Canadian Ferrets

[jkftl]

I have asked several folks on FH but they can't help. I have a mystery Mk1. It has the features of Canadian vehicles, as follows:

1. Came with US M-series marker light pots on hand-built heavy steel brackets. I can't stand them and removed.
2. Guard bars over oil cooler
3. US Vietnam-era alternator installed and generator box gone; many taped wire joints. Civilian turn-signal unit hose-clamped to steering gear (original missing).
4. Cold-start modification (hole punched in carburettor horn)
5. Tubular marker light guards on all fenders
6. Angle front/side windows
7. Red leatherette seat cushions (remains)
8. Evidence of removed data plate over driver's right shoulder
9. Many disused studs welded around interior. I cut off 56 of them.
10. Eight flame-cut holes in rear for mounting UNEF auxiliary gas cans.
11. Upper rear spare threaded stud cut off
12. There are NO hull numbers anywhere
13. There is a nice number stamped at the lower edge of the Glacis plate: 00002 0039
14. I found a RCEME rebuild tag on the transmission, dated 1978
15. Several main armor plates are lightly stamped with various numbers, all starting with D 59, then 3 or 4 more digits on the next line
16. I found an interesting number magic-markered on the underside of the angled piece of sheet steel on top of the stowage bin under the left escape hatch; 58395. Could it be vehicle #395, contract year 1958?
17. I received the vehicle with nasty hand-daubed green camo paint and no identifying numbers. Unfortunately I was not present during sandblasting, and information could have been lost at that time.
18. The previous owner never did much to the vehicle over the 15 years he had it. He lived north of Chicago. It was really ugly when it arrived here (Ft. Lauderdale) but the engine ran nicely. Neither the previous owner nor I ever moved it under its own power. I haven't checked bevel boxes or fluid coupling, but the gearbox has nice lube in it.

OK, guys...let's put our heads and collected knowledge together and identify this machine. Serious restoration is underway, and I will need something credible to put on the title application. If you need further information, I can be your eyes.

John Kessler

[rob love]

John
That number is not a Cdn CFR...all the Cdn ferrets were in the 82XXX range.

The American style lights were never an official mod on the Cdn ferrets.....it was just a matter of fitting on what was handy. Often the lamps were mounted on the original ferret lamp brackets, although it should be noted there was a modification instruction to relocate the original lamps to a higher position.

The US style of 60 amp generator was an approved Cdn modification, and the regulator was removed when these were installed.

I believe the Cdn contract ran over the mk1 rectangular windows to the mk1/2 odd shaped windows.

The civilian turn signal arm was common on all the Cdn vehicles back then, including the ferrets. Common were the doray and the signal stat models.

The numbers stamped on the various plates are likely the part numbers for each individual plate of metal.

I have seen the odd Cdn ferret without the CFR stamped in front of the horn bracket, but the vast majority have them.

Of course, this thread is useless without pictures.

[shrapnel]

The "disused studs" you cut off... Could they be the studs used to attach the various interior bins and other equipment inside the ferret??? Cutting them off maybe wasn't such a good idea...

[jkftl]

Before cutting off any studs I checked two restored Ferrets and made diagrams. I now have places for about 6 bins and lots of nice open spaces. Most of the female 5/16" weld sockets were in correct places. Most studs (5/16 and 1/4) were Canadian mods and I could find no reason to retain them. As I mentioned, I counted over 50 little cut-off pieces after finishing. It looks SO much better, particularly now with the primer on whole interior. At this point photos show nothing but my efforts. As-received photos I took reveal nothing.

[Craig S.]

Hello all. I'm trying to interpret hull numbers and serial numbers (or any others?). Looking at some of the info in this thread got me out scraping and trying to find the ID of 2 Ferrets here in Gagetown. I found the CFR's stamped into the top of the hull forward right of the drivers position and stuck my arm and camera into the drivers front "window" to get a pic of the plate welded inside on the right. Are there any other locations? Also the welded plate with the markings (313.B.3.4.) in the picture I’ve attached below represent what exactly? It seems that this would be a hull number, but the amount of digits on the plate do not match what is referenced as a serial number on the DND database, with the matching CFR? For this particular Ferret, CFR 54-82532, the serial number is only 2 digits (forgot to copy them down before leaving work) followed by 'B' and another digit, ie.**.B.*. I took these pics of the Ferret's I'm referencing. Can anyone make this a bit more clear? Thanks in advance,

Craig

[Brad Mills]

Where is Colin when you need him? :-)

[rob love]

It is my belief that the first three digits are the sequential serial number of the ferret (313 in your case) and the other two digits are the month and the year of production. I have no idea what the B stands for.

It was quite common back then that CFR numbers were not assigned in order of serial number. Our ferrets were part of the first production, along with the Australians, as someone mentioned earlier.