LP2a SAR restoration

[Phillip]

Thanks Darrin,

It’s interesting that the hinge construction on our covers is significantly different, but then again this hull never had the side rails either, so one of the many variances in construction across carriers.

I had another hull that had those two round pads in the left sponson, it was an earlier SA hull but not a mortar carrier. Someone will know what goes there.

In its stowed position, what is the bipod resting on?

[Darrin Wright]

The bipod sits on top of the timber blocks, there is a strap the retains it down onto the engine cover.

I tried variations to mount it like the mortar tube, but it did not work; so best educated guess is it sits on top. That is also confirmed by a pic that shows no detail in the timber blocks.

[Phillip]

I finally got the engine cover and tool plate off to the sandblasted the other week and returned nicely cleaned and primed. A cote of KG No.3 and the engine cover was shoehorned into place - This where that gantry is worth its weight in gold.

The lower engine covers were fitted. These are a set of Colin Jones that I bought a few years ago. The back covers needed some very slight mods - to clear the oil pipes and the holes needed slotting. They fit perfectly and look a million dollars - a tribute to Colin’s excellent craftsmanship.

Next - sewing, camo, leather and road testing!!!

[Phillip]

When I looked at the kit that Darrin had made, I discovered that the latch mechanism on Darrins cover is quite different from mine (as were the hinges) So using the original cover as a template, I finished the bracket for the ammunition cover that holds it open in the vertical position.

Three different thickness materials were used in this mechanism, so after rummaging around my pile of scrap steel I found the right imperial thicknesses and am quite pleased with the results.

One of the quandaries with these hulls are the few extra brackets, I think this little latch should have a clip on the ammunition cover to hold it in place when in the open position.

[Phillip]

Progress on the small jobs is being made.

The flare box had been painted but the webbing strap had rotted and broke off after a few uses. Finding rivets in the current environment was going to be tricky and slow, so I modified some copper ones by turning them on the lathe.

I gave up long ago on trying to find enough flares in good condition so decided to make my own out of resin and using an original base to make the mould.

Once the bases were painted, I wrapped and glued printed paper around them and applied a coat of shellac before stamping them. Not perfect or 100% accurate but they look the part.

[Ron Pier]

That's nothing Phillip! My smoke grenade is Ford Transit oil filter. Ron

[Grant Bowker]

Originally Posted by Ron Pier

My smoke grenade is Ford Transit oil filter.

In the same vein, I know of several Chevrolet CMPs that have a paint can masquerading as the coolant recovery can... Since real replacements for a lot of these parts are impossible to find and we may have other uses for time and money than setting up to reproduce "non-essential" parts these substitutions make total sense to me as long as we don't try to pass our imitations off as the real thing.