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

[lynx42]

I have been meaning to start this thread for 2 years as the Corowa Swim-In 2014 was "The year of the Ford and WWI". I had the choice of either an LP2A Bren Gun Carrier (No.2250) or this Canadian Scout car Ford Lynx I. Mk.III No. 1726 ARN. 123980 to rebuild and display. The Lynx won out as I thought it would be more useable on the road.

.For about 38 years I have been collecting parts to restore one of the 170 (or is it 171?) Canadian Ford Lynx.I. Mk.III Scout Cars supplied during WWII to Australia. My father drove one during WWII and often spoke of the "Golf-Ball” or “Doodle-Bug" as they were colloquially known in OZ. We have one photo of him sitting on the left front mudguard of one. So that is where the interest comes from.

Australia received 170 Lynx’s from Canada (some sources say 171), and they were used with the 1st Armoured Corps. In 1946, 109 were sent to Japan to be used as Policing vehicles as it was found that the Japanese roads could not carry the weight of the Staghounds sent for the job. These 109 Lynx’s were eventually returned to Australia and then disposed of during the 1950’s

I discovered the cut down chassis and hull of No.1726 at Benambra Victoria, then owned by one Charlie McCallum.



Charlie purchased it from Disposals around 1956/7 and took it to his farm at Benambra to use as a paddock bomb. Unfortunately for Charlie, but fortunate for me, was that the Ford Lynx had an Achilles heel, it was very hard on rear diffs. In fact there is an instruction plate with the following direction right next to the driver’s right ear.

-CAUTION -

“THIS VEHICLE MUST ALWAYS WITH FRONT WHEEL DRIVE ENGAGED WHEN CONDITIONS ARE SUCH THAT FULL OR NEAR FULL THROTTLE IS USED IN REVERSE FIRST OR SECOND GEAR”



I guess that Charlie did not take heed of this and promptly blew the rear diff. Unable to find another, the hull was cut up and the engine removed. Fortunately for me, the removed parts were placed in the shed in boxes. Even many small nuts, bolts and washers were first put back together and thrown into a box. The cut off hull parts were used for many purposes around the farm. The complete 1 ¼ inch thick front windscreen/hatch section complete with all hatches and opening levers was oxy cut off about 1958 and placed onto a set of discs for extra weight. This piece was located in 1998 standing up against a fencing corner post about 5 miles from the rest of the vehicle, up on a high country bush block. Apparently it had fallen off the discs and being heavy, was too much trouble to bring back. This was a great find. Many parts were found in a Hawthorn bush thicket. Hawthorn bushes have very sharp long spikes and are not to be reckoned with. The roof rack bars had to be cut through to recover them as the Hawthorn bush trunk had grown up through it.



Charlie McCallum would not sell anything, as some of you will know. He had a couple of Dodge Weapons carriers sitting there and a few other things which many had tried to purchase without success. One of those Dodges WC’s had the Lynx lifting rings welded into the rear bumper bar as towing rings.

I tried for many many years to purchase the Lynx from him but to no avail. One day I thought I would try again so armed with the usual slab of VB beer which I would often share with him, I went to Benambra once again. To my surprise Charlie said “Have you got $200.00? I asked what for and he said that I had worn him down and if I gave him $200.00, the Lynx remains were mine. Benambra is about 155km from home and I was back the next day with the money. Finally I was the owner of a Lynx chassis and some fittings.



I will keep the story going so if your interested, hang in there.

Regards Rick.

[lynx42]

I asked where the engine was as there was no sign of it but the unusual Lynx gear-box was there. Charlie said “I know where that is, it is in a speed boat.” And he took me to one of his sheds which had always been locked each time I had been there before. On opening the door there was no sign of any boat just a complete mess with junk stacked
5 feet high and on a dirt floor under which rabbits had set up home. Much stuff was covered in dirt from their burrow diggings. In fact I dug through some of this in later years and found many parts which had been placed under a bench and eventually covered with the burrow’s spoil.

Further searching in this dimly lit shed as I could only partially open the PA door, displayed a mound of old army blankets, bits of tarps and much other junk and under this mound I could just see the shape of an ancient speedboat. There was too much junk to uncover the boat but I was able to open the art deco engine hatch and view the engine. It was Engine No 3G85015F which was the correct engine for Hull No. 1726. The engine had been found. Was it for sale? The answer was no, not at the moment. I was not able to see the whole boat as it had so much rubbish covering it, BUT it looked interesting and on later investigation showed that it was a very early ‘tail dragger’ hydroplane. It has now been identified as the earliest 3 pointer in Australia.



The years went by and the boat and motor remained in the shed covered up. Many people knew about it and some said that it had been promised to them but no one had ever been able to recover it. So more about the boat later.

In 1998 Roger R. and I went up to recover the chassis and associated parts one day but we had car trouble on the way and only recovered a few smaller parts. We were more successful the second time bringing home front armour including the windscreen section and the broken diff assembly (see photo trailer). Tony L. and I went back in 2002 with the rear diff housing and wheels and brought home the chassis, gearbox, some front cockpit armour which showed ARN 123980. This was to prove that this was the last Lynx registered by the Australian Army. The chassis and hull remains at home.



After Number123980 the ARN books then have another 30 blank numbers so one wonders if more were ordered and did not arrive for some reason. Are they on the bottom of the ocean somewhere, was the order cancelled or were they never ordered

Regards Rick

[charlie fitton]

much appreciated - keep the story coming!


(I don't even care if you make stuff up...)

[Big D]

Great story Rick. 38 years? Wow! Keep it coming.

[Peter Duggan]

Rick,

Please keep the story and pictures coming. Here, I thought I was starting a real challenge, with mine. Your determination to acquire and restore your Lynx is inspirational. I look forward to your updates.

Peter

[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.



I discovered the remains of another Lynx at Swan Reach, Victoria, and between these two and another found in SA by Tony L. there were enough parts to assemble one and most of another. Rick Sh. in SA now has those other parts and has the chassis partly assembled although the hull is still in two major parts. This hull is No.1814.



One for Mike C. What does the tack sign on the rear mudguard of the Swan Reach one represent it looks like No.51.?



In May 2005, Jill and I visited the Lynx and boat owner, Charlie McCallum, in the Omeo Hospital where he was a resident. Charlie was glad to see me and said that as soon as he got out of hospital we would pull the rear wall off the shed and extract the boat. Unfortunately for all of us, Charlie died a few weeks later and his whole estate had to be sold. I rang John Ross, his executor, some weeks later and asked when the Clearing Sale would be as I was interested in the boat for the engine. He said that he knew about me having the Ford Lynx and asked if I had anything in writing from Charlie. I answered “No” and that I would have to take my chances at the auction. John said he was pleased with that attitude as he had had many phone calls from people saying that Charlie had promised the boat to them but no-one had it in writing. John said that some were quite insistent to the point of being rude.

The Auction was on 5th December 2005 at Benambra and a large crowd attended. One chap asked me what I was there for and when I told him the boat or the engine, he said so was he. He asked what I thought it would go for so I told him an amount of about ½ of what was my limit. The executor, John Ross then gave me permission to locate any Lynx parts and put them all on one pallet. There were many small bits spread across the whole sale area as they did not know what was Lynx and what wasn’t. That pallet load cost me $20.00 for about 200 small bits.

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.

[lynx42]

John Ross, Charlies executor, told me after the auction, to go through the shed again as there were probably some other parts still in the shed. When I returned to pick up the boat with new wheels and tyres and a tin of grease I was also set to go through the shed with a fine toothed comb. It was a stinking hot day and after fitting a replacement set of wheels and tyres and greasing the wheel bearings I started sifting through the shed. The first thing I found was another Lynx fuel tank, in mint condition. Unfortunately it turned out to be a second left hand tank. Why there were two left hand tanks I have no idea but this tank was modified to a right tank during the restoration. Then the air cleaner was unearthed from under the bench totally buried in the rabbit burrow spoil. Many other parts were found and finally I thought I had missed nothing. I went and had a wash as I was filthy with dirt and got into my car to head for home. Something stopped me, and I decided to go and have another look around the shed. I entered through the PA door and went anticlockwise around and through the shed without finding one more single piece. As I closed the PA door I noticed a David Brown tractor badge screwed to the door jam. I have a mate with a David Brown tractor so I went and got a screwdriver to take the DB nameplate off for him. Underneath the DB badge were two other plates. One was the Ford Lynx ID plate with the Hull, Serial and Engine numbers and the other was the gear change plate, both in perfect condition. (Thank you again Charlie for pointing me towards them.)



On the day of the estate auction, Jill and I literally stumbled across a missing piece of armour. As we were walking from the boat’s shed towards the auction area, I spotted a 2” long ½” wide piece of steel sticking out of the ground. This turned out to be the missing bit of plate still with the hatch, hinges and mechanisms. I was missing the gunner’s hatch on the left side and had had one made in Melbourne a few months before. This new piece was cut from ½” plate using high pressure water jet with garnet in the water. I was able to get a few made and the water jet cut out the hatch as well. I then sold the extras to other restorers. You can see the condition it was in. Had we walked a few feet either way, we would have missed it.



Also on the day of the auction, the auctioneer in his preamble, stated that there had been a fully rebuilt Ford V8 engine for the boat, stolen from the shed. Charlie McCallum had told people that it was there and it was not to be found. That did not concern me as I had the engine I wanted and an historic boat as well. More about this engine later.

Regards Rick.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

What a compelling story, Rick!

Please continue, I can't wait to read the next installment.

Hanno

[lynx42]

Thanks Hanno, Peter, Daz and Charlie. Charlie it is all true nothing made up except parts for the Lynx.

Back to the Lynx. Tony L. came over from SA and helped me by welding the hull back together. The front armour took a fair bit of work but went back on well. The sides were put back together and the doors tried. The rear armour was sorted out and the hull temporarily sat onto the chassis.



My life took a different direction in 2008 and we sold our property and moved to 3 ½ acres about 10km up the road. It took us 6 months to shift and set up the ‘The Cove Collection Museum Inc.’ The Lynx bits were scattered in many different places during this move and although I tried to keep them together, but with others helping it wasn’t to be. Parts ended up in about 7 different places. I wasn’t that worried as I was still not ready, after then 32 years collecting, to start the restoration.

That all changed in March 2013. For 5 years, I had been President of KVE Inc. (Khaki Vehicle Enthusiasts Inc.) who put on the Corowa Swim-In each year and each year we change the theme. 2014 was to be a combined theme “The year of the Ford and of WWI.”
On the way home from the 2013 event, Jill, my wife, my TA and general hand, said to me “What Ford are you taking next year?” As well as the Lynx, I have a Cab 11 F30S and a Cab 12 F60L as well as a 1942 Ford Marmon-Herrington ‘Dingo” scout car and a VicRail 1942 LP2A Bren Gun Carrier No.2250. All in need of restoration. I also have the restored 1916 Albion A10 3 tonner which is on loan to the Bandiana Army Museum close to Corowa, and as the theme is also WWI as well as the Year of the Ford, I thought I would take the Albion.



Regards Rick

[lynx42]

Jill had other ideas and she suggested that I should restore the Lynx as I had wanted to get one on the road for 37 years. After a bit of thought, I agreed and on 10th May 2013 the remnants which had been sitting outside for many years were wheeled into the workshop.
Yes that's right the 10th May 2013. Corowa is a short 10 months away, March 2014. Fingers crossed well make it.



My mate Graeme Clarke assisted with an old front end loader and I started to pull what I had to bits.



First job was to remove the hull from the chassis, not a big job as it had been just sitting on the chassis for years.



There's Jill in the background ready to get to work. I cannot thank her enough for all the help and assistance she gives me.

Regards Rick.

[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.




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.)



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.



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.



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.



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.



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.



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.



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.



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.



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.



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.



Regards Rick.

[lynx42]

The wheels were taken off.



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



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



The warning plate on each wheel was still clear.



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.

[lynx42]

As you can see, there is quite a bit of wear for 4,206 miles.



There is quite a bit of extra diameter in the new tyres but that will assist with cruising speed and fuel economy as well.



Regards Rick.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by lynx42

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.

Rick,

Could you share the brand and type details of the tyres you bought? The tread certainly looks good and it is a bit different than those "boring" bar threads.

Thanks,
Hanno

[Peter Duggan]

Rick,

I am confident that many MLUers eagerly wait for your updates as I do. Micheal R. deserves credit for the pictures of the lineup of Lynxes, on my thread.

The Lynx 11 reverted to the traditional cable and linkage with springs system for the throttle and clutch. What has been your personal experience with the hydraulic systems?

Peter

[lynx42]

WOW! 500 views in only 7 days. I guess I will have to continue my story.

Regards Rick.

[Big D]

Hi Rick,

Yes, I am awaiting more of your story before I go to bed. Keep it coming please!

[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.



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.



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



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.



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.



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.



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



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.

[hrpearce]

Originally Posted by lynx42

WOW! 500 views in only 7 days. I guess I will have to continue my story.

Regards Rick.

Yes continue Rick. Some of us with a short memory need the next post before we forget the last one and have to start at the beginning again. I look forward to seeing the real thing in the future.

[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.



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.



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.



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