Restoration of Canadian Scout Car Ford Lynx I, Mk.III No.1726

[lynx42]

Hi Mike C.,

These are the TAC/Unit signs etc that were visible on my Lynx. I hope you can identify them for me.

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Red over Yellow on the right rear mudguard.

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Unit sign on Left rear mudguard.

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TAC/Unit sign front left armour above the cross bin. The white '0' is the last number of the ARN.

Red over Yellow right side front.jpg

The front cross bin as found and a faint red over yellow with white numbers on the left side.

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Close up of red over yellow with white numbers(?).

Don't know if these will help identify the unit etc. so fingers crossed.

Rick.

[lynx42]

In Post No.69 I showed the work required on the mesh grill. I located a photo of the finished and fitted grill so here it is.

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I took these photos one evening as I closed up the workshop and I thought I would share them with you.

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A QANTAS flight from New Zealand heading towards Melbourne as the sun was setting.

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No it was not crashing but looked spectacular.

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Rick

[lynx42]

In 2006 at the Bellfield Melbourne Tank Museum sale there was an M3A1 White Scout Car with a quite unusual camouflage style. Painted in a three colour pattern the blue was something I had not ever come across before in Australia. I mechanically restored this one for the owner (a big big job) but he wanted to retain the unusual cammo as it was.
There are many photos of vehicles belonging to the Long Range Desert Group during WWII and some restored or look-a likes with a blue cammo scheme.

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BUT I did not think that I would find that my Lynx also had Blue cammo.

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Blue paint under other colours so it has been there a long time on the rear left engine bay side.

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Splashed over the hull in many places was the remains of blue cammo. It was to be seen on the rear engine bay sides, the hull, lockers and mudguards. This was in places over painted with green. I say splashed as there were plenty of runs as well as rough brushings. These runs were behind the left locker attached to the left rear guard. The blue went across the locker lid and down the outside.

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Rear of the hull near the right side lifting ring, with the runs going down behind the right side locker attached to the right rear mudguard.

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Interesting, I hope that Mike C. can give me an answer.

Rick

[Mike Cecil]

Rick,

Not much to work with there: the Formation sign of 1st Aust Infantry Brigade is the only one I can make a positive ID on. The Unit signs are the red-yellow diagonal square, but I can't make out the Unit Sign Number. But at least you are reasonably sure it was issued to an armoured unit of 1st Aust Inf Bde.

The cam pattern I have seen on a White M3A1 at the time of its disposal, so it came from Army camouflaged that way. I have no records indicating how widespread it may have been, or even if it was official - it seems more likely to have been a unit devised scheme. 1st Armoured Regt certainly used a disruptive camouflage scheme in the late 50s/early 60s, but I have only B&W images which are not much help in colour ID, and they are only of Centurions.

Regards

Mike

[Ganmain Tony]

I have nothing valuable to contibute on your restoration Rick. Only to say I am learning a lot about the Lynx. It really is a fascinating thread and a very interesting machine... so thankyou

I do have a question in regards to your experience with mollases. At this time of year (dead of winter) is it wise for me to start cleaning parts with it? I assume it works better in warmer conditions. Does the tank need a cover over the top?

[lynx42]

Originally Posted by Ganmain Tony

I have nothing valuable to contibute on your restoration Rick. Only to say I am learning a lot about the Lynx. It really is a fascinating thread and a very interesting machine... so thankyou

I do have a question in regards to your experience with molasses. At this time of year (dead of winter) is it wise for me to start cleaning parts with it? I assume it works better in warmer conditions. Does the tank need a cover over the top?

Thank you Tony, it is nice to see that someone out there is interested in my restoration. I will be uploading photos for weeks at this rate.

Now the molasses . You do not need to cover the brew. In fact you can put something big in 2/3 the way and turn it over now and then to get full coverage. Do not spray any wd40 or similar onto the item until you are finished soaking it. It won't work on any oil, grease or like product.

Rust film will form as soon as you take it out of the brew but don't panic. Just wash it off and as soon as it is properly dry, wire brush it.

Regards Rick.

[lynx42]

Originally Posted by Ganmain Tony

I do have a question in regards to your experience with mollases. At this time of year (dead of winter) is it wise for me to start cleaning parts with it? I assume it works better in warmer conditions. Does the tank need a cover over the top?

Hi Tony, at 2.36am I woke up as I thought things over, as you do at that time of day, I realized that I had not answered your question whether the molasses works in the cooler months.

Yes it does, just a bit slower. As I said in the thread where my tank is shown,(thread #13), "This solution is not an acid in any way, what removes the rust is a type of algae which feeds on oxygen." The main thing you must do to keep the algae active is give it some rust to work on and add a bit of fresh water now and then.

Hope this helps.(I did wait until morning to answer you.)

Rick.

[Mike Cecil]

Tony,

If you want to overcome the winter cold, place the bath on an old electric blanket and plug it in (err, not one you want to put back on the bed!). Works wonders on the action of a caustic bath, too.

When in Aust, I used a metal heat pad, the sort you put under your feet when working at a desk, but I suspect any source of constant, low heat would do the trick.

Mike