Catch 22 LBDR

Are you talking about the big brass part? I dont think you will need to touch that. As I recall on the Ferret the shaft in between the two bevel balls (inner and outer) should split by opening a ring of bolts. There should be a ring of bolts on the face of the brass ring, remove them and the brass ring will come in half bringing the seal with it. This is only if it is the same as a Ferret, I hope this helps

This looks very similar to the Ferret drive assembly. It's bean a few years since I did them.:nut: . The cork gasket was straight forward. I cut the old one off and with a bit of oil/grease I pushed on the new one. It stretched over the brass housing fine. Any old oil seal can be prized out with a screwdriver, they will be a tight fit. The secret to refitting the new seal is to try and tap it in evenly. The new seals can be damaged easily so get a few spare ones (always handy). They will normally come against a shoulder so make sure the seal is pressed in fully to this shoulder.

I agree Wally. The 72nd might be a wild goose, I have sent a PM to Ivor, the guy who gave me the information first to see if he can shed some more light on the subject. I had thought the symbol is more like an upside-down Omega letter. It's also on a dark gray or dark green background not blue and the letter was originally painted yellow and then repainted in white. As for the other badge I have no Idea. The silver line may have bean white at some stage and there is evidence of white paint under the blue. It's odd that it was painted onto the bridge plate. There is a symbol in silver painted on the gold/yellow part. It looks like the top left corner of a capital "D"

Yes I have also come across the white triangle you mentioned but it does not appear on my vehicle, the only markings are the ones I posted at the start of this thread. The symbol I posted for the 1st Inf came off the Wikipedia site.

Thank you Wally for taking the time and looking that up for me. I found this on Wikipedia, more or less the same as what you have said. However the 1st Infantry Davison's symbol is a blue triangle with a black border and a white spot in the centre. This doesn't match the markings on my vehicle. [h=2]Post war[/h] After the war the division only remained in Palestine for a short time. It was transferred to Egypt for a few months before going back to Palestine in April 1946. Two years later as the British mandate over Palestine ended the division returned to Egypt, also spending periods in Libya up until 1951. In October of that year, as British forces pulled out of Egypt outside of the Suez Canal Zone the division garrisoned that small area. After British forces withdrew from Egypt the division returned to the UK for a short while in 1955 and 1956. Whilst in the UK it was reduced to one brigade in 1956. In 1960 it was disbanded before being reformed as the 1st Division based in Verden an der Aller in Germany as part of British I Corps in the British Army of the Rhine. It does explain how the desert painted vehicle could have made it to Ireland. It could have easily bean struck off in 1955/56. I also discovered that the Gloucester regiment was the 10th Gloucester regiment (during the war when the 72nd came under the 36th Indian Division). Do we have any way of connecting the markings found on my vehicle with the 1st infantry division?

Here is a picture of the body. lots of work hear:nut:

Some more progress this week, Fitted the cog box, front prop shaft and the winch drive shaft. I know the gearbox is the wrong colour, I did this on purpose. The body will be rebuilt in situ and will need to be spray panted as I go, this way I don't need to worry about the over spray getting onto the box.

Other than I am an uneducated swine I cant think of any reason :blush:

Thank you Wally, I would be most grateful. Your statement makes sense. That would mean that more than likely all the vehicles would have bean handed over to the Indian Army for there use, in witch case it would not have made it back to the UK to be sold, or the vehicle would have bean brought back and struck off in 1945, but then this would mean it should be painted green? and the markings are incorrect. If the markings are post war then we need to be looking at desert campaigns between 1945-59 (my paper work suggests the Quad's saw service well into the 50's). That really only leaves the "Iran Crises of 1945-46" and the Greek civil war 1946-49. I think Aden is to late for Quads to be used. Alternatively the markings could be war time. this would mean it would have needed to have finished up in North Africa, grease or the middle east before being brought home and struck off. Or the vehicle could have stayed in these areas with British garrisons post war (unlikely)

Not having much luck finding out any information. Have fired off a good few emails to different organisations and museum's. but no joy. I knew it would be difficult. :beatenup: Someone said to try out these two books, I know they are wartime ones but maybe worth a try. “Formation Badges of World War 2” and “British Military Markings1939-45” by Hodges. If anyone has the books could you take a look for me. I dont fancy forking out for two books that may or may not hold any answers. :thanx:

Not having much luck finding out any information. Have fired off a good few emails to different organisations and museum's. but no joy. I knew it would be difficult. :beatenup: Someone said to try out these two books, I know they are wartime ones but maybe worth a try. “Formation Badges of World War 2” and “British Military Markings1939-45” by Hodges. If anyone has the books could you take a look for me. I dont fancy forking out for two books that may or may not hold any answers. :thanx:

I think this was a fantastic idea, and has turned out far better than I thought. :-D

You have your work cut out for you hear, good luck:cheesy:

If the wheel station is the same as the Stalwart (it had me stumped for ages) then in order to separate the two shafts you need to drift out the retaining pin. To do this locate what look like two oil bungs in the stub shaft between the bevel box and wheel station. There should be one front and one rear. remove both bungs then look in the hole and turn the hub until you see the pin on the shaft come into view. then insert a punch into the hole and drift the pin out. It's bean a while since I did this but I seam to remember that the wishbone pins will only drift one direction.

Winch drum fitted.:-D

Here is an Idea of how the Quad looked before the restoration started.

The Quad gets it's first coat of Portland stone.

Thanks Shaun, I got some good stuff so far from other owners. but I can always use more pictures of the Body, bins and inside. I could do with a picture of under the body, in front of the rear wheels and around the winch. :-D

Someone has told me on another thread that the symbol on the square could be a post war symbol for the 72nd Indian Infantry Brigade. But we couldn't find out any information about the 72nd after 1945. Does anyone have any Ideas?

Depends how you measure wealth. I bought a Morris Quad wreak with my Dad when I was 15, over the years there was very little done on it. But now I spend one day a week working on it with my dad, we spend more time drinking tea and chatting than we do work, but that's quality father son time that you cant put a price on. If my 9month old son ever gets a taste for oil and olive drab then I hope we could carry an a new family tradition. My Ferret was got as a kind of pension plan, I had great fun restoring it, taking it to shows (with my Dad) and talking about it to other enthusiasts. (I have even inspired someone to go out and get a project Ferret of there own). Eventually, when I am too old and..er....fat. I will sell it and probably make my money back. much like a pension only far more fun. Can you make money? Yes. If you know what to buy, can get it at the right price and (unfortunately) cut corners then there is money to be made. The term "restoration" can cover everything from a paint job to a ground up rebuild. The former will make you money and the latter will cost you. This brings me nicely onto something that has brothered me for a while. "Planed obsolescence". This is where a part is designed to fail after a certain amount of hours or time. New old stock wartime Jeep parts were built to last, to keep going when you need it most, now you can buy a new part across the counter made in 2013 to modern EU standards. So when you buy a fully restored Jeep as an investment what are you really buying? A 1945 chassis with 2013 working parts designed to fail. Sure your water pump on your Go Devil will last just as long as the water pump in your vw pasat, but your NOS water pump, made in 1942 will keep going. My point is what might save money now could cost money in the future and in my opinion diminish the hobby's future. Call me a hopeless old romantic but I think you are far better off getting something you love, be it green or otherwise and putting your heart and sole into it.

Nice looking Quad Shaun, Thanks anyway Ivor, I shall perceiver

That's great Ivor, Do you know anything about the 72nd, I couldn't find anything post war. Where were they based etc.

I knew someone on hear would know:-D. Do you have a picture of the 72nd Infantry Brigade symbol? The bridging plate is the tight way up and it was bolted to the RHS of the radiator surround. I did a small Google search but could only find details from ww2 about the 72nd Inf Bgd. At that time it was two interlocking circles, one silver and one red.

Hi all, I have decided to try (against the odds) to find out some history about my Morris quad. Its a MK 3 beetle back. My Quad was still sporting its Desert colours (Portland stone all over) when I got it and had wondered how the vehicle had made it into civilian hands this way. Was it In Aden maybe? I also wondered if Mk3's were ever used in North Africa. I am going to paint her up as per the picture, but will this be accurate. Also I had assumed that tracing its history next to imposable. If I were to try how would I go about it? Chassis number 1929 F.W.D. 8580 (8) Engine number LH30990 Hear are some pictures of the original markings, Any idea's?? The cycle (weight disc) has a square or shield divided diagonally with a silver line. The top left triangle was gold then latter yellow, or framed in yellow. and the bottom right triangle is blue. There is evidence of a letter or number on the gold (but not on the blue) painted in silver. Its all panted onto the Portland stone (desert yellow). The whole disc was once painted yellow and also green. The green looks to be the factory paint. The Square is painted a grey colour all over with the letter painted in yellow and repainted in silver. The letter could be the Greek omega symbol and the picture could be up the wrong way. Chassis number is 1929 F.W.D. 8580 (c8) Engine number is LH 30990.

[h=5]My Quad was still sporting its Desert colours (Portland stone all over) when I got it and had wondered how the vehicle had made it into civilian hands this way. I also wondered if Mk3's were ever used in North Africa. I am going to paint her up as per the picture, but will this be accurate. Also I had assumed that tracing its history next to imposable. If I were to try how would I go about it?[/h][h=5]Hear are some pictures of the original markings, Any idea's?? The cycle (weight disc) has a square or shield divided diagonally with a silver line. The top left triangle was gold then latter yellow, or framed in yellow. and the bottom right triangle is blue. There is evidence of a letter or number on the gold (but not on the blue) painted in silver. Its all panted onto the Portland stone (desert yellow). The whole disc was once painted yellow and also green. The green looks to be the factory paint. The Square is painted a grey colour all over with the letter painted in yellow and repainted in silver. The letter could be the Greek omega symbol and the picture could be up the wrong way.[/h]Chassis number is 1929 F.W.D. 8580 (c8) Engine number is LH 30990.