Stencilling
 

Hi Ben,
Still planning to get over to see the carrier some time....retirement has left me with so little time, I wonder how I managed to work and do my hobby!!

Re the stencilling mentioned earlier, I enclose a shot of abandoned "brens" in France, there is a whole range of stencilling, the type and various dimensions and weights etc, I would assume for shipping purposes.
These MIGHT be what appears on the stowage bin or maybe not.....just a guess.

Another point, you say the colour under certain parts is the Green G3...looking at the floor, do I see what could be Bronze green ????

I can send a higher resolution if you want ??

George.

Hi George

You can pop over whenever you like.

I have seen that picture. I like the loading stencilling on the side, I'm pretty sure it's the same stencilling on the long tool box on the scout. I'm trying to get a higher res picture of the Capuzzo carriers to see.

There is a little original paint left on the hull. The front lower armour which was sitting in sand whilst it was abandoned on the Australian farm has an almost total covering, this is how I discovered the reg number! The base is green with tones of sand and brown over it all. The only other real paint is in the foot well were it was protected a little.

The best source for a perfect paint match is under all the hull fittings. Fuel tank mounts, rear plate steering units, clutch pivot, battery box. These haven't been removed since factory fitted and show clear signs of KG3 colour, compared to a colour chip from Mike Starmer.

These also suggest that the hulls were painted with no fittings mounted, these must have been fitted as sub assemblies and paint added over the top once fitted.

I think the order of paint finish for the Scout was first, KG3 from factory. Second, based on the Capuzzo picture it had a desert scheme applied before it shipped to Africa (this was were the loading stencilling was added to tool box) it's unclear if this was the early desert scheme or the early caunter scheme. It then had a third scheme applied, probably in Australia were all the original markings were covered. This scheme can be seen in the earlier posts whilst it was on the war bond rally in Perth. It's this last scheme that protected the reg number so well post war.

Ben

Make sure you fully document the reg, I reckon you could get it back on the carrier when registered if you are lucky.

I've got the reg on the vehicle, the makers plate on the vehicle and the contract card tying the two together. If that's not good enough to get it registered I'm not sure what else the DVLA can want.

I've had a chat with them and they think it'll be OK, just need to get the inspector bloke out.

Ben

Yeah that ought to be enough, fingers crossed the plate has not been re issued

A good day.
 

Hi

Shaun popped round today to drop off an engine. While he was here i put his carrier knowledge (and willingness to hit things with a bigger hammer:-) to good use.

First job was to remove the two pieces of damaged armour. We used Shaun's oxy acetylene method which in my opinion has to be the quickest and easiest way of getting damaged armour off. You get the rivet red hot with the acetylene then give it a quick blast of oxygen to blow the head off. As the rivet is a lower quality steel than the armour it melts much quicker. You can do a whole panel in a few minutes, once all the heads are off you can punch the back of the rivet out with a punch. It leaves a very clean hole and unless you're very careless doesn't damage the armour. The mess left in the photos is the slag from the rivet which comes right off with a stiff wire brush. Photos show the during and after results, lovely clean frame ready for new piece of armour!! 15 minutes work max!!

After the two pieces of armour were done we took out the cross tube and rear suspension boogies. Both only put up a small fight and came out cleanly. A good day, thanks for the help Shaun.

Ben

So when is the riveting party ?

Pretty soon, there's one or two needed on the hull parked next to the scout.

Ben

Well I have the gun and snaps.... nowt to it matey (sitting here chuckling)

In all seriousness I would meander down as long as there is T and medals after we're done

replacement armour
 

After removing the armour last week, this weeks job was putting the new bits on. First job was to clean and prime the angle reading for the new steel. Whilst that was drying I used the old piece as a guide to drill the holes in the right place on the new steel. After all the holes were drilled I should have countersunk them all but being impatient I offered it up and using a couple of bolts and old drills to see what it looked like. Very happy, fitted perfectly and using the old part as a drill guide worked a treat. I just need to countersink the holes and it can stay on ready to rivet.

Maystagg cobalt cutters do a good job matey that's what I used

I did a couple of small jobs too. Took the front idlers off. Nice 1938 dated wheel, the axle goes to show how well the soldiers in the field looked after their kit! the wheel came straight off after unbolting the wheel and there was no rust with grease still on the shaft.
A couple of shots showing some of the early makers stamps, dates (1937) and part numbers. These are from the upper engine cover.
I'd be interested in hearing from anybody who has any early dated British wheels for sale or swap. I have some British and Canadian ones to swap.

Ben

Cheers for the tip Rich. I'm pretty lucky with having a store at work for machine tools, I can borrow pretty much anything. More 13/32 drills would be nice :-) most of the stuff is metric....

Ben

ben i seem to remember i have some pre war wheels but i think the rubber was goosed i'll have a look for you tomorrow.

rick

Cheers Rick

Good early wheels would be a massive help. I can get them rubbered if needs be.....can you send me an email with some pics if you have them?

Cheers

Ben

sorry mate but i couldn't find any early wheels although i still have 8 under my churchill that i've yet to check, the thing is i could have sworn i had a 1938 stamped wheel. i'll keep my eyes open for you.

rick

Cheers Rick

I'm sure they must exist somewhere I just need to find them!!

Ben

wheels.
 

Ben, If these wheels near you turn out to be usesable, then i might have some early dated wheels to pass on, so you looking for early british wheels dated 1938 to 1939?, what about 1940?, I will check what I have on Tuesday morning.

kevin

Yeah any TL wheels 1940 dated or earlier would be nice. The dates obviously don't matter in the big scheme of things I'm just being a tart and trying to get them to match......

Thanks

Ben

Looking good
 

Hi Ben,

The little Scout is looking great !

It's definately gone to the right home.

Keep up the good work mate

Phill

New LH side
 

Steady progress on the Scout. Some little jobs being blasted and painted but the new LH side armour has gone on. I had this cut from 8mm originally but the part that came out was about 7.5mm and the new part left a forward facing step I wasn't happy with, I took it into town and had the whole surface ground down by 0.5mm so the side is flush with the front part. The fit is now perfect and I'm much happier.

All the armour is now on and ready for riveting.

I've put the engine cover back in too. during the last 70 years it has held up pretty well but about an inch was removed from the front section. I can only assume this made getting it out a little easier for the farmer that wanted the engine. I've been jigging it back into place trying to get all the sections straight and welding in the missing inch. You need arms like an octopus but its going back OK, constantly making sure its straight.

Ben

surface grinding.
 

Ben, Looking good, when you had the metal surface ground did it tend to curl the metal up, I done the same with the hinged plate on the gunners side once and we had to flatten it again.

kev.

It didn't bend. I was told that machining it would tend to make it bend due to the way it relieves the steels stresses but grinding was a better way of controlling it. The bloke that did it guaranteed it'd be as flat after he did the work as it was before, he was right!

Ben

Engine cover
 

I've been a little lazy with updates so here goes.

The engine cover on a pre universal carrier is a little different. The one on the Scout angles down from the air box until it reaches the rear section, it then levels out to horizontal. The Scout still has its original frame and a couple of the cover panels. Years ago a small section was cut out with a torch to allow a little movement for the engine to come out easier leaving the air boxes in place. After i'd straightened a couple of parts i jigged it all together and welded in the missing sections, they're only a couple of inches long maximum. I'll tidy the welds up when i take the frame out.

The photos show the lower rear section and the early type curved air boxes. The fittings on the upper panel are one of the pogo clips, two latches for the side armour and the Butt rest for the Bren if its in the LH side engine cover pintle.

Fuel can bin
 

The back of the Scout has a battery box and fuel can holder the same as a universal. It was in generally very good condition including the springs for the cans except the base which was rotten due to water sitting in it, there were a couple of small holes in the sides too.

I wanted to keep as much original material as possible but the base was beyond saving so I made a new one and riveted it in. The small holes on the side needed someone with more metal work skills than me! A friend is a very good welder/fabricator and he said he could cut out the minimum material and weld in a new section. I was very pleased when he gave the box back, the repair is barely visible even in bare metal, once its painted i'm sure it wont be seen at all. He commented that it would have been quicker and easier to make the whole box new! I think the small dents and detail including part numbers etc are worth keeping wherever possible.

I've been sandblasting and painting some of the smaller components in between the bigger jobs.

The steering/braking units have been cleaned, painted, greased, new seals and built up this week. They were in very good condition when removed so didn't need too much work. One is a little too stiff for my liking so i'll strip it down again to see if it can be loosened before it gets fitted. Theres a bits of a knock to one of the protection plates but i quite liked it being there, couldn't see the point in straightening it out. Its all part of the story.

Rivets.....
 

After War and Peace i decided i really needed to crack on and get a carrier there next year. I had spoken to Israel Newton and son about replacing the rivets on the Scout previously so after confirming a date I loaded the hull onto a trailer then made the trip up the M1 to get the work done.

They specialise in building boilers and restoring steam engines. They have some enormous equipment including a 250 ton press for forming the ends of boilers from hot steel plate 1" thick. I took a couple of photos of yard as it might interest some. I would recommend anyone needing riveting or other heavy steel work to give them a call.

Photos of the yard and unloading the hull

They did a very good job of the armour rivets including fitting the hinges in place. They were about the smallest rivets they use from what i saw. There are five smaller rivets on the back that hold the latch and hook in place for the rear folding armour, they weren't off the shape sizes so they made the special snaps and rivets needed while i waited. It took a couple of hours but they weren't letting it leave unless it was done right. It was refreshing to see how they worked and their attention to detail. The repaired hull looks great and is off to paint in a week.

I hope to get it back from paint and fit the rear axle by the end of August, all being well.

Photos of the guys putting the rivets in and the forge for getting them hot.

Proper job
 

Paint coding for the tool types too. I can work out the snap and flush tools, but what's a Liverpool, then?

My T-36 Tractor is together with 3/16" rivets, which are enough of a pain to get right

Very interesting photo set Ben, it's always gratifying to see traditional engineering being undertaken. Guys who do it day in and day out always make the jobs look too easy!