My wife hasn't seen it yet

[Maurice Donckers]

These panels are left overs from my carrier restauration , I also have a right side for a carrier , but it has a hole in it . These pannels are from a Mk1 . I got also most of the rest as a pattern .

[Phill]

Thankyou for the replies, I feel like part of the forum already. Richard, the rear armor plate has been cut and is not bent. Good to know the idlers can be resurfaced. Thanks for the link too.

Maurice, thanks, it's encouraging that some of this metal is available, like the dash. I'm curious about the hole in the armor.

It was the restoration thread by Jordan Baker that inspired me to buy this from a friend. I guess this is a MK1? My son keeps asking me and I'm not sure.

A sticky on armor plate dimensions would be great!

I've got to ask, is a carrier devalued by having mild steel plate for armor? Is real armor plate available to buy and cut to size?

I've parked it for the winter, even though it runs and drives(according to the previous owner), we pushed it with the backhoe onto some 2x8's and wrapped it with 2 canvas tarps. The ground was back frozen today so the tracks are still clean.

I took lots of pictures of the inside before wrapping her up.Phil

[Maurice Donckers]

The orriginal armour plate has a rougher surface then mild steel , also it is Chisselled straight after hardening . This results is that you can see a lot of stripes on the surface of the plate`s .
I discoverred that riveting goes the best with a decent hammer , and keep the rivets cold . I mannaged to do about 10 an evening before my hand started to give up .

[RichardT10829]

my thoughts were to make the armour out of mild steel also, this would benefit by keeping the weight down slightly, but as mentioned it will not look 100% correct unless some prep work is done, you could put some fine media in the paint to give the surface some texture, and prior to paint the chinks and grooves type affairs could be put into the metal with a grinder.

in the UK you can hire a pair of pneumatic rivvet hammers quite cheap.

[Lynn Eades]

If your carrier is English built it does not have the "chisel marks" that the Canadian carriers have, so it will look fine with mild steel. The English armour had a pattern on it like you would get if you painted it with a paint roller, before the paint smooths out. By the time it had a coat of paint, the pattern in the steel is hidden. There is variation in the thickness of the front armour between the various Mk1 carriers. Talk to the McDell boys about it.

[RichardT10829]

Phil can you get shed loads of pics put on here so i can drool i take it the loops on the front pannel are the work of a previous farmer/owner ? or are they something added by the MOD ?

also with the front plate you are lucky as the Fergus carrier i have been looking at has been chopped around the second angle bar that runs accross the front and the steering box is just lying there rather than fixed as per yours.

Richard

[Phill]

Thank you for all the replies. I noticed the chisel marks on the rear plate so it must be original. Small portions of the original armor plate are left along with the rivets, all around the perimeter; we noticed the plate on the front was thicker. I got a picture of a decal on the front right fender, almost readable. Strangely when my son turns the steering wheel, standing in front, the machine seems to move. There is a layer of snow on her today. Phil