Canadian Ferret 54-82506
 

I was finally able to close the deal last Saturday. I have been researching the Canadian involvement in UNEF in 1956, the Suez Crisis as it has been called. I was willing to settle for a non-running vehicle that needed work just to have that direct link to the UN's first peace keeping force. Lester Pearson later to be the Prime Minister of Canada had recommended that the UN send in a multi-national force to calm the escalating crisis in the Suez. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his proposal.

23 Ferrets were sent aboard the aircraft carrier HMCS Magnificent to the Suez canal. 54-82506 is one of them.

Enough of the history lesson. I posted this on HMVF but got very little feedback.

To my surprise it actually runs very well. Gears, Stearing and all the lights are fully functional.

Attachment 45578 Attachment 45579 Attachment 45581

I am considering restoring it to 1956 Squadron 56 UNEF. That would mean a 19 set radio and a Bren Gun. I would not paint it white but rather the m-series semi gloss olive drab. The ferrets were painted white a few years after they arrived in Egypt.

Attached Thumbnails
Attachment 45582

Very nice. Where did you manage to find it?

So I am still considering what depth of restoration I should do. Some are quite in depth ....some more superficial.

It's so original. I mean it has no electronic ignition, no replaceable oil filter kit. It even came with a box of the original oil filter cloth inserts. I think they called them diapers. I also got the drivers windshield insert and what I believe to be a C42 radio tray. They did add a battery kill switch which I forgot to turn off and a few hours later the battery was dead. I used my ferret slave cable to fire it up.

In 1971 my buddy Glen Hynes and I spent our March break from high school on coarse being trained on the Ferrets at Camp Petawawa with the 8th Hussars. Turns out that the 9 ferret's the Ontario Regiment Museum got where from warehouse in Petawawa and records show that 506 was with the 8th Hussars when it's service life ended. Small world!

So several days ago he and I (42 years later) were driving around the back roads in what could be the same Ferret we once worked on and drove. Ok well there is probably about a 20% chance....who knows...lol. This ferret did come out of a warehouse in Petawawa about 1982.

Here's an in-service pic with what appears to be the 8th Hussars (cap badge)

Attachment 45583

Some other interior pics.

Attachment 45584 Attachment 45585 Attachment 45586 Attachment 45587

Very nice find...

The Canadian 56th( named after the year) Squadron unloading the Ferrets at Port Said, Egypt. Note the front left vehicle's number.
Attachment 45588

Having been involved in the Ontario Regiment Museum a while ago and having been there recently the Canadian service numbers recorded on different sites/forums appear to be incorrect.
For example the ferret they have all done up in UN white is clearly marked 54-82603 and another one I looked at was stamped 54-82570. Neither of these service numbers were recorded as being assigned to the Ontario Regiment Museum upon disposal. They were included in the original 9 that they received. They told me that until Colin came up to visit them they had no idea of the Canadian service numbers stamped on the hull.

It fell off a truck Rob! ...a big truck.
Kidding aside I did a trade for it with the museum. Win-Win scenerio!

I am very happy....but still not sure how to proceed with the restoration.

Congrats! Ok, so what did you have to trade to get a ferret? I assume not a wife or kids plus cash lol.

Are you going to plate it and drive it around town?

Andy

I traded...
 

my left nut and my first born!

Actually I traded another Ferret and a few bobbles. A Canadian one that Peter Wilkie had way up in Northern Ontario. First I bought Wilkie's and then had it shipped to Oshawa to the Museum.
First Wilkie's had a turret added. I wanted a Mk1 original but more importantly I wanted a Ferret with a very interesting history. I wanted an Egyptian one. According to the records the Ont.Regmt Museum had four. I got the best one. Funny thing is that I saw it at the Nov 11 Remberence Day parade with many other armoured vehicles and prayed that that was one of the four and sure enough it was.
It was a bonus to find out where it came from and the 8th Hussars connection.
I was an officer in the ONTR's when the ferrets came to the unit. They have been stored in doors and most have remained functional over the years.

Ah Peters. He had 2, which one did you buy?

Are you doing the work at your place or away?

Yes I will plate it. I have a very nice MK2 Brit that I have plated.

Attachment 45589

I got his Canadian. The other was a Brit Mk2. It has changed hands twice since he sold it. If I could not have cut a deal with the museum I would have kept Wilkie's Canadian ferret and converted it back to the Mk1 and restored it.

54-82506 is a far better vehicles than either of those. I mean in condition and how it functions.
I have a several bay heated detached garage to play in.

Congrats Al,

The electronic conversion is a post service modification and so is the spin on oil filter adapter.

I'm sure that if you do a restoration you will end up doing what I am doing with my Canadian Mk1 Ferret call sign 31, a Strats vehicle.

I apologise for the lack of picture quality but here is the pack coming out last wednesday night. We had the engine running two weeks before.

Regards

Robin

Hey Robin, so now there are three of us restoring Canadian ferrets in Canada.

In the now empty engine compartment you have a few inches of sediment. Sift through it carefully. When my Mk2's gearbox was pulled and somewhat rebuilt relics were found giving me greater insight as to who used the vehicle near the end of it's service life.

Al

Al,

Thanks for the sediment tip but yes I've done a Ferret pack re & re before and know only too well the laws of gravity and what lies under a pack.

Here is a fuel tank that will be the heart of any Ferret running problems.

Mine is back from being cleaned and tested and will now be put away sealed awaiting rebuild time


R

Hey Robin, what do you think the total weight is of the engine assembly?

Canadian Ferret
 

Good find, and good to get one with verifiable history.

Unlike most of the white painted vehicles you see on display around the country, yours has the genuine been-there-done-that pedigree.

And if I may be the first to say, that is one complicated piece of engineering and fabrication on that gas tank!

Give or take a few pounds the whole pack weight is around 1428lbs according to the manual.

The fuel tank is a very complicated assembly designed to maximise the usage of the space it occupies.

R

Radios???
 

I am restoring my Canadian 54-82506 ferret to the UNEF era. That would include paint, markings, weapons and of course the radios. I have a sense that in 1956 they would have been using the WWII 19 sets....true?
Would anyone have any schematics of the set-up and what would be included? Any pics?

Not sure Alan but perhaps the C42 is more suitable

Your right Chris, the C42 would be the easier default but if I go to all the trouble of restoring to a UNEF 1956 service look I want put the comm system issue at that time. I am hoping that it is the C42......but when were the C42 s issued? I guess I should take a close look at the headsets the soldiers are wearing and maybe the antenae on the ferrets.

Alan, I believe that the C42 was in developement in the late 40s but its use was not widespread until the 1950s. It was first issued to armoured units.
Perhaps someone with more initmate knowledge of the Canadian Armoured Corps during your timeframe would have a better answer.

yellow paint
 

I know the bezel boxes are originally yellow.

But I also noticed yellow paint on the steering box behind the wheel. I plan on going original so that would mean going with the yellow paint.
anyone seen this before?

Al,

think you mean BEVEL box

R

You are right!!! Next time I will finish my coffee before I write. :salute:

Al,

not the furst thyme ive maid a spellink mishtake iver!


R

There are a number of Ferret photos on RamTank.ca
Please feel free to send me your restored photos for addition.

Clive

Clive,

you have my full permission to lift / copy anything from this forum or HMVF that I have posted or will post in the future that is of use to you, a photo credit would be nice / appropriate.

R

Al,

regarding the bevel boxes, it is the over enthusiastic painter who seals the spring loaded breather on the tops of them that starts all the aggravation. They are easily taken apart and cleaned and put back in.

R

From what I understand, the bevel boxes were painted yellow with a leak detecting paint.....it's easier to see the fissure. Good luck with the restoration. I have a little bit of knowledge on the Ferret, so if I can help with a problem, I will, or may know someone who can. If you need a muffler, I might be able to help aswell.

Dan Sicotte

Ex Mk 2/3 owner