FerretDriver Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Alvis Limited, in their brochure for the "Ferret 80", new version of the venerable Ferret, states that "1,500 (Ferrets) are still supported in service by Alvis today". Does this mean that Alvis is still shipping and otherwise providing parts for the versions of Ferrets may of us own? And if this is so, might it be possible to obtain some of the very difficult to find parts through them? Of course they would probably price such parts out of our reach as collectors, but there might be some help there from some sympathetic Alvis executive. Alvis Limited's business has declined over 60% in the past five years, so that does not help the matter any. But still it might be worth the effort for someone there in the UK to see if there's a way to obtain "stuff" for our Ferrets! Then probably have a stockpile of old parts, but again, very pricey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Ian, No - that brochure was dated 1982/3. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FerretDriver Posted February 25, 2007 Author Share Posted February 25, 2007 Then can we assume that the spares that Alvis had were sold off as surplus, and found their way to the vendors that we buy things from today? It would be wonderful to exhume a stash of parts in some secluded Alvis warehouse, wouldn't it? Oh well, I guess I will have to continue to dig into my pockets for "disposable income" to buy more Ferret goodies. I have found that if Ferret "goodies" are suitably purchased in intervals that the "significant other" does not catch on because my purchases mingle with her online purchases of used books. So far, So good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashley Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Hi Ian, just visited your web...... site very nice, well presented :bow:. The ferret looks quite lonely amongst those cars, but i am sure it gets plenty of intrest from show visitors. Ashley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Ian, There are still lots of Ferret spares which haven't come onto the open market yet, but they were surplused several years ago through MoD disposal sales and were bought by L Jackson & Co. A couple of years ago Jacksons had a tender sale and some of this stuff came up for sale. I am told they have quite a lot of stuff left over, sadly they won't deal with me or you and aren't interested in selling single items, or even sorting out what they've got. Alvis were based in Coventry, before being bought by Vickers. Vickers were then bought by BAE Systems. The Alvis factory in Coventry was shut down long ago, and anything that was left is long gone. Ferrets have been out of British service for over 12 years now, and in that time many MoD facilities have been shut down or downsized. The Ferret spares will have been sold off at the same time as the Ferrets. I live near to Chetwynd Barracks, previously known as Central Ordanance Depot, Chilwell. Lots of Ferret spares have COD Chilwell labels on them. Since I've lived here I've seen the place reduce in size by over 50%. Most of it is now a business park and housing estate. Anything which was in those sheds is long gone too. I know you and other American Ferret owners seem to think we have vast stocks of Ferret spares, and yards full of surplus vehicles over here. The truth is there are very few vehicles left in restorable condition, if any. The dealers who had all the spares have sold most of it. Quite a lot of it has gone to the USA. There won't be anymore coming out so my advice is stock up now while you still can! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FerretDriver Posted February 28, 2007 Author Share Posted February 28, 2007 I wonder what L. Jackson & Co. would say to a "bulk sale" of all the Ferret stuff they have. It would require some foolks familiar with the Ferret and probably a lot of work to sort through unrelated items, but it might be worth the effort in the long run. If they were looking at a 5-10 GBP sale it might encourage them to sell it off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Ian, They're not interested in selling it, it's far too much effort and they are making more than enough money for other things. When they did have a sale the stuff wasn't that cheap. Organising a tender sale, or a sale of any type would cost them a lot of time and money. They'll only sell it off when they need the space. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyroo Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 4 or maybe 5 years ago I went up to Jacksons to look at a Saracen. Whaile I was there I got talking to the guy showing me arround and asked if they had any spares for CVRT as was ready to start on my Striker. They happend to have a Striker which I was alloud to have a look round though not to photogarph Anyway, we went into a shed and I was amazed at how much Ferret stuff they had so asked if they were interested in selling spares as mine was in thousands of bits. Yes, just send a fax and they will sort me out what ever bits I require. So, a few days later I faxed them. A couple of days later I phoned, they had the fax but not had time to look at it. A week later phoned and they still had not had time to look at it. So I faxed my list to Banister who rang me ten minutes later to tell me he had almost everything and pointed out that he'd had the same list in the same order from Jacksons a week ago................................ :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.