1954 Daimler Ferret armoured car
Discussion
Hello all.
Where to start? Something a bit different for PH. I know there are a handful of Ferret owners floating around on Pistonheads so this may all sound familiar to you guys.
My Dad has always been into strange and quirky machines of all shapes and sizes. This was our first step into the military vehicle hobby and one we shall keep forever, having owned her so far for just over 13 years it's become something of an heirloom. Back in December 2002 as a 9 year old with an unhealthy addiction for tank and aeroplane books we purchased this fantastic little machine, up til then the day it arrived on the lorry was probably the most exciting day of my life!
Basically the Ferret was conceived in the late 1940s as a more modern replacement for the WW2 Daimler Dingo scout car, it uses almost exactly the same layout as the Dingo in that it is rear engined, with permanent four wheel drive, five gears forward and reverse, meaning you can get out of trouble just as quickly as you got into it!
They've been used all over the world by just about every army imaginable, and have been fitted with turrets, anti tank missiles, flotation devices, dropped out the back of planes on parachutes, you name it. This one was in service from 1954 until 1996 so had a long service life, serving nearly 20 years on patrol in Hong Kong until 1972. We are unsure on this as the section is missing from its army history but believe it went to the first Gulf War in 1991 as a batch of approx 20 Ferrets, due to it being fitted with the later 'night sight' front hatch. These were massively expensive and wouldn't have been fitted without good reason, so there's a good possibility of it being one of the batch.
When we bought it in 2002 it'd been laid up for a few years following its cosmetic restoration, so naturally a few teething troubles were to be found. Coming down the steep ramps off the lorry a brake pipe burst, sending nearly 4 tonnes of armour shooting forward toward the lorry driver standing at the bottom. Thankfully Dad was quick on the handbrake and all was saved, apart from the paint bubbling up on the floor due to exposure to the fluid, a small price to pay!
With that replaced we had a few strange electrical issues such as lights staying on, odd tyre wear (found to be a tyre valve completely missing) but it seemed using it more and more it only got better. We visited many shows and events and regularly popped out of a Saturday morning for some milk and a paper in it.
After several years of use and abuse it was decided to give her some TLC as the radiator was leaking, exhaust blowing, fan bearings noisy and suspension pins particularly on the front nearside weren't taking any grease and creaking quite badly. As an over confident young and stupid tinkerer I took it to pieces a bit ham fistedly, the hub is supposed to come off as one large unit to be worked on. Unfortunately I couldn't get its mounting bolts out due to them being rusted solid, so had to strip the whole lot down.
It's all rather complicated with a lot planetary gears, lots of tiny needle roller bearings, tab washers, strange bolts, etc.
I admit at this point I somewhat lost interest in her but cracked on in dribs and drabs, doing other bits where possible. The exhaust comes from the manifold on loose fitting tubes to allow for movement, they expand and seal properly when hot, where it then joins a 90 degree bend meeting at a flange where it passes out the armour into the silencer. Exhaust gases had been blowing from here for some time so it had actually eroded the armour away quite badly. In places I welded it and ground flat again, then had some special copper gaskets made to allow for a bit more flex, and bolted it all back together.
Having stripped the fan down the bearings were found to be okay, so I just repacked them with grease and tightened them up.
Through our contacts in the hobby a brand new 60 year old radiator was sourced and fitted, requiring a bit of fiddling and swearing to get to fit properly!
This may sound like it all took a matter of days, in fact at this point we were already around 3 years post stripdown! Life, work, and various other rebuilds/projects took over. I always find with projects like this it's getting over the initial 'now where did I put that?' fear and getting on with it. A mate of ours who we used to attend the shows with gave me a kick up the arse last weekend to do something with it, at which point I couldn't help but think he was absolutely right. I had an ace up my sleeve in that years ago Dad acquired a 'new' in the crate NSF hub assembly. With some help from a mate and a sack barrow with flat tyres we had it over next to the Ferret ready for the resurrection to begin!
Where to start? Something a bit different for PH. I know there are a handful of Ferret owners floating around on Pistonheads so this may all sound familiar to you guys.
My Dad has always been into strange and quirky machines of all shapes and sizes. This was our first step into the military vehicle hobby and one we shall keep forever, having owned her so far for just over 13 years it's become something of an heirloom. Back in December 2002 as a 9 year old with an unhealthy addiction for tank and aeroplane books we purchased this fantastic little machine, up til then the day it arrived on the lorry was probably the most exciting day of my life!
Basically the Ferret was conceived in the late 1940s as a more modern replacement for the WW2 Daimler Dingo scout car, it uses almost exactly the same layout as the Dingo in that it is rear engined, with permanent four wheel drive, five gears forward and reverse, meaning you can get out of trouble just as quickly as you got into it!
They've been used all over the world by just about every army imaginable, and have been fitted with turrets, anti tank missiles, flotation devices, dropped out the back of planes on parachutes, you name it. This one was in service from 1954 until 1996 so had a long service life, serving nearly 20 years on patrol in Hong Kong until 1972. We are unsure on this as the section is missing from its army history but believe it went to the first Gulf War in 1991 as a batch of approx 20 Ferrets, due to it being fitted with the later 'night sight' front hatch. These were massively expensive and wouldn't have been fitted without good reason, so there's a good possibility of it being one of the batch.
When we bought it in 2002 it'd been laid up for a few years following its cosmetic restoration, so naturally a few teething troubles were to be found. Coming down the steep ramps off the lorry a brake pipe burst, sending nearly 4 tonnes of armour shooting forward toward the lorry driver standing at the bottom. Thankfully Dad was quick on the handbrake and all was saved, apart from the paint bubbling up on the floor due to exposure to the fluid, a small price to pay!
With that replaced we had a few strange electrical issues such as lights staying on, odd tyre wear (found to be a tyre valve completely missing) but it seemed using it more and more it only got better. We visited many shows and events and regularly popped out of a Saturday morning for some milk and a paper in it.
After several years of use and abuse it was decided to give her some TLC as the radiator was leaking, exhaust blowing, fan bearings noisy and suspension pins particularly on the front nearside weren't taking any grease and creaking quite badly. As an over confident young and stupid tinkerer I took it to pieces a bit ham fistedly, the hub is supposed to come off as one large unit to be worked on. Unfortunately I couldn't get its mounting bolts out due to them being rusted solid, so had to strip the whole lot down.
It's all rather complicated with a lot planetary gears, lots of tiny needle roller bearings, tab washers, strange bolts, etc.
I admit at this point I somewhat lost interest in her but cracked on in dribs and drabs, doing other bits where possible. The exhaust comes from the manifold on loose fitting tubes to allow for movement, they expand and seal properly when hot, where it then joins a 90 degree bend meeting at a flange where it passes out the armour into the silencer. Exhaust gases had been blowing from here for some time so it had actually eroded the armour away quite badly. In places I welded it and ground flat again, then had some special copper gaskets made to allow for a bit more flex, and bolted it all back together.
Having stripped the fan down the bearings were found to be okay, so I just repacked them with grease and tightened them up.
Through our contacts in the hobby a brand new 60 year old radiator was sourced and fitted, requiring a bit of fiddling and swearing to get to fit properly!
This may sound like it all took a matter of days, in fact at this point we were already around 3 years post stripdown! Life, work, and various other rebuilds/projects took over. I always find with projects like this it's getting over the initial 'now where did I put that?' fear and getting on with it. A mate of ours who we used to attend the shows with gave me a kick up the arse last weekend to do something with it, at which point I couldn't help but think he was absolutely right. I had an ace up my sleeve in that years ago Dad acquired a 'new' in the crate NSF hub assembly. With some help from a mate and a sack barrow with flat tyres we had it over next to the Ferret ready for the resurrection to begin!
So onto the next step in bringing the beast back to life.
Following a lot of cleaning and greasing I decided rather than rebuild our old tired hub I would take the easy option and bolt the new one on. It is a hell of a lump and it felt as if my back was going to explode lifting it onto the wooden block ready for fitting.
All clamped in place... close now!
Everything was tightened up and filled with plenty of gear oil, brakes connected and the 12 stone wheel mounted back into place.
Back on all four wheels again, driving and stopping fantastically. Not bad considering a lay up of nearly 5 years! The intention is to give it a few test runs, make sure nothing is leaking, get some insurance and bolt the engine hatches back on, then we might be hitting tarmac again. Back when I was 9 I thought I'd never see the day when I could drive it on the road, but at last that day is finally here!
Following a lot of cleaning and greasing I decided rather than rebuild our old tired hub I would take the easy option and bolt the new one on. It is a hell of a lump and it felt as if my back was going to explode lifting it onto the wooden block ready for fitting.
All clamped in place... close now!
Everything was tightened up and filled with plenty of gear oil, brakes connected and the 12 stone wheel mounted back into place.
Back on all four wheels again, driving and stopping fantastically. Not bad considering a lay up of nearly 5 years! The intention is to give it a few test runs, make sure nothing is leaking, get some insurance and bolt the engine hatches back on, then we might be hitting tarmac again. Back when I was 9 I thought I'd never see the day when I could drive it on the road, but at last that day is finally here!
Enjoyed reading that, thanks.
A very similar experience to me, in fact. When I was about 8, my Dad brought home a 1944 Daimler Dingo. It was a school boys dream, and we enjoyed for many years, going to shows and a few years ago, doing a full engine rebuild.
Sadly, when my Dad died a couple of years ago, I took the difficult, but sensible decision to sell it, as I don't have the space to store it, or with a full time job and two young girls, the time thats needed to maintain it and enjoy it properly.
A very similar experience to me, in fact. When I was about 8, my Dad brought home a 1944 Daimler Dingo. It was a school boys dream, and we enjoyed for many years, going to shows and a few years ago, doing a full engine rebuild.
Sadly, when my Dad died a couple of years ago, I took the difficult, but sensible decision to sell it, as I don't have the space to store it, or with a full time job and two young girls, the time thats needed to maintain it and enjoy it properly.
I admire your work, but are you expecting anything other than "slow and noisy" on the road?
(I whizzed past a load of the Belgian Army's new vehicles yesterday on the E42 and they're restricted to 60km/h. I'm not sure that's in case there's any trouble, by the time they get there, it'll be over?
)
(I whizzed past a load of the Belgian Army's new vehicles yesterday on the E42 and they're restricted to 60km/h. I'm not sure that's in case there's any trouble, by the time they get there, it'll be over?
)Thanks for the replies guys, it's classed as a historic vehicle. Tax and MOT exempt, so that allows a few pennies to cater for the fuel bill.
Parts supply tends to be pretty good, there's many specialists around the country particularly in post war British kit that do spares. The only things that are getting difficult to find are the wings, side storage bins and exhaust components. People have had these parts remanufactured and can be easily repaired if needs be. The bloke we bought it from is through and through a Ferret man, he was in the REME for many years on all sorts of British kit and now runs a spares business devoted to solely Ferret parts. He has the most immaculate 'out the factory' early Mk1 example in bronze green paint, so tidy he uses a towel to protect the paint when climbing in it! The Ferret hatches have a nasty tendency to snap shut if they're stepped on or pushed. I will never forget the safety lesson he taught to me and my little brother before we bought it, telling us about how careful we must be not to get 'Ferret finger', at which point he showed us his hand with fingers of varying lengths
Inkyfingers what a shame you had to sell, they're worth a fortune now though! Have you got any photos from your time with it?
As for it being noisy and slow, yeah I've no doubt but I'm fairly used to that having owned a classic Landy for 10 years, there's something weirdly enjoyable about driving something so different to a normal car.
Parts supply tends to be pretty good, there's many specialists around the country particularly in post war British kit that do spares. The only things that are getting difficult to find are the wings, side storage bins and exhaust components. People have had these parts remanufactured and can be easily repaired if needs be. The bloke we bought it from is through and through a Ferret man, he was in the REME for many years on all sorts of British kit and now runs a spares business devoted to solely Ferret parts. He has the most immaculate 'out the factory' early Mk1 example in bronze green paint, so tidy he uses a towel to protect the paint when climbing in it! The Ferret hatches have a nasty tendency to snap shut if they're stepped on or pushed. I will never forget the safety lesson he taught to me and my little brother before we bought it, telling us about how careful we must be not to get 'Ferret finger', at which point he showed us his hand with fingers of varying lengths
Inkyfingers what a shame you had to sell, they're worth a fortune now though! Have you got any photos from your time with it?
As for it being noisy and slow, yeah I've no doubt but I'm fairly used to that having owned a classic Landy for 10 years, there's something weirdly enjoyable about driving something so different to a normal car.
Edited by LewG on Wednesday 14th April 21:43
Thought I'd post a few pictures of the fairly uncompromising interior as it does tend to be a talking point
It's looking fairly empty at the moment as I've got the air filter box out to charge the batteries.
The angled steering wheel, not as difficult as it looks!
20160404_214545_zpsch6rhjcc by Lew Garner
The safety conscious commander's seat.
20160404_214403_zpsmge2kiuq by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/152875853@N07/]Lew Garner[/url
At least they tried to cover the front prop shafts!
20160404_214701_zpsdtre8kh1 by Lew Garner, on Flickr
I drained the RH front hub this evening of its gear oil, it came out black and smelling pretty nasty! Tried ringing a few insurance companies too, most of them either didn't know what it is or couldn't insure me til I'm 25. I will persevere with it though, I've yet to ring Adrian Flux as they have insured me on my Landy before. We shall see.
It's looking fairly empty at the moment as I've got the air filter box out to charge the batteries.
The angled steering wheel, not as difficult as it looks!
20160404_214545_zpsch6rhjcc by Lew GarnerThe safety conscious commander's seat.
20160404_214403_zpsmge2kiuq by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/152875853@N07/]Lew Garner[/urlAt least they tried to cover the front prop shafts!
20160404_214701_zpsdtre8kh1 by Lew Garner, on FlickrI drained the RH front hub this evening of its gear oil, it came out black and smelling pretty nasty! Tried ringing a few insurance companies too, most of them either didn't know what it is or couldn't insure me til I'm 25. I will persevere with it though, I've yet to ring Adrian Flux as they have insured me on my Landy before. We shall see.
Edited by LewG on Tuesday 15th August 18:59
Great news. I'm insured
Changed the engine oil this evening, the final level has to be checked with the engine idling as it's a dry sump engine.
Still can't go out in it yet though, I'm registering it to me and still have a few minor repairs to get through. Firstly the rest of the hub oils need changing, there's a rear number plate light to get working, and it needs a new battery as one has died due to its layup.
I've got 6 exhaust manifold gaskets on order as the distributor sits right above and the heat shield mounting bolts have snapped off. There's a lot of cables etc. in the way so at this point with the top armour removed it's probably easier to remove the manifolds and drill the broken bolts out on the bench. Bring on the next Sunday Service
Changed the engine oil this evening, the final level has to be checked with the engine idling as it's a dry sump engine.
Still can't go out in it yet though, I'm registering it to me and still have a few minor repairs to get through. Firstly the rest of the hub oils need changing, there's a rear number plate light to get working, and it needs a new battery as one has died due to its layup.
I've got 6 exhaust manifold gaskets on order as the distributor sits right above and the heat shield mounting bolts have snapped off. There's a lot of cables etc. in the way so at this point with the top armour removed it's probably easier to remove the manifolds and drill the broken bolts out on the bench. Bring on the next Sunday Service
Cheers chap! It does look familiar I must say..
Tonight I removed the manifolds from the engine and drilled out the broken heat shield bolts, tapped out the holes to an M8 size then put it all back together with fresh gaskets and lots of copper grease on everything! Unfortunately most of the studs were in rather poor condition and I suspect this won't be the last time I have to have the exhaust system apart.
20160407_204615_zpsilhfypkh by Lew Garner
20160407_204630_zpswmibvzib by Lew Garner
It all looked really manky on strip down due to the various oil weeps and dirt everywhere, I've brake cleanered it all down to get rid of the worst and will give it a good steam clean before refitting the top covers.
That's all the photos I got for this evening as my battery ran out on my phone. Talking of batteries I also got the replacement fitted so no more jump starting required, hooray! Hopefully will have it out and going at the weekend
Tonight I removed the manifolds from the engine and drilled out the broken heat shield bolts, tapped out the holes to an M8 size then put it all back together with fresh gaskets and lots of copper grease on everything! Unfortunately most of the studs were in rather poor condition and I suspect this won't be the last time I have to have the exhaust system apart.
20160407_204615_zpsilhfypkh by Lew Garner20160407_204630_zpswmibvzib by Lew GarnerIt all looked really manky on strip down due to the various oil weeps and dirt everywhere, I've brake cleanered it all down to get rid of the worst and will give it a good steam clean before refitting the top covers.
That's all the photos I got for this evening as my battery ran out on my phone. Talking of batteries I also got the replacement fitted so no more jump starting required, hooray! Hopefully will have it out and going at the weekend
Edited by LewG on Tuesday 15th August 19:01
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