njjeeper

I agree with Richard. Have the whole head checked before you put it back on. Unleaded gas in lead only heads could have taken its toll at a bare minimum. May as well have that sorted and converted to unleaded before you put it all back together.

Congrats! Sounds like things are looking up!

If you have air tools, the air hammer is really all you should need. Wood onto the underside of the piston and the air hammer with a flat bit on the other end. The extreme vibrations it creates are what does the work of making the rings move again....if its easier you can cut a round section of 2x4 and drop it in from the top and hammer that way. Single blows with a hammer has never been very effective for me. http://www.harborfreight.com/medium-barrel-air-impact-hammer-61244.html

Perhaps I missed something but the pic you posted looks like the engine is still installed. Since you cant pull the crank without bottom access I am assuming you are pulling the engine. If that's all true, you may want to wait on trying to get pulley off. Once the engine is out and upside down, you can just remove the connecting rod caps and use a drift on the bottom of the pistons to push them up and free them off. I have done this with a wood drift and an air hammer in the past. This way you don't risk buggering up the crank pulley before you really know if you need to pull the crank. If your gutting the block out anyway for a full rebuild, I suppose it doesn't matter. For me, I always assume the factory assembled it better than I can piece together from the manuals and available parts so I try to leave as much in tact as possible. Pulling a crank over here in the states with out available parts/knowledge of this engine would terrify me TJ

No worries Grasshopper, I didn't think you were being critical I just overloaded on info so that people didn't think I was running around with unsafe tires on an AFV. As for wire cleanup, I agree! Its going to look like crap even after I make it look factory. All those connectors hanging out by the drivers feet/legs just seems a bit crazy!

Its comparing apples to oranges using the original tire ply number as a guide. Max load capacity per tire of the STA tire is 3030@50PSI. That's more than enough for a Ferret. Not to mention that the ply count in the factory run flat is always going to vary significantly from a non-runflat. This doesn't even take into consideration the composition material differences from the original tire. Ply is there to give an indication of max load for a given tire. In this case since this 8 ply tire far exceeds what a Ferret weighs, these should be fine. Terry, PM me and Ill try to give you some more specifics on the battery box....

Ahhh, the box. Thats something I made for the military trucks I work on. Its a former battery charger. I gutted the transformer and other parts out of it, installed 2 batteries and rewired it with a slave cable connector on top. It gets 24 volt and full amps to the slave cable. The 2 lower right connectors get 24 volts with a 10 amp circuit breaker or 12 volts with a 10 amp circuit breaker. The voltage is selectable with the rotary switches. The lower left lugs are 12 volt, unfused for charging the first battery. Perhaps more detail than you wanted but thats it! It will jump all the trucks and generators I have as well as provide power for side projects. TJ

The tires are STA Superlugs in 16x9.00. Here in the states access to original tires is non-existent so I used these. They are a VERY nice tire for a military vehicle if you don't want to use NDT types. The color will stay desert tan but I will be redoing the stencils and painting the black parts. The previous owner did the current paint job/stencils when the hull was all apart and due to a change in color he decided on, the stencils are a bit uneven in spots. The goal is to get into the memorial day parade here in Jersey so I have been hammering down on getting stuff done! TJ

Hi all. Since so many folks here have helped me piece this Ferret back together, I thought you may want to see some updates. So after some time with the Power Probe and lots of angry words, all the wiring is done and it all works! Side lights, blinkers, headlights, brake, etc. It runs off its own fuel tank and drives around really well. These pics are just after I put the right tires on it. All that's left is the turret, interior sheet metal and cleanup up of the wiring/routing inside. Here are some pics... TJ

Does anyone have accurate drawings or schematics for the ferret sand channel? I have a metal fabricator here in the states who makes body panels for the M151 and he is willing to make these to order. I just need a good set of drawings or an original to use as a pattern. Any tips would be great!

Hi all. Did the Ferret have any specific provisions for flat towing on the road? I would imagine pulling some drive shafts would be required at a minimum. I have towed my share of US military vehicles and these all come with the attachment points for the military tow bar. I don't see anything like that on the Ferret which leads me to believe they aren't supposed to be flat towed. Any tips from the guys who have been there and done that? Im looking for options to get the Ferret to some of the MV shows this spring... TJ

Thanks all! At least I know I'm not missing pieces. Since I didn't take any of the vehicle apart, I never know whats missing from the bins as I reassemble

Thanks all! At least I know I'm not missing pieces. Since I didn't take any of the vehicle apart, I never know whats missing from the bins as I reassemble

The 2 pipes from the exhaust manifold outlet that go to the elbow that bolts to the inside hull on my ferret leak at the joints. It seems to just be 2 pipes with flared ends that fit into the elbow and manifold. Is there a gasket or sealant or something that helps this system seal?

Those tires are what you get here in the US when the correct tires arent available I needed something to make it roll, so I got these tires for free from an ambulance that was due for new ones. I figure at some point if I can get this vehicle far enough along, I will try to source the correct tires. I am afraid it will be pricey to get them here in the states.... On the plus side, I fixed the temp guage! TJ

Here is the video of the ferret driving for the first time. 5 months of work to get here and it was awesome! I drove it out to a tree and used a branch to hoist the turret off. Then I dove it back in. Its now ready for the gas tank install. Temp guage doesnt work so I need to figure that out but otherwise it ran great!

I got the pump working but the diaphragm looks real bad so I am going to replace it. The pump didnt work becuase the one way valves in the pump head were stuck shut. I cleaned it all up and put it back together and its working. The main diaphragm seems to be delamintated into several layers with the bottom most one being sticky and disintegrating. So, a rebuild is in order!

So the ferret moves on its own!! More on that later. In the course of running it tonight I found the fuel pump needs to be rebuilt. Does anyone have a source for a rebuild kit for these? Seems like 2 reed valves and 2 rubber diaphragms. Any tips would be much appreciated!

Does anyone know of an off the shelf bulb for the instrument panel light? Mine is missing the bulb and the 24 volt bulbs I have from other MV's don't fit. I checked the manuals but I cant find a specific model for the bulb. Any help would be much appreciated! If all goes to plan, the Ferret could be moving under its own power this weekend! TJ

Funny you mention the carb. I have 2 of them but only one fits the manifold. The larger one that does not fit has the 2 accelerator pumps on the back and an oval shaped venturi. The one that fits the intake has no accelerator pump visible and a much more round venturi. No idea why they are both for a ferret but only one fits

Canada is a bit far for me I live in NJ, USA. I would love to see some other living Ferrets tho...it would make this project much easier for me if I could see how it all goes together! TJ

My Ferret engine had not run since at least 2007. When I got it, the engine was frozen. 2 cylinders showed rust on the spark plugs. After weeks of soaking the cylinders in ATF and rocking the flywheel I got it moving. The downside was lots of atf in the cylinders. I cleaned the points and got spark to the HT leads and put the carb back on. The video below shows the results. Please don't mind my son who was narrating while filming. I didn't know he was talking until I played it back Since there was some fire expected due to the atf I had 3 fire extinguishers handy and a plan to shove the motor and dolly into the gravel just in case. Here is the video! Now that I know it runs, it's time to get the carb cleaned up so it runs without the gas down the carb trick

This was exactly what happened to me a few weeks ago. Linkage was too long and the trans wasn't in the correct position due to the engine not being installed(too low to the floor where it meets the engine). That added up to the pedal travel not being enough to get it out of neutral. Disconnected the linkage, put a pipe on the cross-shaft lever and pulled toward the rear until it "clicked". Then it came way up and grabbed a gear. TJ

In trying to find replacement hoses for the oil cooler and oil filter I am having a bit of of a problem. It seems that all the places that make hydraulic hoses don't carry a hose that's compatible with hot engine oil. The bulk of the line they carry tops out 212 degrees and hot oil could go beyond that. They have a braided stainless steel hose that can handle the temp but it will leak if kinked. My question is, what is everyone else doing to replace these lines? Is there a source of new ones somewhere or a supplier that has the proper hose? As always, any help would be much appreciated TJ

No mayonnaise oil, but as Richard ponited out without running for so long, any contamination would have separated back out of the oil. It sounds like the best bet is to pressure test the system. If I block the bottom port and pressurize the top port with 15 psi, should the system hold indefinitely if there is no fault? TJ