Jim Clark

I have two sets of the straps (not for sale) and hopfully will be making copys as soon as we can either buy NOS hardware or make it ourselves. We already make the canvas tarps with all the correct leather reinforcing. Jim.

In May I had the privilege to take my Sherman to Pilsen in the Czech republic for their 65th anniversary liberation celebrations. It was also a privilege to be the first Sherman in Pilsen since 1945,but this pales into insignificant as I had the honour of giving a ride in my Sherman to 92 year old Eric Petterson who actualy drove one of the first Sherman's into Pilsen in May 1945. Here is a photo of him. jim

Hi Andy, glad you could join us and its been great doing business with you. How did you get on with our Dodge winter enclosure? Jim

Here"s a few pics of what I think you are after. Simple 2"x2" angle frame with 1"x 1/8" strap, if you want some let me know. Jim.

Oh, just one more thing on my way to Mons I had a problem with my Chevy pickup in the last services before Dover I would like to thank the man with the Hillman Tilly for helping me , he was on his way to Detling with some friends in a Jeep and a Dodge. I did not get his name but if any one on the forum knows who he is please pass on my thanks Jim

Locust Weasel M36 Jacksons M3 and M5 Stuarts Halftracks Harleys And a shed load of soft skins There was even a guy taking pictures with a 1942 camera in the square on Sunday evening Met up with Tony Pearson and Stef also John Blackman and many other Brits, once again a fantastic weekend only spoilt by the rain on Sunday night just before the column left Mons square . Jim.

As some of you may know last weekend the annual Tanks in Town event took place in and around Mons in Belgium.Having taken my Sherman over three times in 2005,2006 and 2007 and rode on Mike Phelps Hellcat with Jack in 2009 this year I went as a tourist and spectator. It was also a business trip as I was delivering a Diamond T 980 winch and a shed load of canvas for european customers attending the same event. Here are a few pictures of some of the vehicles there, I was told there were 82 armoured vehicles there and chatting to some of the owners about A+E 2012 they seemed very interested , so Jack you had better think big. 1943 Caterpillar R4 There were three Dragons there one owned by the Copemans Allis Chalmers M4 High Speed Tractors M5 HST M18 Hellcats Shermans M7 Priest

If you give us a good set of drawings and some pics I dont see why we cant make you one. Did you get my email regarding the canvas bed cover? Jim.

Tony, Is this the type of folding bed? I refurbished/recovered these two beds a few weeks ago for Jason and myself, sorry the pics are not very good. Let me know if you need any more info. Jim

I dont know where you bought your "new" jimmy canvas from but it should not need any treatment. The Mil Spec canvas we import from the US of A is already mildew,rot and weather proofed. Jim

Please can you add myself + 3 crew = total 4 more thanks Jim

The actual journey time was seven and a half hours to cover the 88 miles. At best we were doing 30 MPH but some times down as low as a walking pace, slow enough for Jason to get down from the DT and walk round with a torch to do a visual check on everything. Here are some pics of us leaving Weymouth for Jacks do at Maiden Newton. See you there . Jim.

Heres the story behind our trip to Weymouth. Thursday 19.00 , Jason arrives at our workshop with his Diamont T 981 and Rogers trailer , we load the old multibank engine and some steel track in the ballast box to keep the back of the DT weighed down. Thursday 20.00 load the Sherman onto the trailer. Friday 10.30 leave the workshop for the 88 mile trip to Weymouth. After covering just 3 miles a bearing in the Diamond T gearbox suddenly breaks up and we have to offload the Sherman and use it to tow the DT and trailer back to our workshop Friday 12.00 we decide to replace the gearbox with a spare one Jason had at his workshop 20 miles away.So while Jason and Jamie went to fetch the gearbox I started to remove the faulty one, by the time they returned I had the gearbox ready to drop out. Withe the help of our forklift the g/box was removed. Thw spare gearbox was not as good as we had hoped but from the 2 boxes we made one good one. Friday 20.00 the DT is ready for a quick road test and the the trailer was coupled up and the Sherman reloaded. Friday 22.30 after a quick wash and some food we set out again for the 88mile trip Saturday 06.00 we arrive at the campsite in Weymouth to join the others for the veterans festival weekend Was it worth all the effort? you bet.

Hey Degsy , while all of you were on your 10 day trip I stayed at the workshop and turned this hull . Into this . I still get the shakes everytime I think about all those lost hours of sleep. Jim.

Hey, thanks for all your kind comments, another year has gone but I dont know where to, time passes so quickly these days. Anyway as Jack has said I am off with the Sherman to the Czeck Republic for the 65 anniversary of the liberation of Pilsen and Pisek and I am already late. See you later Jim

Oh so thats why they made me sleep in the van,the little devils. Steve had told me they were doing some building work in the hotel and there would not be room for me. Some kind of a large erection or something I think he said. Jim.

Hi Mike, not quite sure where you get 4 years from, this thread was started by me 17 March 2009, perhaps you are looking on the top right of the post and seeing 2006 but thats the date i joined HMVF. Any way the tilly is still with us and work on it continues. If you contact me direct i will tell you more about its history and owner(with his consent) contact no 01454 261100 anytime. We also restored Pat Mallins Tilly about 3 years ago as featured in your mag, sadly Pat passed away last year, not sure what happened to his collection. Jim.

The Mack NO is 123 inches (without gun Ring) with gun ring add about another 18 inches. jim

Bridge is up........... No it aint. Se what you done with all them negative waves Moriarity. Does Jack know about the Tigers, you bet your your sweet ass he doesnt, if he did he would be back in that tent factory of his singing Ging Gang Gooly

Hi Hanno, the GMC352 was only used to remove the trailer from the lowloader, it will be pulled by my Diamond T 968 cargo which is the correct towing vehicle. I also have a 1943 Caterpillar D4 to put on the trailer to complete the outfit. The Diamond T has an air operated brake system the same as the trailer. Jim

Hanno, I have a Fruehauf 8 ton trailer here is a couple of photos of it when it arrived at our workshop. I believe it was designed to carry the Caterpillar D4 type dozers as they are just under 8tons. The trailer in the picture you posted is different to mine ie, drawbar, shape of the swan neck, shape of the rear end etc. I dont think its a 16ton trailer as that model has 8 wheels accross the rear, where as the 8ton only has 4. The 16 ton trailer has different tyre sizes front to rear, fronts being 900-20 and rears 825-15.The 8ton runs on 900-20 tyres front and rear. Jim

I will weigh it in then. Jim

I have a Continental flat 6 cylinder engine that I want to sell but I dont what model it is or what it fits. If any one knows what it is and what it was fitted to I would be very greatfull. Jim.

Paul thinks this tractor was probably built 1939-40 as it is orange under the dark green, so its possible this tractor started off orange but was changed in the factory to green for the war effort. The only parts that are purely green are the fuel tank and wheels, these items being the last parts fitted. The front wheels are a bit of a mistery as they are not the same as any we have seen before on a Standard N. They are adjustable to give four different settings of track width by bolting the rim in different positions to the lugs on the centre. Paul is not going to restore it to factory finish condition as he prefers to just give it the oily rag treatment, only doing necessary maintenance. Jim.

As the old saying goes "every cloud has a silver lining" we had a bit of luck recently. As some of you may remember I recovered a farmers runaway tractor last year. While we were there chating to the old chap he commented he had a Fordson Standard N which his father had bought just after WW2, Anyway to cut a long story short my nephew Paul has bought the tractor and after blowing up the tyres, cleaning the carb and fuel tank. Also replacing the magneto that some B****** stole and adding new fuel, a couple of swings on the starting handle it sprang into life after being parked for 33 years. We then drove it back to our workshop where he has been working on it. On one of the rear tyres we found WD marked which is a nice touch. Jim.