At last here are some photos NZ LP hull

[Lew Skelton]

Hi all, well its taken me a while to get onto the rebuild, damm work getting in the way of garage time. first pictures are the front of the hull as it was when I got it, track guards full of holes, floor poked, bottom rusted out of the division plate and a large hole cut out of the gunners side wall ( I think to let the sheep dogs in). Front armour all still there so out with the plasma cutter/grinder to remove the bits that needed cutting out and in with reclamed plate from another hull that was too far gone. Ive got to thank all the local Manawatu enthuasists who have assisted so far, Colin for the measurments when doing the bottom of the division plate and David Ellery for the welding tips. Awesome resource this forum, many thanks allready.

[Lew Skelton]

And the plan is to take the front off this other hull and weld the rebult front on then new rear side plates, floor, track guards. the front center towing eye has the number 201 stamped into it and army number is still on the drivers side, will get photos up of them also.

[Lew Skelton]

Last photo is the hull No, any clues as to the type of carrier this may have been, mortar/machine gun etc, and yes I have been flipping the hull back and forwd to weld it as my vertical up with arc is dogsh*t. I have since replaced the track guard on the drivers side, gotta love taking time off work to look after the kids for school holidays, they are the best little helpers.

[Lynn Eades]

Good to see you are under way.Your last picture shows the bracket that holds the spare barrel for a Vickers,(a leather tube) If you contact Jeffery Plowman (he lives in P.N.) he wrote a book about NZafv's from 1939 to1959.
He did a lot of research, and might still have info about the number on the side of your carrier. The Lp2 had the splined diff pinion(with the associated axle mounting brackets) and the centre tow eye, along with the tool board on the side. The Lp2A with tools on the rear, and the taper and key pinion, had no centre tow eye at the front. I believe these changes happened all at once in New Zealand. In Australia, the rear axle changes did not accur at the same time as the tool board change.

[ron]

HI Lew,
Good to see your progress, well done, Dont worry about flipping the hull bacwards and forwards, to get better welds, after all this is how they were made in the wartime, I have pics showing the hulls in two parts front and rear, and attached to a frame that could be rotated, allowing the welder to sit on the part and weld onto the flat surface, after all when you think of it they were very short of welders and all trades men, it makes sence to make it easier for a person who may not have had much experence in this type of work. keep us posted on your progress and welcome, regards Ron

[Lynn Eades]

What are you welding it with? Mig? Arc? Wire? Stainless?

[Lew Skelton]

Thanks for the info Lynn, Im using an arc welder/plasma cutter combo from off trademe, plasma cutter didn't like the .5 inch front armour but works a treat on everything else. Also another photo of the division plate that I missed before.

[lynx42]

Your a game man to have old rags and paper around where your welding.

I learnt the hard way. I had what I thought was a very clear area in my shop BUT a lump of hot metal/slag rocketed across the the floor and came to rest about 20 feet away from where I was welding against a 4lt. plastic bottle of paint thinners. The result! I was extremely lucky, as when the hot metal melted through the plastic, the stream of thinners out the hole, quenched the hot metal and no fire happened. I learnt from that that you cannot be too careful when welding and now I have a designated weld bay or do it outside. No rags, paper, cardboard or other flamables anywhere near where I weld.

Good luck with the carrier.

regards Rick.

[D Ellery]

Hey Lew. Great project you have there. Interesting the pictures of the gunners side where you have welded in the plate above the track. I haven't seen those 2 x metal straps before on any other machine in that position, although there's a Carrier out Pukekohe way that has the same on the engine cover side plate. Wonder if it was for map case ? Look forward to seeing more of the resto. Regards David.

[ron]

Hi David those two metal straps that you asked about are to hold the sream condenser can for the Vickers. its of 2 gal capacity Regards Ron

[Local Chap]

Originally Posted by ron

Hi David those two metal straps that you asked about are to hold the sream condenser can for the Vickers. its of 2 gal capacity Regards Ron

Pics of the brackets for the "Steam" condensor, which was simply a 2 Gal POL can:

[D Ellery]

Oh ok, My carrier has the tie down points for the 2 Gal can but no sign of there ever being the straps which I now see supported the can. Thanks Guys.

[Lew Skelton]

cheers for all the input, encourageing to see that others are interested in my carrier, took a couple of pictures tonight. I welded in a piece of reclaimed armour plate into the drivers track guard, still have to weld it fully on the inside, it had rusted thru behind the dash so welded in some reclaimed there also. will have to make up a new dash surround as this one is pretty far gone. Good to know what the brackrety was on the gunners side, ive also seen bren ammo boxes strapped down there also.