Starfire

Excellent thread and I look forward to more pics.

I'd love to get my hands on a Pig one day.

Cheers,

Terry

That is disturbingly good. I would be happy to get one, if I could buy a complete set of pre-printed sheets and the required dowels, etc. I don't know that I could be bothered getting it printed myself and finding all of the extras.

Cheers,

Terry

Yeah, I'm thinking that I might have to drill mine out.

Both of my Ferrets are fitted with keylocks, but fortunately the one that runs is in the unlock position, both were issued to the Australian Army, so maybe that was part of their specification? My Saracen was British Army (mostly NI and HK), and it doesn't have a keylock fitted.

Cheers,

Terry

Here are the markings on my key lock. I've still not done much to try and get it turning.

If anyone has a key that will fit, I'd be keen to get it.

Cheers,

Terry

Did anyone get anywhere with this? I've got a Ferret with no key, but it's in the locked position and I can't get it to move at all. I've been thinking of swapping out the starter panel or hot-wiring it to see if I can get it to start, but a key would be handy.

It appears to be marked with 7 and 11.

Cheers,

Terry

Hi; I'm puzzled as my Ferret came with a deactivated LMG of the modern British Bren style chain gun. It fits the mount perfectly. I would prefer the 1919. So the mounts are different? Newc in Oregon

The earlier ones had a mount for a Browning M1919 and they later upgraded to an L37 (a vehicle mounted variant of the FN-MAG). The mounts are interchangeable, but you'll need to find a Browning one somewhere.

Cheers,

Terry

If it falls through, let me know.

Cheers

How much do you want for it?

Cheers,

Terry

Thanks guys,

I'll check it out.

Cheers,

Terry

Hi,

I was checking the fluids on my Ferret, prior to an event on Saturday, and when I opened the filler on the rear right bevel box, oil started running out. This is unusual, as it normally needs a slight topup. Looking at the oil, I noted that it was a milky yellow colour, rather than the clear yellow with a slight tinge of green that it normally goes in with, and can only summise that it has been contaminated with water.

About 200mL of oil came out the filler and I dumped the rest out of the drain plug and refilled it with fresh oil. I'll dump and refill it again after Saturday's event.

I have been known to hose out my engine bay from time to time, and I suppose that's where the water came from, but does anyone have any ideas how it could have made its way into the bevel box? I understood the running gear to be sealed, but I guess that the rubbers are all pretty old, or is there a breather or something that may be faulty?

Cheers,

Terry

Terry,

Shallow fording would not show up a leak in rear or side doors, you would need to go in over the tyres to prove this. The boatyard would not have been very deep water, the River Nene is nothing like the Murray!

Yeah, I'd probably try and test it in a dry-dock or something like that, where you can carefully control the water level.

Cheers,

Terry

I really do like the OT-64, but you think that it would be wise to do some testing before taking it for a swim. I think I'd start out with some shallow fording before working up to open water.

My solution to filling the hubs and tracta joints is one of these:

https://www.stm.net.au/hand-pumps/1-litre-oil-pump/ca586-1-litre-tom-thumb-oil-pump

Much easier than a garden hose or funnel. When you buy a new one, the nozzle has a fair bend in it, just straighten it out a bit and you're golden.

The manual states that there is no way to drain the hubs on the Ferret and talks about other fill points, but that was before the allen bolts were fitted to the sides of the outer hub; they can be used to drain or fill and are quite simple to get to.

You can also avoid having to jack up the vehicle by driving it forward or backward until the fill points are pointing in the desired direction (easier if you have 2 people, but not impossible to do alone).

Cheers,

Terry

That should work nicely, or you can sand blast them.

Some great photos, keep it up.

Mk 1 Ferret with an FN-MAG and a recoiless rifle? Nice!

If anyone has a soft copy, I'd like to get my hands on them too.

Cheers,

Terry

Montie! Haven't seen you on here for ages. How have you been progressing getting your Saracen going again?

Cheers,

Terry

On the up side, the accumulators are much more robust than dive bottles, as weight wasn't really a consideration

Sign up a PayPal account and add a donation button to your site. You should have it done in 10 minutes or so...

I'm also very aware of how difficult it is to fund a private museum; you state that you're open to donations, but don't provide any details about how to make a donation!

Cheers,

Terry

I would have thought that the tents would be more expensive than an equivalently sized shed?

Good luck with it all.

Cheers,

Terry

Nice photo. I'd love a Land Rover like that!

It might help if we knew where you are, too?

I don't personally own a carrier, and while the museum owns and operates an Australian LP2, I've only done a little work on it.

From what I've seen, the suspension is reasonably simple, the steering is reasonably complex and the running gear is pretty basic, using a Ford flathead V8, gearbox and diff.

Being a reasonably light armoured vehicle, we haven't had any real problems with track wear and transport hasn't been too challenging. It's a fun little bus to drive.

If you're experienced as a REME mech and have worked with armour before, a carrier should be a walk in the park - relatively simple and lightweight, although you'll probably find it very old school.

Cheers,

Terry