Carrier T16 TD96668 restoration

[Wiljo Pas]

Hi all,

I bought a T16 carrier in South Germany march 2023. I never did a restoration like this before. A friend of mine is a draftsman and made blueprints of the parts I need because it's difficult to find the most of it. There are no dataplates on it, the only numbers visible is .. 2-43. In my opinion this carrier must have been made the 12th month of 1943, so a Mk1. When I cleaned the sprockets, i found the date of fabrication on these sprockets, 12-30-43. I think that the date of fabrication must be friday 12-31-1943.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Hello Wiljo,

Is it an ex-Swiss Army T16?

Production dates are not a very good way of pinpointing the date of manufacture. The parts could be longer in the supply chain than you'd think. Try to post some photos, that may help to put a date on it (let me know if you need some help posting them here).

[Wiljo Pas]

Hi Hanno. Yes I have problems with the upload of pictures. I had a nice set ready and tried and tried but I give up now Upload Errors
20230717_164132.jpg:
Upload of file failed.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Here are Wiljo's photos of his T16:

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Plus some detail photos of the census number TD96668:

[maple_leaf_eh]

You are ambitious! Welcome to the club. Before you know it, there will be others in the garage and scattered in other storage places. Good luck with the parts fabrication. That is one aspect where most restorers shy back, but if things are simply not available, you do what you must.

There are other collectors on the Continent, Israel and South America. One issue we all struggle with is use of language. The technical terminology is 1930s and 40s British design, North American industrial parts, and modern day vehicle vocabulary. If you find the original part name, it will probably be something a technically competent native German speaking person would not choose. That said, good luck!

[Wiljo Pas]

Found a 1944 NOS engine still in cosmoline. Did some work on the different parts that are left.

[Petr Brezina]

Wow, thats a nice find!

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Wiljo Pas

Found a 1944 NOS engine still in cosmoline. Did some work on the different parts that are left.

That's a great find and a big step in the project! Where on earth did you find that?!?

[David Herbert]

Well done, a T16 would be my choice of carrier. Much nicer steering and a better ride. I see your new engine is a proper T16 unit. The exhaust manifolds are almost impossible to find and in an unloved vehicle they fill with water and freeze and split lengthways. they are not really weldable so you finish up fabricating purely functional ones. Please keep us updated. I will certainly follow your progress with interest and I know others will.

David

[Neil Ashley]

I believe RR Services had some NOS Engines within the last 10 years but presumably all gone now.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Wiljo Pas

Found a 1944 NOS engine still in cosmoline. Did some work on the different parts that are left.

OK, you've proved that you are resourceful and ambitious. You can join the gang.

Seriously, that engine is the sort of prize every collector hopes to find. But just because you've got doesn't necessarily mean it is ready to be dropped in and fired up. For my 1974 M151A2, three different engines have been considered in this rebuild project. The original developed a knock. The spare that was included in the sale wasn't worth the effort. Finally, a well protected take-off engine came to my attention. Take time to inspect what you have so you know if there are concealed faults or parts that have not survived through the years.

[Wiljo Pas]

I have another carrier, the T101331, well known on this forum. I bought it "restored and ready for next years events" I didn't even steer to the right, when it arrived so only one thing to do is repair, and I took almost the whole thing apart. Almost every part I needed for the new project was drawn in AutoCAD and cut out. Now I only have to weld all the parts together. Only a few parts are visible on the picture.

[Wiljo Pas]

Found the date of manufacture of the sprocket wheels this week. Since it is a December 43 carrier, (only the numbers ..2-43 are visible) I believe the carrier was built on Friday December 31, 1943. Did some welding too, replacement sheet metal is added.

[Wiljo Pas]

To make it easy, see https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555866170815