hummermark

Hi, I completed a 4 year apprenticeship for British Rail, then spent a number of years repairing and maintaining diesel and electric locomotives. During which time I began a member of the 'accident and derailment' team. The biggest accident of note that I attended was the one at Staples Corner in October 1988. See picture below: - (I always like threads with pics!) I am the one in the orange jacket and white hat trying to climb up the embankment... I then worked for BRS (for those not old enough - British Road Services) fixing trucks. I now do heavy recovery - every job has it's perks... This was on the M1 s/b to the M25 slip road. As my family say, I have a part time job and a full time hobby, if you put it to hours actually doing something! Mark

I was looking at an article on Arnold's M47... And I was wondering do all M47s have the extra idler tension wheel near to the sprocket? As I always thought that it was the M46 that had this not the M47. I have done a little searching on the internet and sure enough there are some M47 labelled tanks that do have the idler wheel. I am surprised if there are two models with and without the idler for the M47 but the desgination didn't change, i.e M47A1. Can anyone shed any more light on this? Above is an attached picture of his M47. Apparently he has this because this is what he used in his 1 year of national service. Mark

hi the firm i work for could do it on a 3 axle rigid slide bed for aprox £700 plus vat hope this gives you a ball park figure.

i think ten pounds a year for a achilles is fair!

I spoke to his mechanic at a Tanks in Town and he said that he was running N80 injectors with two valve head which will be giving about 250hp per engine. I have since been told by someone else that it is a four valve head that is fitted which would give 270hp per engine with the N80 injectors, presuming that you advance time the engines and use the modern larger ported liners and the higher compression pistons. Not bad considering the original combined horsepower is 375 at the prop-shaft! If you type M10 Achilles Tank Destroyer in the search engine of this forum you will see pictures of 6046 twinset engine restored and unrestored. His Sherman certainly pulls well and sounds good when I followed it for a short journey in Tanks in Town. Mark

Hi, I got given the Unimog lego set this Xmas (:thanx:) I have not made it yet - it is still in the box much to the annoyance of my daughter :angel: but only get minor nagging:angry for not making it yet as the Airfix jet engine working model from Xmas 2010 has not been made yet and that gets major nagging:argh: to build it! Mark

Hi, Nice pictures, do you have any more of the vehicles in the 4th from last picture? Do you know if any of them are for sale and what sort of condition are they in inside and do they have engines? Regards, Mark

Hi, I did buy the rubber suction cups from Detroit for testing the air tightness gudgeon pennys, also this suction cup does the valves as well. I will be putting this on my next installment of the engine restoration when my IT secretary can be bothered (my daughter)! Mark

Hi, A company that I have used for the last 30 odd years is called Paddington Springs (which is actually located in Wembley) their website is http://www.paddingtonmotorspringsltd.co.uk and their phone number is 0208 795 3300. They have been very helpful to me - for example if you need to down rate a vehicle they will work out how many leaves you need to remove to get it to the weight rating you want and they will provide a written letter than can be submitted to VOSA. I have regularly got springs repaired/built by them for the company that I work for. Regards, Mark

hi my ordnance materiel handbook gives length 387 inches width 99 inches height 133 inches single axle this is the m373a2 no tyre size in book would guess 900 20s

Hi, Just looking over some previous threads and realised that I didn't reply to you as I did not receive your PM? What parts are you looking for for your M24 Chaffee? I noticed that you were selling the KLR 250 plate on eBay, do you know of a military KLR 650 petrol for sale in the USA as I am looking for one to buy? I have got a few more updated pictures of the Chaffee project which I will hopefully upload over the weekend. There hasn't been much progress as I am concentrating on the Achilles for the moment. Have you got any pictures of your Chaffee as it is, as I would be very interested in having a look. Regards, Mark

It would be nice to see before and after picutres of your nice shiny, running engines and then it would show the amount of work you have put into them! Hope mine runs as sweet as yours...

I cleaned the exhaust valves and found that most f them had heavy corrosion pitting on the stems, so I ordered a new set of exhaust valves. Apparently the older 6-71 engines had 30 degree valve seats, the 30 degree exhaust valves are no longer supplied by Detroit, so if you unless you have a source you have to have 45 degree valve seat inserts. In the background you can see the big end shells, they weren’t too bad, all of the white metal is good (I am re-shelling them anyway). Cylinder head after a clean up, cam followers were corroded in guides but I have removed and re-homed the guides. Oil pump has two scavenger pumps in it which in the wet sump engine feed the oil pump pressure side. This pump is no longer available and does not have a superseded part number from Detroit nor is just the oil pump housing of the scavenger gears. This shows the old original 80s series injector (rusty and seized) next to the new N80 injectors. As you can see from the pictures the old injector has the fuel flow and return in line and then new one has them offset this is why when you have the new N80 injectors you need to order the mod kit which has different fuel posts and fuel link pipes. I had to but the injectors outright as they would not take my original 80s series injectors in part-ex :-(. A data plate showing the Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineer rebuild which occurred in the 1950s. The original timing gears – spot the missing/ripped teeth! A supercharger from Detroit is £1200 + VAT, there is a core charge of £350 - they won't take the 1940's in part-ex though :banghead:

I got the engine pack home and then had to make an engine stand for the twin pack, and one high enough to enable me to work underneath the engine comfortably. I also built it on wheels to move it around the garage if need be. We managed to rock the engine free with a 15ft pole and two of us swinging on it. When turning the engine it would lock up in one place and then it would need turning backwards. So the engine pack is now in workshop for a rebuild. Head, sump and a gaggle of pistons Corrosion in the bottom of the sump where condensation built up over the years Cylinder liner removal tool in situ Liner removal tool, still connected to old liner, new liner sitting beside it Old liner has the round holes, new one has elongated holes giving a bigger breathing area. The stamp on the left cylinder in the pciture (the new one) is not a random stamp. If it is below the cylinder lip at the top it is slightly smaller in diameter, if it is above the breathing area then is is slightly bigger and if it is where shown in the picture it is again slightly bigger. The liners should be a hand push fit into the block but not so they fall under their own weight. Unfortunately the original is unmarked so I had to try a couple of liners to get the right fits, luckily for me a company lent me a few to try. Liner tool in all its glory without a liner New higher compression pistons, it has a piston ring near the crown compared to the old takeouts. Piston installation tool (in blue), it works like a funnel and the pistons must be inserted for the bottom of the liner and then the liner and piston installed into the engine this is due to sharp edge on the oil control rings. This picture shows the shims that you have to put under the liners so the liner stands 2-4 thou prod of the block. This is the old supercharger rotors showing the corrosion This is the new liner in the engine but the top of the breathing slots are obscured by the block. Apparently the newer blocks have a larger opening so if you have a 1940’s 6-71 and use new liners you have to live with the overlap. End cover off of the supercharger Corrosion in the supercharger casing Old and new supercharger. If you look at the new one, there are lugs at the top so that the supercharger can hang from the block. The 1940’s version is a continuous lug. This shows the continuous lug on the 1940's supercharger body. The engine locked up because of a tooth had broken off of the timing gear and stayed in the root of the meshing timing gear. I have to replace all but one timing gears. A new camshaft is needed which is currently on back order and costing £280. The liners, pistons and rings are approximately £175 per cylinder, so prices compared to modern commercials aren’t bad at all. The part numbers I am using are from an original WW2 parts book which Detroit in the UK can use, they have just been superseded to the modern components. I am sticking with the 2 valve head as I have spoken to a guy/seen his YouTube footage of his M4A2 and M10 Achilles that do just fine with a 2 valve head and don’t smoke. Both of his tanks have the later pistons, liners and injectors; I will be using the new N80 injectors in my engine. I have had both my water pumps rebuilt with the modern seal kit and will be doing a recommended mod of 8th oil tube from oil gallery to the governor bearing in the end of the supercharger nose as this suffered from lubrication. The old pistons had circlips and caps to retain the gudgeon pin, the new ones just have caps that you have to dent in, for want of a better word, just like a core plug (I prefer the circlips but I guess it’s progression). The big end bolts were nuts and split pins, now they have been replaced with self-locking nuts. I have currently ground to a halt as I am waiting for the specialist tool to concave the gudgeon pin caps. All of the rings have been filed, as it goes the compression rings did not need to be ‘gapped’ as they had 25thou which is within tolerance. The oils rings were within 3-5 thou so I had to file them to 10 thou. If anyone has any tips for the 6-71, I would be glad to hear of them!

Having got the Achilles I thought/hoped it would be a straight forward job getting the engines running as they looked clean, were full of anti-freeze and had good clean oil, but this wasn’t to be the case. From what I can gather it was driven and then parked up for 35 years. I first needed to turn each engine over by hand, I needed the clutches to disengage but they were both seized. So whilst the engines were in situ I removed the transfer case and both clutches, I had to make an inch drive adaptor to go on the end of the crank shaft, removed the injectors, filled the bores with thin oil and primed the oil system with a 24 volt oil pump. The driver’s side engine turned over with a three foot breaker bar with one (bigger than average) person leaning on it, so I thought things were looking good. How wrong I was! The passenger side engine wouldn’t budge so we added a 10 foot scaffolding pole onto the breaker bar, had one person pulling and one person pushing – still no movement. So very reluctantly I decided I would have to remove the engine pack. I have posted a few pictures of when I removed the engine pack and a short YouTube video.

Hi, I used Slinden - in choosing them I weighed up the price with other companies - I got one of my M24 Chaffee engine blocks valve seats built up with weld since they were corroded away. They machined the valve seat after welding to make sure there were no blow holes in it, I could not find another company that could do the machining and welding in one. I have no fault with the work that they completed, so I would recommend them. My blocks had to be put in an oven overnight at 600 degrees to enable them to be able to weld it the next morning. The old camshaft bearings were in it, the white metal melted, so it shows what sort of temp that is! Some cast iron parts I have brazed with great success but have warmed the whole work piece up before starting and let it cool down naturally. What is it you have to repair, is it frost damage or a broken part? Regards, Mark

Hi, Signed and managed to find 5 friends to sign it to! Mark

hi serched for info and pics could not find a lot, what is the rating of the jib ie reach and lifting kgs main winch rating single line? how is main winch driven ie shaft/hyd is there any wheel lock out? arvs are always intersting with all the corect equipment with them. you say the transfer box is the weak link on the ward towing the arv will soon find the weak link in the drive train:nut: just have a commical recovery firm on speed dial as i have raised towed a chieftain behind a rotator low speed and not far but i guess if you are driving you wont be far from a off road site:)

Hi, I need to buy a 45 gallon drum (or for metric people 205L drum) of anti-freeze. I need it for aluminium and cast iron engines but it also needs to be used on vintage engines. Each time I have come across a suitable anti-freeze in the small print of when I ask the question they say it is not suitable for the older engines. Your views/recommendations would be appreciated! Thanks, Mark

Hi, I have asked a company in the UK that I have dealt with before to cast the two hatches off of my Achilles - they did not seem to think that this would be a problem. So if you are interested I will get a price. You can pay them direct (proves I haven't put a drink on for myself!) from past experience I would approximate it to be around £3000 + VAT for the pair. If you don't have any joy getting driver's or passenger hatches let me know and I will pursue this and get a more accurate price. Mark

hi looks good sounds good is there a reason for only one generator or are you looking for another one? have you any more pictures?have you left the engines as standard or done any mods ie injectors,heads? nice job so far keep the pictures comming.

Hi, That one is not mine as it has an Elefant stencil on the front and mine has yet to be painted on! It looks as though the picture was taken at the dealer that I got mine from (Jacksons). At the moment I am trying to get all of the bits and pieces for it, i.e. gun ring, pioneer tools, guns, camo netting, Eberspacher coolant heater and bits that go in the holders in the cab - I haven't got a clue what these are yet - I could do with a user manual or an email from someone that uses them! this link shows mine on the way back from the dealer via fuel stop! Currently going through the age relating process with the MVT, then the next battle will be with the DVLA - I can see it now, won't register it unless it't tested and never heard of a vehicle built and used outside C&U! That's without telling them it's 3m wide and as far as I am aware there is not a test station that will test a 3m wide axle track... Something to look forward to In the picture of your Ward Le France - have you taken off the outer tyres on the trailer? If so how comes? Regards, Mark

Hello, Yes I have got the transporter and trailer. It is unregistered at the moment but I am working on it, any tips?! Your 22.5 ton Ward LeFrance - have you got any pictures? I did consider one of these, is your one up and running? I will be bringing the Faun/transporter and Leopard to a few shows this year all being well! Regards, Mark

Hi, Thanks for the offer, I am going to type it out over the next couple of days... I have tried the internet translations sites but it ends up not making any sense! That's why I was hoping to get someone mechanically minded that would be able to help. Regards, Mark

Hello, I have been trying to translate the text for the controls and data plates for a German tank transporter trailer - I have managed to translate some of the controls i.e. not more than 4 words long with some success that makes sense! But the below I could not translate to make any sense as I presume it is because they are longer sentences rather than controls which are labelled 'shut', 'open', left', 'right' etc... I am hoping that someone on this forum could translate it for me as it requires some mechanical knowledge to translate and to make it make sense. If it helps the trailer has 4 wheel steer and the whole trailer can be raised and lowered and has an electric hydraulic pump built into it. A translation would be much appreciated! There is not 4 pages to translate - it needed 4 pictures to get all of the information. Thanks, Mark