Aaron

On the equilabrator, I believe that gauge is fed off the fill port and this is only open if the valve on the far end of the accumulator is opened. So you would need to crack the valve to see what the pressure is (MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE DRAIN PLUG INSTALLED IN CASE THERE IS PRESSURE IN THERE). I believe this is to protect the gauge from "shocks" in the system. We have yet to successfuly get our system working, most of the collectors I've talked to are lucky enough that theirs just works...

Well I can say that having a collector parent certainly helps. My Dad entered the hobby by bringing home a Saracen when I was about 13. One of his favorite stories is when I hopped off the school bus in 7th grade, climbed in the driver's seat and headed off down our private road towards home. The bus driver wasn't sure if she should report it to someone... I'm now 24 and have just completely gutted the fighting compartment of our Abbot. I'm hoping to put it together by the time I finish grad school (a couple years...). A lot of my friends think HMVs are very cool, but they don't consider them because they lack the space, money, experience and tools to maintain or restore them. I certainly wouldn't be able to do anything without my Dad's shop and tool collection. They're so rarely seen in public over in my time zone that the number one question we get is "you can own these?!" People usually think a large group of HMVs is either from a museum or an active military group. Having the lone HMV at a car show definitely draws attention and is probably the best bet for spreading the "disease":-D.

I've come across another puzzle as I take apart the Abbot- the cupola needs some work. Two of the locking levers only move under force, and the cupola of course won't budge. I removed the locking lever handles and square brackets on the front, so the square shaft on the ~2" round piece is free to wiggle. I've also removed the "traverse" handles and a ball bearing fell out. I can look up inside and see the groove and detents where the bearing rides. At this point I'm out of things to loosen. I can't see a single nut, bolt, or screw... If I pull hard enough is the round piece supposed to come out...? Also, I apparently stumped the forum a few weeks ago when I was wondering how to remove the balancer rams. My best idea so far is to fully raise the gun and thus loosen the chains enough to sneak a wrench in and undo the rams. Better ideas would be welcome -Aaron

Hi all, The balancer cylinders on my Abbot appear to be jammed as I've brought them up to pressure and the chains stayed slack. So I'm trying to get them out of the vehicle so I can work on a table as opposed to upside down. If I can remove either the bolts holding the chain to the ram or the bolt holding the chain to the cam (on the elevation axis) I'm good to go, but all of these are up against metal walls and can't be removed... Does anyone know where to start on this operation? Thanks -Aaron

Hi Rich, Yeah, despite spending 95% of our time on the transport end of things (getting old civilian semi tractors going and then finding a better one) we manage to have to Abbot out to a few events per year. Hoping to make it to Olympia and definitely Arlington. Probably also the WAC show and Veterans day. I've got the turret almost entirely gutted and I'm looking for the tan fabric so we can start putting it back together. It'll be great to see the Fox out and about. Aaron

Hello, I just joined the forum and it looks like a great resource. The main vehicle my Dad and I are restoring is an FV 433 Abbot. It needs a thorough cleaning inside and a few odds and ends. We also have an M108 2 1/2 ton crane truck and an M151. Over the years we've had a Saracen Mk 1, M114 Armored Command and Reconnaissance Vehicles, M75 APC, M43 Ambulance, M35A2 2 1/2 tons, M211 2 1/2 ton, M54 5 tons, M813A1 5 ton, M38A1 1/4 tons, an M28 Weasel.