PScott

Thanks for the reply,s....

I have stripped mine of all paint ready to refinish.

The unit is actually a work of art..the base is cast bronze and every linkage arm is fully machined .Every component of the sight is serial numbered.......alot of work in manufacture just for an aux sight!!

Does anybody know the correct color or the Blade Sight fitted just forward of the cupola on the Centurion?

I have and NOS( New Old Stock) one which is Black, were they fitted this color or were they then painted to match the tanks base color?

Thanks..

......

The rear infantry phone was missing from 091 when i got it. I got hold of one but it was in very poor condition. Just recently i a acquired a( NOS) Brand new box with the phone still wrapped in wax paper and plastic.

I have stripped the new box and internals, i cut the mounting tabs from the old box and fitted then to the new one , then repainted it the Aussie color and re-assembled and fitted it to the 091.

Hi Mike , This is 169071 , it has the up armored glacis plate.

Got my mufflers and piping back on Saturday morning........the coating looks fantastic......

I also refurbished the gunners hood......new heating element/motor/wiper/glass and seal...stripped it and re finished...came up like new.

A young friend came around early this morning and gave me a hand to install the mufflers........very hard trying to get everything in place without damaging the paintwork.....with the aid of a few old sleeping bags and care we got everything installed with no damage. I had forgotten how quiet the old girl is with the mufflers installed.

I finally got my bits over from the UK....the brand new ( NOS) mufflers arrived and i also got NOS main Exhaust pipes/Engine pipes/Flex couplings and flange seals/Fish tails.

The mufflers were both left hand side, so i had to cut off all the fittings for the heat sheilds and the mounting plates and turn the muffler over , then weld all the fittings and mounts in the correct location. The inlet flange also had to be removed and turned 45 degrees , then re welded.

I am going to get the mufflers and all the pipes HPC ( heat proof ceramic) coated flat black........just painting them with high temp exhaust paint will not last. Since they are the last NOS mufflers that are known, i thought i may as well go the whole hog and coat them so they will last a long time.

I also got the IR light stripped, re-finised and painted...installed it this weekend also..

Have just fitted the mantlet cover retaining strips, then mask them up so the bolt heads could be painted in situ.

Winter has hit with a vengeance , so painting will slow down till the warmer weather returns..

Mike , 091 has the original drivers storage box on the hull plate, the attached pic is 091 in Vietnam, you can see the box in place..

I have the original "B" barrel .

I will get some interior shots on the weekend.

.....

Just a few updates...

Just an update... If all goes well tomorrow weather wise, i will get the second coat on the hull. Next will be to remove the old road wheels, and re finish the suspension stations, then refit the brand new road wheels ( 24 in total) .

Hull in primer...

Outer hull is almost ready for undercoating..

Finished a few more bits on 091......i remade the brackets that support the rear hull air deflector . Also the tow cable storage straps that normaly support the cable on each end of the fuel tank had been cut off and removed, so i fabricated new brackets and welded them in the correct position on the rear tank.

I also repaired the many damaged/stripped holes on the mantlet cover mounting strip.........many were stripped or had a dogy nut roughly welded to the strap. I used a magnetic rotor bouch and counter bored a hole , i then welded in an high tensile insert using the original 3/8 BSF thread........the results are very good, you cant tell even when looking close that a repair has been made.

A couple of pics....

Rear hull and 100gal tank....

Been a busy weekend.

The original smoke discharger,s were remove as per the Vietnam spec. I located a set of dischagers and spent saturday fabricating new brackets for the dischargers, then removed the old tabs from the turret and welded on the new brackets and mounts.

Today, Sunday, removed the rear 100gal tank ( a heavy beast) and spent most of the day needle gunning the rear hull and tank.

Some pics of the new discharger mounts...

"Hi Tim, the RPG didn't penetrate , but caused a lot of spalling on the outer hull just behind the driver hatch and covers......if the driver hadn't of been closed down , he would of been in serious trouble."

 

Are you also going to delve into the crew compartments etc or hold off at the moment and concentrate on the externals?

 

Regards

Tim

Once the external hull and fittings are done , the interior will be next. The interior is in excellent complete condition.

I am trying to concentrate on the outer hull getting painted before we head into winter, so this is the priority at the moment.

Looking good! Are you restoring her back to Vietnam spec and if so will you fit a 20 pdr?

I have the 20pdr "B" barrel as well as the 105mm......i havnt decided yet on whether i will retain the Vietnam configuration or i put back to the 5/1 spec.

I have all NEW original track guards and brackets / track bins , so the 5/1 config is problably the way i will go , but i will still keep the Vietnam spec guards and boxes in storage.

With a view to an earlier post re the evidence of an RPG strike, did the RPG actualy penetrate

or was the damage limited to external?

 

Tim

Hi Tim, the RPG didn't penetrate , but caused a lot of spalling on the outer hull just behind the driver hatch and covers......if the driver hadn't of been closed down , he would of been in serious trouble.

These are from 2007 in Western Australia , 091 was used at the Bruce Rock Vietnam Veteran,s memorial.

This is a shot of 091 in Vietnam...

a few more pics...

Hi , After many years of wanting a Centurion tank, i finally got my wish.

I purchased 169091 which served in Vietnam , and is one of only a few that retained its full modifications on returning back home. I am in East Gippsland Victoria, and the tank came from Perth in Western Australia......a 4000km + journey.

The tank is very complete, new motor/transmission and such.

I decided to do a full strip down and restore.....so its not going to happen overnight.

I have a huge invetory of new items i have gathered to go onto it ......all new guards/track bins/turret bins/all pads/seals/seats/road wheels......and so on.

I am spending MANY hours removing the many layers of paint uning a needle gun and rotary wire brushes....slow, but it does an excellent job.

During the paint removal, an RPG strike and repairs was found, corresponding with reported hit it received in Vietnam.

Most of the hull surfaces are stripped , over the next 3-4 weeks i should have it nearly ready to undercoat....

Hope you dont mind the pics......