Richie's Mk1 Restoration

[RichardT10829]

Well thought i would start a resto thread, saves people sifting through my intro thread to find progress on the carrier.

Well she finally hit UK soil Thursday 4th June 2009. and what a mess she is in ! i took all the bits out of the hull and checked everything was there which it was. started the resto by removing the asbestos heat sheilds which are breaking up so off they came, they have been bagged up and will be used as templates later.

managed to get ther air intake boxing removed from the remnants of the center bulkhead, everything as you can imagine is seized up and severely rotted. i have not got my compresser at this garage yet so everything is being done by hand (which are now both cut to ribbons hahhah)

took the heads off the engine and poored AT fluid down the pots, then took the inlet manifold off and filled the valley with the same fluid, I used this on recomendation from a carrier collector from Thunder Bay needless to say the engine is severely clogged up and after some gently prying on the crank it was obvious that this is going to be a full rebuild. good thing is the block appears to be good and is holding fluids. Engine comes out when i can scrounge a hoist able to take the weight !

i went around the carrier just spraying all the nuts and bolts with penetrating oil just in preperation for the tear down. the battery holder disintegrated as i brushed past it so that will need re made after blasting.

managed to get the gunners side track off, basically as i have been working on my own i have had to improvise somewhat, so i removed the sprocket tied a strap to the track tied the other end to my tow hitch and slowly drove away pulling the long section off without incident. So far i have about twelve links which need broke free, i have free'd the rest off. That said looking at the pins i have knocked out they are pretty bad i dont think they will be safe to run so i may have to steel Kevins pins...........Just kidding mate....... will have to make some new pins..

noticed that both my rear bogie wheels are caput, i thought it was just the rubber that was perished but the beading on the rim has been smashed out on both wheels in various sections, so they are goosed to say the least.

have a source that can make front and rear fenders and the fender skirts so i have farmed that job out will wait and see what the quality of the repro is like if its good will let you all know who did them.

so order of service is to get the engine out strip the hull and remove the road wheels etc cut the remainder of the center bulkhead out and remove the remainder of the glacis plate, trip to the blaster then etch prime, followed by high build zinc oxide prime. then the bits go back in to make a running tub.

thats the plan anyway !












also the lower tub number is confirmed as 10131 it has too many digits and does not appear in the lists, however 1013 appears in a batch listed as "Missing"

[Philliphastings]

Hello Richard

Thanks for posting up the pics, something I am as yet still unable to do.

Every time I look at an image of another carrier, especially british Mk1's I learn somthing new.

Keep up the good work it is appreciated

Cheers

Phill

[Lynn Eades]

Well come on Phillip, I'm waitng for the detail pics of your scout.

[RichardT10829]

couple of queries i have. one being the lower hull number 10131 anyone any idea's about this as it seems to have one digit too many ?

secondly i will have to put the base coat onto the lower hull so i can get the road wheels etc back on can anyone tell me what cammo scheme would have been used by RSF or KOYLI regiments in Italy and Persia ? i have asked before and was refered to a chap that has written books on cammo for mv's but only came back with a "possible" general pattern used, which was sand and a light green which does not appear on any pics i have seen of vehicles in Italy at the time my Grandad was there.

[shaun]

Hi Richie,
Glad the wagon go to you OK. Now the fun starts. as for the paint/colours i would surgest that you build it in the factory finish green for a start and then do the cammo once you have finished the build. that way you get the correct colour layer build up. I always use a paint made by Cromadex its a 222 fast air drying, matt - egg shell - or full gloss , they do all the BS paint codes as well as all the RAL. ( may be some one on the forum knows the colour code ) from spraying to being able to handle the paint part is about 15 mins. its a good hard paint but will take anything on top of it.

Yes the move is now over (150 loads) so i have a bit of time on my hands again to sit infront of the computor.

Keep at it !
Shaun

[rob love]

10131 is a normal hull serial number. I have seen many numbers around that serial block, and many of them were mortar carriers.

The numbers on the carrier (lower, upper, serial number) would normally be several hundred apart by this time of production. Mk1 carriers can run up to around 17 or 18000, with mk2 carriers running from there up to the end of production.

[marcel]

Richard,
Only the brave takle that kind of resto.
I can just imagine having to move it around in the garage and the wife wanting to get the car in the garage when it rains.
What a great project to get done and only the vision of the final result should be in your mind.

Go man!!

Marcel

[RichardT10829]

Thanks Marcel it is really a labour of love... i nearly did not get this carrier out of fear but when i saw the projects that Jordan, Shaun, and Martyn had all completed this one seemed a tad easier ! the metal work is fairly straight forward and due to the thickness of the steel it is more forgiving if a mistake is made..... its just the lifting etc... for the better part i have done this on my own (pretty much like the rest of the guys) but a fellow brickie "Fraz" who is a time served engineer and helped construct the Ark Royal has helped me with the drilling etc etc.

[eddy8men]

good on yer mate, looking really well and it's nice to see someone who isn't painting their carrier green

your oil cooler looks good, ive got one just like it

eddy

[George McKenzie]

Congratulations on a great job .It makes the rest of us feel better after reading about all your troubles and yet the restoration goes on .We all have trouble finding time .I have a good shop , a loader and lot's of room and I wonder how you fellows make out in the city .Calgary has a bylaw that you can't have a vehicle on you place if it doesn't have a license on it .The Government spends money on alot of recreation, why not have a place where you can rent a stall inside and have access to tools and hoist for doing our hobies. Reg Hodgson ,editer of Army Motors for the MVPA has a yellow carrier . If we wern't so far apart we could gang up on these green guys .You could have used my drill press it can drill those holes in 6 seconds with two fingers ,faster then you can put the bolts in .Your rivets look great .Gota go and work on my No 3 Mk1

[RichardT10829]

well the garage it was in you could just squeeze up each side of the carrier and finding space for toolage was a nightmare.... 8 - 10 weeks should hopefully see the new workshop built then i can get on with it ! just busy looking for a lathe and some nice bits and bobs to go back in when its built !

the project is approaching the nice stage of the build ie clean restored bits can start going back on shortly and i am sure the project will pick up speed