philm1 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 (edited) Like others I have been meaning to start a forum on a vehicle restoration but never sat down to do it. Now is the time to start and luckily I have taken lots of photos to remind me of progress. A lot of stuff you may have seen on similar forums but hopefully you can see what can be achieved by 2 novices at this restoration game. Myself (Phil) am in the Business Insurance game. Own an ex New Zealand (NZ) Army Series 2a Landrover and have always been interested in restoring a vehicle but never taken the plunge. Brett is a qualified diesel mechanic and runs his own contracting company. Owns a Daimler Ferret Scout Car and Jeep. Forgive us if we use the wrong technical terms. We have however come to grips cvrt’s vs tanks. Scorpions vs Scimitars with Scorpion turrets etc etc. Why a Scorpion? New Zealand operated 26 Scorpions from circa 1983 to 1996 replacing Ferret Scout cars and M41 tanks. The majority were sold off, I believe to Helston Gun Smiths in the UK, with others being scrapped and 2 remaining with the Army Museum in Waiouru. 1 is a static display and the other is in running order. The attraction therefore was to have a tracked armoured vehicle of a type used by the NZ Army. A Scorpion appealed because of – Light weight and ease of transportation Can be driven on public roads Can fit in a domestic garage (just) Parts are still available (hopefully) Local knowledge on restoration both here in NZ and overseas Meant to be easy to work on Affordability (hmmm time and money will fix most things) The search began with advertisements on Milweb and HMVF back in August 2015. From there and after some false starts a ex Belgium Scimitar with Scorpion turret was located and purchased. DATA PLATE: CVR(T) 30m/m Scimitar FV107 Mk1 65192 HULL NUMBER: BESCI 49 The timeline begins: September 2015 deposit paid November 2015 vehicle and spares relocated for shipping Shipped April 2016 arrived NZ June 2016 Pre Purchase pictures below Edited January 29, 2017 by philm1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 You have made a good start and imppresion thanks for posting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy1960 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Welcome which part of NZ are you guys ?...remember there is no such thing as too many photos...good luck with your project !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnc61 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Ok, you started this, now bring on the photos with the progress. Really good to give the background to what you are doing and then the real challenge. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Hi Phil, great project , we can now run a "Troop" (3) locally! The NZ Scorpion was officially withdrawn from service in June 1996, and it was about 1998 that Helston's loaded what remained out of the country. They were still in the "Merdec" Camo scheme of the day. Cheers from The Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topdog Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Hi Phil, Cant wait to see this progress...... Nice scopes! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 Welcome which part of NZ are you guys ?...remember there is no such thing as too many photos...good luck with your project !! Upper Hutt in Wellington Region. Yes sorting photos now to keep them in order of progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 Hi Phil, great project , we can now run a "Troop" (3) locally! The NZ Scorpion was officially withdrawn from service in June 1996, and it was about 1998 that Helston's loaded what remained out of the country. They were still in the "Merdec" Camo scheme of the day. Cheers from The Tank Factory. Thanks Andrew. Your help and support has really encouraged us to what can be done. You Valentine project is nothing but spectacular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 Hi Phil,Cant wait to see this progress...... Nice scopes! David Hi David. Yes nice scopes. We shall cover that topic off as the storyline goes along. We would like to thank you for all the work you did for us to make this project possible and recovery of scopes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 Previous owners had sand blasted and primed the exterior hull so that was a great start for us so that will be some time and expense saved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 In transit from Maidstone, Kent down to Chichester, West Sussex for a clean and ready to be put into a container. Hmm no Scopes (to be continued...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 Shipment in 40ft container via Suez Canal, trans shipment Singapore, finally arrives Wellington, New Zealand 30 May 2016 on board Olga Maersk (it was hopefully in one of those containers?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teletech Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 It's odd the PO went through all the effort to sandblast and paint, but not to straighten the bent sponsons. Previous owners had sand blasted and primed the exterior hull so that was a great start for us so that will be some time and expense saved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Phil, The picture of the Scorpion on the truck is actually the truck a couple of us owned and converted for carrying our CVRT. It's a small world... Vince Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 It's odd the PO went through all the effort to sandblast and paint, but not to straighten the bent sponsons. I believe sand blaster was only on site to do 1 vehicle but since it was done in 1/2 day and they had budgeted on 1 whole day then both were done at the same time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 Phil, The picture of the Scorpion on the truck is actually the truck a couple of us owned and converted for carrying our CVRT. It's a small world... Vince Hi Vince, Yes a small World - but still expensive to move stuff from one side to the other.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 Customs cleared just over a week later so we were allowed to go into freight warehouse to inspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 "Batteries not included, some assembly required, no glue provided with this kit" Congratulations, you are very lucky and may you have many hours of fun with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 Spares were released to us so we had these delivered to the workshop. The container also included some goodies for other people's restorations so there was a good load to unpack. The 4 large green boxes contained reconditioned transmissions (undertaken by Andrew Baker) which were heading to the Tank Factory but 1 ear tagged for our project. also for us -2 sets of tracks, 2 j60 engines, replacement road wheels and several other goodies. Unfortunately we were missing the drivers seat and the periscopes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 A few days later the hull was delivered. It was decided that whilst we had the use of the crane, to lift the turret off. It was only held on by a few bolts which were quickly removed. Hull then placed in the shed ready to access the work required and start to strip out. We had already decided that we would completely strip the internals of the Hull. What we were faced with was not a surprise seeing what others have encountered with these poor vehicles being left to the elements for so long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 A few days later the hull was delivered. It was decided that whilst we had the use of the crane, to lift the turret off. It was only held on by a few bolts which were quickly removed. Hull then placed in the shed ready to access the work required and start to strip out. We had already decided that we would completely strip the internals of the Hull. What we were faced with was not a surprise seeing what others have encountered with these poor vehicles being left to the elements for so long. [ATTACH=CONFIG]122755[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]122756[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]122757[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]122758[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]122759[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]122760[/ATTACH] I wished I had a nice clean, warm workshop like yours Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 Brett had the engine out without too much trouble other than the reach on the engine lifter. Luckily he had one of his diggers nearby to finish the job. Then the interesting look at what will be found underneath the engine. I nice mess of oil and dust accumulated to about a inch thick but quickly removed. A couple of bolts plus 3 live ammunition rounds - appear to be 9mm pistol and 5.56mm rifle. Engine is probably a right off as been sitting for some time and probably full of water. May be a good boat anchor or instructional to pull apart and inspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 (edited) DATA PLATE: CVR(T) 30m/m Scimitar FV107 Mk1 65192 HULL NUMBER: BESCI 49 Anyone out there got any photos of a Belgium Scimitar with Hull Number 65192? Edited January 29, 2017 by philm1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 What do you plan to do with the coupling shaft? Will you keep it or change it up? There is a CVR(T) FB group and there were a couple f Belgians posting on there and tracing vehicles for folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 You might also want to look at this and contact the posters http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?39565-Belgian-CVRTs-Any-Service-Records-available Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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