1944 Universal Carrier CTL14500 - Ford Canada

[Sentryduty]

In preparation for the now passed 100th Anniversary of the PPCLI, interest was expressed in restoring and displaying 2 of the Regiment's Universal Carriers. One was located at The Military Museum (TMM) in Calgary, Alberta and the other resided in Hamilton Gault Park, just in front of the G.G. Brown Building, CFB Edmonton.

The Calgary carrier was externally restored with all major driveline components gutted for static display inside the Museum. There are certain weight restrictions in the TMM and a complete carrier would collapse a "bridge" entry into the gallery. Working closely with the Museum Manager (Capt. Younghusband, now retired) we researched and selected the colour schemes and markings for the restoration. That UC can be viewed in the PPCLI gallery of the TMM.

I was also asked to assess the condition of the Edmonton based carrier, it had allegedly been driven onto the display pad some years ago and there was speculation about restoring it to parade duty.

This UC had been outdoors for as long as I had been with the Battalion and everything was rusted in place. I started by treating all of the bolts, linkages and exposed moving parts with CLP (Break-free) and each morning I would manually wiggle and re-coat components.

After a patient week of this process I was able to loosen and remove the engine covers, so I could assess the powertrain. All of the major parts were intact, the Ford Flathead V8, induction system and belt drive. Although the engine was still full of oil, and appeared un-seized, there were a number of things standing in the way of adding some fuel and a battery for a quick tear down Korea Road.

At some time, this vehicle had been harvested for minor parts, the fan and shroud were missing, the radiator was bone dry and showed signs of tank leakage. The generator was un-unmounted, and a new production 12V voltage regulator was in pieces along with it. The fuel tank had rusted through but the system had been rigged to run with a modern Jerry can. The Zenith carburetor was complete but would almost certainly require a rebuild. The exhaust system was also broken at the manifold.

None of this was a huge obstacle, but after my report of "needs some parts" was made interest died almost instantly. I was permitted to work on it if I chose but was made to understand I was working with a budget of $0. Personally I was fast approaching the end of my time with the Army and didn't want to make things worse for the next restorer, so I buttoned everything up as I had found it.

Last I had seen this UC had been towed into the vehicle maintenance shop and was sitting on the bogey wheels with the tracks stripped. That would have been August 2013, so perhaps this UC has been restored, but I haven't personally followed up.

Attached are a number of photos that might either be of interest or of use to someone starting a restoration of their own. If anyone want full-size original digital copies (3872x2592 px @ 300 dpi) of these photos let me know and I will figure out a method to get them to you.

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