rusting already Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Hello all, Just incase anyone is interested, I am undertaking a T-34/76 restoration, early days but the starting position is good. If you haven’t seen inside one of these then now’s your chance! It is a 1943 hull that has been up gunned later in the war with the 85 turret, so presently I am trying to accumulate the parts needed including the hull top plate and all 76 turret parts. I am also trying to find wartime wheels and other bits and pieces so if you have any gems I may well be interested! It will not be repainted totally inside as the original paint coverage is good and I wish to keep that side of things fairly original. The aim is to repair and restore as necessary but to keep the heritage, after all she was fighting in Bosnia and as such is a testament to what was endured over its life. She is presently undergoing an engine change and clean up. Have a look! https://www.facebook.com/T34tankrestoration/ Best, Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Child Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Nice project! I see you're missing one crucial element though. It needs a log for the side! Hope one turns up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 i like the t34 infact if i had to have a foreign tank, that would be it. same suspension as the cromwell but fitted with a v12 diesel instead of the v12 petrol. i have often wondered why we never copied the russian engine! anyway good luck with this worthy project but remember those 76mm turrets are like rocking horse sh1t so make sure you don't weigh the other one in before you find it's replacement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondshooter Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 There will be a turret somewhere ? the best way to find one is promote your rebuild project on Russian websites similar to this. Nobody in England or the US is going to have a turret down in the back paddock rusting away but chances are good that there is very solid chicken coop in Russia somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 try www.warrelics.eu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdmcm Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Great project! I really appreciate your intent to keep it as original as possible. We obtained a Type 69 tank from the UK last year that was captured in Iraq by the British Airborne. We hope to return it to "as captured" condition without over-restoring it. Good luck with the turret hunt! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draganm Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 It is a 1943 hull that has been up gunned later in the war with the 85 turret, so presently I am trying to accumulate the parts needed including the hull top plate and all 76 turret parts. I am also trying to find wartime wheels and other bits and pieces so if you have any gems I may well be interested!Alex If it was up-gunned during the war by the Soviet Military then isn't the T34-85 configuration it's historically correct condition? Also, Can you tell how many further modifications were done by the Yugoslav army? (I'm from Yugoslavia so have a soft-spot for any of their gear ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 The thing about military vehicles is that they are tools. If something gets better the tool is upgraded or repaired, so after seventy odd years they are not the same as they came of the factory, each one is diffrent. Vive La Difference! Each one is unique, keep them that way. :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degsy Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 :shocked: That's a bit profound for you Tony, just for a moment I thought senility had finally got me.:-D........On reflection perhaps it has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 I tried sanity once. Didn't like it at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 I would like to see it as a 76 MM variant is once was. Those you don't see often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draganm Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 The thing about military vehicles is that they are tools. If something gets better the tool is upgraded or repaired, so after seventy odd years they are not the same as they came of the factory, each one is diffrent. Vive La Difference! Each one is unique, keep them that way. :-D well that's one school of thought, and I don't think there's a right or wrong answer, but if someone is a WW2 collector, and gets a vehicle with dozens of post-war modifications, I could understand the desire to rip all those out. It's trickier if you have a vehicle modified during the war , Which version is "correct"? I would like to see it as a 76 MM variant is once was.Those you don't see often. I like the 76 too, especially those mickey mouse ears when both hatches are open. Really killed Hitlers plan of "kicking the door in and having the entire rotten structure collapse" too. Funny in looking at the Surviving Panzers web-site, it shows a number of gun-boats with 34-76 turrets on them, which is presumably where the older turrets went when the tanks were up-gunned. However , there's a number of T34-85 hulls with t34-76 turrets. How did that happen? It also implies that the -85 hull is different. Anyone know what the difference is other than a larger turret ring? http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_T-34.76.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Why waste and expensive pice of armament that still works? A lot of ex French tank turrets, not to mention French , Russian and Checz artillery pices ended up on the Atlantic Wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draganm Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 (edited) right, the old t34-76 turrets wound up on gun boats and that makes sense. I was asking about all the T34-85 hulls with T34-76 turrets on them. Seems like a retrograde refit? Edited August 24, 2016 by draganm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Maybe they still had a supply of the older turrets left and put them on new hulls because of a shortage of the 85 turret? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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