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restoration of a valentine MK5 tank started


monty2

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Hi Rick, I thought the 6pdr is just a scaled up version of the 2pdr. A few more items have been worked on recently. The first pic is of the Turret traverse gearbox. This has an electric 12 volt motor that bolts on the end, so you have both manual and electric, to rotate the Turret. I have come across a couple of models over the years, and am using the later series 3 version, which the MK5 Val. used. Next up we have the pistol port window handles and catches, and then there are the components for the fan blade hubs, that stick out at the back of the engine , on the bell housing to take the fan blades, two sets required per Tank.Cheers from The Tank Factory.

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she's a beauty alright

 

what's the red stuff over the bolts, anti-sieze, thread locker, or just lube/grease?

 

I've never actually worked with BSF bolts other than to marvel at the odd specs in the machinists handbook, 28 degree root angle or some such.

Edited by draganm
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The "red stuff", is a product over here called " Res - Q - Steel " , designed for it's anti-seize capabilities, and proven by us in the trade to be one of the best for this sort of application. Every bolt we screw into the Tank gets this, so in a 100 years time when it is due for " Base Overhaul " the fitters won't be cursing the assembly guys! Cheers Andrew.

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The Turret gearbox is now installed, although I did make the mistake of getting paint on the teeth of the Turret ring when I painted it , so I will have to go around all of these teeth and polish them, as the thickness of paint is enough to make the meshing of the gearbox cog tighter than I would like, lessen learned. The 2nd pic shows the Besa's bronze mount, this is now ready for install, should work a treat. We are still playing around with the components for the suspensions, so many rims, hubs, etc, and there is a bit of a backlog in the painting department also. The 5th pic in this series shows the top return roller brackets , with their axle stubs pushed out. This was necessary because I am going to re-machine the oil seal surface so it is perfect for the seal to run on. These run a bronze bush in the housing of the return roller and use more of a slurry/ gear oil mixture for lubrication, rather than a straight grease, as the wheel bearings do. In the next 2-3 weeks we will be pushing to get the Tank on tracks , so all our hard work on these components will work out great. The final pic shows my Turret electrical test bed, with the generator cradle rebuilt with new bearings and seals , and I have fitted a 2hp electric motor to drive the two generators, which should in turn power the Turret traverse electric motor. Cheers from The Tank Factory.

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Thanks John, after restoring and working on Valentines for over 25 years, there are a few lessens that I have learned. We have found even in this restoration, that we can not leave anything to chance, because the minute you take a short cut it will come back and bite you in the a__se!. The idea is to aim for a high quality job, we may not reach 100% , but hopefully we are pretty close . Cheers Andrew.

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The top track support roller brackets now have their axles machined for the oil seals to run on , and have all been blasted and painted, ready for install. There are 4 per Tank of this type and 2 larger type for the centre support stations. The instrument panel has now been stripped and painted, ready for the install of gauges as well . There is a near side panel ( large one ) and an off side instrument panel. The smaller one takes a light, temp gauge and a clock, so you know when it is time to brew the tea! Cheers from The Tank Factory.

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More suspension components coming together. The top idler parts as laid out, and the shock absorber parts that we are now assembling. We have sourced new vee pack seals form a local specialist hydraulics company , that we can use in the original bronze housings, which seem to work well. Am considering pumping the cylinders to pressure to check for leaks. I have got some 8 weight mineral oil that is used in citron car shocks , of all things, it is a nice green liquid, so should flow well through the 4 little jets inside the main tube , when the shock loading comes on from movement. Cheers from The Tank Factory.

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Have started to fill in the holes of the dash panel with gauges. The speedo gauge is NOS and runs clockwise. I also managed to find some NOS speedo cables the other day that run from the dash to the front left hand inside corner of the Tank hull, then there is the larger diameter cable that is shown in the picture that runs through the armour plate of the hull, through the front left hand wheel, and then into a little "hub cap" in the centre of the wheel hub , that this end of this cable "dogs" into. Cheers from The Tank Factory.

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Edited by Andrew Rowe
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Hi Alastair, the Valentine speedo cable comes straight out of the back of the speedo, as it virtually goes straight to the front inside corner of the hull to mate with the other cable that heads out to the little "hub cap" on the wheel flange. I thought my Loyd one also comes straight out as the loyd dash is mounted on an angle and heads down hill. The second picture shows the CAV fuse box No. 5 that I am trying to find a lid for, it measures: 4 1/2" wide x 4 3/4" x 2 5/16" high and has a little groove for a spring clip to locate in. They were used on mainly early British vehicles, trucks, Tanks ,etc, even if I can get one to remanufacture a lid I would be greatfull, any help? Cheers Andrew.

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Thanks for the idea's Richard, but I believe there must still be a few out there somewhere. I have an original Loyd one , but they attach with a screw through the middle, which is also the common after market type that is made at the present. I have a few original bases that take the fuses , but just no lids, Cheers Andrew.

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Thanks for the idea's Richard, but I believe there must still be a few out there somewhere. I have an original Loyd one , but they attach with a screw through the middle, which is also the common after market type that is made at the present. I have a few original bases that take the fuses , but just no lids, Cheers Andrew.

 

Hi Andrew,

The fuse box with Bakelite lid and secured by a central screw is, (off the top of my head) a CAV type 5ML and was used on commercial type military vehicles, for instance the Austin lorries in WW2. It was still supplied by Lucas CAV up in to the 1970's. The No.5 dated back pre-war.

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We have finally managed to complete the shock absorbers. With the pulling down of a dozen or more to get good componets, I think we have spent over 200 hours on them ( 4 ) .... but they look good! Another little project on the bench is the 24V generator for the engine , for recharging the main batteries. The Tank runs 2 generators coupled one behind the other, the front one is 24V and for charging the batteries and the other is 12V one for running the electric turret traverse, when the engine is running.Last pic shows more parts to the instrument panel, have fitted the insulated terminal block with threaded studs. Cheers from The Tank Factory.

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Hi Andrew,

I have searched for lids for the CAV No.5 fuse boxes in the past with no luck, and have made them out of thin copper sheet and soldering together, looks the part once finished with dull black paint.

 

I would have thought that vacuum forming a replacement item ought to be feasible. That method would also have the advantage of being insulated. You would need an original to make a mound from initially.

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I would have thought that vacuum forming a replacement item ought to be feasible. That method would also have the advantage of being insulated. You would need an original to make a mound from initially.

 

Or scan an original using photogrammetry and then print direct to plastic?

 

Here's an example of a small component that has been scanned:-

 

https://sketchfab.com/models/f6d74a38063a49c08ebdfc6f32e6f21a

 

And printing directly to ABS (good for 100 degrees or so) has already been done with other parts. It will not look like Bakelite, but given its a repro is that a problem?

 

I would be interested in giving this a go on a fuse cover.

 

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I got the temp. gauge back the other day from the instrument specialists, who re tubed and caliabrated it.These units are NOS, but just wanted to make sure everything is working correctly before install. The master battery switch is a standard CAV turn switch. We stripped and cleaned and reassembled, the unit having done no work as there were no signs of "arcing" on the contacts, a little bit of grease on the handle shaft added for smooth function. Both 12V and 24V connections will come off the terminals when installed on the hull wall. The 30amp slydlok fuses are also NOS, that I have managed to find also, the dash ones are 5amp ones, that I also had a box full of. Have also had the wiring diagram laser- etched. This attaches to the L/H hull wall next to the driver, and also a pic of the ever elusive fuse cover .Cheers from The Tank Factory.

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The Painting of the main Hull has started, with the first of several coats being applied within a 12 to 16 hour window for the paint to adhere well between layers. We are still having temperatures here of 20 to 25 degrees C , so a good temperature for application. The first pic shows the Hull that is hanging off the hook of my main crane that itself weighs in at 35 tonne. The Hull stripped down like this is around 7.5 tonne.

Once the inside has had enough coats of white, I will mask out the interior and apply the finished top coats in DBG.

Cheers from The Tank Factory.

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