Lord Burley

Well another trip out over the holiday period today for another car meet. This was a local one. Well i say local. I done a 56 mile round trip. Took the scenic route:D: I was invited to take the Ferret along as it was a bit different from what was going to be on display. And it was well recieved by all that attended....... Mixing it with a few friends.. B.t.w the exhaust is still holding together. And not a flake of paint peeling yet...:

Iver upgraded the account. They are back on:thumbsup:

Thanks for the link to the video Richard.:thumbsup:

The same USMC that "mis-sold" the Hummers...:

B.t.w good luck with the restoration. I will watch this thread with interest.

No MUTTs ever went through the "Reutilization" sales at Molesworth. My father used to tender for a lot of the American stuff. He was always told that they would never be disposed of whole in the U.S or U.K and would be cut in four,due to the inherant stability problems. Canadian Army ones were fitted with a full spec role cage. I do wonder how William Galliers came across that factory fresh example he had a couple of years ago. It was up for £12,000.

A thorough test will be carried out on boxing day. As i have a 40 mile round trip to attend a show. But from what i have sampled so far regarding the running. Then i am more than impressed.

Time, age, and usage has taken its toll on the rear silencer on the Ferret. Over the last year i have even noticed that performance is down a bit,and it was suffering quite a bit of back firing on the over run(air being sucked in so i was told). Anyway, i was left with two options. Buy new. Or give the old one a temperory repair.The problem with buying new,was that their is only one person who has them in stock. And thats Bannisters at £350 a pop.It was then put to me that the easiest option was to give it a patch. And it would soldier on for another couple of years.Easier said than done. As it turned out in to a small mine field in other areas. It was at this point that the job was turned over to Landrover guru Catweazle (Yes! remember him?. He is still alive) Who was ably assisted by Brains(Who just so happens to remind me of the wizend old woodpecker from Bagpuss) First job was to remove the silencer which was a bit of PITA............... It was a lot worse than first thought. And was rotted through along one side as well. Rot was also found at the other end. The whole silencer was checked for thiness. And any weak parts cut out and replaced...... The blow was not only confined to the exhaust. But also to the flange that goes either side of the hull.... The flange was actually warped. And a corner had broken away..... A new piece was welded in. And the area skimmed in order to give a flush fit...... In order to help with the flush fitting. Some nice tin gaskets were made........ While all this was being carried out. The boffins decided that there was way too much slop in the expansion joints. So these were shimmed. This reduced movement. But still allowed enough to prevent any fatigue in the system. With the system now completed and its first coat of heat resistant paint applied. Its mounted back on the Ferret....... The end result is. The Ferret now absolutely purrs. Performance is back up. And they have also tweeked the tickover. Many thanks go to CW(John) and Brains(Tony) for the work carried out:thumbsup:

Its the eagle has landed.

The one at my local T.A center is still sitting there. It hasnt turned a wheel in a year and a half. Would still like one. But would it be worth trading this up for one of them........

Spoke to the drivers of these at an event i done last year......... I asked them what they were like to drive. The answer was. They were s***e. But they couldnt give any reasons or clues to why. One of the drivers was old enough to have driven 101,s and said they were much better at doing the job. I would still like to experiance one myself before making conclusions. I was so tempted by one that Withams was selling at Beltring. But he wanted far too much for it.

I would also like to know where the confushion with a Mk 5 Ferret and a Fox comes from??. There seems to be a lot of it going about. Even from the more knowledgable amongst us!

I think its Russian.

The Simba has windows rather than vision blocks.

:rofl:

There used to be a nightclub in Tottenham some years ago,that used to display out side a Ferret,Saracen,and a Stalwart all painted in white

That looks a laugh. I want to have a go.

Took mine out this morning for the usual once a month run just to keep everything moving. Godd it was cold.

R.I.P I believe he was an actual veteran of the normandy campaign and dropped with the airborne to secure pegasus,s bridge.

Welcome. There are a few on here that have served with the BAOR and will be able to help you.In the meantime. Post some pics of yours in the "Ferret gallery" in this forum.:thumbsup:

Mike "Beachy" Head at Thunder City in SA had 4 flying examples up until last month. When one was lost in a tragic airshow accident killing the pilot. I believe the 2 examples at Bruntingthorpe are fully airworthy. But the CAA wont agree type approval for it to fly. Some more pics of Lightning languishing by the A1..... The Lightning being lifted on to its new home in the scrappys circa 1983 And happier times. The same Lightning during its flying career........... Along with the SR71 Blackbird. I'm just lucky enough to have seen these fly during there time in service. Most memorable was seeing 2 of them take off from Mildenhall in 86,and see them pull the stick back and go full nose up on re-heat. The rate of climb was something else. And i dont think there was a car on the base that day that didnt have its alarm going.:thumbsup:

No. It was originally bought by the scrap yard owner as a gimmick. But over the years its been plundered and vandalised.

Outstanding performance. But very limited flight duration especially on CAP. The rumour was that a top speed was never achieved due to it running out of fuel whilst still accelerating

Civvy lash up i think. Ithink this was up for sale last year.

Located in a scrap yard off the A1. Sad end for this Lightning..................