Scout T5329

[Philliphastings]

Hi Ben,

The little Scout is looking great !

It's definately gone to the right home.

Keep up the good work mate

Phill

[Ben]

Steady progress on the Scout. Some little jobs being blasted and painted but the new LH side armour has gone on. I had this cut from 8mm originally but the part that came out was about 7.5mm and the new part left a forward facing step I wasn't happy with, I took it into town and had the whole surface ground down by 0.5mm so the side is flush with the front part. The fit is now perfect and I'm much happier.

All the armour is now on and ready for riveting.

I've put the engine cover back in too. during the last 70 years it has held up pretty well but about an inch was removed from the front section. I can only assume this made getting it out a little easier for the farmer that wanted the engine. I've been jigging it back into place trying to get all the sections straight and welding in the missing inch. You need arms like an octopus but its going back OK, constantly making sure its straight.

Ben

[kevin powles]

Ben, Looking good, when you had the metal surface ground did it tend to curl the metal up, I done the same with the hinged plate on the gunners side once and we had to flatten it again.

kev.

[Ben]

It didn't bend. I was told that machining it would tend to make it bend due to the way it relieves the steels stresses but grinding was a better way of controlling it. The bloke that did it guaranteed it'd be as flat after he did the work as it was before, he was right!

Ben

[Ben]

I've been a little lazy with updates so here goes.

The engine cover on a pre universal carrier is a little different. The one on the Scout angles down from the air box until it reaches the rear section, it then levels out to horizontal. The Scout still has its original frame and a couple of the cover panels. Years ago a small section was cut out with a torch to allow a little movement for the engine to come out easier leaving the air boxes in place. After i'd straightened a couple of parts i jigged it all together and welded in the missing sections, they're only a couple of inches long maximum. I'll tidy the welds up when i take the frame out.

The photos show the lower rear section and the early type curved air boxes. The fittings on the upper panel are one of the pogo clips, two latches for the side armour and the Butt rest for the Bren if its in the LH side engine cover pintle.

[Ben]

The back of the Scout has a battery box and fuel can holder the same as a universal. It was in generally very good condition including the springs for the cans except the base which was rotten due to water sitting in it, there were a couple of small holes in the sides too.

I wanted to keep as much original material as possible but the base was beyond saving so I made a new one and riveted it in. The small holes on the side needed someone with more metal work skills than me! A friend is a very good welder/fabricator and he said he could cut out the minimum material and weld in a new section. I was very pleased when he gave the box back, the repair is barely visible even in bare metal, once its painted i'm sure it wont be seen at all. He commented that it would have been quicker and easier to make the whole box new! I think the small dents and detail including part numbers etc are worth keeping wherever possible.

[Ben]

I've been sandblasting and painting some of the smaller components in between the bigger jobs.

The steering/braking units have been cleaned, painted, greased, new seals and built up this week. They were in very good condition when removed so didn't need too much work. One is a little too stiff for my liking so i'll strip it down again to see if it can be loosened before it gets fitted. Theres a bits of a knock to one of the protection plates but i quite liked it being there, couldn't see the point in straightening it out. Its all part of the story.