LP2 SAR Hull No 316 Restoration.

[Lynn Eades]

Hi Matt, and welcome! You are in the right place.
The really silly questions are like the really hard ones. People just don't answer.
Sometimes even the easy ones don't get an answer because life gets in the way.
I guess that means you just ask anyhow.

[Keith Webb]

Hi Matt, good to see your first post! I realised as I added your carrier to the database I should not have added the 'A' to 'LP2' when I created your signature on registration, so feel free to correct that.
I'm sure you'll enjoy and be enriched by your experience here on MLU.

[Matt Stephenson]

Hello everyone,

First of all, thank you for the welcome to the forum and community here, and for the interest shown in my project. I have some updates and a little progress made with the restoration.

I've learn't that the Bandiana barracks located in Wodonga was a centre for disposing of surplus materiel after the war....including bren gun carriers. Given the situation after the war, it came as not much of a surprise to learn that much of this surplus equipment found its way onto farms, supplementing or replacing farm machinery and equipment used by farmers, as was the case with my hull. Well, recently I've been fortunate enough to come across another hull that was on a farm - see attached pics.

This hull was also cut up and abused by the farmer, who also at some point needed and a ford engine and gearbox, and chose to obtain these from the hull of the carrier by simply cutting the floor of the hull, and lifting the bit he didn't want (the hull) away. Fortunately for me, much of the front upper armour plate was still in situ. I've bought the entire hull (what's left of it), and it will become a parts donor for my hull, replacing what has been cut away. Its been moved to a mate's property where I intend to cut away the bits I need....

Unfortunately, no builder's plate or stamp to identify the hull or manufacturer.

Matt

[Keith Webb]

Another good find Matt! The Hull number and manufacturer was also stamped in to the angle iron piece at the inside rear just above the diff, looks like that piece is still in place.

[lynx42]

Nice project Matt.

Is 316 an LP2 or an LP2A?

The new pickup is an LP2A late build as the tools are located across the rear not along the side as with the earlier ones.

Keep the photo coming as we are all interested.

Regards Rick.

[Mike Cecil]

Hi Matt,

Welcome to the forum.

Your 'Machine Gun Carrier' was built by SAR as an LP2, and was originally registered under the Uniform Commonwealth Registration scheme as C-22033. On 26 May 1942, the registration was changed to the hull number '316'. It was originally built with a 1938 rear axle with the splined pinion and a ratio of 6.66 to 1 (marked 6-40 on the casing). It is the rear axle assembly that denotes the difference between the LP2 and the LP2A: the LP2A having a 1940 type rear axle with a tapered pinion and woodruf key.

First engine fitted to Hull 316 was engine number 1G4992F.

Army inspectors accepted carriers from SAR around hull number 310 in April 1941, so I suggest your carrier was received by the Army in April/early May 1941. It was manufactured as part of MGO Order Number 698 issued in August 1940.

Your second carrier donor hull: As Keith said, check the flat horizontal strap on the inside face of the rear hull plate, just above the aperture that the diff protrudes through. On that should be stamped the manufacturing plant and the hull number of your second carrier. As Rick said, the tools on that one are across the rear, so most likely to be an LP2A manufactured with a hull number higher than about 2700, however, this is not definitive, as tool stowage on some earlier carriers was also moved to the later position as a modification. Most earlier carriers, however, were left in their original configuration, so I suggest that Hull 316 would probably have been that way when it came out of service.

At least you have some good private examples close at hand to look at. Pity access to AMB is not available at the moment, though.

You'll be attending Corowa, I assume, for a real MV initiation, and you can put faces to some of the nom de plumes we use here!!!

Mike C

[Matt Stephenson]

Hi all,

I've checked the piece above the aperture above where the gearbox mates with the diff. There appears to be the remains of "STH....." however the rest has been obliterated by tool marks, damage and slag etc from where it was cut up previously. My best guess is another produced by South Australian Railways, but given its overall state that's the best I can surmise.

Thanks heaps Mike for the info about my hull. I have been intending to travel to the War Memorial at some time to try and locate the ARN for my hull, and hopefully which regiment it was allocated to, this will save me a fair bit of time and effort trying to locate those details with the info you've provided.

I already made a start cutting parts away from both hulls to begin the transplant process. Got to be careful with the grinders to make sure I don't start a fire..... while doing this, I have found evidence of disruptive camouflage painted on my lower hull, which can kinda be seen in the 1st pic. My son's Thomas train set has temporarily found a home on top of the carrier...luckily it easy to move whenever I need to.

I've got some time off when Corowa is on, so I will definitely be making the trip there, and hope to have the opportunity to meet some of you there.

Matt.