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

[lynx42]

Then with the aid of the RAF Leyland, I moved the chassis to another part of the workshop and with Graeme’s help started to strip the chassis to the last nut and bolt.

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I do not know what was put onto the bolt threads during the original assembly back in 1942 but even the most rusted bolts came apart with out a lot of trouble. There was a greyish substance on the threads and that helped a lot. A bolt could be rusted almost right through and the nut would still undo. Not bad after 70 years out in the open. (Not every one undid but 90% of them did.)

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You will notice that these were undone dry, there was no WD40 or other rust breaker used on them. There was and plenty of heat on some others on the hull though.

Regards Rick.

[charlie fitton]

I thoroughly agree with the removal of bolts on the hulls. Carriers as well. In my limited experience, any bolt that could be gripped could be undone.

Really appreciate this story

f

[lynx42]

I set up a molasses tank to assist in rust removal.

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How does the Molasses Tank work, well you mix up 1 part of molasses to 10 parts of water, leave it for about a week by which time a terrible scum forms on top of the solution. Remove that scum and throw it away and your molasses is ready to use. This solution is not an acid in any way, what removes the rust is a type of algae which feeds on oxygen. Rust consists of hydrated iron(III) oxides Fe2O3•nH2O and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH), Fe(OH)3). Rust is a good source of oxygen for the algae.

A word of warning, DO NOT put die-cast or items containing zinc into the solution or you will find that they haves disappeared. If you put brass or bronze items into the solution, do not leave them for more than 2 to 3 days as the algae will eat out the zinc and turn the brass back to copper.

Into the molasses I put almost every small part. Here two similar items, one piece done and the other before treatment.

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After leaving them to soak for a couple of weeks I removed them and after pressure washing each piece I wire brushed them and this was the result.

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Hundreds of pieces were soaked for varying times. Sometimes they went back into the solution many times after being wire brushed to obtain a rust free item.

Regards Rick.

[lynx42]

During the strip down, the original sandy yellow colour appeared under fittings which had not been removed or exposed to the sun and rain since the day they were made.

Here is the colour under the lifting ring on the left front.

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Inside the left locker was a small bracket bolted to the bin side. After removal the original colour was found, unchanged from the day it was painted.

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There were two basic colours used for the finished coats, either this sand colour for the desert and green for Europe etc.

A decision was made to paint the whole vehicle in this desert sandy colour as it was visible all over the whole vehicle. I took 4 or 5 bits to the local paint shop and had them computer match the colour for me. It is still a bit shiny, but a few days in the sun will soon fix that.

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You can see here in this photo, (thanks Peter Duggan) that there were two finish coats. Desert Sand and Green. There are about 140 Lynxes in this photo with the green ones in the background.

Regards Rick.

[lynx42]

I’ve got a bit ahead of myself here. The chassis tear down commenced and each part was photographed and documented. Thank heavens for digital cameras. I commenced stripping the chassis by first removing the fuel tank armoured protection tubs which were bolted to the chassis. With these out of the way I was able then to get to the smaller fittings.

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The hydraulics are a bit different to most vehicles. The accelerator is hydraulically operated with a master cylinder under the accelerator pedal and a slave at the carburettor. I have had a new slave cylinder for many years having purchased it at a Corowa Swim-In auction. The brakes, clutch and accelerator all work off the one reservoir tank mounted in the engine bay.

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With this set up there are quite a few hydraulic lines going all through the chassis every whichway. All of the pipes and master and slave cylinders were photographed, measured and labelled as they were removed and stored carefully away. Later all of the chassis hydraulics were carefully disassembled. Photos were taken as each piece was stripped down.

[lynx42]

The chassis was slowly being stripped with Graeme and Jills help. The gearbox and transfer case were removed along with the steering box and all mounts. The remote gear change and fulcrum were removed at this time as well. This fulcrum changes a push to a pull and vice- versa. This is because the engine and gearbox are behind the crew compartment facing rearwards with the radiator right at the back.

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The chassis was almost bare by now except for the axles and a few fittings. The shock absorbers mount to the hull sides and to large fittings on each axle. The front axle mounts had been oxy cut off to be used as the spring mounts for the speedboat trailer. I was fortunate to locate a pair of mounts in South Australia 20+ years ago.

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Regards Rick.

[lynx42]

The wheels were taken off.

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The tyre size is unusual being 9.25 x 16 run-flats.

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This Lynx had only 4,206 or maybe 8 miles showing on the old speedo but the tyres were well worn.

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The warning plate on each wheel was still clear.

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I purchased new 9.00 x 16 tyres tubes and rust bands from Queensland ($1,600 for five including freight to the door.) These are not bar treads but lugs which are good enough for me.