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

[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

[Ganmain Tony]

Rick and Mike,

Thanks very much fella's, invaluable help as always. Might also help reduce my bill at the sandblasters.

Will give it a go and let you know how it goes..

[lynx42]

I decided that the transfer case was next to tackle so with Jill’s help and my trusty engine crane we placed it on one of the four poster hoists runways.

I like to keep the work area as clean as possible so a good layer of newspaper underneath the job will catch most of the crap and soak up the inevitable oil spills. First job was to scrape off the mud and debris build up before attempting to unbolt anything as with any restoration, you shouldn’t cut corners and just clean up a part and put it back on

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Every part of the Lynx is joined with earth straps and you can see here that even the two parts of the case are earthed to each other and then to the chassis.

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The Lynx uses a very shot strange type of coupling between the gearbox and the transfer case. This consists of a pair of Rzeppa disc type universal joints connected by a short shaft. This coupling is just like you find in most WWII military front wheel drive diff assemblies. Fortunately for me, the coupling was still attached to the gearbox and was in good condition. The balls were not rusted and after a really good clean and grease the Rzeppa joints were re-assembled ready to refit and as it says in the workshop manual, wrapped in a clean cloth until ready to use. These are the six bolts onto which the Rzeppa joint bolts.

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I started the dis-assembly with the declutch unit and after removing the coupling, I carefully removed, measured and stored the shims behind the coupling.

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The transfer case was pretty straight forward to pull down. It is a single speed just like in aC15A or F15A, supplying drive to the front axle as and when required. The selector lever sticks up through the floor on the left of the drivers seat. Pushing it down to the floor engages the drive and pulling it up disengages the drive to the front axle.