datadawg

Richard, do you mean that there would have been another history card that went missing or destroyed by 1970, so they just started from that date with a new card??

Do you have a restoration thread?

How is it that the in service date is 1956, but first entry on the card is 1971. Did it just sit unused for 15 years after being manufactured??

What would make armor a special target for engine changes? Is it that armor had a lot of engine failures? So if I am a "purist", I should never expect a "numbers matching" Saracen or Fox? In case that doesn't make sense, here in US, car collectors want numbers to match for a classic vehicle, so they know engine, transmission, etc. are all original. I presume this is not viable for armor?

Clive, I read your report now several times, must admit most of it is way over my head, but I am convinced the electronic ignition module upgrade you discuss at the end is a no brainer. I contacted Jolly, but they are on vacation until July 13. I will order the module from them and have it installed. Thanks again for your link to your report.

Thanks! I haven't read the report yet, just managed to scroll through it and it looks impressive! I especially like the photos and diagrams, useful for mechanically challenged (me):laugh:

Pavl, amazing work you are doing. What are you planning to do with the engine, farm out to engine shop or do tear down yourself? One idea, and it may be totally off the wall. But a bunch of shows now chronicle restorations using big budget teams. What about contacting the producers and seeing if they want to sponsor your gig? I don't know much about the nitty gritty, but seems like they do a restoration in a week that should take a year. The car restoration theme is pretty worn out, but they might be interested in a "tank"! There are different shows (owner participates, owner doesn't, but they "steal" vehicle and throw $100K of parts/labor into it in 168 hours, etc.). Since you are in California, it might be the right location for these shows... Please let us know if this idea has legs.

I read he died of colon cancer, but point well taken.

I was all excited to read about your strippers, until I realized you were only talking about paint and not dancing girls, :laugh:. Very informative post, nevertheless. Have you considered media blasting? I don't know if you own the equipment, but Harbor Freight sells several units, cheap, and right now there is a 25% coupon on their website. http://www.harborfreight.com/110-lb-pressurized-abrasive-blaster-60696-10377.html I am sure there is a downside to using media blasting, but that's how my Saracen hull was done (I did not do it myself).

Matt, I know this is from ages ago, but are you still having starting issues? I am going to fit electronic ignition to mine, there is apparently someone in UK (Jolly Engineering or something like that) that sells direct install kits for B80 RR engine. This is supposed to make them start easier, or so I hope. They quoted cost of kit at 205 GBP. What do you think about that -- worthwhile expense?

So is there a secret stash of stuff laying around somewhere or is it all gone via the auction??

I dunno if this ship has sailed, but may be worth reaching out to German embassy in UK and work the political angle. If a museum and preservation are in play (rather than just profits), it's likely they would support some intervention. Just a thought, I know this is a steep hill to climb. The other thought is to contact the bosses at the scrap yard through an attorney and offer them an indemnity against claims. Sure, you are taking a risk, but chances of something coming back at you are 1 in a million.

LOL, there are a bunch of these around -- and not just in scrap business!!

+1 on this sentiment. How in the world did you manage to accomplish this? I can't believe just throwing parts into a vinegar solution would do that. If you have some additional step by step detail, it would be great!

Not sure about UK market, as I am in USA. But I am relatively new to this hobby and decided to buy in UK and import to US, rather than go after something already here. There is a vast difference in price and quality between Stateside postwar British Armor and UK prices. Simply put, I can buy something in England, get it overhauled, import it here and be all in for the same price I would pay for someone's fault ridden machine. So this would provide some life support to UK market -- except that this is such a thinly populated hobby... Which brings me to the other side of the coin - after 9/11, owning and operating armor seems to have become more of a hassle. Everyone views you with a suspicious eye -- you might be an anarchist, terrorist, weirdo or just someone to keep away from. We went to several large gatherings of friends recently and people were uniformly aghast I was buying a Saracen and Fox and literally telling my wife they could provide her with a name of a psychiatrist or divorce lawyer -- her choice. I'm exaggerating somewhat, but I was surprised how little appreciation there was for the notion that this is a hobby and involves cool mechanical machines you can use, not a painting you hang on the wall. Simply put, the environment has become corrosive to armor ownership. Second point is economics. When this stuff was cheap, you owned it for pleasure, it was a passion that you could readily afford, and when the wife complained, a bouquet of flowers would buy some peace. Now the prices have become high, and not just purchase price, but storage, maintenance, insurance, compliance, fuel, etc. So the financial pain has grown considerably. The blue collar owner is getting squeezed out of the hobby, relegating it to those with higher education/incomes, and many of these owners lack the time, knowledge or desire to work on equipment or can afford to hire others to do so. I'm not trying to be insensitive, just observing that if you are a guy who makes $40K a year and can work on your stuff and own it because you served in the army, you are a very different type of owner who makes $200K a year and owns it purely as a toy. The guy that turns the wrench every weekend on his machine feels a constant bond; the "toy" owner has less of a psychic commitment, it's the toy of the moment. He might pick up another hobby, be it collecting watches or antique beer signs next. Armor therefore becomes a transient bug, not a lifelong hobby, and this reduces demand when you look at the trend demographically.

That's weird, I thought British armor was double in US of what it costs in UK.

Welcome, Phil. Are these used regularly or just parade queens? Try to get more of your club members to join the forum, we need more Yanks here, especially from the Northeast USA!

I don't know much about restoring tanks, but judging from these photos, it looks like it would take more money in labor and fabrication than the value of the final product, unless someone is doing it themselves for pure enjoyment and places no opportunity cost on their time. I do hope someone can buy these and restore them or at least inventory them for future restoration.

Thanks for posting. Is there a website for the event? How many vehicles were in attendance? I am seriously considering going next year.

Where is this diagram from?

Terry, maybe a dumb question, but I hope you can educate me. Was the MK6 applied as a new designation for an existing vehicle (so they took MK3, uparmored it and it became MK6) or was it new construction - a new vehicle built from scratch? If it was uparmoring an existing vehicle, do you know whether the donor MK3 would have also been overhauled at the time? In other words, would they take the MK3, tear it apart to renew everything and then uparmor the hull? My MK6 (which I still haven't laid eyes on) is missing its data plate, so I am trying to figure out whether it saw a full REME overhaul in its service life.

Here I was enjoying this thread and it just suddenly died. Is there any more news on this Sarrie? What happened to the restoration?

What happened to the thread? Why did it die out???

Chris, I see you have also a Fox. Is that restored? Do you have a thread on that vehicle?

Nice work! Judging by your workshop, you have some other projects going on? Do tell! Oh, and I'm curious, on the smaller parts, are you cleaning and painting or are you also removing old paint? If removing old paint, how do you do it?