My T16 Carrier

[andrew honychurch]

Thanks guys, and thankyou Lynn for the welcome. I find these forums such a great resource and way of learning and meeting new friends. I am a member of quite a few vehicle related boards and really enjoy them. I do get some sideways looks from the dear wife who wants to know what I am doing with the laptop whilst watching tv, but I am sure I am not alone in that!

I have one restoration that I am completing, not an MV, and want to finish that before starting the Carrie. I will pull it completely apart and sandblast the hull. What is concerning me is the highly pitted armour in places which will detract from the look I wish to achieve. i wonder whether good old body filler will do a good job or whether it will eventually crack out ? Any thoughts any one. Short of that, i guess one could look at lead loading ( expensive!) or cutting out the offending pieces and replacing with new metal.

I see David put new floors in the sponson sides in the rear. Was that a mammoth job? What did you use to cut out the old floors with David?

cheers Andrew

[Lynn Eades]

In my AOP I replaced the guards,on each side where they go into the drivers compartment. they were originally welded in with stainless arc rods. (You cant gas cut it) I used an arc air gouger to cut it out. (easy)
Be careful with the rust. You will see what I said in Horsa's thread.

[RichardT10829]

As per lynn's comments, if you are welding bits back in and it is being attached to the armour plate, it will need to be done with stainless, for cutting you can use the thin slitting discs on a grinder you can get them off ebay by the truck load for buttons.... they get worn away fast, but as they are so cheap it does not matter, plus the thin profile of the blade makes a neat job... i dont think the track guards themselves are BP steel. I prefer to weld with a Mig, you could run some lovely seams in there Horsa did a fantastic job of replacing his rear shelf and track guards. What are you restoring at the minute ?

[horsa]

The metal in those areas was originally crimped down at 90 degree angles on each of the long edges. During production, they pressed the crimped panel in between the armor sections for welding. I used the thinner cut-off wheels/discs on my 4" angle grinder to remove the old sheet metal. Make the cuts near the welds but stay in the sheet metal to make smooth and fast progress. A cutting torch could be used as an option but you don't want to weaken the old welds or the armor so might be faster but leave more to grind later. After the sheet metal panels are gone, use grinding discs made for stainless steel welds to grind back the remains towards the armor walls. It's a lot of heavy work to be sure. I had used cheaper grinding discs at first and went through them pretty fast. The more expensive discs for stainless will go ten times further. Cost might work out close to the same but you won't be changing discs out every few minutes and won't have as much dust from disintegrating discs.

When replacing the metal, we used flat pieces without the crimps. Figured it wouldn't be in combat anymore and the new metal and welds would be supported by the long welds and old crimped remaining edge that is on the track side. Saves overall grinding and welding that way. And there is no risk of cutting into the armor from working at awkward angles down there.

[andrew honychurch]

Again, this is great stuff guys. I will have to see what I am left with when I get the thing stripped and sandblasted. I have used the very thin cutting disc Richard refers to several times in the past. You are right, they disappear before your very eyes! Seem to be picking rusty bits of metal out of my hair for weeks afterwards. I am going to have a really good look around the T16 this weekend and will take some detailed photos. If you are not all bored by it, I will post the photos and you may all have some observations. I must say, I am rather hoping I dont have to grind those valves in again!!!

Andrew

[andrew honychurch]

what are days off from the office if they are not for working on vehicles then? Spent 4 or 5 hours today getting to grips with the T16. Its been something like 26 years since I last had a really good look around her and that would have been the last time that I drove it. Time has not done it any favours its fair to say. Unfortunately the garage where it has been stored was damp and did have some leaks so the floors are pretty ghastly but no serious rot. I agree with David that the floor seems to have a laminate which is now coming off. I was forced to speculate what it is, I think its a rubber/heavy painted surface rather than metal. It even looks like paper on one piece I removed. Anyway, the carrier is going to weigh about 1/2 ton lighter when all the loose rust is removed. The good thing is that she is all there, all though I seem to have mislaid a couple of smaller items for the engine. Oil filter bracket and air cleaner elbow. not quite sure how they went but they may turn up yet. Its definitely a full strip down and I can see that it has had new track covers welded in when it left Pounds in about 1978. I will do them again as they are not really that good, and the previous owner has put white silicone sealer in the corner! I am going to post some photos of it as it is, and whilst this is not a record attempt in terms of the time I expect the restoration to take, it may be fun to keep you posted with developments as per Davids marvellous rebuild. Photos to follow. A

[andrew honychurch]