johann morris

There's an interesting picture in the CMV this month, its of the tank museum in the 1070's, showing children climbing on the tanks and I think that that is part of the problem. As a child my father would take us on to Salisbury plain or over to Bordon or down to the tank museum or Aldershot training ground and we would play on and in the abandoned vehicles, smell that military smell, the grease and oil and we would want a vehicle of our own. At Aldershot army show we would see the military at its best, watch the Wessex helicopters landing in the arena to disembark a Land Rover and pack gun or at artillery day in Larkhill watching the artillery fire live shells on the ranges. It was exciting, thrilling and fun and I wanted to be part of it. That's all gone now, the health and safety brigade has stepped in, touch nothing and keep back. Now kids see it all on a screen, even the museums are getting rid of their collections in favour of virtual exhibitions. The same conversations are occurring over on the militaria web sites and the conclusion seems to be the same, we are a dying breed but as long as I die with my toys, what do I care.

Jon

I think that we all want our toys to be worth mega bucks but first you have to find a buyer and most of the younger generation either aren't interested or haven't got the cash. Take a look around at the next show you won't find many younger owners. I always buy projects because I like doing things up but more importantly I could never afford a finished vehicle. Prices for projects, in my opinion, have gone silly and once you add the transport cost and rebuild costs it no longer makes economical sense. I don't like selling my finished projects, so I will probably never see any financial gain, I just like the challenge. I would love a FAT but at £5000 for a project vehicle I will have to find something else to keep me busy.

Jon

Very impressive!

Jon

Just received issue 194 seriously underwhelming. A test drive in a jeep, really, isn't there anything more interesting happening in the mv world. Anyway, as I scanned through and realised, as I looked at the amount of adverts, that I was loosing the will to live, I came up with an idea. Why not put the adverts into a separate supplement, that way we could put that section straight into the bin along with all the other waste pamphlets that we get for free inside, just like the Sunday paper. I cancelled my subscription to Classic land Rover last week, looks like this might be the next cancellation.

Jon

My son and I made a start at the weekend, stripping the Vehicle down, its not in bad nick and the panels that need replacing, look fairly simple to reproduce. The vehicle has obviously had some repairs to the body work carried previously and there are a couple of areas that I need to check on other Morris's before I start fabrication. Hopefully there will be one at either War in the Vale or War and peace that I can crawl under.

Jon

I am glad that you all like it so far, I try my best. The vehicle in the back ground is one of my other projects http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?51185-Chevrolet-CMP-C8a. Its a bit now different from when I bought it.

Jon

I am glad someone likes it, the wife can't seem to get excited about it. The thought of actually earning money doing this sort of thing would be fantastic but I never seem to get to meet people that need this sort of work doing and living in Mid Wales, where men are men and sheep are nervous, the locals seem more interested in sheep than military vehicles.

Jon

Just finished the main armament 2cm KwK L55.

Jon

Hi Richard,

You are right, there is a vertical weld after the spring hanger on the longitudinal chassis rail but from what I can make out the towing bracket was attached to the longitudinal chassis rails as well as the cross rail between the rear spring hangers. I think, and I am no expert, that the brackets were bolted on to the rails. There is no doubt, that the longitudinal chassis rails behind the rear spring hangers have been modified. The chassis cross rail, between the spring hangers is undoubtedly original but shows no sign of any brackets being fixed to it. Its probably just a post war modification and the original vehicle had the towing bracketry and I will therefore reinstate it but I was just curious if any C8's were produced without towing pintels and brackets.

Jon

I have a question for all those Morris C8 experts out there. My C8 hasn't got a towing pintel / hook and I cant see any evidence of there ever being one. The rear, behind the rear spring hangers, has been modified at some time but the cross member that runs approximately between the rear spring hangers shows no signs of having the associated towing bracketry. So my question is this, did all C8 have towing pintels / hooks or were some produced without them.

Jon

I am certainly looking forward to making a start, hopefully this weekend. As for what spares I will require, only time will tell.

Jon

Yes, Oswestry, Shrewsbury there abouts.

Jon

I am just in the process of getting my next project ready to go in the workshop, so I thought that I would share some pictures before it is stripped down. I have had it for a couple of years but needed to get the HUP finished first and now seems about the right time to get the project started. Its a 1944 but with a steel rear body. At some time the rear body has been chopped and someone has repaired it and added a new floor. The engine is seized solid but its still a wonderful old vehicle and compared to the HUP, very complete.

Jon

That's good to hear thanks, their components certainly look good. Neil, the gentleman that I delt with seemed happy to do any quantity and for any vehicle. In fact whilst I was in hospital over the weekend, I passed his details on to a gentleman who rallys BMW's and cant find anyone to produce drive shafts.

Jon

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have searched high and low for originals, with no luck but at the same time making enquires at companies within fairly easy driving from where I am based, to have the items manufactured. In the end I have decided to have half shafts made with separate flanges, so in the event of future breakage I can get spares relatively easily. I am having both shafts made along with flanges and the I will make a cap to cover the shaft end that replicates the look of the end of the original shafts. Unfortunately but predictably, the flanges will be thicker than the originals but it will be better that not being able to use the vehicle. The company making the shafts and flanges is Rakeway engineering in Cheadle Staffordshire UK. I took the originals and the diff up to them on Thursday and they appear to make some nice parts, time will tell. Its an 8 week turnaround so I will let you know when the bits are home and what they are like.

Once again, thanks for all the input.

Jonathan

Thanks for the reply Richard and its always my first thoughts, "what can i use off of a Land Rover". The shaft on the Chevy is a bigger diameter and longer than a Land Rover item and of course, the splines are different. To convert a land Rover shaft would mean a lot of adjustments and after that it wouldn't be strong enough. The original item would have been forged so the machining would have been minimal, however machining a flange and shaft from 5 !/4" diameter material will be expensive. The way to go, i think, will be to have a shaft made with splines on both ends. A flange that is thicker than standard and splined but turned so that it is thinner at the edges and replicates the original shape. Then weld the two together and get it heat treated as one item. Really of course a original item is the way to go. You never know someone might have one.

Regards,

Jonathan

Thanks for the response Ron, lets see if anyone's got a shaft lying around., ha ha,. If not, then i will just have to bight the bullet and have one made and if your contact can do it, then maybe he's the man for the job.

Jonathan

Hi,

I took my Chevrolet CMP c8 out for its first road test and Crunch, the long rear half shaft snapped. Now that I have taken it out, I can see that someone has tried to mend it before. I know its a long shot but has anyone got a spare long rear half shaft for sale or does anyone know of a reputable company that can manufacture one. Any help will be gratefully received.

Jonathan

Just a few pictures to show the progress made so far, its a lot more time consuming than one might think. The deact MG34 isn't the right one for an armoured vehicle but its what I have got, so will have to do for these pictures. I have started making the replica 2cm kwk main gun, so I am getting there........ slowly.

Johann

I cant believe that they just scrapped it, the re-sale value is of no consequence as far as I am concerned, as I wouldn't sell it. A nice, very big project but still achievable.

Jon

Thanks for the positive comments, its very kind of you. Yes Niels I have seen the panzer fabric teams work, very cool but I could do with something a little closer to home. Does anyone know, are they as good on the inside as on the outside of the vehicle?

I think a visit to the tank museum is in order, its a 6 hr drive from here but I could kill 2 birds with one stone and get some measurements for the chassis. How does one gain access to their archive?

Regards,

Jon

A few more. The next part is to make the weapon mountings. I have an mg34 so there's no problem there but I do not own or have access to a KWK 30 2cm, so if anyone has one or has access to one I could do with some close up pictures of the breech and a few dimensions. All information gratefully received.

Jon

To be honest I didn't know where to post this so....

It started with a conversation regarding me making a tank, well I cant afford to buy one, so making would be the only way that I would get one. I have always fancied a Panzer and the thought was to build a wooden turret for displays but the plan went wrong. At a show I bought a magazine for a KWK30 2cm cannon and the die was cast, a Panzer 2. First I collected all the relevant information, sizes, pictures etc. and then my imagination got the better of me. Why not build one out of metal and then, if I got round to it, it could go on a chassis. So metal it was but what about the observation hatches, surly they would have to open and how does that mechanism work and what to sit on in the turret, and how are the guns held in place........................you get the idea.

Anyway I hope that you like it so far.

Jon

Well, I shall wait with baited breath and hope, that in the not toooo distant future, I can once again look forward to my delivery of CMV. On the subject of interesting articles, the Tank museum contributes to the magazine, so instead of them wasting their columns as they have done so far why not use it to inform us, in detail, of their renovation and restoration work and let the people doing the work contribute.

Jon

I have to agree with you and if you have been reading the classic land rover magazine, you would have noticed that it has also nose dived since Key publishing took it over. I guess that when these mags were run and written by real enthusiasts they reflect that enthusiasm, but with Key it seems to be all about profit and the easiest way of getting it.

Jon