Re: [MV] universal carrier

From: Geoff Winnington-Ball (gwball@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue Feb 06 2001 - 16:41:30 PST


Dan,

In years past, carriers in private hands in Canada were usually butchered
because of the weight savings. Many went on to serve their new, if inauthentic,
owners for decades. Indeed, a few of these still show up occasionally, still
running.

Regards what you fellows found, there may or may not be any useable components
onboard. Basically, what you have is a lower hull, with powertrain, tracks and
running gear, and the originality and condition of these latter are what
determines their potential value (the lower hull itself is of no use). Of
course, I'm presuming here that there's no armour plating left above the
tracks...

The original engine was a Canadian Ford 239ci flathead Ford, but different that
the American Ford and Mercury 239s in terms of main bearing arrangement.
Regardless of origin, the flatheads are notorious for cracked blocks, etc... if
yours is original and it still turns over, you're only halfway there -- run it
(or at least turn it over for a bit with the plugs in) and check for water in
the exhaust. If the lump is intact, it's good for a collector. And oh yes, it
should be a standard transmission.

Tracks and running gear. Carrier track is dry pin track. It was notorious for
stretching. What wears is not the links themselves, but the pin holes THROUGH
the links... they become oblong over time. A new carrier track has 168 links,
and the manual suggests trashing the track once you're down to 158 links on a
complete track. So, count your links, allowing for a four- to six-inch sag in
the top run.

At the same time as the track wears, the sprockets wear. Just as a motorcycle
chain stretches and its sprockets "bed in", so too do those on a carrier.
Correctly, they SHOULD remain together as a set, even if they ARE worn. Failure
to mate tracks and sprockets can potentially lead to throwing track much more
easily than is normal (and it's easy to throw carrier track regardless of age).
Badly worn track is of little use to a collector who runs his machine, and can
be potentially dangerous for crew and spectators alike.

All road wheels on a carrier have a hard rubber driving surface which bears on
the track. If that rubber is badly chunked or gone altogether, the wheels are
really not worth saving. At present, there are a plethora of junker carriers
about, sporting useable wheels, and more turn up all the time. It's not
presently financially justifiable to spend the money having wheels re-rubbered.

Having said that, if all fails the test, there is still probably a small market
for sections of track as adornments on a restored, running carrier, or for the
complete tracks for a static display carrier. There may be other bits useful as
well... does it have a complete engine cover and access plates? How about the
radiator? Any exterior stowage boxes which might have been original?

You can look at our carrier section at http://www.mapleleafup.org/vehicles for
pics of what it once was, and for more info. Feel free to email me offline with
pics of what you have, or for further information. I'll help you as best I can.

Thanks for writing!

--
Regards,

Geoff Winnington-Ball MAPLE LEAF UP! ==> Zephyr, Ontario, Canada ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maple Leaf Up - The Canadian Army Overseas in WW2 http://www.mapleleafup.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment http://www.1cacr.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pam & Dan wrote:

> Hi list(s), I helped a friend drag a universal (bren gun) carrier out of the > bush today. Looks too far gone to restore but may have some useable parts > for someone out there. Given that they are in repairable condition could > anyone hazard a guess what the tracks may be worth? If there anything like > my halftrack tracks I'm guessing there hard to come by. Thanks for your > help. Dan



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