eddy8men

i must get round to starting my AVRE resto before i get too old

don't get me wrong i love the cents and will enjoy owning and restoring them, i just don't feel the same pressure to "do my bit" like i did with the cromwell, which means i can relax and maybe enjoy the hobby for a change :-D

you might have a point there, the trouble is i've spent the last 7 years living and breathing ww2 british armour so anything after that doesn't seem very important, which is actually quite refreshing for me. The cromwell was a rare and important tank and i felt a great responsibility owning it and wanted to do both it and the men that fought in it justice. it was a matter of honour. the cents are a different kettle of fish

you'll like the prewar tank :cool2:

few more pics from yesterday when we used the good cent to move the dead one. the guy in the drivers seat is andy foulds who came down to help in exchange for a cabby

sean i'm coming round to the same conclusion. it would be great to get hold of a 140mm gun to put back on it, the bigger the better :cool2: it would also make for a very easy resto as the tank runs and drives great, all it needs is a good steam clean and paint inside and i'd be in business. it's not exactly going to further the cause of british ww2 armour but it should be good fun all the same. i'm picking up another tank this month which is prewar and that will be all about our armoured heritage !

welcome to the forum, i like your collection :-D

i think it had many different guns, not just one in particular

thanks john, i must make more time to take a few pics

both cents arrived today as planned and i was pleasantly surprised at how well the clean tank drove, they even filled it with fuel for me. i didn't take any pics as i had other things on my mind but i'll put some up tomorrow

lol you can never have too many tanks

early doors tomorrow morning is the plan so far. i'll give you a call when i know

a cromwell drove into a clay pit at a breakers yard and apparently was not worth the effort to recover and remains there to this day. i have followed up on many tank stories and one day i will find one. this might be the one

i spoke with the buyers agent and he told me it was the nicest tank he's driven, which i was quite pleased to hear. it's no accident that i've picked up a couple cents to replace it but i doubt they will be anywhere as nice to drive, same engine, steering and gearbox but twice the weight. i might have to go looking for the elusive rickmansworth buried cromwell before i'll be satisfied

lol i broke the news to the other half after i'd bought them, she was horrified at first thinking i'd blown a £100k again but she was fine once i told her they weren't far off scrap value. she has now inadvertently given me the green light to buy as many tanks as i want as long as they are "bargains" :cool2: i am now on the lookout for an early cent turret or 120mm gun. i quite like the idea of the qinetiq test bed tank doing the show circuit, i could polish the barrel and breach ring and maybe put some chrome wing mirrors and light bezels on it like the glitzy ferret that comes back up for sale now and again on ebay.

lol i've done a deal on another tank as well as the cents but haven't paid or picked it up yet. you can never have too many tanks

here's a pic of the scruffy cents engine compartment, the hull interior doesn't look much better !

quite an easy job to fabricate a turret, the ring might be a bit trickier, although a saladin ring would be close

thanks dale i've already spoken to melvyn if that's the one you're thinking of. john i hadn't thought of putting them on together, trouble is they weigh 38t each and are nearly 25ft long but it's worth a phone call. cheers

after tackling wartime kit these look like a walk in the park :-D john there's a guy near ulverston doing it for £70/hour so going to be £800 or so for the pair. i can't help but laugh at my misfortune, after 6 years i finally buy a truck big enough to move the cromwell then end up selling the tank the same month. i bought a 38 ton low loader a week ago on monday and decide to buy the cents on the wednesday which would be great if it could carry them. lol i'm destined to give my money to the uk haulage industry

they were owned by qinetiq and used at eskmeals to test various barrels and ammo. they might have been on other ranges as well during their time. the painted one runs and drives or at least that's what i was told. the other is much tattier and might be used as the parts donor for the good one if the need arises. got to find a turret now :cool2:

hi fella's back in april a forum member posted up about 2 centurions in a scrapyard in ulverston, i replied to his post and said i hoped someone saved them from the cutting torch, well that someone turned out to be me and i take delivery of them next friday. i went up and had a quick shufti round them last week and was impressed by the condition of the painted one. i hope to find a turret and get at least one of them back as a gun tank. few pics of them lifted from the other thread

unfortunately i have to agree, the magazine is quite poor. i don't know why they changed it so much

sounds like a plan :cool2: