OZITIM

Im probably getting a bit off track here, but here are some more WWII guns found in North East Africa in 93. I would love to have these in my back shed. Not being an Artillery man, I really dont know what they are. Maybe someone on here knows. Im sure they are still being used somewhere in Africa.

Note the photo with the Sten. Long range desert patrols. No water, except that for drinking. We got awful smelly. After a while, though, you didnt smell it. I went four months without a shower!

What I would give to have that Browing sitting on the top of my Ferret!

Jolly good show..... what..... Jerry is here here and here! That was my faultless impression of a British officer, while playing with a captured Sten. Again, it went into the pit for destruction. As did all the other wonderfully preserved firearms. All of these were being used in the Somali civil war in 1993.

I couldnt help myself. Photo of me fighting in Somalia with a Thompson. Well.......... not really, it was found in a hut. I played gangster and then it was handed in for (dare I say it) destruction!!!!!

Here is the Youtube link. I doubt this is the same tank as that shown in the news article. The youtube clip doesnt show this one self propelling. Either way, its a ridiculous thought that they would seriously consider using these tanks in modern conflict. Just media hype again.

A news paper article in Queensland Australia, reporting on the conflict in the Ukrain, shows the attached photo, as evidence of Pro-russian tanks rolling into the city. The situation must have got dire over there, because if they are now fighting with the tank shown, they are really drawing on their old tank arsenel stocks. It just goes to show how the media can use a picture to inform the ingorant public. Regards, Tim IS3 russian tank.pdf

Thanks mate. I will give that a go. Regards, Tim

The variant that I am after is the 'cheapest' variant! haha

Hey thanks heaps mate. I believe their might be a few hiding down your way. John Belfield was saying last week that he sold his collection to a bloke in SA, but I didnt remember who he sold them too. John had ten carriers for sale in 2008 ranging from $1500 to $3500 AUD (see attached link). Those are the ones he said he sold to a bloke near you. http://www.vmvc.org.au/Newsletters/vmvc%202008/2008%20February%20vmvc.pdf Regards, Tim

That poster would look awesome in my man cave on the wall behind my Ferret. I just sent the seller a message asking if they will send to Australia. Its a copy of an original. Thanks for posting that.

Thanks for your kind words Joe. Yes, everything is done in my back shed. A basic Mig welder. You will see in one of the photos, that I have a car jack on the ground. That was used to re-expand the crushed flat bin. It doesnt come more basic than that. All sheet metal was bent in a bench vice, a ball pein hammer and a grinder. No need for huge expense, just a bit of inginuity. You just have to have the confidence to give it a go. The worse thing you can do it damage, what is already damaged. The photo was taken on my front kerb. I jog through the rainforest in the hills around home every week. We get all sorts of wild life come down from the hills, snakes, goannas, echidnas. Its beautiful country. Although a little hot at the moment. My Ferret never left Australia. It is a Mk1/2. Ive got a Mark 2 that I will do next. The Mk1/2 looks similar to the Malay variants, but I think those ones were permanantly welded turet extentions, whereas, this is a bolt on. If you havnt seen this video already, it was one the local news did on a project that I did with my Saracen. It shows a little of the country side. The third video shows a nice bit of the country, although very quickly. In this video, Im driving into Cairns City. I welcome you here anytime Joe. I will pick you up from the airport in the Ferret! Regards, Tim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLtl69xzaZY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcT_lLEPyH0

email Tim Vibert at Empire Trading in Victoria Australia. He will have all the parts you want. He has an excellent range of spares and very good to deal with. I purchased a Saracen and Saracen Transmission off of him ten years ago, and everything was excellent. His prices are very reasonable too. Website link attached. http://www.timvibert.com.au/

Oh, I thought all Brit military vehicles came with carpet and curtains. Well, you learn something every day. haha. Welcome from Australia.

Someone in Australia must know where their is one for sale.

Ive got another ferret tucked away. Its in equally as bad condition as the one I just did. Or if I can get my hands on a Bren Carrier, I would love to give one a go. Would love to rebuild a Ford Flathead. Im currently on the look out for a Bren. If I cant find one, I guess I will wheel in the next Ferret and start that.

Here is a video of the ferret engine starting up. Much to my relief, it didnt backfire, run rough, or do anything silly. I am so relieved.

The filter arrived yesterday. Thanks heaps for the offer to use yours in the meantime. I put it in yesterday and fired her up. Initially, I had an oil leak, which caused a little stress, until I realised that an Oil line was loose. Other than that, so far so good. Thanks Mate

Hi all, Im in Australia and chasing an unrestored/any condition Bren Carrier. I want to use it as a static display on an RSL monument. I have looked at some great carriers for sale, but these have been outside of Australia and shipping costs end up blowing the price outside of my budget. If anyone can point me towards someone that has one, and would consider selling, please let me know. I have contacted John Belfield of Melbourne and the Beck collection in Mareeba, but they have sold their carriers on, and no longer have any. I am in Cairns, Far North Queensland, so the closer the better, but any carrier in Australia, I would consider. Any hull, or collection of parts I would consider. At this stage, an engine/gearbox is not a priority. I have attached a couple of photos of two bren carriers that I had agreed to purchase, but by the time I produced the cash, I was too late. But these will give you an idea of the condition that I am prepared to buy. Any assistance, greatly appreciated. Regards, Tim Cairns policepsychology@yahoo.com

Having restored a Ferret considerably worse than this one, I can safely say, that those bins and guards are completly repairable. The rust and damage to the rear/ right fender is simply fixed by cutting off the bottom and bending up some fresh sheet metal too fit. You will see this in the photos I have attached. Once you have welded the two sections together, sand it flat, add a smear of body filler, paint and no one will ever know. They come up looking quite good. With the centre bin, Mine was almost entirly flat, having been taken off and run over. It took me almost two days of heating with an oxy torch, then cooling with a wet cloth, re heating, cooling ect ect, until I shrunk the stretch and warped metal back into place. It is a fairly tedious job, but again, very easy to do. I am not a skilled tradesman, but sought lots of advice from a very skilled friend. I did all the work in my back shed. Buy the Ferret and keep in contact, as I would be happy to coach you through the entire process. Their is not a nut or bolt on a Ferret that I havnt worked on, fixed, straighted, or replaced. I hope these photos give you some idea of how these bins are repaired. I bent the metal in a large vice in my shed and used a standard mig welder and hand grinder. Regards, Tim

Thanks for your great feedback joe. Owning a Ferret in the USA, im sure is a bit like owning one in Australia. Very few parts available and very few people around who know how to work on them. My Ferret is number 115161, an Australian Ferret, im pretty sure it served with the 11/16th Prince of Wales Light horse, as it has a distictive piece of angle steel welded behind the rear brakeline, to protect the line. This was unique to POW light horse vehicles. Like all Australian Ferrets, it never left Australian shores. When I pulled the motor out, I found a collection of blank ammunition for the 30cal and link. Other than that, it was in a terrible degraded state, with almost everything rusted. It had languished in a paddock for many years and had been full of water. The sensible things would have been to scrap it, but when I saw it, I thought, how hard can it be. The previous vehicle I rebuilt prior to this Ferret was a Saracen, which makes the Ferret look easy. The Saracen was a nightmare compared to the Ferret. The two photos are before and after. When I first saw it, it was in a pretty bad state as you can see. I still have a way to go, with a few bits and pieces missing, but its getting there. I just put the radiator back today and connected the exhaust up. I skinned a few knuckles putting the transmission tin back together. As soon as I get that oil filter, im good to go. William Banister said he sent it a couple of days ago, so I wonder how long that will take to travel via air from the UK to Aust. Regards, Tim

Mr Friend 'Sid Beck' with the Ferret parts, passed away 12 months ago. As his health became more critical he encouraged me more and more to get my Ferret going. He called me one day and said that I could help myself to his parts. That I could take enough to get my vehicle going. I promised him that I would do it myself. I started the project two years ago from a 6 foot by 6 foot shed. During the course of the build, the shed grew into a 20 foot by 20 foot shed and my knowledge of B60 Rolls Royce engines became fairly extensive. I guess it proves that you dont need to be a mechanical engineer to own a derelict armoured vehicle and breathe life back into it. I will drive my Ferret on ANZAC day in April and I can now say I built the vehicle, every nut and bolt. Australia isnt the easiest place to own an old Brit piece of armour, but its amasing what a bench vice, file and drill can achieve. A ball pein hammer is also fairly useful. While I was lucky to get a bunch of parts off Sids, dont be fooled to think that building a Ferret is as simple as bolting parts together like a jig saw puzzle. Many of the parts I had to manufacture myself. Long nights spent with a file, oxy and hammer. But each step eventually adds up and you eventually get to the day where you apply pressure to the start switch and you are rewarded with the pounding sound of 6 pistons firing to life. The smell of burnt fuel in your nostrils cants be sweeter with the first ignition of the engine. Its the best feeling. Many Regards, Tim

I will! I started it up on the weekend, but I dont have an oil filter. I am awaiting for one to arrive from Banister. Should be here next week. The great thing though, was that oil gushed out of the oil hose at a great rate of knots, which gave me a fairly good indication of the fact that I had oil pressure. Usually I would curse the fact that I had covered my clean engine bay with oil, but the alternative of having no oil pressure would have been considerably worse. So far so good. Timing is correct, oil pressure is good. What could possibly go wrong! I will put the radiator in this weekend, put all the tin back around the transmission and await the oil filter. Then I shall compile a movie masterpiece. I will set the ignition timing on the video. Thanks for your outstanding encouragement.

And another photo.

At 18, my mother said I would grow out of it one day. Im now 42 and fortunately that hasnt happened yet. Welcome to the Forum. Tim