Ferret 38C5968

[Ferretboy]

Looking good.....i have never seen the anti freeze markings on a ferret before.....my ferret was sand blasted by the previous owner....all markings lost....if it wasnt for the stampings...i never could say what the c.a.r. number was for sure...thank you for the photos.....some history has been saved.

 

[teletech]

Looks like I outsmarted myself. I got the vehicle with major clogging of the fuel system. After draining and doing a basic rinse of the fuel tank I put it back in service and it was working fine. Fine that is until I filled it up. Looks like filling it and taking a short drive was enough to dislodge all the crud on the walls of the fuel tank, so I'm back to needing to drain the tank and remove the banjos. Fun with ferret fuel systems.

I used a bit of metal between the #1 plug and it's wire so I could hook up a timing light. I set the optical pickup by eye for about 0degrees static (basically per the manual), then started the engine and let it idle. Looks like I'm at 7degrees at 700 RPM. Don't know what it means really but it's nice to be able to put a stake in the ground and measure from there at least.

 

[Ferretboy]

Hey there teletech....was that 7 degree after top dead center? If you could get it close to t.d.c. you should be within spec.

 

[teletech]

Hey there teletech....was that 7 degree after top dead center? If you could get it close to t.d.c. you should be within spec.

7 degrees advance.
The manual specifies TDC at static timing (0RPM) but the distributor has a pretty significant (and two stage I think) amount of mechanical advance once the motor is running. I suspect my static timing is within just a degree or two of TDC.

 

[Ferretboy]

Have you moved the dist.? Played with that adjustment any.....? Dependinding on the fuel...which is not the best these days...you may dial in a better running engine.....

 

[Ferretboy]

Have you moved the dist.? Played with that adjustment any.....? Dependinding on the fuel...which is not the best these days...you may dial in a better running engine.....oh love working on the ferrets fuel tank and lines....carb.....much joy...fun. Fun. Fun.....ha ha

 

[Ferretboy]

Well hey guy fang....where you been mate? Hows it go over there? Good to hear from you....good to be heard....ha ha...you all get ready for winter......

 

[Ferretboy]

Hey teletech....ive seen about everything....all the crud stopping up fuel lines.....an old rag left in a ferret fuel tank.....no fun removing and cleaning....

 

[teletech]

Have you moved the dist.? Played with that adjustment any.....?

The vehicle idled somewhat poorly but accelerated pretty well (for what it is) before I did the electronic swap for the distributor. It then idled very nicely after the swap, all without me moving the distributor. As a result I'm reluctant to fool with it until I know I'm very close to the right place, thus reserving it for the final couple degrees of tuning.
At present given the very real and obvious fuel system issue I have, the ignition timing is quite good enough for me to shift to fuel system repairs.

Another package from abroad, this time a crew compartment lamp as well as:
Grill for N0.2 cooker
Ration tin, 2-man/day
2Each, MOD thermos container.

More components for what must be the most expensive picnic set I'll ever buy. Considering the poor reputation of British cuisine, the Ferret did sure have a lot of kit for the preparation of same. Here's a pic of what I've gathered so far.
Still short a canteen and the set of pots&pans at least. I don't know if utensils were part of the package and I have to scare up or reproduce a few straps and brackets to attach it all.

 

[Ferretboy]

Hello teletech.....nice bit of kit.....i never found the thermos bottles....have the brackets .....keep us up to date how you are doing....best to you....

 

[teletech]

Hello teletech.....nice bit of kit.....i never found the thermos bottles....have the brackets .....keep us up to date how you are doing....best to you....

They aren't common it's true. Had them shipped over from the UK, like most of the other parts.
One fit in it's bracket fine, the other bracket was too tight. I stopped before it latched but even so managed to dent/scratch the thermos some. I'll have to find another bracket or figure out why this one won't fit.

I've been a bit distracted with work and other projects of late.
I did make up a custom banjo fitting so I could run from another fuel tank while I work through the issues with the main tank.
With the fuel no longer being a problem I was able to drive it enough to have a sense of the ignition timing but didn't have time to adjust and test before the dark/rain. I also need to adjust the idle a bit once the timing is settled.

 

[m1010plowboy]

I stumble across photos doing Cold War research and always sleep better when I unload them. With permission from SM, these UN photos from Egypt 1957 had book end Ferrets 518 and 527 and 529 is in there somewhere. Unit 521 still evades me. The research continues so if more service duty info or photos show up I'll be sure to share.

Back to the 50's.



This snap shot is from the paint line with Ferrets waiting their white.

 

[teletech]

I did play with the timing today at last. Measured at 750RPM I started around 3 degrees of advance and it was running quite poorly.
Things got better with more advance. At 7 degrees it didn't backfire as badly, almost usable but did stumble. At 12 Degrees I actually felt some acceleration. I went up to 18 degrees and I can't say if that was better or worse. It was decent so I decided it was time to go over on the other side and fuss with the carburetor.
How I measured the timing might be worth a mention. I turned some plastic rod to slip into a spark plug and have the plug end of the wire fit into it, turned a waist into it so my timing light pickup would fit over, and drilled it through for a #10 bit of threaded rod. The pics tell the story. .5" dia and .8" long for the plug ends and in my case .3" dia for about an inch to clear the pickup.

 

[Ferretboy]

Great tools you have made.....ive cleaned just a small bit of corrosion inside the sparking plugs and have noticed an improvment.....every bit helps on the old machines.....

 

[teletech]

Longest trip yet. I needed to make some space at the shop so used it as an excuse to hit the road with my Ferret.
So, with more than a little trepidation I checked the major fluids, kicked the tires, and hit the road.
7 miles, just over half that on the freeway, then a steep road to an even steeper driveway! So, it made it fine and never gave me cause to think it wouldn't, but it wasn't all I'd have liked it to have been. Issues:
Dies in gear at low idle unless I keep the "starting device" engaged, but if I do that the idle is too high and it's hard to remain stopped in gear.
Lack of power, 50 MPH in top gear on the flat, dropped to 38 on a fairly gentle hill.
Fuel consumption, I suppose I got about 3MPG. Yikes.
Brakes, worked fine for the most part but after the freeway the pedal went to the floor for the first pump. It was fine in the second.
I assume the brake drum is a bit out of round or perhaps the vibration from the out-of-round tires was pressing the shoes in a bit so they had to take up that slack. I guess I need to pull the drums and check them for roundness and I might be well served to slightly shave the tires or attempt to balance them...
So, more fussing with ignition and fuel is clearly called for.
Don't get me wrong, I was wearing a stupid grin the whole day, there is just more work to do. Of course, then I'll need to drive it more to test my work.

 

[m1010plowboy]

Sounds like a great run. Do we need to get you a camera? Pictures of the road in a Ferret would be legendary. I laughed at the 3mpg part. Goose held 45 gallons so filling up to 'run around' for the weekend when my buddies were dropping $50.00 in their tank meant lots of overtime work if I wanted to hit 50mph.

 

[eaw46]

Great save I wish you well in your restoration.

 

[teletech]

Sounds like a great run. Do we need to get you a camera? Pictures of the road in a Ferret would be legendary. I laughed at the 3mpg part. Goose held 45 gallons so filling up to 'run around' for the weekend when my buddies were dropping $50.00 in their tank meant lots of overtime work if I wanted to hit 50mph.

I can barely manage to drive, let alone document the event. My assistant in the commander's seat was clinging to the hull with one hand while holding his glasses on with the other so wasn't in much better shape to snap pics. but fair enough, next run I'll try to tape on a camera, or better yet have a chase car to do it for me. Of course, come to that I'll *bet* there are pics and video from innocent bystanders!

I went about a block before remembering critical PPE, in this case sunglasses (and masks, the pandemic and all). I went with classic aviators I'd inherited from an old navy vet as seeming appropriate. My eyes still watered enough that next time it's goggles or wrap-arounds and style be dammed.

 

[Ferretboy]

Great that you got the old girl out for a run....

 

[teletech]

July 1, the longest run yet. Still no video though.
After months of sitting it started with little complaint and all systems worked as well as when I parked it. Not the highest bar but reassuring to be sure.
Almost exactly 10 miles travelled today.
First from my house to the local CHP office and then jump onto the freeway and drive back to the shop. Before I drove anywhere I checked the timing and retarded it about 4 degrees, a significant improvement on the freeway as my flat land speed rose from 47MPH to about 53MPH and downhill from 47 to 60+. My fuel consumption plummeted as well from something like an estimated 2.5MPG(worst case) to something like 8MPG!
Operation of the vehicle came back fairly quickly.

Now the bad news, the local CHP officer refused to verify the VIN.
Officer "they don't have all the regulated safety equipment like seat belts"
Me "1954, nobody required seat belts and if they existed at all they were uncommon. This vehicle has every bit of safety equipment required for a vehicle of it's age"
Officer "well, yeah... but no"
We went on like this for a minute but eventually he gave me a document citing a rule against registering surplus military vehicles.
I'm not sure his reading of the rules are correct, it looks like a technicality and could be called either way.
So, now I have to investigate other options. These include:
Trying to get the DMV to verify the VIN and hoping they feel agreeable.
Paying to have a verification service do the work.
Just buying a big stack of 1-day permits, for as much as I'm likely to drive it it might be a wash cost-wise but it would be nice to have plates.
I'm interested to hear from others in CA who have road-registered Ferrets.

I've been running off a gas can for quite a while while waiting for the fuel tank to dry out so I could clean it. No leaks but lots of scale in there.
Today I stripped off the fuel filler neck extension and reaching in, scraped and vacuumed up as much rust as I could. I've arranged with a person with shorter and smaller arms than I have to spend some hours scraping and wire-brushing the tank. It won't help much on the right side of the vehicle but it should give me a pretty clean "main" fuel tank to work from and that will improve my effective range and convenience significantly.