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

[aj.lec]

Originally Posted by lynx42

Here is the hull number and production date. No. 1726 <-4 - 43 ->with a script FORD between the 43 and 1726. It is followed by the inspectors stamp on the right below the right arrow.


Then it was the boat’s turn. There were 6 or more people bidding on the boat by phone including one from New Zealand. The auctioneer started with his selling spiel about the history of the boat and it’s successes from 1947. He started at $9,000.00 then dropped it to Eight. Seven, Six and Five thousand with no response. He then said $2,000.00 and still no bid so he asked for a start. I said $200.00. “Well that’s a start”, he said and off it went. In $20.00 increases, until it got to $560.00 when the mobile phone system dropped out and the six people handling the phone bids called out for a halt. After about 2 ½ minutes which seemed like 5 hours to me, the auctioneer said that we had to continue and the bloke who had asked me earlier what I thought it would go for said “Go for it Rick, I know how much you will go to and that is too much for me.” The boat was knocked down to me for $580.00. (Thank you Charlie for pulling the phone plugs up there and Ian for not running me up.)

I removed the boat to a local’s yard as the tyres had rotted off the wheels and I returned two days later to pick it up.

This photo of the boat was taken 26 days later at the 2006 Glenmaggie New Years Day regatta where we put the boat on display. Unknown to me was that there were 7 photos of the boat racing at Glenmaggie on the Club room walls. One old chap came up and told me that he remembered setting the propeller to the required pitch for the Ford V8 engine back in 1958.



Regards Rick.

That boat is a little ripper
Would be both fun and pretty hairy to drive I think
Would pitch quickly being that short

[lynx42]

The gear change tower was in fairly good condition. I had to replace the packing where the rods exit the mount. The linkages were all in good condition but the packing gone.

0027.jpg Lynda Griffith082013 029.jpg Lynda Griffith082013 032.jpg Lynda Griffith082013 033.jpg

I was fortunate that I did not have to make the holes in the linkages round again, they were all ok. All I had to do was just fit new bolts throughout the linkages. the red knob is just temporary. I had to replace the locating pin on the lever as it was worn a bit and the lever moved to much in a circular way.

Rick.

[lynx42]

I had a spare transfer case lever so the best one was pulled apart and placed into the molasses tank along with hundreds of other small bits.

0038.jpg

Here it is being pulled apart before it went in the tank. It unscrewed like it was put together yesterday.

0038a.jpg 0038b.jpg 0038c.jpg

I mentioned earlier that all bolts had had something placed on the threads and when they were unscrewed there was this greyish colour to the threads.

0038d.jpg

I wish I knew what they used in those days. Today I use 'Never-seize" when I want something to come apart at a later date.

Rick.

[lynx42]

Here it is after a couple of weeks in the tank and wire brushing along with many other small bits.

Lynda Griffith082013 025.jpg

The manual/book holder was in a sad way but after the molasses treatment and a bit of welding with the Mig it came up ok. I still have to fit the tag.

Lynda Griffith082013 021.jpg Lynda Griffith082013 022.jpg

The Lynx has an electric fuel pump and I was able to pull it apart and rebuild it with out to much trouble

lynx and cnn 037.jpg

I had no particular plan with the small bits like the pump but found that sometimes it was easier to do them up as they were pulled off if I was held up with the dis-assembly of the chassis or needed a bit of a break from the other things.

Regards Rick.

[lynx42]

Originally Posted by aj.lec

That boat is a little ripper
Would be both fun and pretty hairy to drive I think
Would pitch quickly being that short

Hi Andrew, Thought I would digress a bit for you.

Lynx continues 130 (2).jpg Lynx continues 137 (2).jpg

This Tail-dragger Hydroplane is recognized as the oldest in Australia. It was built in Moe Vic. in 1947 by a chap named Howlett for Charlie Moffit. It is built to a plan patented in the USA in 1937 and was originally powered by a 21 stud Ford 60hp engine.

Charlie Moffit raced it as "Kandoo II' with much success throughout Australia but sold it to Charlie McCallum in 1957. After blowing the Lynx diff, Charlie McC. removed the engine from the Lynx with the broken diff and fitted it into the boat. Charlie built a trailer for the boat and renamed the boat "GUNNER". Lake Omeo at Benambra Vic. is a very shallow lake and Charlie was only able to race the boat for two years at Benambra.(1958/1959). In 1960 there was not enough water in Lake Omeo to hold a race meeting so the boat was parked up in the shed and the rest is history.

In building the trailer he cut off the front Shock absorber mounts and welded them to the frame as the rear spring shackles.

Lynx continues 136 (2).jpg Lynx continues 132 (2).jpg

If you look carefully you will see that the carburetor is facing the opposite way to normal for a Ford V8. It is facing the gearbox end not the fan end.This was because they discovered with the Lynx that the fuel bowl on the carby had to face the way the vehicle was going and as the engine is turned around they had to reverse the carby. This suited the boat as the drive for the prop is off the front of the crank shaft where the fan bolts on.

Lynx continues 128 (2).jpg

The boat originally had straight out exhausts from each of the three exhaust ports on each side. Charlie McC. just used the original Lynx manifolds and fittings and ran only one exhaust pipe. That was good for me as I then had something to copy. The other two holes on each side were covered up with a thin plywood cover. You can see the darkened area where the covering plywood was fitted.

regards Rick.

[aj.lec]

Thanks Rick
Good that you have been able to track its history as well
Looks quite well built
Nice lines for an old girl

[Dinty]

Excellent story, looking forward to more of the same, cheers Dennis

[lynx42]

Mallacoota 027.jpg Lynx Continues 053 (3).jpg

The steering box was removed at this time

Lynx Continues 051 (3).jpg

It showed signs of leaking in a previous life, it will have to be rebuilt as well.

Lynx Continues 050 (3).jpg

That is the steering box on the left and it goes through a bearing set up through the right front spring hanger.

Heyfield Rally 005.jpg

Not an easy job to remove at all. Still eventually it came out and was put away for a rainy day.

[lynx42]

The pins for the springs were removed and the axle sets moved away. The shackle pins were good enough to reuse but the bushes will need work.

I had purchased a second hand lathe recently which came in extremely handy.

0021n.jpg

Wasps and spider are part of the job.

0021l.jpg 0021p.jpg 0021.jpg

I was able to pick up an old engine crane at an auction for $50.00 and it certainly was a good buy. Here it has been used to lift the front axle onto some saw horses.

0021d.jpg

The chassis was almost bare by now except for a few small fittings.

Regards Rick.

[lynx42]

All of the brackets for the brake lines,

Heyfield Rally 003.jpg Heyfield Rally 004.jpg

the brake lines and fuel lines were photographed, removed, labelled and stored ready to be replaced.

Lynx Continues 030 (3).jpg Lynx Continues 031 (3).jpg

This is the fuel tap which bolts to the underside of the hull floor. Terrible idea as it had to be the first undone and refitted early in the rebuild.

Lynx Continues 025 (3).jpg

I purchased a bundy pipe bender which covers ¼”. 3/8” & ½” bundy tubing so should be ok when I get around to it. It was not that easy to get the lengths I needed but ended up purchasing it by the roll.

Regards Rick.

[lynx42]

The Lynx was pushed into the shed on the 10th May 2013 and one week later the fully stripped chassis is off to the sandblaster.

Lynx continues 066.jpg Lynx continues 067.jpg Lynx continues 068.jpg

I located a new sandblaster in the next town who was just starting up and he offered me a cut-price. An agreement was made and I delivered chassis, front axle and many other bits to him.

Lynx continues 003 (2).jpg

Fortunately for me he had a few helpers each time I went to his work place.

Lynx continues 004 (2).jpg

Unfortunately he had an equipment failure and things took a few months longer than I had hoped. Whilst I was waiting for the bits to be sandblasted, I had plenty to go on with. There were fittings to be bushed out, brackets to be made and panel beating on quite a few thin unarmoured tinwork parts. There were repairs and rebuilding to be carried out on a myriad of parts.

Rick