John Pearson Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 Hi everyone, John Pearson here. I am new to this forum and relatively new to computing but struggling to learn (took several attempts to log in). I am not new to military vehicle restoration however, having spent the last 21 years restoring my Valentine IXDD and it is not finished yet. I also have other military vehicles, all armour. I am a 54 year old Probation Officer , have 4 grown up kids and 4 grandchildren. Thats enough about me. Cheers, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Welcome aboard John. Really good to have you here. Now don't worry to much about computers as they are fairly new to me and believe me, if you have restored a Valentine IXDD then you can pretty much do anything.......! You may not be aware but I am restoring a GMC 353 (with help from most of the members of HMVF in one way or other) now when that is completed, my engineering and mechanical skills will be in their prime :shock: I was thinking that my next project would be a tank :shock: :shock: but on a serious note, where on earth do you start? Need any help with finding your way around HMVF then please do give me a shout but in the meantime, make yourself at home but as always, please do keep your feet of the sofa. Jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 A warm welcome did you bring any biscuits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistlinwolf Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Custard creams are always a good bet. Tim(1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 I quite like jammy dodgers me self Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashley Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Hi John, welcome to the forum. I have seen the valentine on a couple of occaisions (sandbanks last year etc} and it looks great :shock: congratulation on carrying out such a daunting task. Ashley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karoshi Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Hi John, welcome to the forum. I have seen the valentine on a couple of occaisions (sandbanks last year etc} and it looks great :shock: congratulation on carrying out such a daunting task. Ashley I ditto that. Remarkable achievement. Karoshi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Pearson Posted October 17, 2005 Author Share Posted October 17, 2005 no biscuits I am afraid: my doctor thinks I need to lose a lot of weight but I reckon I can achieve the same result by growing about 4 foot 6 inches taller (and I am 6 foot 2 now!). The Valentine restoration was really a strange experience as I never even did metalwork at school. Literally everything was self taught, you know a welding torch in one hand, library book in the other. I guess if I had started with the skills I have now picked up then I would have probably have completed the restoration in about 5 years instead of the 20+ it actually took me. Where/how do you start? Easy, go and get a book. Do not wait until things go wrong, read the instructions first! Then have a go, another go and another go until you get it right. If you are doing a full restoration, restore each individual part as you take it off and put it in store. When you have no further bits to work on (or make), sandblast and paint the hull/chassis. Then reassemble from all the 'new' parts in stock. Did I do that? No, a friend does that but I just messed about at it for about 16 years before I made and tried to keep to a plan! I have a problem moving the Valentine about as I now have no access to a 'fuel costs only' lowloader so it only appears at shows if someone else pays for the very expensive commercial lowloader fees. That said, if you spot it at a show, do come up and introduce yourselves and ask for a closer look. Don't get me talking about it however unless you have a couple of hours to spend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistlinwolf Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 QUOTE......"Do not wait until things go wrong, read the instructions first! " What!!! For a moment as I read that I thought you were some breed apart from us, then as I read on I realised you were as normal(?) as the rest of us. Tim(1) PS. doctors know nothing when it comes to biscuits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat paul Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Would'nt mind having a look at the Valentine did you appear on central news a while back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 hi john im only down the road and new to this also ,Iv seen photos of your valentine in the press it looks great, hope to see you and the valentine at a few local shows in 2006 or before Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Pearson Posted October 19, 2005 Author Share Posted October 19, 2005 Big Al/Polecat Paul:Valentine is on a farm within a few miles of junction 10 on the M6, north of Wolverhampton. If you want to come over it will have to be a weekend and arranged in advance because it is not my farm and the farmer has a lot of VERY large dogs which he locks up when I am about. This is because one of them bit through the inner thigh of my overalls while I was in them. Luckilly he only ate material on that occassion, not meat! Drop me a personal message when you are ready. I didn't know I was on Central news but if it featured colour film of a Valentine DD it must have been mine because no colour stock of one seems to have been filmed during the war, only a few bits of black and white. In my family we have a number of repeated quotes one is 'If all else fails, read the instructions' and 'Its always the points' etc. (The last one is even true for the Valentines GMC deisel engine as the flame primer igniter has contacts) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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