eddy8men

i'll be going as well

not a lot to report i'm afraid !

don't be too quick to judge the first guy, steel on steel does not give a lot of traction and when you throw in a bit of ice aswell then it gets a little hairy ! rick

this valentine was dragged out of an indian river in 2008. i don't think they know what type of tank it is so i'd bet it's still sitting in a corner of an indian army camp waiting for someone to make a decision. here's a link to the story http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/11june08/news.htm#top

that grundy fella has got a lot to answer for when it comes to your tank john, i'll have words when i see him next

i blame the driver but the truth is the commander is responsible the vehicle, the driver is just the minion that works the pedals. so i hold my hands up and take the blame and besides if you don't push the envelope now and again you'll never know what it can really do. that's my excuse and i'm sticking to it. rick

the plans will probably be suitable for any of the early marks of churchills as they were all fairly common to each other, it would take a real expert to tie it own to an exact mark (if it is specific to that one) and i'm afraid i'm not that man. thanks for sharing the pics. rick

i look forward to seeing it at next years tankfest :thumbsup:

merry xmas folks

matilda 2 turrets are like honest politicians, there maybe 1 or 2 around but the chance of ever finding one are remote. good luck with the search tobin, if i can help in any way then just ask. all the best rick

looks like a belter, well done. rick

bob i saw the pic on ebay and the description was "tank on moors 1969 press photo" it also said there was writing on the back. i've just bought it so i'll let you know what it says when it arrives. i can feel an after the battle moment coming on.

covenanter left where it broke down !

thanks for the explanation john i was waiting for you to enlighten us. by way of adding something to the thread, here are the tank production figures for the uk in 1944/45 which shows both valentine and sherman dd numbers built in that year. please note that i pulled the spreadsheet from a thread on another forum so cannot verify it's accuracy but it seems right enough to my uneducated eyes

richard is right the engine fits straight onto the gearbox without using an adaptor plate and the bellhousing is part of the engine casting. good luck with the conversion rick

andy's right it was complete when i sold it to kevin, it had the engine, rads, fuel tanks clutch and gearbox with it, unfortunately they were all in little pieces in the bottom of the hull :-( although the clutch might be useable the rest was pretty much beyond hope but i'm sure kevin has a plan. rick

well done fella's. it takes a lot to keep going when this years event was a near washout. good on yer ! not checked the diary but if i'm not on a family holiday i'll be there with a few bits and pieces all the best rick

glad you could join us pete please post up some pics on the cromwell restoration whenever you want. cheers rick

not bad for a beginner

just for the 2 adrians, i thought i'd post up a pic from last weeks meeting of the "Cromwell fan club"

my plan is to have it ready for W&P next year however my plan and bob's might be different and he won't commit to a date, can't say i blame him. (it's not that kind of job) but on the plus side now the box is in and once the ancillaries are connected the engine can be run :cool2:. the spark has already started working his magic on the various circuits and i believe adrian is supplying an instrument panel so who knows we might hear the roar of the only running mk1a meteor in existence before xmas, hey i'd even settle for boxing day there is however one stumbling block to completing the restoration. the main gun !!! so if any of you fellas have a QF 75mm you'd be willing to part with or know of someone who might then give me a nudge. cheers all the best rick

couple more

gearbox has now been fitted

i only went to beltring 3 times and i loved it, so i'm gutted that it's moved to a new location but i'll definately be going there too. it's just a shame the hop farm owners couldn't get something sorted with rex for next year but it's their loss and besides it was the atmosphere that made W&P not the location. anyway i'll be going next year so keep your eyes open for a good looking fella driving a cromwell :cool2: rick

buggar !