• Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!

  • Microsoft MSN, Live, Hotmail, Outlook email users may not be receiving emails. We are working to resolve this issue. Please add support@steelsoldiers.com to your trusted contacts.

 

New to Me - Ferrett 1715.12.58 - Plugs and Points (No Spark)

teletech

Active member
426
208
43
Location
santa cruz,ca
Congratulations on the Ferret! I think you can still get all the manuals and such off Doug's page:

Park it or jack it sharply nose-up so the muck can run out the back when you steam-clean anything in the crew area or engine compartment. Also a good idea to remove the drain covers under the hull.

Compared to all the other armored vehicles I've messed with everything on a Ferret is light and easy to get to. Of course that's like saying a single-action revolver is easier to detail-strip than a belt-fed M.G.
I don't know how long your Ferret has sat or last seen service, but based on the experience I had bringing mine up I'll make a few suggestions:
If you haven't personally changed your acceleration pump diaphragms, just get that over with now. If they ore old or have been sitting dry for a time they will crack and leak. It might not be now or tomorrow but it will be soon and then you will be wondering why it was running fine yesterday but won't quite run today. For that matter it might be why you are having trouble now (in addition to spark). I found an outfit in the UK that shipped me a set for a small fraction of what REME wanted.
The life of a Ferret owner means cleaning out the fuel tank, resealing the selector valve, and rebuilding the carb at least.
I see you are on it but change your condenser at least. I got tired of fussing with the points and went with an electronic ignition. I know it's not original but the vehicle runs so much better that I don't care.
I found making up an adapter so I could use a timing light to be helpful.
Once again, if you don't know when they were last changed, it's time to change your brake hoses. REME Depot charges hundreds of dollars for a set but since the Ferret has just one circuit and manual brakes to boot, a failure would be... bad.
I'd suggest rebuilding your master cylinder while you are at it.

Remember to "pump up" your gearbox and that pedal IS NOT a clutch! I'd go ahead and make the band-measurement tool and measure/set your bands while you are at it. The tool is cheap and easy to make and measuring/setting is under 1% the effort of having to source and change a band if you drove one that was out of sync and burned it up.
 
Last edited:

Mullaney

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
Supporting Vendor
7,251
18,805
113
Location
Charlotte NC
Congratulations on the Ferret! I think you can still get all the manuals and such off Doug's page:

Park it or jack it sharply nose-up so the muck can run out the back when you steam-clean anything in the crew area or engine compartment. Also a good idea to remove the drain covers under the hull.

Compared to all the other armored vehicles I've messed with everything on a Ferret is light and easy to get to. Of course that's like saying a single-action revolver is easier to detail-strip than a belt-fed M.G.
I don't know how long your Ferret has sat or last seen service, but based on the experience I had bringing mine up I'll make a few suggestions:
If you haven't personally changed your acceleration pump diaphragms, just get that over with now. If they ore old or have been sitting dry for a time they will crack and leak. It might not be now or tomorrow but it will be soon and then you will be wondering why it was running fine yesterday but won't quite run today. For that matter it might be why you are having trouble now (in addition to spark). I found an outfit in the UK that shipped me a set for a small fraction of what REME wanted.
The life of a Ferret owner means cleaning out the fuel tank, resealing the selector valve, and rebuilding the carb at least.
I see you are on it but change your condenser at least. I got tired of fussing with the points and went with an electronic ignition. I know it's not original but the vehicle runs so much better that I don't care.
I found making up an adapter so I could use a timing light to be helpful.
Once again, if you don't know when they were last changed, it's time to change your brake hoses. REME Depot charges hundreds of dollars for a set but since the Ferret has just one circuit and manual brakes to boot, a failure would be... bad.
I'd suggest rebuilding your master cylinder while you are at it.

Remember to "pump up" your gearbox and that pedal IS NOT a clutch! I'd go ahead and make the band-measurement tool and measure/set your bands while you are at it. The tool is cheap and easy to make and measuring/setting is under 1% the effort of having to source and change a band if you drove one that was out of sync and burned it up.
.
Wow! Thanks teletech !

Lots of good information. I am definitely stumbling along and learning as we go for sure. Son is in on this project too, so we can both stand there and look at it when things aren't as we expect. :) It was last being driven about two years ago. Lots of stories like that are told, but so far it seems to be holding true. Diaphragms may be the biggest problem. I hadn't even considered that and it could be an easy fix for sure.

I appreciate the warnings. Several of those suggestion will definitely "keep the stupid at bay".
Might not get there until tonight, but I will go to Doug's page and snag some book learning for sure.
 

teletech

Active member
426
208
43
Location
santa cruz,ca
Your wings look to be in outstanding condition and the Ferret looks great in that view.
It's set up with the turret, does it have the matching power-brake servo?

Roy at Southern Carbs set me up with my diaphragms, though he did say they don't usually ship to the US. You might try your luck though: http://www.southerncarbs.co.uk

I drove mine to work toady for the first time and it reminded me to mention that you want to wear hearing protection and that really an intercom is ideal so the commander can hear the driver and dosen't have to scream to be heard. You also want some good wraparound safety glasses to keep the wind out of your eyes. Good application for a mask or "facial covering" in this case is it prevents you from eating a bug at speed.
 

teletech

Active member
426
208
43
Location
santa cruz,ca
I'd highly suggest getting a solid state ign. setup from Frank at classicheads.com. I've put them on all of the ferrets I've worked on. Makes life easier.
I wholeheartedly second the electronic swap unless absolute accuracy (show car) is the goal.
What did Frank's set-up cost and does it fit totally inside the distributor?

I'm not suggesting it's ideal by any stretch but my Crane setup was about $110 for both the electronic unit and the 24-12V converter to run it. A Petronix would cost about the same I suspect. The Crane doesn't fit in the distributor but the Petronix would. I tucked the 24-12V converter in the junction box in place of the now-unused ballast resistors.
 

Mullaney

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
Supporting Vendor
7,251
18,805
113
Location
Charlotte NC
I'd highly suggest getting a solid state ign. setup from Frank at classicheads.com. I've put them on all of the ferrets I've worked on. Makes life easier.
.
I was really impressed just by reading the website @ ClassicHeads.com where everything tucks inside the distributor. I definitely need to investigate that possibility. For sure, I don't think I will achieve "show car status" but inside and protected electronic ignition seems like a really good plan!

Thanks for the pointer patracy !

Unrelated to the MV world, but maybe he has something that will fit inside my 29 Model A.
Guessing that shipping several things won't cost but a few more bucks from there to here.
 

Ferretboy

Well-known member
384
471
63
Location
Ripley,ohio
Got more than one ferret? No fare....keeping secrets.....I can't wait see the other one....love them all.....Waiting.....photos Please...!!!!!!
 

Mullaney

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
Supporting Vendor
7,251
18,805
113
Location
Charlotte NC
Hey there fellow ferret owner....I'm still collecting photos of all ferrets....all are welcome.....anytime.....thanks for all the input on the other thread....p.o.w. Very interesting....
.
I owe you better, but here are pictures of the twins :cool:

Ferrit 002a.jpg

Ferrit 003.jpg

The really happy guy sitting in the white one (UN Markings) is my eldest.
 

chucky

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
6,446
18,475
113
Location
TN .
.
I owe you better, but here are pictures of the twins :cool:

View attachment 852028

View attachment 852029

The really happy guy sitting in the white one (UN Markings) is my eldest.
Must have been from a prior marriage ! Thank goodness for him lol ! Hell i know why you dont go to many rallys you have one in your backyard already . The kids in your neighborhood think its the national guard at your place . People knocking on the door all day trying to sign up for the army .
 
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website like our supporting vendors. Their ads help keep Steel Soldiers going. Please consider disabling your ad blockers for the site. Thanks!

I've Disabled AdBlock
No Thanks