gritineye Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 (edited) In a new purpose built shed somewhere in the south of England, the restoration begins. Edited March 3, 2011 by gritineye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
private mw Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 :shocked: lost for words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritineye Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willyslancs Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 will be interesting to see where the propeller will be fitted .......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 very nice, good luck with the restoration. eddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritineye Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 very nice, good luck with the restoration. eddy Thanks eddy, but I should have said this is not my restoration, understandably the owner doesn't have the time to post a blog! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritineye Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 New track pin stock Some of the newly cast track plates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trustmeimamechanic Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 will be interesting to see where the propeller will be fitted .......... No - thats the aircon for the summer when and if it gets here:laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mash Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Am lost for words, by far my favorite axis armour, would love to own one but am never going to have the money. Do we have any history on it, where it came from etc?? Am going to watching this resto closely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzkpfw-e Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 It's a Swiss G-13, post war copy of the Hetzer. It was seen at Tankfest back in 2006. It has a muzzle break, that true Hetzers lack and it'll have a diesel engine, not the petrol one that a Hetzer did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Pzkpfw-eIt has a muzzle break, that true Hetzers lack and it'll have a diesel engine, not the petrol one that a Hetzer did. The major difference between a Hetzer and a G13 is that the crew layout is different, the commander moved over to the lefthand hatch and the remote machine gun mount was replaced by a hood for the commanders periscope, the socket to the left/rear of the hatch is a mount for an A/A machine gun. The original gasoline motor was replaced by a V8 Sauer during a later rebuild by the Swiss. I think some of the Swiss order may have been from the aborted Israeli Hetzer order. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ford 369 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 is it being restored in Swiss configuration or like several others becoming German? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 will be interesting to see where the propeller will be fitted .......... Or indeed the Sherman spring seats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzkpfw-e Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 is it being restored in Swiss configuration or like several others becoming German? If I were a gambling man, I'd say it'll appear in Dunkelgelb! Whatever colour & markings, I'd have a play in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcspool Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Great project, thanks for posting the pictures. Why does it have the holes in the armour, was it some kind of instruction vehicle? Cut open for a museum to display the interior? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 (edited) I would be nice if it remained a G13 but as Pzkfw-e says the money is on it being finished as a German TD. Personally I'd do it as a G13 and make components (remote m.g mount) to make it a faux Hetzer just in case it was needed for movie work -after all the Dunkelgelb system allowed a water based mix so paint could be easily removed -assuming it survived long enough -for example winter and the spotty ambush-forest scheme. Oddly enough a number of Wehrmacht Hetzer were painted in none Dunkelgelb scheme -possibly those may have been intended for Hungarian service or perhaps paint shortage required using any spare paint that was to hand in the factory. Pzkpfw-e Whatever colour & markings, I'd have a play in it!:-D Hope you're of slight build they are remarkably cramped -even for a wehrmacht vehicle.mcspoolWhy does it have the holes in the armour, Demilitarisation -which seems to be a bit OTT in this Afv did they think it might end up in the Congo or Shri-lanka? As instructional holes the position would be a bit odd look at the one on the glacis -I suppose it could be used for foot pedal instruction. Steve Edited March 4, 2011 by steveo578 addition- holes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Pearson Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I'd have a play in it! I had a go in one of these years ago at Bovy. Great experience but it was almost as nasty as being in a WW1 Mk5: like being inside the rocker box of a running engine with no obvious springs. The steering levers are mounted sideways and pivot horizontally with push buttons. I am not sure of the order but basically, if you pull the lever, you disconnect the drive on one side, if you put the thumb lever in the middle and pull you get a geared turn and if you put the thumb catch all the way in you get a skid turn. What it means is that depending where you put your thumb, you get different radii of turn. Add that to a horizontally pivoting lever and it takes a bit of remembering what you are doing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 John Pearson .......with no obvious springs. The British WD tests a Lt vz 38 in march 1939 and came to that conclusion -they were very critical of the inability to fire on the move -the gun mount having a lock mechanism which had to be engaged before the main armament was fired -this and the harsh ride would not have been highly regarded by the British Army -not that British tanks were anything to write home about.:-) What it means is that depending where you put your thumb, you get different radii of turn. Add that to a horizontally pivoting lever and it takes a bit of remembering what you are doing! The Lt vz 38 and through to the Hetzer had a Praga -Wilson gearbox/steering (licenced from Rolls Royce) which had an edge over controlled differential types. This was probably an advantage in the Hetzer as it would improve the limited traverse facility. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritineye Posted March 5, 2011 Author Share Posted March 5, 2011 (edited) Yes it has a Diesel engine that was a later modification, this will be going to make way for an original type petrol lump. This job alone requires a lot of fabrication, but does not rely on too much guess work as the old weld marks and blocked up holes show how it all went. Edited March 22, 2011 by gritineye congruity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trustmeimamechanic Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Bet that V8 diesel sounded good with the pipes being about 18 inches long ! not very tactical though you would hear it well before it was in range . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzkpfw-e Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Marvlous! Hats off to the owner. If he wants an engine for it, the ASPHM have three of them! http://www.asphm.com/moteurs/moteur_jagdpanzer_38_hetzer/moteur_jagdpanzer_38_hetzer.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 trustmeimamechanic ....not very tactical though you would hear it well before it was in range . At least the Hetzer/G13 had a silencer quite a few WW2 era Afvs had poorly silenced exhaust systems -finally model Pzkfw4s did away with the exhaust box as did earlier Tauchpanzers (swimming tanks). Many of the Sherman had no effective mufflers, often feint artillery barages had to be used to cover armoured movements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Pearson Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 I have found that one of the most annoying facts about restoration is people saying: it should not have stoplights/indicators, too many rivetts in the toolbox lid or it is a 1946 engine etc etc. ALL restorations are a balance of compromises and what is available: for example, some people have criticised me for having a 75mm breech ring on my 6pdr gun. I always ask: have you made no practical changes or compromises on any of your vehicles? Usual answer is "well I don't actually have a vehicle of my own........" My tank is painted as a 7 Hussar vehicle in Italy 1945, the only operational user of the Valentine DD. Is that fake as my tank spent the war in the UK? I have been reading this thread and I am quite shocked at the venom shown. Surely an owner can do what he likes and if he wants to use an available engine for example rather than having it off the road because of some missing component why not? I knew Steve578 took a lot of pictures and had a lot of records to quote from but I did not realise that he is a practical restorer but Personally I'd do it as a G13 and make components (remote m.g mount) to make it a faux Hetzer just in case it was needed for movie work Steve So Steve, same question: have you made no alterations or compromises on your restorations? If you have achieved 100% authenticity then you are fully qualified to make your remarks from the top of perfection ivory tower but if not......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrettkitt Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 It's a Swiss G-13, post war copy of the Hetzer.It was seen at Tankfest back in 2006. It has a muzzle break, that true Hetzers lack and it'll have a diesel engine, not the petrol one that a Hetzer did. How easy is it to have the road wheels retreaded? I noticed that a few of the wheels were missing tread/rubber. Have the road wheels been cut as well as the armour or is that an optical illusion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMS Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Fantastic project you got there, best of luck with it all, plenty of work to be done. We have recently rebuilt an original praga engine for a 38t it was in very good condition with all parts date stamped and all original sizes! the crank case was dated 1940, it will be going into a 38t that it currently running a postwar Scania version of the same engine. they seem to always be missing the water pump elbow to the water jacket, i have seen a line up of these engines and all of them had the same part missing! very strange. Anyway keep us posted please as its a fascinating project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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