolant out of the overflow pipe today after sitting on the A14 for a few junctions at close to top speed so there's that to have a look at too, although I suspect that'll just be finding its own level.
Basically it does a circuit of 5 villages or so, we stop off on the green for a break and a chat to everyone, then move on. The amount of people who came out to see everyone drive past was quite something, and the Ferret got loads of waves.
I've got a couple of days off this week so now there's some miles under her belt I'm going to change the gearbox and final drive oils and have a good check over everything particularly on the new hub to make sure everything is still tight. It did throw a bit of coolant out of the overflow pipe today after sitting on the A14 for a few junctions at close to top speed so there's that to have a look at too, although I suspect that'll just be finding its own level.
Edited by LewG on Tuesday 15th August 19:14
Well things haven't turned out quite as planned with the Ferret due to getting a nasty flu virus over the last few days, of all times to get that I just had to be on holiday! This morning I'd about exhausted my DVD collection and was getting thoroughly bored of not leaving the house so I popped up the shed for a check over the Ferret. Shortly afterwards thought I'd pop out in my Land Rover to get a few bits from Halfords, maybe not!
Feeling a bit dazed I thought 'oh I'll just take a few bits off to make the job easier...' and ended up like this
Maybe Ferret will get some attention tomorrow instead.
Feeling a bit dazed I thought 'oh I'll just take a few bits off to make the job easier...' and ended up like this
Maybe Ferret will get some attention tomorrow instead.
Bit of an update on things, the Ferret has developed a fairly frustrating ignition problem in that sometimes the ignition will turn on, other times not at all, sometimes turn the engine over, sometimes not at all. I got the Land Rover running again this morning so with a big 4x4 wooden post tied to the front bumper I pushed the Ferret out into the sunlight for a look. I had several of the connectors apart and cleaned them as they looked a bit on the crusty side after 62 years.
The 1954 version of a multi plug for the dash:
I then took the actual switch box apart and cleaned the contacts up inside. This was a horrible task and not one I want to repeat in a hurry!
Unfortunately this made absolutely no difference so I turned to the Historic Military Vehicle Forum for help as there's a post war British guru on there who is a fountain of knowledge, particularly electrical. He told me exactly where to check and what the readings should be with the meter, and most importantly what the fault would likely be. At this point it's getting dark and it looked likely it was a grotty circuit breaker inside the electrical distribution box. I gave it a tap and hey presto she burst into life
The 1954 version of a multi plug for the dash:
I then took the actual switch box apart and cleaned the contacts up inside. This was a horrible task and not one I want to repeat in a hurry!
Unfortunately this made absolutely no difference so I turned to the Historic Military Vehicle Forum for help as there's a post war British guru on there who is a fountain of knowledge, particularly electrical. He told me exactly where to check and what the readings should be with the meter, and most importantly what the fault would likely be. At this point it's getting dark and it looked likely it was a grotty circuit breaker inside the electrical distribution box. I gave it a tap and hey presto she burst into life
Edited by LewG on Tuesday 15th August 19:17
Cheers Lance, too right there isn't. I took it to the local PH meet on Sunday morning which resulted in a bit of last minute electrical bodging. Two of the wires annoyingly broke off of the headlight switch so I attempted a quick repair with some vintage solder we had laying around, unfortunately that turned to a strange dust and didn't work at all so I thought bugger it, it's a beautiful sunny day who needs headlights? I'll get round to it properly when I'm better prepared.
For no apparent reason I then lost the 24v supply to my indicators and brake lights, by a stroke of luck there was an auxiliary 24v wire that led to a blanked off plug right next to it, so I plugged that in and they came back. The investigation continues..
We made it to the meet with Pvt. Gretchen as commander, and a fantastic morning in good company it was too.
I'll get round to it properly when I'm better prepared. For no apparent reason I then lost the 24v supply to my indicators and brake lights, by a stroke of luck there was an auxiliary 24v wire that led to a blanked off plug right next to it, so I plugged that in and they came back. The investigation continues..
We made it to the meet with Pvt. Gretchen as commander, and a fantastic morning in good company it was too.
Edited by LewG on Tuesday 15th August 19:21
Nice one spudgun! Not the best place for a fuel filter is it? Right next to lots of 1950s electrics, and better still after the tap. In the early days of ownership we had ours come to a grinding halt at the side of the road a couple of times due to grass and all sorts clogging the tap up.
You did well to helicoil those threads! I suppose flushing it through from the filler with some old oil or something a few times might not go amiss just to make sure you caught all the swarf. Don't worry about them all leaking a bit if they do, every Ferret you see seems to leave four little oil spots on the floor wherever they're parked.
Haven't done too much with ours to be honest, the electrical issues annoyingly continue, you think you've sorted it out and all works fine, try it the next day and it's playing up again.
Right next to lots of 1950s electrics, and better still after the tap. In the early days of ownership we had ours come to a grinding halt at the side of the road a couple of times due to grass and all sorts clogging the tap up. You did well to helicoil those threads! I suppose flushing it through from the filler with some old oil or something a few times might not go amiss just to make sure you caught all the swarf. Don't worry about them all leaking a bit if they do, every Ferret you see seems to leave four little oil spots on the floor wherever they're parked.
Haven't done too much with ours to be honest, the electrical issues annoyingly continue, you think you've sorted it out and all works fine, try it the next day and it's playing up again.
Took it to work last week which always attracts a bit of attention.
Had a look inside some of the electrical boxes looking for corrosion and could find no problems. I did find however that when wires were moved in this little electrical connector block as shown below that affects ignition. Must have a broken wire somewhere.
Had a look inside some of the electrical boxes looking for corrosion and could find no problems. I did find however that when wires were moved in this little electrical connector block as shown below that affects ignition. Must have a broken wire somewhere.
Edited by LewG on Tuesday 15th August 19:26
That's about right mate, I believe the very earliest versions were turreted Mk2s for some reason. As for the hatches yep that's right, square hatches means an early Ferret. It was in the first batch ordered, I'm not anoraky enough to remember the contract number now but it was ordered 1951, entered service March 1954 so was built at some point between those two dates. If you or your mate doesn't have it already Pat Ware's Ferret book is an interesting read, plenty of good photos in there too.
I'm not sure about the up armouring I have to admit, I've seen a few Mk 2/4s that are definitely up armoured as the rear hatches next to the engine deck are a completely flush surface, there's no 'dish' to them like a normal hatch. Some had modifications to the side armour behind spare wheel and bin. Have you ever seen a Ferret Mk5? Strange looking thing with the Swingfire missile bins in the turret, when looking to buy a Ferret we looked at a few and one owner had a Mk5 tucked away in his barn, probably worth a bit now!
spudgun GB said:
I think I might have had a copy of that book home here for a bit. A copy came with his ferret on an "extended loan". Is it a beige cover and costs about £100 or more to buy? The previous owner had three ferrets before he sold one to Simon. Both the other two have turrets, mk2's of some descriptions. One was a mk1 converted to a mk2 while in service. He has doubles of a lot of kit and that book he had three copies of.
As for the mk5, we live about 45 minutes from Bovington, and we get down there quite often. They have one down there. Odd looking thing but I would imagine could pack quite a punch. They also have an exhibit which is a ferret production line. They have one with cut away areas which is very handy to work out how things work.
That's the one! I admit as a sad and strange 10 year old I wore our copy out reading it As for the mk5, we live about 45 minutes from Bovington, and we get down there quite often. They have one down there. Odd looking thing but I would imagine could pack quite a punch. They also have an exhibit which is a ferret production line. They have one with cut away areas which is very handy to work out how things work.
Edited by spudgun GB on Thursday 26th May 22:26
Oh yes you wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of a Swingfire that's for sure! I remember the training vehicle, had a good look over it on my last visit. It's got a much better almost modern style flexi pipe replacing the old school belled exhaust tubes from manifold to exhaust elbow, shame they didn't bring that into mainstream production unless it was a later mod or something. I replaced tubes and elbows on ours with brand new and it still blows like a b
d when cold!Tonight I think I've finally got to the bottom of the ongoing electrical issues! Traced the faulty ignition to a set of yet more bullet connectors, and I managed to solder the headlight feed wire back onto the switch. All works now, as a bonus I found some intercom headsets in the personnel carrier after clearing it out before it left for its new home on Saturday. Plugged them into the Ferret and sure enough the intercom crackled into life after a few decades! It's surprisingly clear and crisp, although admittedly I haven't tried it out on the road yet with an orchestra of engine roar and gearbox whine in the background
Things have been a bit quiet on here recently mainly due to the weather! I've done a couple of events with the Ferret and it only seems to be getting better.
TodayLewis (AceOfHearts) and I took it on a 100 mile round trip all the way to Bicester and back for the Bicester Flywheel festival, it was a fantastic event with so much to see, a bit like a miniature Goodwood Revival. The Ferret was in some impressive company but still managed to get plenty of attention. I had a bit of a lucky break on the fuel bill as one of the office girls at work filled her diesel Punto from fuel light on for a week empty with 30 quidsworth of petrol. I drained it into some clean drums and put it in plus a bit of extra fresh in and it didn't make no difference whatsoever. On the return journey coming back down the Bedford bypass it was amazing how much go it had in it, sitting at a steady 55mph at minimal throttle, off the end of the speedo
We both got back a bit knackered, sunned out and wind blasted but what a great day.
Some photos from the event:
We both got to sit in the Centurion tank which was a bit of a moment for me!
TodayLewis (AceOfHearts) and I took it on a 100 mile round trip all the way to Bicester and back for the Bicester Flywheel festival, it was a fantastic event with so much to see, a bit like a miniature Goodwood Revival. The Ferret was in some impressive company but still managed to get plenty of attention. I had a bit of a lucky break on the fuel bill as one of the office girls at work filled her diesel Punto from fuel light on for a week empty with 30 quidsworth of petrol. I drained it into some clean drums and put it in plus a bit of extra fresh in and it didn't make no difference whatsoever. On the return journey coming back down the Bedford bypass it was amazing how much go it had in it, sitting at a steady 55mph at minimal throttle, off the end of the speedo
We both got back a bit knackered, sunned out and wind blasted but what a great day.
Some photos from the event:
We both got to sit in the Centurion tank which was a bit of a moment for me!
Edited by LewG on Monday 4th July 22:08
Edited by LewG on Tuesday 15th August 19:37
Hello chap, I know of Rick and his Cromwell! Followed his thread over on HMVF, from what I remember he has a Churchill under restoration too by Bob Grundy up at British Military Vehicles, good on him. We exported a CVRT gearbox through them to a collector in America. I bet you were absolutely in your element up in the turret, what a great experience. It must be said I've gone through my head repeatedly over the last couple of days trying to work out how I can buy myself a Cent or a Chieftain. Should really be saving for a mortgage but I suppose I could live in a tank too?
Edited by LewG on Tuesday 5th July 22:53
Edited by LewG on Tuesday 5th July 22:53
Agreed, the tank the Chieftain always should've been! I do love the L60 and as you say particularly the noise but realistically it was never great. As they say the Chieftain was a great tank from the turret up.
Another weekend down in the Ferret on the PH stand at Kimbolton castle classic show, a great little event. Thankfully for most of the day the rain held off. The plan is to check all levels over one night this week and try to pump a bit more grease into the offside suspension components as they are creaking quite badly over low speed bumps. The last thing I want is further extensive stripdowns so hopefully with some heat and cleaning it'll go rather than just pushing out around the nipple.
Another weekend down in the Ferret on the PH stand at Kimbolton castle classic show, a great little event. Thankfully for most of the day the rain held off. The plan is to check all levels over one night this week and try to pump a bit more grease into the offside suspension components as they are creaking quite badly over low speed bumps. The last thing I want is further extensive stripdowns so hopefully with some heat and cleaning it'll go rather than just pushing out around the nipple.
Edited by LewG on Wednesday 23 August 22:06
Certainly can chap, I have seen a couple with the .30 Browning on the front and Bren at the rear. I'll get photos of our base plate and swivel cup tomorrow. The mount itself is quite a simple piece of kit.
Nice one on the work done, personally I've had nothing but good experiences with 'the Ferret specialist' but I've also heard of a few bad experiences too. He actually sold us this one all those years ago on the behalf of another collector.
As you say you do hear some great stories at shows from people about them, I do get tired of the vast amount of bullst you also hear but that's offset mostly by the genuine tales
Nice one on the work done, personally I've had nothing but good experiences with 'the Ferret specialist' but I've also heard of a few bad experiences too. He actually sold us this one all those years ago on the behalf of another collector.
As you say you do hear some great stories at shows from people about them, I do get tired of the vast amount of bulls
t you also hear but that's offset mostly by the genuine tales Edited by LewG on Friday 15th July 17:01
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