Aussie

Thanks Terry Tried that but they couldn't help - apparently no records of what tanks went to Korea and their photos couldn't be identified because the rego numbers were obscured (probably deliberately by the crews). Said they'd let me know if anything comes up......

A shot in the dark but worth a try.. I'm trying to contact Stan Winter, who may have served on 01ZR10 in Korea and who may have joined the Australian army in 1972. Please PM me if you can help. Thanks James

Thanks chaps. The locking wire on RF does look a little bit intricate, with the way it is twisted/braided, so I'll happily go with split pins. James

Sorry about this. Obviously talking about LF station not RF. Tried to edit but web page wouldn't allow it. James

Arrrgh! This is really just a rant - won't help anyone but I need to get it off my chest! Having fixed RF steering box and fettled the bevel box to take speedo drive and put on the hull brackets, torsion bar and wheel station, my promise to SHMBO for this weekend was to hook up the steering links so the dune buggy could finally be moved to the side of the shed (which could then be "tidied up"). No worries, my love! The RF wheel station was of course a CR NOS station so I needed to put on a lug to take the front steering link (can you see where this is going?). So I took of a lug from an old station, cleaned it, put it on, then discovered that I couldn't put the steering arm on - nowhere near enough clearance. After some soul searching I looked at the RF station and discovered that the front lugs are different (lower so the steering link will fit). So back to the old junk to remove the correct lug and its studs - an absolute pain to get at one of the nuts - had to remove by hitting it around with a cold chisel because it was impossible to get a spanner on it. The shiny bit is where the lug goes: The two lugs - on the left is the (higher) one that links front and centre wheels; on the right is the lower front lug To labour the point, the wrong lug in place And the correct one in place Interestingly, saw that rather than use spit pins for the FR lug they used a length of wire that joined all the nuts. Not sure why - maybe the holes in the nuts are too small for split pins? Anyway, got it all on (had to put the steering link on first, since I don't think it would go on afterwards) just before I was summoned up to the house for (very late) dinner and another lecture, so hopefully will move it to the side next weekend. Will use wire instead of split pins, though not entirely sure why it was done that way. Cheers James

"A bit more light entertainment".. The answer to my previous post is no! The steering box is held on by 15 bolts and some of those are a trial to get at - would be even harder with all the interior in place. The shaft is mounted in the end caps and they can't be removed without taking the lot off. Looking at the Saracen, the drop arm is bolted on the front of the box, which seems much more sensible if you need to change it after a prang! A rod shows the kink in the drop arm - the steering swivel joints would probably cope with this but wasn't confident enough to leave it. (Rod should be parallel to the body) The main trick for me was to carefully measure the old drop arm before removal, to make sure the new one went back on in the same position relative to the internal arm. The assembly is basically a shaft that is held by the two end caps. Left to right: lock nut, locking washer, lock nut, spacer, bearing, two oil seals, drop arm, oil seal, spacer, oil seal, internal arm, oil seal, needle roller bearing, lock nuts as per other end. Strewth! End caps are on the floor nearby. This all sits in the outer lid, Supported in the end caps (not shown in this pic) then the inner cover fits on and bolted (4 bolts) with a fair dab of gasket goo, of course. Also fettled the Saladin speedo drive onto replacement Saracen bevel box (Saladin one well past fixable). Simple job in the end. Bit of a fiddle fitting the drive on the shaft and replacing the oil seal in speedo housing but not hard. So now LF bevel box and steering back on. Sent the engine off today to see if it's fixable (decided that doing it myself is a bridge too far). It's seized but hopefully just stuck valves - fingers crossed! If it's knackered my plan B is to swap the pulley housing onto a Saracen engine. James

Swapping the bearings was surprisingly simple. Lathed some bits to knock them out, but to put them back I dunked them in a cup of liquid nitrogen for a minute or so and they just dropped in with no pressure needed. Stuck firmly when they warmed back to room temp so very happy! I guess dry ice would also work, or even possibly putting them in the freezer. The bearings I broke through my stupidity Problem solved! However I do have a problem with the left front steering drop arm and wonder if anyone has tackled these? The beast was involved in several prangs and one of these bent the steering arm back so it's a bit twisted. An older pic and doesn't show all that well but it is definitely twisted about 15-20 degrees. I was tempted to ignore it but would be good to fix if possible, either by getting it un-twisted at a metalworks or replacing. So.. my technical notes don't really help with advice on removing this arm, and I'm concerned that there's needle bearings in there somewhere. Can I just unbolt the outer cover and front endcap/lock nuts and slide it out? Cheers James

Whoops - forgot my "invention" for getting the small boots onto the torsion bar. They need to be stretched over the end of the torsion bar and I find that difficult. although if you're stronger/younger they might be easy enough. So off to the hardware store for a few plastic pipe fittings. Rounded off the sharp corners. The bit on the right is just a "stand" that comes out when the boot is on: An incantation with red rubber grease of course Then take out the "stand" (and the top if you like) Hold it firmly against the torsion bar and quickly slide it on. Easy! The other boot faces the opposite way so for that I turned it inside out, slid it on the same way, then when it was on the bar it was easy to flip it back the other way.

5th is on! Pretty straightforward. Needed to machine some bushes to fit new upper bracket to old (MK1) hull bracket, and to fit old lower links to the new wheel station (using original bumpers and shock absorbers). The bushes were fun now that I'm more used to using the lathe - actually really useful for odd bits and pieces With this one I decided to put the sleeve on the torsion bar tube "off vehicle" since I find them hard to slide on when they're on the beast. Use little strips of that plastic stuff that goes between floor panels (not sure what it's called - I think some electricians use it as well to pass wires through wall spaces, so useful stuff!) and another sleeve to push to on - much easier. PS 25/2/17: Forget the plastic bits: for the 6th I discovered that that actual secret is just to use a sleeve to push the tube down, rather than trying to do it by hand. It then slips on easily with red rubber grease, and could be done on or off the vehicle. Ah well, better late than never, I suppose! 36C in the shed today so not much work out of the apprentice, but got wheel and steering arm on. Now onto the LF station but that will take longer - need to fettle the Saracen bevel box to take the speedo drive, and need to replace a couple of bearings that I butchered when I was in the thick of pulling bits to pieces. So a word to the wise - the short bolts will screw right into the bearing if you get a rush of blood. You can see the dimple made by the bottom bolt. Jiggered two bearings and the ones I bought were Mk 2 and don't fit. However I can use the ones from RF station since the NOS station came complete with its own hull bracket. Back to the lathe to turn down some mandrels (if that's the name) to press them out and in. Plan to bring home some liquid nitrogen from work to help the new ones in - should be fun! Cheers James

That paper model is amazing! Hijack the thread as much as you like with fascinating stuff like that. The LH rear hub was as bad as I imagined, with rust and dents from where someone had bashed it in - much better to put a block and tackle through from the other side to gently draw it in, so you don't feel tempted to hit it! Figured it was past saving and had a "spare" wheel station (CR) so took the end of it, as well as the brake ring and swapped them over. Changed the gaiter on the hub as well - that was a trial but you'll see what I mean if you're doing one! A few shots of the old hub: Next the NOS bits: A pic of my dodgy setup to put the wheel stations on. A chain to balance on an engine lifter, a block and tackle attached to the other side of the hull, and another strap/pulley onto the outer end of the wheel hub to swivel the lower end out if needed to line up the holes (the block and tackle on the inside tends to swivel it in) .. it ain't pretty but it works for me! Then paint and the wheel! Of course the steel column was too close to get the wheel on so had to move it. Have almost got the 5th on - hopefully this weekend since it's straightforward (relatively). Then back to work so things will slow down yet again. Won't bore you with that but will post an invention that I found helpful for putting the rubber gaiters on the torsion bars, if you're doing them on your own. Cheers James

Ah well, the sun is out so I've been back in the shed, working on the world's slowest restoration! This stuff isn't all that interesting but there's a few things that might help someone. First (drum roll..) I've got the third wheel station on. Need a few wheel nuts and minor bits to put on. So a pic with my apprentices: I have a love-hate relationship with wheel stations but a couple of things helped. First is using a crow bar to swivel the station to get it lined up with the bracket. Second is a block and tackle that I attach to the other side of the hull to help draw it in (gently). Had to take the brackets off the old station to make this non-turning (was a NOS centre right station) and the pins needed a bit of grinding to fit the later model station but only a whisker. Next the torsion bar - cleaned all the bits and put a new gaiter on, which is a real strain for my poor old stomach muscles! When taking these off I had terrible trouble getting at the nuts on the end plates (possibly just me) so decided to slide the bar in and attach the adjusting bracket, then slide it into place with the adjusting bar inserted and then fix it to the hull. Actually worked very well. These show the small gap between the end plates of rear and middle brackets. Sliding the whole lot in was simple - remember to have the bracket on its lower stops and measure 3.5 inches to get it in the right place. Now the left rear, which is original (works and couldn't get NOS anyway). The wheel station is going to cause grief, no doubt, with bodgy seals, but time will tell. Anyway have cleaned the brackets and they're ready to put on. A couple of things with the lower bracket: Cleaning the brackets for the shock absorber lower shafts had me tossed for a while but discovered that a bronze brush for 12 gauge shotgun was just the thing The other problem is that my brackets are full of grease rather than oil, so the tube channels for oiling the shocker shafts were completely blocked. After a lot of aggravation I got some 3mm wire rope and (after putting a bit of tape on the end to ease its passage) forced that in from the big bearing end, using pliers. This unblocked plugs of greasy muddy muck quite nicely. Some of the muck - quite therapeutic to see it ooze out! With a bit of luck (unlikely from my experience!) I'll get the wheel station on her the Xmas break. Cheers and Merry Xmas to all! James

At the moment I'm trundling around Iceland so nothing much to report. Decided to buy a metal lathe to make my bushes ("how hard could it be?") on the grounds that it's the journey not the destination that matters. Had a few near misses and started thinking it was a lot harder than it looked, but after a (competent) friend showed me how to put the cutting tools in the correct way (I started with them at 90 degrees to the the way they should go) it actually works very nicely and I'm happy with the results. Got side-tracked temporarily with a new grandson and an old series 1 80" landrover that needed a bit of tlc but that's now virtually sorted. Will post when there's something worth showing. Now off to go down into the volcano (they promise it's asleep). Cheers James

Thanks guys. Much appreciated. James

Thanks Scott. I'll try but if it went to Korea it would have been with the UK - possibly Royal Hussars (went to HK with C squadron) rather than Aussies, so I'm not confident and suspect info, if any, would be held somewhere in UK. I think there's some way of getting service documents over there but don't know how - tried Bovington's web page but couldn't see any relevant link there. Cheers James

I've recently heard that my cent 01ZR10 might have served and possibly damaged in Korea and I'm really keen to know how/if this can be checked out. I've posted in the "Research" list but don't often look there myself, so this posting is a pointer to that entry in case others miss it. Apologies if this is poor etiquette. James

I've just received an email re my cent 01ZR10 and am intrigued! This was a "Hong Kong"tank (after service in UK) that went to to but wasn't deployed in Australia. However the email is from an ex-serviceman who recollects seeing a photo of a cent that he believes is 01ZR10 "with both final drives blown off in Korea". I'f this is so I'd be absolutely over the moon, since the tank would go from being one with little "real" history to an absolute world-beater! Now I realise that Korea was a very long time ago, and am not getting my hopes too high. However while I hadn't previously bothered with researching its history I think I should now make an effort - but I've no idea where to go from here, so any advice is appreciated. http://centurion-mbt-two.synthasite.com/page-61.php http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?33045-Ozzie-Saladin/page10 Cheers James

Ah yes - of course! Thanks Richard - should have thought of that - possibly too busy swearing at the time to think clearly. Paper from now on! And thanks to Terry and Robin for your kind remarks. I'm not sure that the Saga of the Shockers will help anyone, but I got NOS with the correct numbers and didn't give it a second's thought until the time came to put them on. At that stage I discovered that the old ones are quite different and don't fit the newer brackets. The old ones have a thinner shaft and bushes, while the newer ones have wider shafts and different bushes (much better system). So I guess the take home message is to measure the diameter of the shafts before assuming that matching numbers mean they're the same. I thought of getting new Silentbloc bushes but the holes in the shafts are different sizes, so Plan B is to refurbish at least some of the old wheel stations... The old on the left and the newer on the right. The numbers look identical but the holes and bushes are quite different Old shaft on left and newer, thicker one on right The other thing I confirmed after Terry's earlier post was that the NOS O rings were completely knackered. They didn't look bad until I flipped off the washer and they fell apart, so you can bet that these need to be replaced. Making O rings is fiddly but not difficult. On a lighter note, stretching the rubber boots over the torsion bars is a hoot. Make a guide to fit on the end of the shaft (I used the end of a plastic bottle that I filled with Polyfiller but I'll machine a metal one for the others, as per Anyroo's post in British Vehicles ("Torsion bar sleeve") 6/4/15 - wow doesn't time fly! Lots of Red Rubber Grease Hair dryer to warm the sleeve Then grab and pull! (Quite) some time later - voila! Cheers

Fitting the tracta joints is fiddly, as anyone who has done this knows. The problem is that the tracta joints have to mate but that is very difficult when they're greased/oiled up and tend to slip out of alignment while pushing the assembly into the hull. The outer one is the "male" and the hull one "female" After a lot of frustration, I found it helps to wedge these joints so they don't slip out of whack while you're pushing it all together. There's probably other ways to do this, but I found that the tolerances are so fine that all I needed to do was put on a 1 inch strip of electrical tape, up to the edge of the flat bit on the "shaft", and the joints locked up good and tight. The pic below was with double-sided tape which is easier to see, although in mine it was actually too thick and too long so I ended up using just plain electrical tape. Anyway, if you're in this situation you'll see what I mean. I figure that the little bit of plastic tape isn't going to any damage. However I'd be interested if there is a better way. Cheers

I've come to accept that absolutely everything with my beast will be a challenge. However I'm still puddling away, losing the odd bit of skin and blood when time and SWMBO allows, and it's still great fun. Whether it gets finished in my lifetime is another matter! I haven't been posting my more recent trials and tribulations, for fear of boring everyone. However, since my triumph to date (drum roll....) is only to get two wheel stations back on, it might be interesting to go through a few of the reasons why this is all I've managed. Where to start... 1. The bevel boxes RF and LF were unusable and I couldn't get Saladin replacements, so got Saracen ones and fettled the inner bits off the Saladin ones to fit, with appropriate bushing. (The complete pic is of course RF - the speedo drive is on the left) 2. The disc brakes on my NOS wheel stations were seized - basically were adjusted too tight when put into storage and ended up corroding together. I got an adjuster machined but the adjusting cogged wheel is quite soft metal so needed to drill and bash them loose. Then very careful cleaning of the pads (assuming asbestos) and reassembly. A few fiddly clips involved 3. The hull brackets - well the problem is mine are older than the NOS wheel stations so they don't fit together. I'm still tossing up what to do with the others but think I'll be trying to clean up the old ones that are possibly serviceable. The old brackets have metal bushes that I knocked out and replaced with flush sleeves that I had machined. Then the new ones fitted after I had bushes machined to fit. Then there's the saga of the shock absorbers and shafts but I'll post that later Cheers James

MGs definitely. Had a similar idea a while back but might be difficult to put it on 4 wheels...

If you just want to remove the torsion bar, you need to disconnect where it fits into the adjuster bracket - remove the end plate to get at the circlip on the shaft, then unbolt the outer bracket on the adjuster and a couple of split bushes, then it is easily extracted. Another option (and what I ended up doing - Ozzie Saladin) if you're stripping the Saracen is to remove all the bolts holding the wheel station and torsion bar adjuster from the inside (you'd need to remove the bevel box pinions to get at a couple) and take the whole kit and caboodle off. I found it much easier to pull them apart (particularly removing the torque tubes) when they were on the floor. The actual torque tubes on mine were very hard to shift and I ended up having to belt them out with heat, a thick bar and a sledge hammer. I believe there is an extractor but I couldn't source one and don't think it would have worked on mine, they were so seized. Good luck. I feel your pain. James

Many thanks for that. Still mucking about with these. Checked to see if they were the wrong shocks but they're labelled Saladin so it looks as if you just need to be careful if replacing them, to make sure they will fit. Actually found some bushes but still need to swap bits around to use some of the newer and some of the older shocks (and it's getting cold down in the shed so enthusiasm temporarily down slightly).

I've hit (yet) another hurdle with my Saladin. Assumed that all parts were interchangeable but discovered this isn't so when I tried fitting shockers to a NOS wheel station. So I now need to connect at least some of my old brackets to the stations - can be done but will be fiddly. Also discovered that my NOS shockers don't have Silentbloc bushes, so another option is to get some of the correct size/type to partially solve my dilemma. Some pics: My hull number 132, which I guess indicates an early build. An "older" NOS shocker in the "newer" bracket - far too loose. The "older" bottom end - pressed steel bushes protruding. An "older" bracket. So the pressed steel bushes meet and have an O-ring between them. The "newer" bottom end A closer view of the "newer" bottom end. Seems to have a spacer glued on to the bush, and this set up fits snugly in the newer brackets. Side by side of older and newer bottom ends. Same part number FV 118991F but different shaft diameters and also different size holes in the shockers/ bumpers for the Silentbloc bushes. Some of this will be fixed by joining the old brackets and using the older-style shocks with their thinner shafts. However having spent frustrating hours getting the first station on I really don't want to take it off, so to make a long story short, can anyone point me to where I might source the newer style bushes (in Australia? - probably not!)? The Silentblocs are just part of the set up - there is a couple of bushes and also the spacers, so maybe they come as a ready made, complete item?. Thanks James

Excellent! Thanks Andy.

I'm wondering how to fit the long torsion bar rubber sleeve (the one between the wheel station and the torsion bar adjuster). It obviously needs to be stretched over the serrated end but it is quite a stretch and I'm not sure if there is an easy way so I'm hoping someone has done lots of these and can give me a few pointers. In particular, should I heat/boil it first; or plaster vaseline on the shaft and pull it on with multi grips; or somehow pre stretch it; or..? (Interestingly, I can't see that this sleeve is actually doing much, since that section of the torsion bar is isolated from the oily bits, however I'm keen to put it on regardless). Thanks James