Buried Mk 1 Bren carrier restoration

[derk derin]

With the hull sandblasted,Rob sprayed on a coat of primer for me so it would not rust on me until I got it home and into the barn where I could put a coat of paint on it;



I am all loaded up and ready for home;

With the carrier home and a coat of paint on the hull,Gord found me a parts carrier for the linkages and rear end to use for the restoration;

Now the fun begins.That pile of rusted parts may not look salvageable but most of them were restored and put back on the carrier;

One of the Prairie Command members gave me 2 gas tanks to use;

The tracks were a challenge because the carriers were placed on the sand and the bottom sections of the track seized solid.The top parts of the track were flexible and could be saved so I used the top section of my track and Gord gave me his track as he had a good set for his carrier and I used the top section of his tracks to make a working set.I broke the sections into 21 link pieces to sneak them into the sandblaster and cleaned them up.The stiff sections I threw into the wood stove in my livingroom and heated them up.It worked so well that when I removed it from the stove,I almost dropped it on the carpet.It sure brought back the flexibility but recommend it be done outside for anybody wanting to try it!

When it was too cold to work outside,the livingroom became the workshop;

[derk derin]

The kitchen worked great for working on the canvas seat cushions,etc;

I restored the linkages from the parts carrier and transfered them over;


The assembly of the running gear when it wasn't too cold out;


With all of the bogie wheels on,it became mobile again;




Once my tracks were reassembled,I jacked up the carrier on 2x6's and placed the tracks in front and started to roll the carrier back onto it's tracks;

[derk derin]

I went to alot of trouble to find an engine for my carrier and without any luck to find a runner (there is a story for another time!) again one of the Prairie Command members gave me an engine from his WWII generator trailer to use until I find a replacement for him.I am still running his engine in my carrier;
I wanted to have my carrier at the Winnipeg air show so took a week of holidays and finished off my carrier enough to drive it and show it off.The first day of my holidays I went 32 hours straight working on getting the engine and transmission installed.The paint on the decals were still wet when I hauled it to the site on the Friday night.I realized the star doesn't belong there where the numbers should go but that was a sleepless week and being in a rush,made some mistakes that were corrected later;



I can't thank the Prairie Command members enough for all there help and parts to complete this restoration for me.Especially Rob Love for letting me use his house,yard and equipment!A great bunch of guys!
Derk.

[Jordan Baker]

Great pictures Derek

One question so far. Whats the part with the red arrow pointing to it?

[Lynn Eades]

I am told that the capillary tube (surplus) for one of the gauges, gets wrapped around it.

[colin jones]

Hi Derk,
Well I'm impressed, but I have to say that I thought my wife was easy going. So that leaves two answers.
1/ You don't have a wife? OR!
2/ You don't have a wife.
Great job!
Colin.

[RichardT10829]

UNBELIEVABLE !!! great thread matey your carrier looks fantastic, now to go into my back garden with the shovel and spade hahahahahah.

Richie

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by derk derin

When it was too cold to work outside,the livingroom became the workshop;

You're a bachelor, right?