Lynx II, hull # 4225

[Robin Craig]

In my official role as Sidekick I am underemployed during these outings and spend much of the time looking at details and asking Peter what appear to be inane questions which make him think and then come up with the obvious answer, which defied my pea brain.

Sometimes, and it is rare, I ask a question that has no obvious answer.

In discussion it is obvious how the escape hatch opens on the inside, as there is a lever handle for that. The outside of the hatch has a keyhole into which a boss from the slam latch body inserts and comes almost flush to the outside, so that it could be used.

In discussion with Peter we searched the manual for a key to open the latch, the manual shows the complete equipment schedule and line drawing representations of the items. No key is illustrated.

When reading the same manual and the description of the parts and their operation it clearly states that the escape hatch opens from the inside using the lever and "a key from the outside".

There is no illustration of the key anywhere.

We surmised that the concept of opening the hatch from the outside was a good idea but in reality that notion was dropped and a key was not part of the vehicle kit.

Can anyone comment on this?

Was this slam latch (my name for it) used on any other vehicle and was there a key on those vehicles? Is there a photo of one?

This is the first of two conundrums we have found regarding this Lynx. Picture of the latch for recognition purposes.

[Richard Farrant]

As the Lynx was based on the Daimler Scout Car, bodywise, that lock looks very much like a copy of the Daimler component and the key came with the lock (when I found a nos one) and not listed in the parts book, but is shown in the CES.

[Alastair Thomas]

An interesting question to which I have no answer. I have made keys for my Lynx but that does not really help answering the main questions.
Why would you wish to open the hatch from the outside? I suggest that the only circumstance I can think of is when the vehicle has turned over and you wish to help the occupants out of it. So this raises the next question: how would you expect a casual passer-by to have a key? Were they a common item used on many other things/vehicles? If the vehicle is upright and the driver wishes to get in, in the case of the Lynx II, he would simply remove the canvass cover. In the case of the Lynx I, he would be carrying the keys to remove the padlock securing the roof hatch.
As anyone who has contemplated it, access via the escape hatch is very much a desperate option.
I am also intrigued as to where the driver would keep his key to the escape hatch.
Alastair
F60S
Lynx I MkIII*

[David Dunlop]

Can anyone post a picture of one of these keys?

David

[Alastair Thomas]

Here is a picture of the key I made for my Lynx.
Not having any idea what an original key looked like this is clearly not authentic.
However the merit in showing it is to show that the business end is just a plain paddle with no subtle cut-outs.

Alastair

F60S
Lynx I MkIII*

[Robin Craig]

Alastair thank you for that, pretty much what I sketched out after taking apart Peter's spare lock. Just have to get some time to make it up. Interesting you made it a T handle, easiest to grasp on to.

[Lynn Eades]

If you take the lock assy to a locksmith, they can probably sell you a blank key that fits, off the shelf?