Got carried away!

[John A. Rippingham]

Hello Lynn,

The piece of cut armour is in canada somewhere, so not much chance of finding it. I didn't think the small bracket had made it onto a photo but you spotted it.

So what i've got is a standard MK 1 canadian carrier?

John

[Lynn Eades]

To get it more accurately it's a :
Carrier Universal, No2 MkI* (the no2 is the 85 hp motor)
The star is important because it denotes " built in Canada (by Ford)
without the star it's british built (which it is not) There are many differences between the two.
You have the most common of the carrier variants. This means when you are looking for a part, the correct one for your carrier is (relatively) easier to find.

I know it' a long shot, but maybe that piece of steel is sitting on a nog in a shed where the carrier came from. sometimes the bits are just sitting there still. If you ask the worst result is "no, it's gone"

[John A. Rippingham]

I've been wondering what the * ment thanks.

Whats the best way to find when it was made?

john

[Lynn Eades]

Most of the fittings on your carrier will have the year of manufacture of that part, so you will be able to quite quickly get close. 1941? or 42?
The radiator will have a little brass tag soldered to it up in the curved bit at the top where the fan goes past. It will give month and year.
Be careful with that nice looking steering wheel.
Take lots of photos even for the mundane stuff, like which way bolts go in, and if you're removing rivets, which holes have flat ones or none (for bolts?)
If your're good with a welder or you know someone who is, then you might be able to patch rather than replace?

[John A. Rippingham]

Thanks Lynn will have a look today for the dates.

I have a friend who is a very good welder so i'm hoping to patch the piece in front of the driver. Can armour plate be welded with normal mild steel rods or do i need something different?

John

[eddy8men]

hi john

the hull number is stamped on the top of the angle iron behind the gunner seat but i'll show you when I come over.
I used normal mig wire when I rebuilt my t16 with no issues other than when doing short welds on the wading plates when I had a few that cracked the weld when cooling, all the long armour welds where fine, maybe it has something to do with the heat and how much you're putting into it but whatever the reason you'll be fine with a standard mig.

rick

[Lynn Eades]

Stainless works well. It is what they used when they built the first welded hulls.

[RichardT10829]

Gear stick housing has a good one IMHO it had little chance of being changed out during its service... If you look down the side of the cast bracket it will have the part number followed my FM Co and a date ie FM Co 42 denotes it was made 1942 ;-)

I had a dig about last night for you and have located some original front mudguards. They are straight but could do with a tidy up.

I can openly recommend any cast work produced by Ben Hawkins, and any fab work by Old Buck Restorations based in Suffolk.

Get yourself a plastic vat and fill it with molasses and water and soak any seized bits..... Saves you a packet on grit blasting!!!!

Excellent for seized track too.

I agree with Lynn, stainless is the way to go for steel that thick, make your weld prep 45 degree from both sides leaving a small flat you get good penetration and the root weld pulls the graft into the original plate as it cools. A nice easy fix that. Front armour, you will be able to polish out the weld a treat too..... Very jealous !!!