Penguin Mkll

[chris vickery]

Back to the raccoons...

Two stories. Firstly, I know of a fellow collector/supply guy who is in our hobby that got tangled up with a raccoon out in one of his storage trailers. while searching for a part in a dimly lit trailer, he reached up to a top shelf where, lo and behold a very pissed off raccoon was hiding out. It went up one side of him and down the other and during the process bit him. A trip to the hospital and some rabies shots...not nice.

Secondly, pertaining to the abilities of these creatures. I was camping in N Ontario one time and did my best to raccoon proff my campsite.
I went so far as to set the seat of the picnic table on top of my cooler so the weight of the table would hold my cooler in place to keep the coons from helping themselves.
In the mddle of the night I heard some noise outside the tent so got up with flashlight in hand to see what was going on. I could not believe my eyes when I saw a raccoon on his hind legs, forelegs grasped around the handle of my cooler trying his hardest to pull my cooler from under the pcnic table seat!
They are a pain but they are smart. Even more so, they are usually not timid of humans neither which makes the risks associated with them even greater.

Sorry to hijack your post Rob.

[rob love]

I have tried to amend the title of the thread to "Penguin mkll / Canadian Raccoons, but I think a moderator would have to do that. I can only change the title of the first post.

I have said it for years....it is not unusual for any thread on MLU to meander through various topics. I think sometimes that is what keeps this forum so interesting and at times hilarious.

[derk derin]

I am headed to Gimli right now for the day and will use my Icelandic family connections to see if there are any Bombardier parts around to pick from.
Derk.

[rob love]

Originally Posted by derk derin

I am headed to Gimli right now for the day and will use my Icelandic family connections to see if there are any Bombardier parts around to pick from.
Derk.

In the developed spirit of this thread, keep an eye out for raccoons as well.

[David Dunlop]

Ed.

I was taking another look at that photo you posted of Rob's Penguin in service and realized the chap on the stretcher was being loaded into the vehicle via what appears to be the right front window.

Rob's photos clearly show a rear entrance, as well as one on each side, so now I am curious as to how the interior of these ambulance Penguins were set up. Was it just for two stretcher casualties one per sponson with crew access in the middle, or could a third stretcher be loaded via the back, over top of the engine area behind the driver?

The only other thing I can think of is the racoons wouldn't let the MO load the poor chap in the back door.

David

[derk derin]

Well,I just got back from Gimli and spotted quite a few Bombardiers and pulled into one yard,introduced myself and told him about your search for spare rims and he showed me the bombardier machines he had in the yard and let me take pictures of the bogie wheels and track systems.The wheel rims are a one piece disk type rim where I think your rims are a two piece bolt together rim.They also have a single row of wheels where your Penguin has two rows?Anyway,a nice day to go for a drive and look at vehicles.
Derk.

[derk derin]

Another one,also a couple of pictures of one of the wheels he had in the shop to show the size of the shaft for the bearings.

[rob love]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Ed.

I was taking another look at that photo you posted of Rob's Penguin in service and realized the chap on the stretcher was being loaded into the vehicle via what appears to be the right front window.

Rob's photos clearly show a rear entrance, as well as one on each side, so now I am curious as to how the interior of these ambulance Penguins were set up. Was it just for two stretcher casualties one per sponson with crew access in the middle, or could a third stretcher be loaded via the back, over top of the engine area behind the driver?

The only other thing I can think of is the racoons wouldn't let the MO load the poor chap in the back door.

David

David
Both front windows open to allow stretchers to be put in. At this time I believe it holds four stretchers....2 on each side one atop the other.

That back door is actually the engine bay. The cover, oil cooler and radiator are loose in the cab at present. I don't think you would be doing a casualty any favors loading him into that location.

It looks like they are actually loading one of the 200 pound toboggans with the casualty on it. I believe the racks are meant for the normal stretchers, but will confirm it once I get the hull cleaned up and some of the brackets back in their positions.

[rob love]

Derk
Thanks for taking the time to check things out up there in fisherman country. The rims do appear to be the type that could be used with the Penguin, except as you noted the penguin rims are the bolt together type. This may have been to allow for the insert of the run flats. The tire size you show is correct for the Penguin as well: 4.50X16. One forum was suggesting that 16" hide-a-spares from the wrecking yards could be used. I may experiment with this, since those can be had very cheaply. If I can get them off the car rims, they may fit onto the bolt together rims. We'll see.

Tracks were dropped off today. Since we are heading out to the MVPA convention for the week, they will have to wait for installation.

[jdmcm]

Hey Rob, I have a Cadillac flathead motor, in pieces, very nice shape, real tank block, lots of spares, heads, cranks etc. that I picked up as a spare for my Stuart. When I bought the Stuart the seller assured me the crated engines were perfect and ready to go...guess what....don't always believe what you hear. After complete rebuilds on the crated engines, I have enough spares to keep me going. Anyway you are welcome to the spare motor and parts if you can make it work for your project.

John

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Another Muskox era vehicle based on the same running gear is this one. It was for sale in Quebec 30 odd years ago and went west. What is it and what became of it?

[Ed Storey]

That is a Penguin Mk I.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Damn good find with the Penguin! If you don't find suitable postwar roadwheels and tracks, you can be excused for swapping in Bombardier parts. They are still Canadian and evidently more numerous.

As for raccoons, they are devious little critters. One neighbour called them urban terrorists. I live in prime raccoon habitat, and for a while was unwittingly feeding them with my garbage cans. When I realized how they were getting into the locking lids, I made a sturdy 3'x6' wood and steel lean-to shed. No more knocked over garbage, but the kitts learned where to go. For years I kept seeing moms and little ones prowling my yard. Then I got a big enough dog to crap landmines and bark ferociously at intruders.

Skunks on the other hand have bad eyesight. They too are scavengers, but not as clever. I had one fall into a basement window well. He was too confused to climb and out. So a very large lady from the Human Society came with a big net on a stick. The skunk scampered away to the back hedge, to bring his love and cuteness to another homeowner.

[rob love]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

That is a Penguin Mk I.

I thought that might be the case. There are photos of them and they do look like a more expediant version.

Re the mk3 version, I was talking to Brian Asbury and he mentioned that his Mk3 manual shows pretty much the same bodywork as the mk2. I will discuss with Brian tomorrow about possibly getting a copy of his mk3 manual.

Some questions I have to wonder about are:
Were the mark ones produced from scratch or from armoured snowmobiles.
What quantity of mk1, 2 and 3?
What quantity of the armoured snowmobile were consumed making penguins? All of them?
Were the mk3 penguins made from snowmobiles or made from scratch?

I almost picked up a beautiful no19 set today for my penguin, but I let another fellow at the show buy it for his mk2 carrier.