Does Chieftain Fit Into..... A Ferret? 

Better than seeing a ferret fitting inside the chieftain

If Chieftain fits, Chieftain sits.

"Does the Chieftain Fit Into..." is a perfect title for this future series. Just need to have a "OMG the TANK IS ON FIRE!!" Egress drill perhaps.

So now you know why the British Army tried every trick in the book to keep their ferrets in service. Very well liked by all ranks and a popular taxi for CO's.

I love these old British scout cars because they're literally smaller than many modern hatchbacks. Perfect for nipping down to Tesco.

Next I'd like to see if the Chieftain fits into a Wiesel.

my dad bought one of these when i was a kid, and picked me up from school in it a few times. "My dad's got a tank" was an excellent argument winner

I remember going to pick up my kid from school in my 1941 GPW I met a guy with his Ferrari still with temp tags. He looked at me and said" you have just taken the cool out of my car" and I replied back " and at a fraction of the price". We both laughed.

I've been eyeing up buying a Ferret for years. Every now and then I find one for sale, and not for very much all things considered. They're remarkably good fun to drive, and oddly practical given their top speed and road legal lights; not something for a shopping trip but a hell of a thing for the farm.

Just reading the title, I am like "If he can fit in a M22 Locust, he can fit into anything."

The pedals remind me of a Red vs Blue quote. "Why are there six pedals if there are only four directions?"

I'd love to see an event where old armored cars got together and raced around a track. Maybe something close to a rally course.

Now that we know that the Chieftain can fit into a Ferret, the question is, can a Ferret fit into the Chieftain's garage?

My dad did his national service in 1958-60. He got to drive one of these before he passed his driving test. He couldn't believe a Ford Popular could be harder to drive than an armored car....it was..😂

Now we can see why vehicle crews need intercom systems. Even the smallest recon vehicles produce an almost overwhelming racket, and that's without any shooting going on!

Low slung, wheel at each corner and central driving position; a McLaren F1 for the safety conscious. :)

Imagine the squabbles amongst the crew when the driver slides his seat too far back. Just like my kids on a long car trip.:-)

Why does it feel both fitting and funny when Nick gets in the seat and announces 'this is lovely' in a very British way. As if he is about to go on a weekend drive down to Devon and have a picknick on the beach

In Dr. Capwell's lecture on late medieval armor this morning he mentioned the speed/maneuverability trade-off of armor design is just as applicable to a modern tank as it was . I'd love to see a crossover where The Chieftain discusses armor with him.

Chieftan to his wife: I brought a ferret Wife: a ferret? Is it inoculated against rabies? Is it good with kids? Chieftan: it's a scout car!

Having a MK1 Ferret a lot on the public roads in Sydney, Australia I can tell you that the ferret is my favorite armoured vehicle after the M113

In fairness, the Ferret very much screams that it was designed around the driver. It almost forgets to have place or space for the other guy who is supposed to be doing the mission work. Really, the only fault of the thing is that it can't really do much other than move two sets of Mark 1 Eyeballs around with a radio to pass on what they see, which may be what it was designed for, but soldiers do like to multipurpose anything with an engine so they don't have to carry things themselves.

Well, it's not exactly a Peel P50 but there is something about the Chieftain driving this thing around that seems kind of fitting... Nothing like bullet proof armour to help you survive an American highway!

I would call this series "The Driver's Hatch" but "Does Chieftain Fit Into..." does work pretty well.

"The_Ferret" is perfect for Canadian tank enthusiast name. Nobody has it yet on RU-vid.

We need to get Fisher Price to make a more robust "Tank" power wheel. Just so we can see the Chieftain zipping around a parking lot crammed into a kids toy. You know, shoots a 50mm HS (high splash) water balloon, has 3 mm of frontal bow armor made of cast plastic. . . .the good stuff.

Based on the criteria of fitting into smaller vehicles, you can in theory write off fitting into a Lamborghini or other super car as a 'work expense'

Oh hey, I know the Oshawa Regiment, I used to work down the street from their office in the middle of town. Very interesting to be walking down the street and watch a couple of armoured cars come out of the garage and head off... wherever they went to.

Love my Ferrets. I’m 6’6 (2m tall) and 130 kg but can still mount, dismount and drive with no major issues...

My dad served in the British Army and did all the jobs in so many vehicles from Cent to Chieftain, along with many armoured cars but he said hand down the most fun he ever had was in Ferrets :)

I've always said the ferret is a love child between between a dingo and a fox. yay for Canadian content! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Honestly such a practical vehicle for what it is. When you just need a pair of eyes and a good radio to keep contact with the enemy, its perfectly suited.

I am so jealous. I have a weird fascination with the Ferret, after getting a die-cast metal one at a young age, and it's just stuck with me all these years. If anything the Ferret first got me interested in military vehicles. That die-cast model has unfortunately been lost to the black hole that is my parents house.

When the Canadian Army surplused these a local Surplus store was selling them for $8000 CDN a unit. If I could have come up with the cash one of these would have been great for downtown Calgary during rush hour. Go ahead, scratch my paint!

I remember these Ferrets in Malaysia. When I was growing up in the mid 19*60s, I lived in a rural town that had an Army base. I would see these on the road sometimes. However, the Ferrets I saw had the turret on them. So, maybe not so easy to get into one with a turret...

This is how the chieftain found a fascination for collecting smaller and smaller clown cars to see if he fits?

Q: What do you call a ferret that can pick up an Chieftan? A: Sir!

50 years ago I had immense fun driving a Ferret on an Army open day. I was a university undergraduate. I am 6ft 4in and I fitted in very well! The Ferret is superb. I also drove a Stalwart, which was just as much fun, but less practical for everyday use!

Brilliant little vehicles. My cabby as a recce crew in the RA. Fine to drive on the autobahns and fun off road. Lots of sharp bits and dangerous hatches for trapping fingers. Fluid flywheel clutch not for cissy`s either. I remember plenty of backfiring and wearing what appeared to be WW1 flyers overalls to keep us warm in the winter. Great days and great friends. I would love to own one.

Such a different experience, watching the vehicle drive around in (relative) silent rather than listen to you explain every detail about it. I loved it regardless.

I imagine it's a much tighter squeeze in the turreted versions, still there's a reason these things lasted so long in UN white

Technically, since The Chieftain is driving, he should have entered and exited via the driver's hatch. I've tried it. it's something best reserved for younger, smaller people though (so none of us I suspect!)

Ferrets were legendarily simple and nice to drive. Soldiers on national service used to run errands in them.

I own a Ferret and I agree, they're roomier than you think and easy to drive. I like my Saracen better though.

I bought a mk2 ferret, ex australian army, i like it, it run real well, i cruise around town, they drive well considering its something like 4 ton, it's very comfortable for me as I'm only 5,2ft so it was designed for me!

I noticed the Chieftain blew through the stop sign at the 11.40-minute mark! Tsk tsk tsk!

can't wait for more videos from Canada

Having driven a ferret for several years in the army I did cringe when he held on to a hatch to climb on as they are prone to chopping your fingers off the upgraded ones with servo brakes make a massive difference as you could stop lol

There's this Ferret and then, there's the Toyo Tires® Ferret ! Anyway.. The steering seems very light and responsive for such an "old" vehicle ! And the preselector is truly impressive ! (seems very light too) Perfect Scout Car ! Nimble, low profile..

I spent seven months charging up and down the Green Line in Cypress in a MK2. Loved it to bits.

If you ever get the chance, I'd love to see you trying to get into a WW2 Japanese tank. Pretty much any will do, but a Type 95 or Type 97 would be lovely. Well, for us viewers anyway. :)

Boy, talk about a fun playground for toys. A Ferret, big road grader, a couple of Sherman's hanging out casually and a Bobcat. I have to go see this place soon!

Honestly, I would LOVE to see a drag race or rally performed with 1930s-1950 armoured cars, how would it be awesome to see an Sd.Kfz 234 competing with a Dingo for second place, a Panhard EBR in the lead, and running behind them a very frustrated Ferret is trying to get past a Greyhound, a Panhard 178 and a Staghound! The Pbil m/39 is struggling to keep up, and a Ba-10 is gently chugging along at the end, just happy to be along.

saw one of these rolling down my neighborhood one day. One of the coolest and surprising things to see on a suburban road

I'm so glad you got to enjoy driving one, It's a great "automobile" , so easy and so much fun , great power to weight ratio, it's an absolute hoot to drive , even going on the freeway .. 1954 Ferret Mk 2/5

I was a commander in one a few years ago driving up the M11 to Duxford in the pissing rain, I got rather cold and rather wet great fun though, everywhere you went traffic would stop and let you out I think they were a bit intimidated by it.

There is a working Ferret at the Lt Gen Ashton Armouries in Victoria. They have quite a lot of working vehicles in their museum.

Drove them in Canadian Army way back when. Also on UN Duty in the Middle East. Fun to drive.

so nice to learn about the Ferret without Doug DeMuro screaming "THIS IS SO WEIRD!!!" 75 times...

I can see you on the roads in Cyprus and West Germany during the Cold war. Great !

Ferret 2 seems to be what Cadillac Gage were aiming for when they build the Scout Commando, which next to no-one bought. Regardless of how it performed, the Ferret just looks right. Low profile, all the right angles, it just absolutely appears to be "form fits function".

I remember back in 70's in a Car Custom magazine some guy cut into one of these Ferrets an basically turned it into a half armoured Beach Buggy Hot Rod ..

The fun part is when you haven't selected neutral properly. The gear selection pedal doesn't stay down, flinging your knee against the steering wheel. Your leg goes numb & you have to hold it on the brakes till you can feel your leg! At least I never had to pay for the fuel.

Looks like a nice little runabout for popping to the shops.

I had a go in one of the MG turret versions when I served in UN Cyprus. Christ, it was cramped, and I am 5' 8". Don't think one could slide the seat back that much in that version, as it would impede the commander/gunner.

respect for keeping the thumbs out of the steering wheel,

I worked for Asda for many years out in the car park and we had a customer who regularly did his shopping in a FULLY restored Willy's Jeep he even had the coils of rope attached and everything the number of shoppers who spent at least a couple of minutes looking at it was unbelievable sometimes he brought his huge German Shepherd and as he got out the dog would move into the driver's seat the lookey loos stayed further away on those occasions

"If the Chieftain fit, you must acquit" - one of the worse defenses to be encountered in Den Haag..

That's a Mk1 Ferret, my dad's favourite vehicle, he served on them for years in the 70s and 80s. Including at one point having a driver who was 6 foot 4. I'm sure you fit fine. He'd have loved this vid

Loved driving the Ferret but my favorite vehicle I drove in the army will always be the Lynx.

Saw the turreted version when with the UN in Cyprus - always had a soft spot for the Ferret. Cute little things and always seemed very popular.

A great video. There was a guy in New Paltz NY who used Ferret as his personal vehicle vehicle and I used to see his Ferret at the Shoprite frequently. I had an opportunity to buy a Fox back in the 80’s with a dewatted gun for $36K, but I didn’t move in time. Opportunity knocks once and if something knocks twice it ain’t opportunity.

Owned a Ferret mark 2/3. The one with the .30 cal turret. Great toy. Bit more of a squeeze to get in the turreted one. I’m 6’2” and would go in the front hatch to drop in the drivers seat. Lots of fun to drive. Glad you called it a Gear change pedal. You would have got reamed from the Ferret folks if you called it a “clutch”.

There are 2 things about a Ferret....."Ferret Hum" and "Ferret Knee"......Wait until you miss a gear and that pedal kicks your leg up trying to embed your kneecap with the steering wheel. Lovely little Armoured Car.

"I have GOT to get one of these"!

A surprising amount of space for the driver. A neat little vehicle. Thanks for posting this.

The steering wheel looks more likely to be found in an aircraft instead of a armored scout car. Also, there is a mathematical quotation that is used to say how much the armor, with this thickness, at this angle, is equal to if it was a standing straight up.

Growing up in Canberra Oz, my next door neighbors had two or three ferrets in the front yard most of the time.

Great vid. I love how, at the end, you can see Chieftains mind going through the thoughts: "Can i afford one? Can I store one? Can I get spousal approval on the purchase? I wonder where they're advertised?"

I was in the Ferret troop of my old Regiment before accepting my commission!

The engineers: *Make a low profile, small armored car - because "sneaky scouting mission profile"* also the engineers: *put an engine that's literally heard from the next state*

I used to, on more than one occasion, see a turreted example of one of these going up and down I-5 in the Seattle area going between car shows.

You seem to be having a lot of fun....so all of us that cant have the same fun...will live through your videos😀

Excellent wee Beastie.

That steering wheel position always bothered me but seeing it in action now makes sense (sort of....)

I'm 6'1" & really, really want a Ferret. I'll have a new garage in January, so hopefully soon after...

Drove one in Canada and in Egypt. (UNEF1) Lots of fun to drive.

There is a running L3 in Italy ... You know, the ultimate challenge.

"I am suspicious".... This. This is why I follow The_Chieftain... Well, done, sir. Well done, indeed.

My dad had one of these for his mid life crisis. Was great fun to run around in as a kid and in the summer he picked me up from school everyday. Very loud to ride in as the commander (i.e. Me) sits on the gearbox, and as a preselector gearbox it has the same number of gears in forwards and reverse, so technically it can do 45mph backwards. Although my dad has informed me that doing 45 they get a bit 'skippy' and will bounce from wheel to wheel in corners at that speed. He had it up to 50 once going down a hill, which is in his words is 'rather exciting'.

I don't know what is more impressive that is slightly more spacious that what I always imagined or that the question imply there's a vehicle where he won't fit

perhaps the rear travel of the drivers seat is to facilitate egress in the event of an 'Oh bugger, the Ferret is on fire' event. Vehicle hit, commander out the top, driver's seat back into the vacated space and he follows his crewmate out. They'd need it, I've been in a Ferret at a Puckapunyal open day when i was a kid and even for a ten year old space is at a premium.

The Ferret is a lot more impressive than I ever knew it to be. Quite a good little scout car.

Without having seen the video or the comments, as someone who used to own one (that I should never have sold) somehow I doubt it 😁 And the after edit: I'm pretty sure the seat in mine did not go that far back. They are a great vehicle and an almost practical toy. Good road manners, the ability to cruise at 55mph, very good off-road ability and as our man just found out, a lot of fun. Yes they do like to rev but in the powerband, torque is actually quite good; it's just higher up in the revs than one would expect. Pick the correct gear for your road speed however and they will climb anything without dropping much speed at all. The one caveat I would have is that for the safety of those around you and yourself ,on road these are not a one-man vehicle, you really need a spotter.

In the -90s Sweden bought alot of BMP-1 and MT-LBs from what was east germany. (they bought other things too, lots of tanks and such to shoot at and fiddle with to see how well weapons on our side would have worked in a war, turns out they would have worked fantastically!) To fill the gaps until there was enough cv90s and a bunch of other reasons. My platoon had a MT-LB. We were told it took 11 russians and i have no idea how small russian soldiers are but we could barely fit 6 of us.

Still would love to have one, big fan of these, they seem to scoot right along

At least you don't have to worry about a left hand drive conversion

Would have LOVED to have a few of these in my troop when I was in the Cav.

Cool enough to be a BATMOBILE with a little black paint and a few gadgets added. 😎

Not an Armoured guy but I've always loved the Ferret. If I could afford one I would get it