FourFox Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 (edited) At last some fine weather and I'm able to get on with the dirty work! Here is the other rear quarter, all cleaned of rust, dirt and de-greased. And painted. And the front RHS. A general view of the finished RHS undecarriage. I should be able to complete the LHS front today and that will allow me to start installing the new tinwork. All the welding and fettling has been completed during the bad weather and most of the preliminary painting of the tinwork. It has all been trial fitted to the hull and any necessary hole adjustments made. Progress should look a lot faster now! Jon Edited February 1, 2018 by FourFox photo restore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourFox Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 Progress was very good yesterday! The new tinwork has already been welded and trial fitted. My welding is getting better after a bit of practice. The tinwork has had primer and a first top coat. The final assembly has started. The base frame for the swim-screen is now in one piece and has started to be bolted to the wings (trapping the lower edge of the swim-screen bellows). There are over 500 bolts in this process. The newly restored engine covers and spine are now fitted in place and the RHS rear bin has had a new back plate welded in place. (it looked a bit out of place being a bit crumpled amid all that nice straight tin.) RHS mudguards and flotation tank have been fitted. The old upper 'top-hat' section of the swim screen has been removed and the new replacement sections are being drilled and welded to form a nice new (straight) cover. I should get the LHS into the same state today...and then start working on the turret. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff66 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 looking good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Looking great as ever Jon. Will it be ready for w&p. Already looking forward to a bottle of Spitfire round the campfire..! Cheers Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourFox Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 Hi Tim I am booked in to W&P with this Fox (The Scorpion can stay in Dunchurch until the August bash) and hope to have it finished by then. I shall be going to Maidstone tomorrow to pick up a Tax Disc (It's already civillian registered and SORN) and hope to drive it to Beltring. I am even planning to drive it up to the Dunchurch AFV show if I haven't sold it by then! (anyone got a spare £15K) It has almost a full tank of fuel and it would be a pity to waste it! It will be great to see the pair of prototypes together for the first time since they have both been restored to their original DBG. It will also save money by getting lorry transport back from the midlands for both vehicles. The progress yesterday was good, with the fitting of the LHS swim-screen skirt and all the mudguards and flotation bin. I have to do a bit of back-tracking today as the fitting of the new float-screen cover at the front is not good. I have to remove the zillion bolts and move the screen across about 4mm ....damn. Still it's a good wet day for an indoor job. It's a pity all the bolts at the front are the really awkward ones that you cannot get a socket on either end and it all has to be done the slow way, with 2 open enders. Should make some progress on fabricating the rest of the screen today. I must remember to collect a trailer load of wood for the campfire. (and a few beers) Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oily Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Looking fabulous, Jon, I'm back onto putting my Saracen back together, (I bought a flywheel for it off you, a little while back), what day will you be at W&P, as I may pop down this year.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourFox Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 I am intending to be at W&P for the duration. See you there! I shall be with the Alvis Fighting Vehicle Group and usually set-up camp on the weekend before. OK...strictly speaking the prototype Fox is a Daimler...but they ceased production of armoured vehicles after failing to win the contract for the production Foxes and their design role was taken over by Alvis. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I look forward to seeing you there ! Are you the gent with the prototype Scorpion last year as I did have a brief chat with you then ! :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourFox Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 Hi Andy Yes...It was a good outing for my Prototype Scorpion and we all had great fun in the arena despite breaking a gear linkage and having to be 'DROPS' out with Dave Perks' monster truck. The 'Alvis Boys' soon had her fixed for the next days running. The Scorpion has been at Dunchurch since their August Bank Holiday show and I have no plans to bring her to Beltring this year. She will no doubt be in action again at this years Dunchurch show when I hope that she will be joined by the Fox prototype. The last 4 armoured vehicles I have restored (2 x Saladins, Scorpion Prototype and Fox Prototype) have all been in 'Deep Bronze Green' and I am now getting a bit fed up with the same old colour. The latest Fox (and the last) is a production one in sand and black camouflage...oh joy! Hope to see lots of you at W&P. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Jon Did you ever replace that linkage rod on the Scorpion gearbox. From recollection, Lew's field repair using a bolt, hacksaw, and two split pins was very tidy..! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourFox Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 Hi Tim. No...the repair was quite excellent. The Prototype forward/reverse linkage uses a hollow aluminium rod which buckled and eventually fractured. It was repaced on the production Scorpions with a similar sized solid steel rod. It would be prudent to do a similar replacement! It's only done about 5 miles on the temporary repair. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourFox Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 The turret has been mostly cleaned of old paint and will be ready for its new DBG next week. I do not recommend the use of a large (9 inch) angle grinder with a coarse wire brush for this job. It has the tendency to violently buck about in its attempt to remove your overalls (or worse), especially whilst working from the top of a ricketty step ladder. It does remove more paint faster though! And youv'e no need to go to the gym for a few weeks! In addition I use 2 smaller (5 inch) grinders, one with a radial brush and the other with a cup brush. These get into all the nooks and crannies where the 'big one' can't reach. It also allows adequate time for each one to cool off during a prolonged session of paint removal. Note the heavy duty builders-polythene 'barbers' bib to protect the new tinwork from the mess above. It works great and allows walking around on it without undue slipping or marking the paint underneath. More progress next week. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masseyboy89 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch 22 LBDR Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 What's her history? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourFox Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Being a Prototype, it was never in the forces fleet. It's made of pure aluminium and not armoured. After extensive testing at MVEE, (it's done over 3,000 miles) it rested in the Bovington reserves for many years. I believe the engine was taken to display as a sectioned 'Scorpion' engine which is still on display in the museum. It is quite clearly a J60 Mk100 from a prototype Fox! It was disposed of about 6 years ago and passed through 2 owners (I think) before being partially restored and put into running order. (I talked to the guy who did this and obtained some useful bits from his scrap pile.) At least 2 more owners..and then it appeared for sale again on the internet. I was unsuccessful and it was sold to a colleague (who has an interesting collection of armour and heavy trucks). I purchased it together with a derilict (very) Saladin, which has now been restored and passed on to it's new owner. The Fox was just about in running order (it appeared at Beltring about 4 years ago) and had been DVLA registered. It has sat in my shed for about 3 years awaiting its turn (and the necessary components) for restoration.. I already had the correct engine perpared for another Fox under restoration. Final painting and titivating is now under-way and should be completed this week. I know that the previous owner was very impressed with my restoration of his Saladin. This one is even better. Come and have a look at Beltring. The Fox is now for sale....better still, why not take the pair and get yourself a Prototype Scorpion as well! It is an odd fact that these rare and difficult prototypes are much more costly to restore than the production vehilces and yet they are worth considerably less when completed. (you will need £40k for the pair) Still, I think they are well worth preserving as they give a fascinating insight into the development of the production vehicles and they will make fantastic working additions to any collection. They are restored to 'better than museum' standards and should be preserved for perpetuity. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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