eddy8men

hi fella's

after reading the thread about the sherman that was scrapped on a range somewhere in the netherlands i was just wondering about what happened to all the armour that was sitting on the british range areas in germany,is it still there?i doubt the germans would be as interested in the wrecks as we are(don't mention the war).i've been on the excellent www.hartziel.de website and it looks like a real gold mine if you could get over there and get permission to visit the range areas you'd have a field day,maybe we could even save a few,then in a few years time we wouldn't be saying what a shame it is that all the armour got scrapped,because we might be driving around in a few off them.

what do you think? is anybody else interested in getting something together with regard to going over for a look ,let me know.

all the best

eddy

great photo's guys keep em coming, i wonder if that piece of track is still there.

a real shame,these things are too rare to be scrapped and even when so far gone there's still plenty to salvage for other restorations ,i think it was adrian barrell who was looking for a glacis plate ,not sure if it would have suited, but you get the idea.we have to preserve our armoured heritage whenever we can because there won't be anymore to salvage in a few years time.

eddy

another pic from from sunny warcop showing the mk4 which is 500m due north from the 5 churchill wrecks on the hill this is without a doubt the best of the bunch when it comes to a possible restoration project and i'm sure someone will pull it off the hill one day,well i hope so anyway, it would be nice to see another churchill restored.

all the best eddy

just a thought ,does he have more tanks than bovvy?shame the rest of us can't see them up close though, maybe one day they'll open up a tank museum of their own,that would be something special.

eddy

hi rob

nice pics ,very interesting recovery and captured forever on google earth(it was flying over just after you did the recovery),did you remove the concrete from inside and if so what was it like to get at.i've got my eye on a wreck that's also full of concrete and wondered about the logistics.

do you know the condition of the buried churchill would it be restorable or was it too far gone.

cheers eddy

now i knew when i posted my reply that i was poking a stick into a hornets nest and to be honest i did think twice about posting it especially as i want to actively become a member of the"armour brigade"and as such need friends not enemies and i can understand the pressures put on people to get what they can while the opportunity presents itself but if it were me i believe i would have done it differently,i don't know, maybe whoever did it thought it wasn't salvageable and as such had no use for the hull but it saddens me to see that churchill stripped and chopped so much and to be honest i had my eye on it for myself as a project so i'm maybe a little bitter.seeing those before and after pics got my blood boiling,anyway i've said my piece.incidentally i believe it could still be salvaged with a lot of welding and together with the warcop churchills maybe someone could get a runner together but it would have to be a braver man than me.

eddy

i think "death of a churchill" might have been a good name for the before and after shots of the mk 4,bloody criminal!!! I understand using these vehicles for spares i've no problem with that but why did they have to cut up a totally good churchill with a gas axe. unlike nearly all the other range wrecks it had no shell damage and was straight as a die and was probably the best churchill left out there.these vehicles are part of our armoured heritage,show a bit of respect,use a spanner next time whoever you are!!

p#ssed off eddy

the su 85 or 100 certainly looks the part,if i was going for any they would be the ones i'd choose.the russians certainly had there armour well sorted.

eddy

hi alex

there's a few for sale on www.russiantruck.co.uk i rang them in november about the vt 34,helpful bloke but wanted £25k i was thinking £15k. anyway give em a bell and ask and maybe post the prices for the rest of us to moan about.

eddy

cheers mate that's nice to know ,shame i wasn't mucking around with armour when pounds yard was still around

still looking mate ,don't suppose you've got one knocking around that yard of yours getting in the way, you know the churchills a big lump i'd be doing you a favour getting rid of it.

great to see the inner workings of the suspension units ,hard to picture it all when they're on the vehicle but clear as day when it's disassembled and laid out infront of you like that,many thanks.

eddy

thanks for the pics bob,

the churchills looked a lot better back in the eighties,unfortunately now they are

nothing more than scrap except for the bogies which seemed to have survived very well

however having said that and looking at what others have said on this forum i'm sure that what is classed as scrap now will be tommorrows restoration project

hi enigma

i'm not sure the sexton was used as a kangaroo,you may be thinking of the priests which were very similar but were U.S. built with the 105mm gun.

eddy

again just daydreaming but if i were to buy any of the big petrol guzzlers i'd have them converted to gas,if it were possible which i'm sure it is.i'd also have it done in poland ,much cheaper!

eddy

hi fella's

I have the sight for this gun, well i think it is anyway, it's the no.51 mk1 dated 1943,if this sight is any use to anyone just let me know and it's yours,(would be better on a gun than in a collection)

eddy

hi fella's

been looking at that sexton myself,there's another on milweb that's a runner but needs finishing for £80k.so you have to ask yourself is it worth £30k for a tidy rolling shell ?maybe.These things will only get more expensive as time goes on.i'm not in a position to buy it but if i were i'd be tempted to make my offer.

Adrian thanks for a run down of the going prices,actually cheaper than i thought.

eddy

good point you are absolutely right .it's just that i can't help but keep looking at that website and think, how long does it take me to earn £1800 ?

i also like the look of the brdm 2,there's some good footage on youtube ,seems like a lot of fun for your money but it's nothing more than idle dreaming,i'm not in a position to start mucking about in poland looking for cheap armour, although having said that it would be a great way to spend a week or two with a couple of like minded mates.

trouble is all my mates think i'm off me trolley.

hi fellas

two ot-64 skot's on milweb for around £15k a piece in very nice condition but you could buy 8 directly from poland for that .i suppose it's upto the individual to know their own comfort zone ie take a punt in poland or play it safe.(never been big on safety personally)

it seems to be coming together very quickly, i think you are doing a great job and it's apparent that you have what it takes !

we salute you

there's a simple way to raise all the funds needed in one day ,why not sell one of the ex range hulks that are sitting around at the museum,one churchill or sherman in restorable condition should do it and might actually give that vehicle a new lease of life instead of sitting around for another few years waiting it's turn.

if you tension both tracks equally and take it for a spin on a level road ie one without camber and it still pulls you know it's not track tension, and maybe saddle adjustment on the brake bands although this shouldn't cause any problems when driving in a straight line unless one side is binding.

saddle adjustment usually shows itself when braking by pulling to one side just like normal drum brakes would.sorry but i can't remember the specs for saddle adjustment but one of the other 432 owners will know it, as it's a common part of maintenance

hope this helps

eddy

ok why not buy it, leave it in poland while it's fully reconditioned ,then drive it back. £5k will buy an awful lot of labour in poland,incidentally i have a few contacts in poland if anyone is interested in any of the polish stuff and needs a little help just let me know and i'll do my best to help.

eddy

look at it this way, you spend £1800 to buy it and take a chance ,if it goes pear shaped and needs another £5000 spent on it,it would still only stand you at £7000 and it would be fixed,that's how i'd look at it if i was going to take a chance.