griff66 Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 just been driving my ferret for the first time .most pleasant !will have to train leg that it is a gear change pedal NOT CLUTCH!!! i know what manual says for mpg 9 mpg , is this about right 5 quid for 9 miles travelled ! the toys list for it is starting.:cool2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 How about some pictures of your steed sire? R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff66 Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 will take more photos and with the help of my tech guru ( brother) will post monday presuming i havent destoyed my new ferret port reversing into it! :cool2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick W Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Where did you get it from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oily Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 a ferret port!!!, you lucky sod!....My Saracen has to sleep under a tarpaulin...at the moment anyway (angles are all wrong to get it on the drive at home:mad:, but it is going to live between two 22ft containers, with a roof over the top, as soon as I can get the yard landlord to move things around, ...so I'll have a 'Saracen Garage'.... hee hee):cool2: It'd be good to see some photos of your ferret! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff66 Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 well finally got here here drove it off back of lorry and into ferret port all fine now washing the wheels as went off road yesterday!:cool2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Collins Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Griff66 Great looking ferret been up your neck of the woods today been to Martell's to sort out for April if interested in attending the military event then please PM me your address and i will put entry from in the post. It would look nice as we have a MK1 attending so we could have your parked by it and then the public can see the diffrence. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Podesta Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Where did you get it from? I don't know if it is still there but when I went there last there was a Ferret MK 1/2 for sale at a place called Shephards in Herefordshire. As far as I know it was drivable but needed a coat of paint. speak to the owner and make him an offer. Bob Podesta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oily Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oily Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 here's my Saracen:..........................2nd pic is how it more or less was when I bought it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff66 Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haybaggerman Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Hi Oily How is owning a saracen? I have a ferret but am seriously thinking of buying a certain saracen acv. Can't be much more to take on than a ferret surely? Cheers Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff66 Posted January 29, 2010 Author Share Posted January 29, 2010 well just got some mirrors for the ferret 4 quid each seems like r/h mirror arms are a bit rare ? christ theres a cold wind out there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Burley Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 You need to get a front screen for times like these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff66 Posted January 29, 2010 Author Share Posted January 29, 2010 hi mark , still waiting for dvla man to take a look at 18 ea 36 , not sure about the windscreen does it not feel all a bit enclosed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oily Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 ....so you wanna buy a saracen eh?, ...well where shall I start?:-\ Firstly, usually they are cheaper than Ferrets, oddly enough, so you get a lot for your money, but you can get a lot of problems for your money too, so beware!..Saracens have a somewhat complicated hydraulic system, unlike Ferrets, and components such as the gearbox and transfer box are very labour intensive to change, and obviously, because of the extra set of wheels, axle 'wind-up' can be more of a problem, -rain never stops me from going out to play in mine as a wet road can help minimise a lot of axle 'wind up', due to the tyres slipping slightly on the wet roads. You are quite correct in thinking it's not much more than taking on a Ferret, it does all depend on which Mk, you go for as some, (like my Mk5), do not have opening side hatches on either side of the drivers' position, like you do in a Ferret. This tends to limit peripheral vision to a rectangle about 2 and a 1/2" by 4", due to the angle of the vision blocks, making 'T' Junctions a little awkward. The Saracen is quite a bit wider on the road, just about taking up 1/2 the width of most smaller 'A' roads, and most 'B' roads. They don't accelerate, so much as gather speed 'gracefully', but in fine fettle will keep up with most traffic. I've fitted truck mirrors to mine, and rearward visibility is probably better than most 7.5 ton box bodied lorries.... All of the 6x6 Alvis FV600 series vehicle tend to 'wander' to a small degree, this is down to the steering arrangement, -4 front wheels steering, it is easily overcome by slight, continuous corrective input through the steering wheel...you soon get used to it, and are soon flicking the gentle giant around with ease. They don't like wet cobbles, but then I don't think any wheeled vehicle does! When it rains you seem to stay drier than in a Ferret, because the 'bonnet' does tend to throw any spray upwards to the unfortunate commander -if you are using one (highly recommended on your 1st few journeys onto the Queens highway!). Fuel consumption, I find is slightly more than a Ferret, but not painfully so, and is better if you can keep up momentum. Unfortunately they can be a bit of a slog when you get a steepish hill with no run-up. As you can see from my accompanying pictures, I can recover my fuel costs by getting passengers to pay for the fuel, weddings, proms etc, all perfectly legal as long as they are friends and you don't make a profit, (-wink, wink) The other pictures are before restoation, and after..... but I still have minor bits and bobs to attend to.... As regards maintenance! well again, where does one start?.....I'd compare it to working on 3 Ferguson tractors crammed into a large metal box, that is just not quite big enough to hold them...it's almost as if the hull was built around its contents!:undecided: Tyres- 11.00-20 and 12.00-20 Dunlop Trakgrips, are hard to find, and expensive when you do find them, but modern replacements with different tread pattern are available. All this said, I'll never part with mine, as it was a childhood dream come true. I may not get many miles to the gallon, but I get loads of 'smiles' to the gallon. There can be some headaches, -but you take the pills. -or rather sit down with copius cups of coffee and all the EMER books you can get your hands on...and you methodically sort the problem. If you do your own maintenance on your Ferret, then if you have the room, there is no reason why you shouldn't manage a Saracen..... if you get one, try to go for one that is already registered, and hopefully a pre-1960 one!.... There could be problems looming for this type/size of vehicle if it's a younger one. Also some area DVLA offices are getting rather strict on registering 'overwidth' vehicles- the Saracen being one of them! That said if you do get an unregistered one, just use Portsmouth DVLA branch, a very understanding lot they are! Hope this is of some help, feel free to pass any more queries on the subject my way.... and one more piece of advice.... -GO FOR IT!, - YOU WON'T REGRET IT!!!:-D Best of Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolman Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Fantastic!! If only I had the room.... and the bottle :-D Paul, if you have the room, go for it my friend... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Burley Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 hi mark , still waiting for dvla man to take a look at 18 ea 36 , not sure about the windscreen does it not feel all a bit enclosed?Hello Paul. It can be at first. But you soon get used to it. I run mine through the winter and do a few winter meets with it. And the screen is a godsend. The last trip out over the xmas period nearly resulted in my mate(commander) collapsing from the cold tearing in to him as we rolled down the M20. I was ok,as i had the screen fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolman Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 I've ocassionally seen a few pics of ferrets with a screen fitted into guides mounted the (folded down) front hatch. It would keep the wind off the driver, but not restrict the sideward vision like the original screen. Has anyone seen this modification up close? Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mk3iain Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 I was once told by an ex. REME guy, that they used to place ammo cans fitted with hoses over the engine vents to catch the warm air, and feed the hose into the drivers area to get warm feet etc. Never did try it but when your cold it sounds like a brilliant idea. Every little helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john fox Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 I've ocassionally seen a few pics of ferrets with a screen fitted into guides mounted the (folded down) front hatch. It would keep the wind off the driver, but not restrict the sideward vision like the original screen. Has anyone seen this modification up close? there are any number of variations you can do. If you have the original screen then simply removing the rubber edge seal from that and fitting it to be bit of perspex cut to fit the hatch opening works well. A couple of bent strips of metal bolted to the screen and you can secure it in place using the drivers hatch turn locks as well. Obviously the better the quality of the perspex the safer you are in case of debris impacts. (Of course most glass suppliers could do the same for you in flat windscreen quality glass which would last longer and be more scratch resistant) I used to do this, especially on the motorway, because the reduction in wind chill is tremendous. However, as I drive on my own normally then I do prefer the head in the clouds so I can look out at junctions - side vision ports are OK but you still get blind spots on sweeping approaches to (fast) roundabouts etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john fox Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 I was once told by an ex. REME guy, that they used to place ammo cans fitted with hoses over the engine vents to catch the warm air, and feed the hose into the drivers area to get warm feet etc.Never did try it but when your cold it sounds like a brilliant idea. Every little helps oops read the post from Ferretfixer. This is a VERY BAD idea due to exhaust gas leaks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mk3iain Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 oopsread the post from Ferretfixer. This is a VERY BAD idea due to exhaust gas leaks Quite right, if you are using a windscreen. The same guy, and others, also said they never used these screens instead they preffered to use a warm hat and goggles! Not much chance of being affected with any stray exhaust fumes with your face in the wind. At least their toes were warm. Also no Elf and Safety police in those days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john fox Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 one of the Americans just did this - apparently a vehicle cannot be road registered if it does not have a windscreen and at least a hand operated wiper! (It's safety perspex) Personally I would prefer to see a clip to allow the hatch locks to engage and positively hoid it in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigdog Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 My Ferret came with a plexiglasss panel that attaches with the inner locks. The pic shows the back of it. The previous owner made it. I prefer the wind in the face tho. :-D -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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