protacman

I can explain if you wish, however it's very annoying for me personally as I organised the first Curragh Show with two other people, only to be told I did nothing and was not wanted in the club I was also instrumental in restarting.

Probably well worth telling and discussing in an open forum.

They will not be attending the rathbeggan Show, They made 6 approaches to try to have us stopped from running our own Show.

They even posted on this site that they were running our Show.

We do 11 shows over here a year and more.

We travel

We are the largest group in Ireland,36+ vehicles

You can read the complete story at

http://protacpx.proboards36.com/index.cgi?board=mvgi&action=display&thread=1126898199

What did you think of the Show?

Was it obvious that 3 0f the 5 major groups were conspicuous by their absence?

now for pictures of the buck in place

I have manufactured complete seats for both sides using origanal parts

The fuel tank

So with the Tank ready I can now mount the rear body behind the second cab.

We decided to use a forklift to place the section onto chassis

This is Mick starting the lift.

The under side of the body, where the tank is mounted.

the tank in position,did we really go under that body?

No................. that would be crazy.

Lifting in the section.

Placing it on.

So far this is looking good!

very professional.

An excellent bluff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carefully lowering the final inches (or Centimeters)

final positioning to ensure the tank will not be rubbing anywhere.

The Highly professional bluffers!!!!!!!!!!

The fuel tank conversion

This is the water Tank that I am converting to become my new fuel tank

I used a hole cutter to open two places for the fuel lines and gauge.

We then mounted the Tank.

No that one was given to the North, and yes It was me that provided those pictures as well. We are still not supposed to talk about that incident over here. Peace and reconciliation so we give them a Tank.

Now I'd say these were fabricated to tidy up the vehicle after many years of neglect. Are you from Market overton or it's enviorons?( my Birthplace)

We have one complete running Comet, used on Cav Day every year. The Comet's are nearly complete, although all spare's were sold in the 70's. The Churchill is a shell as far as I can remember.

*********** is supposed to be coming over soon to repair the turret drive for this season.

Comet and Churchill Tanks on Display

or

Tanks for the memories

Recently put though Base workshops thanks to the efforts of Lt. Col. Jim Dowling. These two fine ex British and Irish Army vehicles were recently placed on display outside the new dining hall on the Curragh Military Camp.

These vehicles were purchased in two lots, firstly the Churchill's at the end of WWII and later the Comets.

There are still two more Churchill's surviving, including the one given to the Northern Irish Horse.

The Comets soldiered on into the 70's and their last duty was improvised bulldozer knocking down disused accommodation blocks on the Camp by simply being driven in one end and out the other.

Neither of these vehicles served with the Defense Forces in olive green but would have been painted a matt grey.

Thanks to Lt. Col. Dowling for giving permission to take and display these photographs.

Converting the drivers door

On the normal roadstar Cab the spare Wheel is mounted on the Door. Why? Bullet protection and to give you somewhere to rest your elbow.

So to make this version I have to balance the twin Cabs, in other words build out the front cab the same as the passenger side. This is a big job, for me anyway.

This is the door after cutting with a 6" grinder, see how thin it is?

I welded in a vertical post to make both doors the same width.

I welded on a rear plate to match the section of the rear Cab and bars to define the new shape.

I then started to cover the shape with a light skin

DON'T LOOK AT THE FLASH!

I got a phone call today , parts done, ready to be collected.

Excellent job.

Thank you "M+M sandblasting Portloaise".

Already back in the Shed.

Sand blasting in Ireland.............

So i phoned one guy in Dublin (35 miles away) and one in Portloise (25).

The Dublin man said he could do the job right away, price being nearly the same so he won. Loaded the gear in my twin wheel trailer and drove up to Dublin (In Ireland it's always up to Dublin).

What a Bad person. He greets me with the phrase "thats a very expensive trailer" and "It's a very expensive hobby doing up old cars".

Wouldn't confirm his price until we unloaded the bits ie wings tub and bonnet.

£400 he requested and possibly more by the time he finished.

I reloaded the bits in the Trailer while he went for a walk around his yard.

We drove to Portloaise, the nice man there said he'll have them ready by tuesday for the agreed price of £125.

The lesson I took from this

My gut said P/loaise from the start

If you feel like your being ripped off you probably are

and as I used to say in the Army " I don't mind them riding me ,I just wish they would kiss me first".

Here are some pictures of the work on the second cab.

We had to remove the Dash

Cut the body to straighten the passenger side wall, keeping the front to rear lines correct.

And build a new floor and fire wall

We then test fitted the Cab, lots of grunting.

and sat in it for the very first time.

It's a beast

we call it "the Rock" because it just sits there

Ok fixed the drive shaft coupling, lots of filing.

Been working on the rear cab section.

Also K. bought us a new welder so I have been renewing old skills.

I sold the uk fox to an American. So i only have this one now.

Shame. I'm lucky to have anything really , arn't we all?

Oh, reign of fire, what was that about?

Yes,signs for everything. I'll put up a complete picture when its finished.

I'm having trouble with the drive shaft coupling . I had a special made and have brought it back three times now. It appears to be to tight on the splines after the welding process. I put it on as far as possible with a mallet but had to hammer it off. I'm worried about damage to the gearbox. :cry:

We installed the rad and extras

the compressor and starter are very close

Take a look at the hours on this unit,1994, after 23 years service. I am told that this is one year of normal life

We then fitted our gearbox

SO FAR SHOWS FOR OUR GROUP

Dunncannon Fort (this will be the largest Show in the South). 3 day open to the Public.

Cavan and Lietrim Military Show

Normandy (7 Days) Club trip prior to War and Peace

Beltring, War and Peace.

Rathbeggin 4x4 and Military Show: Dates Confirmed as 12th and 13th of August. This will be our main Show, arrive on the Saturday and Show open on the Sunday.

We are organising the Military Section, contact Sean by pm-ing call on 0035345441798 or emailing seanprotac@hotmail.com. No point in contacting Show committee as you will be redirected to Sean.

Kilbeggin

Toys4BigBoys

We would appriciate any attendance at our Rathbeggan Show,its a lovely site just North of Dublin, this is not the Curragh Show.

So to the Engine

We put the stripped down heart of the beast in place prior to moving the chassis into the work shop.

Fitting the starting motor. We decided to spin the Engine with no injectors to clear the bores of any F.O. or water that may have gathered. I had a real fear of Hydrostatic lock. I had stored the Engine in the open and the intake covering was breached.

David and myself wondering where all the bits go.

All the cans of bits have to go somewhere.

Christmas is a time, to spend on your hobby.................

Starting to cut the Tub.

Then we moved to the shed to work on the main job, rebuilding the rolling chassis, Engine and gearbox.

All parts basically sound and together but well worn.

If you look at this picture you can see a filler cap over the wheel arch. This is for the 200 litre fresh water tank that is a feature of every truck. It is shaped over the rear diff and between the chassis rails.

I'm going to convert this into the Fuel tank. It has been shortened by 2 feet to allow for the cab to sit over it. Manufactured from stainless steel it should do the job well.

By the way there is an Acmat on Milweb.

I'm going to create this version using the origanal troop carrier rear body, shortened, and a modified 2nd cab.

Now this has never been done before so don't try this at home.

The rear body during dismemberment.

The unmodified 2nd cab.

Of course I will lose the fuel tanks. But I have a cunning Plan.

This is the donor car. As you can see bought as scrap as were all my Acmats .

Bare in mind they saw a very hard service life, over their 20+ years. In fact this one served in Somalia as a Gun Bus.

They were armed with a .5 and up to 3 GPMGS, While protecting Food convoys. Remember Blackhawk Down, same time same place.