It’s been a decade since my last update on this restoration project and progress has been slow but steady! I originally bought this machine from club member and veteran restorer, Tony Luke. He had rescued the chassis and hull from a farm in the SE of SA and had made a start on piecing the bits back together. The rear axle had been removed and sat under a super spreader and much of the armour had been cut up to make useful things around the farm . Sadly the engine and gearbox were missing, probably transplanted into a farm vehicle of the day. However the special coupling that goes between the gearbox and transfer case was still there. It consists of large steel balls that allow some lateral movement a bit like the front knuckle in some 4x4s.
Tony managed to get the chassis back together and made a start on the hull before getting side tracked by the Bedford QL Radio truck that has been on many a club run in years passed. I made him an offer and the rest is history.
The Lynx is one of 170 armoured cars made in Canada and sent to Australia for the 1st Armoured Corps. They were disposed of by the army in 1956/57. It had a driver and co- pilot who navigated, manned the radio and also fired a Bren gun mounted behind 30 mm armour. A Ford side valve engine V8 was rear mounted and drove a single speed transfer case via a conventional ford truck 4 speed gearbox. However, the box was mounted on its side and a complicated system of rods and cranks ran from a selector unit, to a gearshift in the driving compartment. I was lucky to inherit those parts , and with the help of Sam Cutajar, soon had a blitz box transformed into the correct configuration. Club founder, Alan Newton helped me install the box and provided much assistance. He was also restoring a Lynx at our farm which he sold prior to his death, but its location is now sadly unknown .
The Lynx then sat for a couple of years while shed construction took priority.
Finally, I was able to source a “rebuilt” engine from another collector and by 2020 the driveline was complete. Unfortunately, the water pumps leaked and one of the heads had a hairline crack that was only leaky when the engine was hot! Aaron Fell helped me strip the pumps off, replacing with new ones from a speed shop interstate and timing the engine with the “special ford v8 timing tool”
This progress gave me enthusiasm to start the hull which was still in 2 pieces.
Templates were made from chipboard and 10 mm mild steel laser cut to fit. Much grinding was needed to make parts fit but by 2021, the hull was back in one piece and painted the desert sand colour that it left the factory with.
While the pumps were off we supported the block and used a fire pump to pressure wash the block. Much rusty dirt was liberated! Aaron was also of great assistance getting the radiator and fan mounted as we has to custom make a spacer to ensure the fan sat exactly halfway between radiator hoses and core. Unlike many other ford v8s of the time, the fan is driven directly off the crank pulley and has minimal clearance from vital parts!! Radiator hoses had to be fashioned from various falcon hoses and some 90 degree bends that were in the catalogue at Repco. An exhaust shop in Richmond bent me up some stainless pipe for the connectors and did an excellent job, even able to roll a ridge at the ends like original design. Progress was good but alas the horror of the hydraulics were yet to be revealed! The Lynx has an ordinary brake system using many parts familiar to Ford Blitzes. However it also has a hydraulic clutch and throttle system using some parts also common to Staghound and M8. These 2 systems share a common reservoir in the engine bay and are plumbed with 3/8 brake pipe. Hard to bend and very hard to flare. Even harder to flare so it won’t leak! Also impossible to flare both ends on the bench as the flared end won’t go through the holes in the chassis! In retrospect, I should have used copper as the pressure in clutch and throttle lines is minimal. To date, the brakes are done but not without much effort to stem the leaks, and the throttle master cylinder is back at Power Brakes with a leaky seal.
Hopefully in a month or 2, the leaks will be fixed, the drive shafts attached and a maiden voyage will be attempted! Possibly in time for the Rego Day BBQ?
