mtskull

Well, it has been a long time but I am happy to report that the tank is fixed. The worse end responded well to the molasses bath and the slightly better end cleaned up with a wire brush and some Jenolite. Predictably, once all of the rust was out of the way the damage turned out to be worse that it at first appeared and it was necessary to make a small patch for the worst bit. Being new to this soldering lark, a bit of trial & error ensued but after an hour or so I got the hang of it and managed to get all the holes filled. I don’t have the facilities to pressure test, so the tank was supported on trestles and filled with 20 gallons of water, with the intention of leaving it for a week to check for any signs of leakage. Then lockdown intervened...... I am happy to say that, after six weeks it hasn’t leaked a drop, so the tank will shortly be back in service. Thank you to everybody for your advice; just to recap for the benefit of anybody else contemplating a soldered repair to a fuel tank: 1) SAFETY FIRST: an empty petrol tank is a bomb waiting to go off, unless you thoroughly purge it of all traces of residual fuel. I used a pressure washer, with detergent, at around 160 Celsius for three quarters of an hour. IF IN DOUBT, LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS! 2) Re-iterating what Rick said, everything must be spotlessly clean and free of every last trace of dirt & rust if you are to have a chance of success. 3) Use plenty of flux and take care not to overheat the metal you are trying to repair. I used a blowtorch but I can see how a large soldering iron could be better in this respect. Good luck, Andy

Banister’s: https://www.milweb.net/go/banister/ I have always found them very helpful and are the “go to” people for all things B series.

It is very unlikely to be a timing issue causing the problems you describe, especially if it was previously running well. Might be worth replacing the condenser -a nice spark in the open air doesn’t always equate to the same thing under compression. Likewise, wet plugs do not rule out a fuelling issue; too rich a mixture (maybe due to leaky float valve or stuck float) might cause the symptoms you describe. Also, always a good idea to check that the silencer isn’t blocked with carbon deposits. First though, there’s a very simple test to narrow the cause down before you do anything else: Drain the carburettor and turn the fuel off. Then, with the throttle wide open, give it a generous squirt of Easy Start. Try to start it: if it runs any better on Easy Start, you have a fuelling issue. If it is no better, look at ignition or, as you suggested, crankcase seals.

Having experienced a steep learning curve myself with RR B series engines over the last couple of years (and benefitted from some excellent advice via this forum), may I suggest the following: 1. Get ALL the plugs out and replace (or at least make sure they are thoroughly clean). 2. Replace the carburettor diaphragms as a matter of course. They are the devil’s own invention and you would not believe how badly these engines run when the diaphragms are not in tip-top condition. It would not surprise me if this turned out to be the whole and entire source of the problem. 3. Replace condensor(s). Other things to consider: Were the points correctly set up with a dwell meter when they were changed? You are probably best off leaving the ignition timing alone; if incorrect it might cause loss of power but is unlikely to be causing such profound symptoms as you describe. Good luck Andy

“Abandoned Military Vehicle Graveyard” “Army Base” my @rse. The variety of vehicles along with the presence of the clearly fake WW1 tank, suggest a storage facility for a company supplying vehicles for film/TV props. That little toe rag deserves a hefty kick up the backside for his trespassing; I admire the owner’s restraint in his response on YouTube: ”Hey guys, nice video. Next time you want to look round my yard and vehicles drop me a line and I’ll show you the rest of the toys” 😆

Is it part of a rifle stowage from some kind of armoured vehicle?

Something is out of kilter then; I’m Staff Sergeant with 252 posts but Johann is Lance Corporal with 448....

Purely out of curiosity, can anybody explain how “promotion” works on this forum? It doesn’t seem entirely fair to me that “Johann”, with 400+ posts, an impressive collection of MV’s and one of the bravest and most interesting projects we have seen, should remain a Lance Corporal....

Yup, visited that one. Whilst being respectful of the memorial and refraining from clambering over the tank, it was difficult to see what had knocked it out; no sign of armour penetration. Then I noticed the damage to the right front suspension and the upward deformation and failure of the sponson base; my immediate thoughts that it had run over a mine were subsequently confirmed.

May I join the previous members in paying tribute to your skill, patience and attention to detail? A fantastic project and a fascinating thread. Thank you.

A nice vehicle with interesting history but can anybody see that making more than scrap value in the current circumstances? Not unless there are a lot of a very brave and determined collectors of of specialist vehicles out there, IMHO. I wonder how they arrived at the £3000-£6000 estimate?

My first thought precisely!

I have to agree that they are not the easiest engines to work on; having struggled to set the valve clearances on a B80 installed in a fire engine, the mind boggles at the the magnitude of the same task in the confines of a Saracen or FV432. I think I would have been extremely tempted to leave them a little slack and only touch them when the engine came out for overhaul....

Pipe laying?

Very little. Which is why the 2035 ban is proposed to be on the sale of NEW petrol and Diesel powered cars and vans, not on the use of older vehicles

I stand corrected; cars and vans. I can’t find any reference to lorries, although there do appear to be plans to incentivise “green buses”.

It is incorrect to say that in 15 years all Diesel and Petrol engined vehicles will be banned from our roads. What is being proposed is a ban on the sale of new Diesel, Petrol and Hybrid vehicles. There is (as yet) no proposal for an outright ban on such vehicles.

The Germans probably had one of their delightfully constructed terms; probably something along the lines of “Schalthebelhebevorrichtung”. I would simply call it a latch.... Agreed about the good work; I have been following this thread for some time now, and am flabbergasted by the ingenuity and attention to detail.

With all respect, surely you mean Donald Bennett rather than Harold “Mick” Martin?

Educating myself via threads on this forum and elsewhere, I reckon this is an M4 (75). The only inconsistency is the rear plate, which lacks the cutaway associated with radial engined variants. Post war modification by another nation’s army perhaps? The plaque adjacent to the memorial states that the tank was “re-hashed” (sic) after the war. Possibly something lost in translation, or is this a tank with a history unrelated to the battle of Cassino, acquired to represent those that took part?

OK, here I am in Cassino and I have the final piece of the jigsaw; please be patient and be prepared to refer back to the previously posted photographs and maps. Having visited the site, I am in no doubt that the ruined building which can be seen in the contemporary colour photos is the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, which stood on the corner of Via Gabriele D'Annunzio and Route 6, which is now named Corsa della Repubblica to the West of this location and Via Casalina to the East. A small memorial garden occupies the spot, where I found the plaque shown in the first photo; this depicts the Church from a viewpoint looking East; the second photo shows a very old drawing, depicting the view looking West. In 1944 the church was very close to the Eastern limit of the built up area of Cassino; I found another photo which confirms this (church visible lower centre). The fork in the road just to the East of Cassino is obscured in this photo but we know from the contemporary maps that it was there, and that the left fork as you look West, was the line of the old Route 6. From the aerial reconnaissance photo we know that the church stood close to, but not aligned with, this road. All of which leads me to conclude that my previous conclusion was accurate: i.e. that the location of the original photo of the POW’s and the Valentine bridgelayer is on the present day Via Casalita, a few metres East of the junction with Via Bari. Post-War development has made it impossible to fully re-create the shot but, for what it is worth, here I am standing on the very same spot as those German prisoners in 1944. Andy

Spotted these yesterday at the Monastero Santa Maria dell'Albaneta, close to Monte Cassino. I suspect that these are US military surplus repurposed as farm vehicles rather than survivors of the battle but if anybody on here can add any more information, I would be interested to know.

Spotted this tank yesterday, placed as a memorial in Cassino. I’m not a Sherman expert but something makes me think that it isn’t a genuine relic from the battles of Cassino. Can anybody more knowledgeable shed light on this?

More than two years after this topic first piqued my interest, I’m off to Italy tomorrow for two weeks, including three days in Cassino, during which I hope to investigate further and hopefully stand on the same spot from which the original photo was taken. I’ll report back in due course....

I (respectfully) beg to differ. Why use a mixture of standard and Roman numerals to refer to a date? Look closely and you will see that the numbers refer to inches: 21” x 14”. Simon Brown is correct, this is the usual way to mark the diameter and pitch of a propeller.