restoration mk6 cromwell

[Degsy]

Does that mean you don't fancy one of our famous sheep slurry shampoos:???

[eddy8men]

the rads are in and have been pressure tested, there was quite a delay while the correct hoses were sourced from pirtek but it's all sorted now. next will be more plumbing then possibly the gearbox. it would be nice to hear it run before xmas :cool2:

[Lauren Child]

the rads are in and have been pressure tested, there was quite a delay while the correct hoses were sourced from pirtek but it's all sorted now. next will be more plumbing then possibly the gearbox. it would be nice to hear it run before xmas :cool2:

 

Good old British engineering. You can tell just by looking what a good job the designers made of it. Very well done all round on the restoration.

[AndyFowler]

the rads are in and have been pressure tested, there was quite a delay while the correct hoses were sourced from pirtek but it's all sorted now. next will be more plumbing then possibly the gearbox. it would be nice to hear it run before xmas :cool2:

 

I shall put a youtube video of the engine running on my list to Father Christmas Rick ! :angel:

[ajmac]

Good old British engineering. You can tell just by looking what a good job the designers made of it.

The exception that proved the rule....British wartime armour up until the Comet was chronic, badly specified, poorly designed, pooly built and not really fit for purpose. At least from an engineering design point of view the Cromwell A27M was up to scratch. Just look at the engine bay and then compare with a Sherman, the M4 / M4A3 Sherman is simplicity itself.....M4A4 is another matter.

 

When do you expect the Metor to be fired up Rick?

Edited November 9, 2012 by ajmac

[john_g_kearney]

Re the vertical tie rod in front of each rad, has it got a spring at the top? If so, what is it for please?

 

John.

[Bob Grundy]

The exception that proved the rule....British wartime armour up until the Comet was chronic, badly specified, poorly designed, pooly built and not really fit for purpose. At least from an engineering design point of view the Cromwell A27M was up to scratch. Just look at the engine bay and then compare with a Sherman, the M4 / M4A3 Sherman is simplicity itself.....M4A4 is another matter.

 

When do you expect the Metor to be fired up Rick?

 

Alastair

I must disagree with your comments above, you are employing General Hindsight. It is quite easy from 2012 and look back at others efforts that with the benifit of the officer quoted. Circumstances, mind sets, proceedures, the imperatives of war make decisions that today we may conclude were wrong. Of course some aspects of AFV design are not, err what shall we say 'not quite right'. To lump it all together in a sweeping statement is a little harsh on those engineers who did not have all the technical advantages that we have today.

[Richard Farrant]

Alastair

I must disagree with your comments above, you are employing General Hindsight. It is quite easy from 2012 and look back at others efforts that with the benifit of the officer quoted. Circumstances, mind sets, proceedures, the imperatives of war make decisions that today we may conclude were wrong. Of course some aspects of AFV design are not, err what shall we say 'not quite right'. To lump it all together in a sweeping statement is a little harsh on those engineers who did not have all the technical advantages that we have today.

 

Well said Bob. I was in disagreement as well. When you consider how long it takes in peacetime to develop a fighting vehicle without the fear of factories being blitzed and sub-contracting work to hundreds of little machine shops around the country, with workers who are learning new skills, what we did was remarkable. The Centaur was the start of the advance towards Comet, to read the Rolls Royce Meteor book from the RR Historical Trust gives a good insight on what they were up against.

[Lauren Child]

Well said Bob. I was in disagreement as well. When you consider how long it takes in peacetime to develop a fighting vehicle without the fear of factories being blitzed and sub-contracting work to hundreds of little machine shops around the country, with workers who are learning new skills, what we did was remarkable. The Centaur was the start of the advance towards Comet, to read the Rolls Royce Meteor book from the RR Historical Trust gives a good insight on what they were up against.

 

You only have to compare tanks at the start of the war with those at the end and the final evolution of the main battle tank to see how far the state of the art advanced during those few years.

 

From what I can see it's not that the preceding tanks were bad, it's that the state of the art advanced to something that we can now recognise as good design practice.

[ajmac]

Bob, I am not looking at it from a modern perspective. I know you have read a lot of british war diaries and our guys were not happy with the British armour they were given, just look at the comments when they were issued with US armour in the Western Desert. It is of course, only my view. However I am really discussing tanks up to D-Day, cruisers, early Churchill.... To be truthful I wasn't even thinking about armament or armour, just design, serviceability, MTBF and automotive performance.

Edited November 11, 2012 by ajmac

[eddy8men]

bit harsh that alastair but you probably get angry like i do when you look at british tank design and the muddle that was wartime tank production ! but you have to agree that they were well built, infact i'd say over engineered.

 

anyway here's a few more pics of the engine bay

[ajmac]

Nice photos Rick, what is the fined cooler for on the right, the one with a green colour to it? Engine oil...gearbox oil?

You are correct, I do get angry about our wartime tank attempts, also correct that I didn't mean to put down the effort of the chaps and girls on the shop floor building the things, they deserve full credit. We built Maltida IIs and Cavaliers at my company during the war.

At the end of the day we got it right, infact, perfect, it was an iterative process I guess.

 

PS. what was the comment about the correct engine colour? The flathead V8 I picked up earlier in the year was painted a colour akin to OD, but under the OD was factory ford dark green, what is the colour that Bob used on your Meteor?

Edited November 11, 2012 by ajmac

[eddy8men]

alastair the oil cooler is for the engine and was painted a gloss deep bronze green which was the original wartime colour, i believe the engine is also correct although i don't know the exact shade bob used but it would be fair to say it's od green.

 

rick

[David I]

Hi Rick. I see that somewhere during this tread the Centaur has dissappeared from your vehicle list. Has it been passed to someone else so that another Centaur/Cromwell will be resurrected, or was nothing usable left?

 

Dave.

[eddy8men]

don't worry dave i'll never scrap anything ww2, no matter how far gone some might think it is

i sold the centaur to a real british armour fan, a fella by the name of kevin powles who has already started to rebuild it. if anyone can do it then kevin is that man.

 

rick

[ferrettkitt]

Pictures on MLU

 

http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/showthread.php?t=19168

[singaeger]

Hi Rick

 

Very nice to meet you earlier in the year at W&P.

 

Impressed with both your project and workmanship.

 

It makes my current dingo restoration, look like 'playtime' in comparison.

 

keep up the good work

 

singe

Edited November 18, 2012 by singaeger

[Lauren Child]

Nice one

[eddy8men]

hi singe it was nice to meet you too.

[eddy8men]

gearbox has now been fitted

[eddy8men]

couple more

[AndyFowler]

Coming along nicely mate , look forward to seeing you driving the old girl around the race course this July ! :-D

[Adrian Scott]

Hi Rick ,

 

Its looking very good ,have you any idea at this point of a completion date ??? will you make the new W & P in July ?? A new tank for a new show , what more could you want !!

 

All the very best ,

 

Adrian.

[Lauren Child]

That gearbox looks a lot like the one in the Centurion. It's interesting to see the family resemblance. Was it as much of a pig to clean? I swear those ribs are solely there to direct the steam jet and all the crud back at you.

[Adrian Barrell]

That gearbox looks a lot like the one in the Centurion. It's interesting to see the family resemblance. QUOTE]

 

Very related. It's a Z5, the Cent has a Z51, the main change being two reverse gears.