Fugly

Thanks everyone, read all the posts and learned a great deal. Several different viewpoints , but all valid. I have found the answer to the fuel consumption problem - I have calculated that because of the savings on zero tax and zero mot test fees and low insurance add up to about £350 (compared to a family saloon) . If a family saloon does 38 MPG and the ferret will do 9mpg on a run , its costing me an extra 29 mpg to drive in the ferret....... (now stay with me ,,,,) The £350 saving will provide about 70 Gallons of petrol, which at 9 MPG will give me 630 miles, so in theory I can do at least 500 miles in the ferret for similar cost to using a family saloon. If you add in the lack of depreceation, that that Ferret shouldn't suffer then it gets better. Looking at it that way has cheered me up and I will leave the 4WD as God intended , plus the above logic will keep the doubters happy (or at least confuse them long enough for me to roar off to the nearest esso station):cool2: Thanks all.

20mm might be larger than I need , I would be interested in some 12 mm ( ish ) as long as it doesn't break the bank - The stuff I was originally looking at is only abou £2 per metre. Yes I am a skinflint !!

Thanks for all the info - will follow up all the suggestions ! Thanks

Its actually a metal sheathing that looks very very similar, but has a shinier finish. it expands and will take cables 8-12 mm or in the larger size 12 - 16mm. I propose to run the required cable (ie rubber sheathed automotive flexible cable, with quite a few cores in it) through the sheathing to give an original look. This sheathing could be left as is , or painted over with aluminium paint to be near perfect). I am thinking of using it to replace some missing wiring on my rear lights. I am investigating getting some gland ends for it so that a neat termination could be made into a box or switch. Anyway , It can been seen online with a company called Canford Audio PLC www.canford.co.uk , they will sell it by the metre. Its called Chrome XC12 or XC8 It may be too shiny for the purist, but it may be better than boring old black rubber cable. If there is anything better available please let me know as I am soon going to buy some :-D

Is there much demand for braided metal sheathing as used on military vehicle harnesses and wiring looms.? I know that as military vehicle enthusiasts we are used to having to source parts from all over that place , but if you need to replace some wiring that is missing, what is the best thing to use?

Thanks Richard I will try and make a tool tomorrow. Regards Jim

Any advice anyone / I am stripping my fuel pump on the ferret - the diaphragm / washer is held in position by a nut. The nut spins with the diaphragh bolt , I need to stop the bolt turning somehow . I can just see through a small gap the part of the bolt on the other side of the diaphragm, and it has some flats on it to take a spanner. Do in need to make a special tool or is there a technique ! Anyone familiar with the fuel pump will hopefully know what I mean be able to help.??:-D Jim (Already lost half the afternoon on a broken exhaust manifold stud, so some timely advice on this will help me catch up !)

Cheers Chris , My tyres are probably by biggest worry at the moment , they look cracked / old (But so do I !!) but from what you have said are probably stronger than I think. Jim

Yes , and there is no "diff" action between the front wheels and rear wheels on either side - hence both near side wheels are driven at the same time . I understand that as the tyres wear at different rates the diameter is different and this will lead to them needing to rotate at different speeds to cover the same distance , and possible wind up !!

Aha ! You are referring to my other crap idea....... the secret Mark 9/9 submarine version shown in the attached picture " Secret Underwater Ferret Emerges in France after Unsuccesful Thames Testing":angel:

Cheers Mike Advice humbly and gratefuly accepted - I will file that idea in the "not so good schemes"" box under my desk ! I will just have to pump the tyres up a bit harder ! Jim

Hello All Dont slate me for this idea, but I am a bit of a greeny and like anyone I want to save the environment and save energy !!! I hope to take my ferret 02CC12 to several events (Its been invited to an RTR reunion) and some of these event may be reasonably long distance . How this for an idea, Could I remove the front driveshafts and run it in 2WD (rear wheel) mode !! Ok dont shout at me too loudly !! I would not attempt this on any off road " duties" - but as an idea, my simple (very simple) mind is seeing reduced tyrewear (due to less potential front / rear transmission windup) , slightly reduced weight (OK - thats a longshot...) and maybe less petrol consumption. It wouldn't affect the look of things. Look at it as a MFWC (Manual Free Wheel Conversion....):laugh: Has this statement reduced my already tiny credibility on this forum to a negative figure ! (and my rank to private - toilet cleaner !!) PS - DONT EVER RUN ANY VEHICLE WITH PROP GUARDS REMOVED - THE RESULTS CAN BE FATAL.

I have access to some excellent slides from Aden era showing these vehicles if anyone owns / runs either one? Jim

Well my ex 0 02CC12 commander came to see it and he has confirmed it is to hang a cable reel off, so that is fine with me and it is now staying - It was great to speak to someone who had experience on this ferret - The funniest thing was when he (and his good lady wife) both simultaneously identified 2 beer bottle tops as "Herforder Pils" !

Thats an excellent point , it is above the stowage lock and would need to be removed to gain full access to the locker. It does lift off quite easily at the moment (but it is an empty reel) - might be a different story with a full reel on it. I dont know how much weight the cable would add. There are a few other bits welded on it in odd places - There have been some bolts (?) welded to the nearside rear hatch , that appear to have been ground off. Were these added by someone during its army days? I am in the lucky position of geing able to talk to one of the ferrets previous commanders who did have some mods done to it ivluding a basket , rear tool carrier

Cheers Bob I would like to hear about that, If you get details , please post them as it is a legit benefit to collectors, and I am sure it wont upset the powers that be ! Have PM'd you. Jim

A few months ago I posted a picture of a metal strap that had been welded over two tonneau cover lugs on the R/H side of the hull of my ferret. The only possibility was that it may have had a ladder attached from it corporate use days : I bought a cable reel not long ago and it has sat in the corner of the garage , to be added later . Tonight i had a brief (an probably the last) flash of inspiration and thought maybe the reel was mounted there ? It fits very well and is v shaped, as though something heavy and pulled it in one spot. It has had some other strange mods done to it , so why not this one ? Any thoughts ??

Thanks for the info , mine is a bellows type (encrusted with diamonds) :cool2:

Dont really want to shame the guilty , but another dealer offered me a quote that was half the £88. I have now removed the thermostat, and tested it and it seems to work very well, so hopefully I won't need a replacement. I do appreciate that it is a nice piece of engineering though .... Heavy but nice ! Maybe the cheaper price was for a different type, or a modern equivalent but I just asked for the price for a B series thermostat and was not offered a choice, so I could only assume there was one option. I run a business and one thing I know is that customers have long memories for good and bad experiences.. When I enquired with expensive dealer about his price , asking him if it was perhaps an error because the other dealer was only charging half the price I was told to "go and buy it off him then " Maybe that should have been an opportunity for him to explain the difference in items available ( taking only 10 seconds) , instead of losing a customer (forever) in 10 seconds. :-D Anyhow, I am going to investigate a cheaper option ... :-D

Hello all Just been quoted £88 for a b60 thermostat !!!:shocked: That seems a tad high...... Anyone ever found a modern replacement ? If its the right size, with a suitable temp range and it opens enough to let the water through , wheres the problem ? Any ideas ?

Good Luck ! I can only tell you if my job worked when the engine goes back in - sure it can't be any worse that it was before. best of luck ! Watch that new busbar spring !!! Jim

Just finished a one and a half hour phonecall to a gentleman from Norfolk who was the commander of my ferret 02CC12 for 2 years. He sent me the attached photo. It was taken around 1979 at Harewood barracks , Herford, Germany. The senior Officer in the peaked cap is Sir John Stannier who later became a field marshall, the other is Jeremy Blacker who later became a Lt. Gen. The picture is supplied courtesy of Dave Lewis (seen in the ferret) and he told me the sparewheel had been punctured (despite being a run - flat) and was off for repair. The tools were missing offf the front as they were in the middle of painting it. Healso informed me of the "Mods" he had done including : A full length stowage basket ever the engine to carry some of the radio masts, and a new mount above the radiator plate which carried all the tools off the front - On the front he had a box off a Chieftain with a lid that opened out (with legs supplied by the REME) to make a small table. Hence all the tools were on the back. (apparantly it all had to be removed for this visit ! It was used a lot on exercise and they spent a lot of time on cpx exercises (no troops on the ground ) but lots of radio work , and they would spend days on end camped out on the high ground. He told me about the replacement engine being installed in 1980, as the vehicle was unavailable for 3 months. It was an excellent phone call. best new is that he is coming up fron Norfolk to see the vehicle and I can get a few pics of him with the vehicle! I will post some pics when he has been - so if anyones see a picture from Crusader 80 showing a mk 1 ferret with a starnge bolt on box at the front, it might be this one.:-D

See this link - close up of ferret 00DC95 about half way through movie ! http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=72976

Forgive me if this has been asked before (but I am a bit of a newby) What happened to the AB413 vehicle record cards? I was talking to an ex ferret commander who was telling me about the AB413 record cards (Books) - he says it was a pain filling them in , and they recorded information on individual vehicles, such as maintenance carried out etc - and would be a great to have. I dont know anything about these and would be grateful if someone could explain !:-D:-D

ANYONE OWN OR KNOW OF FERRET 08 BB 89 ? There is a nice picture of it here: http://www.1420h.org.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2143 drowning in water !!!