sirhc

Mick, To prime the fuel system there should be a fitting on the fuel filter union where you can pour some fuel in/bleed the system. Chris

The Saxon ones are taken from the Defence Image Database, they're Crown Copyright. Hmm.

There are a few mistakes in that text, especially on the bit about telling the difference between Mk 1 and Mk 2. There is no mention of the Mk 2/1, which is the one with the slimmer NBC pack. The original MK2 had the same NBC pack as the Mk1. Chris

The 438s were almost all converted to another variant, I can't remember if it was 436 or 439? Chris

He answered mine instantly. Lets see if he pulls it now I've challenged him!

Paul, That Pig was restored by A+S a couple of years ago. Note the Fox without a turret in the background.... Here it is again: http://www.arm-soft.com/Images/Spartan/radiator%20fitting.JPG[/img] Chris

Ian, There are still lots of Ferret spares which haven't come onto the open market yet, but they were surplused several years ago through MoD disposal sales and were bought by L Jackson & Co. A couple of years ago Jacksons had a tender sale and some of this stuff came up for sale. I am told they have quite a lot of stuff left over, sadly they won't deal with me or you and aren't interested in selling single items, or even sorting out what they've got. Alvis were based in Coventry, before being bought by Vickers. Vickers were then bought by BAE Systems. The Alvis factory in Coventry was shut down long ago, and anything that was left is long gone. Ferrets have been out of British service for over 12 years now, and in that time many MoD facilities have been shut down or downsized. The Ferret spares will have been sold off at the same time as the Ferrets. I live near to Chetwynd Barracks, previously known as Central Ordanance Depot, Chilwell. Lots of Ferret spares have COD Chilwell labels on them. Since I've lived here I've seen the place reduce in size by over 50%. Most of it is now a business park and housing estate. Anything which was in those sheds is long gone too. I know you and other American Ferret owners seem to think we have vast stocks of Ferret spares, and yards full of surplus vehicles over here. The truth is there are very few vehicles left in restorable condition, if any. The dealers who had all the spares have sold most of it. Quite a lot of it has gone to the USA. There won't be anymore coming out so my advice is stock up now while you still can! Chris

Ian, No - that brochure was dated 1982/3. Chris

Paul, Hilton was a vehicle depot not far from Derby. There's a new housing estate on it now. Chris

I can probably make that date. Chris - Nottingham - CVR(W) Fox or Ferret Mk 1 & LR Series 3 Lightweight

I'm up for this, depending on dates etc. Chris

Mark, I'd have picked a light colour for the engine so that I could see the oil leaks etc. Maybe you want to hide the leaks? Looks good though! Chris

Mark, Given the mess that sand blasting can make, unless you want to blast the whole vehicle, it's usually easier to send parts away to be blasted clean. I use a local farmer, and there are probably people offering a similar service all over the country. That way I get my parts back nice and clean without having to worry about what I'm going to do with several tons of sand. Smaller parts can be blasted in a cabinet, here at work we have a walk in blaster which I could probably fit a Ferret hull in. Unfortunatley it's used for special materials and I think they might notice if I tried to get them to blast a Ferret for me! Chris

Mark, If the parts have been blasted and then primed properly they should be smooth! The primer will build up the rough surface left by blasting. Chris

It looks like a few people have forgotten that the county does infact extend north of London.

Some kind of spraying equipment?

That Rover needs some parabolics! Chris

Fred, Not sure which manual you've been reading but the engine, gearbox and transfer box oils are all separate systems. You will need to check and top off each one. No oil is transferred from the engine to the transmission. Where you may have got your wires crossed is that the engine and gearbox use the same grade of oil, the transfer box uses EP 90 instead of SAE 30. All Ferrets leak, the more oil you put in the more leaks out. Even if you were to replace every single seal on the vehicle you'd still get puddles underneath it. Just keep it all topped up. Chris

Neil, Yep it just plugs straight in. Chris

Matt, Head treatment affects the microstructure of the metal, rust/corrosion and sand blasting only affect the surface. There shouldn't be a problem blasting clean a head treated part. Obviously if the corrosion is serious the the material will be weakened but the hardness of the base material won't change. Chris

Neil, Don't pay the £30-£40 the LR dealers want for flasher units. Buy one of these: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FLASHER-UNIT-for-12-24-V-wiring-systems_W0QQitemZ140017559308QQihZ004QQcategoryZ9886QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item140017559308 Chris

Mark, On FV700 series vehicles the front and rear wheels are locked together as there is only one central differential in the transfer box. It's illegal to do a suspended tow with the front wheels rotating so they would normally remove the sun gears from the rear wheels to disconnect them from the drive train. Removing the front wheels would stop them rotating too, but it's not ideal as the drive train will still be rotating as it is towed. On the Fox & Ferret Mk 4 & 5 removing and replacing the sun gears is not much trouble. It's much easier to remove them than the prop shafts as you can get to them without having to remove loads of covers or even the engine! Chris

John, If the sun gears are missing Richard Banister has them, they're about £30 each though. Mark, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicyclic_gearing Chris

So the front wheels spin but it just drags the back ones? I would check all the sun gears are in the hubs and that all the prop shafts are connected. Our Fox had the rear sun gears removed and tied to bits of string in the engine bay! Chris

John, The Mk 4 has the same brakes as a Fox & Stalwart. These brake units reknown for sticking. I'd get it up on stands, remove all the wheels and check the brakes first. Chris