crustyone Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Hello, I wonder if anbody help with a simple question, my friend and I were looking at some pictures we took at a war and peace show from a couple of years ago and we can't figure out where the fuel tank is on the Scorpion/Scimitar, is it near the driver or is it at the back rear of the turret? we can't see an obvious filler cap to give a clue where it is so we're a tad confused, Thanks in advance, Kev. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Kev, It's a rubber bag tank located at the rear of the hull between the idler wheels. The filler is usually hidden by the rear turret bin. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crustyone Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 Ah, so that would explain why I couldn't suss it, many thanks Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourFox Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Yes, a brilliant piece of design! The nice built-in funnel catches all the rainwater and puts it in the tank! (and often into the between the bag and hull area). There is a lock on the outer fuel lid so that it is difficult to steal the petrol. This would be difficult in any case as you have to rotate the turret in order to open the cap. I just hope your'e not in a hurry to refuel! The breather system for the tank must be the most complicated of any vehicle. It looks like you could actually invert the hull without spilling a drop! It's made of stiff plastic piping, which will burn nicely! The fuel bag is impossible to fit (a new one) in cold weather as it is too stiff to fit through the access hole (on the inside of the hull). You have to warm the bag and the hull up to a nice warm 20+ degrees C to have any chance of wrestling the beast into the correct location. Just the right temperature for contorsionist excercising! It is reasonably easy to tear or puncture the bag duing this operation as (in any fighting vehicle) there are plenty of sharp edges and nice studs to catch you out. Never mind...another new bag will set you back another £600 or so (if you can find one). Access is not improved by all the paraphenalia hanging from the rotating turret, such as seats, spent casing catcher, 2 x turret batteries and the rotating turret base itself. The fuel bag, in operation, is not (supposed to be) collapsible. It is held in place by quite a few (semi) captive bolts which almost all have the habit of turning in the 'captive' rubber so that you have to get you head and shoulders inside the bag (with the remaining petrol), to remove them! When replacing the bag it's almost impossible to poke all these bolts through the relevant hull mounting points. It has to be done from the inside of the bag...yes, you guessed it... head first though the access hatch (roughly 15 inches by 9) nice and dark in here... still smells of petrol that's been sloshing around in the hull ...and a wonderful powerful aroma of plastic/rubber....now that my body is blocking off the only breathing hole! It is imperitive to get a good seal on this access hatch as any leaks pours petrol into the fighting comparment! If you want a good lesson in the importance of the 'heath and safety' regualtions, you should experience the thrills of removing an old (leaking) fuel bag! Fortunately my Scorpion now has a new one fitted... and it doesn't leak anywhere! Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crustyone Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 Hi Jon, Thanks for the detailed reply, it sounds an absolute nightmare of a job to do, do these kind of petrol tanks/bags fail much? I presume it was kept the same when the Scimitar was changed to a diesel engine. Kev. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourFox Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Hi Kev I think the fuel bags were pretty reliable in service. It's only us enthusiasts who have dedicated our sanity to restoring long disused, derelict armour that seems to have the most problems. I don't know if the specifcation of the bags was changed for the diesel variants. I suppose it must be different as petrol (especially un-leaded) has unfortunate effects on most plastics and diesel is relatively benign. Incidently I have seen much larger fuel bags which I presume are Chieftain or Challenger. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crustyone Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 Thanks Jon, I suppose it make sense to use a similar system for the larger AFV's I'd imagine a solid fuel tank could crack with the strains and stresses a Tank goes through of road, just out of curiosity how long did it take to restore vehicle, was it fairly good or in a state when you got it? Kev. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourFox Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 The restoration of my prototype Scorpion is fairly well covered on HMVF under 'Scorpion Prototype Restoration'. The 'Album' is not easy to find! Go to 'Community' (at the top of the page, next to 'Calendar'). Go to 'Member list'. Select 'FourFox'. Select 'Album'. There might be an easier way to achieve this...but I can't find one! It only took about 7 months to restore as I work at it full time during the warmer months. The Scorpion has been at War and Peace for 2 years 2010 and 2011. Then at 'Tanks Trucks and Firepower' in Dunchurch for 2011 and 2012, where I do the commentary on the firepower and driving demonstrations...Fantastic! And just to proove it did sunshine this year! It is also pictured in the current issue of MMI. It is now up for sale as I have another project 'on the go!' PM me if interested. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourFox Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Here is a picture I have found showing the Fuel tank access hole! (top right) And then looking at a similar view with some more things in the way! The turret batteries and the spent casing bin (and the main gun) have yet to be installed! It gets pretty tight in there. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinwcox Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Yes, having just changed out a turret battery in my Scorpion I have to agree that it's very tight in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crustyone Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 The restoration of my prototype Scorpion is fairly well covered on HMVF under 'Scorpion Prototype Restoration'. The 'Album' is not easy to find! Go to 'Community' (at the top of the page, next to 'Calendar'). Go to 'Member list'. Select 'FourFox'. Select 'Album'. There might be an easier way to achieve this...but I can't find one! It only took about 7 months to restore as I work at it full time during the warmer months. The Scorpion has been at War and Peace for 2 years 2010 and 2011. Then at 'Tanks Trucks and Firepower' in Dunchurch for 2011 and 2012, where I do the commentary on the firepower and driving demonstrations...Fantastic! And just to proove it did sunshine this year! It is also pictured in the current issue of MMI. It is now up for sale as I have another project 'on the go!' PM me if interested. Jon Very nice, I'd love it Jon, always been a dream of mine to own a CVRT of some sort, alas finances dictate otherwise, but you never know if my numbers come up on Saturday :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Hi Kev I think the fuel bags were pretty reliable in service. It's only us enthusiasts who have dedicated our sanity to restoring long disused, derelict armour that seems to have the most problems. I don't know if the specifcation of the bags was changed for the diesel variants. I suppose it must be different as petrol (especially un-leaded) has unfortunate effects on most plastics and diesel is relatively benign. Incidently I have seen much larger fuel bags which I presume are Chieftain or Challenger. Jon I seem to recall that collapsed fuel bags did happen periodically in service and even in the 70s when REME VMs were generally slimmer, it was a job they'd all swerve to avoid. As crew, it was an occasion where I'd gladly keep him provided with liquid refreshment and otherwise maintain a low profile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tack9/12l Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 we changed one in bosnia on our scimitar 06fd59 in the lad which was in our base in glamoc this was 96 i as gunner stripped the inside out then my driver who was a lot shorter than me did the nasty i sat on top making sure the fumes didnt overcome him was a three day pain in the ass job but the wagon ran smooth after (had to replace all fuel system due to some berk allowing sealent to clog it up ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crustyone Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 What about the other CVRT variants, did they use the same flexible fuel tank, but relocated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 No, the variants without turrets used metal tanks. Size and shape depends on variant and what space was free, usually they are on the floor along one side of the hull. Photo shows our Spartan, the fuel tank is under the seats in the middle of the hull, and down the left hand side. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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