Billruston Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 What sort of money does a running project make these days? Thanks bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markheliops Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 It depends on what you class a project Bill. Minimum would be scrap value minus over-sized scrap price. I guess around £6500-ish. A running Chieftain would be somewhere around the £18k mark. A good Chieftain will go for around £35k upwards. A fully operation chieftain ie, working turret, etc can go for upwards of £35-£50k, mind you, a decent Chieftain is hard to find. It's amazing that a pretty paint job can fool people into thinking a Chieftain is in good, operational condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 The seller of the complete-looking one on Milweb a few months back was asking in the region of £60k if that helps? Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billruston Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share Posted October 16, 2013 Thanks mark, and Andy. suppose you have to take in consideration on how big they are etc, thanks for the help! Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I turned down the Dinscott Collection's CHARRV, which eventually went for scrap. I'm still not sure whether I made the right decision or not, but I thought it was just too big and heavy to maintain with the time and effort I could bring to bear. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antar Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Bill from what I can gather you are a young man with plenty of enthusiasm for military vehicles, my advice to you is to try something a little bit smaller than a Chieftain as a first armoured vehicle. My recommendation would be a CET from a Withams tender recent results show that they have been fetching around £5-6k plus VAT, a very affordable and technically interesting vehicle with all the manuals available. Advice is based on 33 years experience playing with green toys, starting with an Austin Champ and now owning a collection of around 8 vehicles including two pieces of tracked armour and helping look after a collection of around 40 including a Chieftain Mk10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfire Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I guess that I'm in a similar situation, being 33, not made of money and loving armoured vehicles. While I don't have much experience with them, having just bought my first one and not yet having it on the road (no real technical problems though, just licensing and registration and maintenance considerations), I would agree that an MBT is a bit much for a first vehicle. I would suggest (and went with myself) a medium wheeled vehicle, like the Saracen, or if it has to have a big gun on it, a Saladin. Smaller stuff like Foxes and Ferrets can also be a lot of fun. If tracks are your thing, maybe start out with a CVR(T) variant; they're affordable, fun and available. Armoured vehicles are bigger, more expensive and more difficult to work on than you might think and if you want something more than a gate guard, require massive amounts of maintenance. I hope you're good with a spanner. Whatever way you end up going though, have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billruston Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 Thanks John appreciate it mate, I haven't got that sort of money for these big toys yet but with in a year and a bit I will, the armour I love is ww2 British but it's so hard to get and very expensive, but the 60's upwards British armour doesn't make as much and I suppose it would be a start, I'm 18 with my dad and uncle who has a yard for the storage etc so that ain't a problem, ino a chieftain would be punchingabove my weight but out of all the post war tracked armour my favorites the cheiftan or a centurion mbt, but would obviously have to start with something smaller! Haha, thanks for the advice tho everyone appreciate it. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markheliops Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Hi Bill. No. no, no and once again, no!!!! Don't be put off from owning a Chieftain. Here's what you'll going to need if you want to own a Chieftain: Space to keep it under cover - Chieftains don't like being out in the elements. Every single manual (EMER) ever produced for Chieftain - If you can follow a manual, you're 3/4's of the way there. Willing friends - Most tasks on a Chieftain need at least 2 people for ease and safety. People who know Chieftains - Most faults with Chieftain can be solved easily, if you have prior knowledge of what goes wrong and how to fix it. A crane - Chieftain parts are heavy and you will need more than muscles to carryout everyday servicing tasks. Parts - Find out what goes wrong on a Chieftain and be on the look out for those parts. Get them whilst you can. A spare L60 pack and gearbox sits on my workshop floor. Special tools - Again be on the look out for special tools. Owning a Chieftain MBT is no more arduous than owning a WWII truck or a Saracen. The difficult bit and by far the most expensive thing about owning a 55 ton battle tank is moving it if you want to take it to shows. I have been lucky in that I have just purchased an 82 ton 4 axle low loader so I'm sorted in that degree but movement of an MBT is still, in my opinion the most expensive part of owning main battle tanks. Maintenance is the key to hassle free ownership of a Chieftain. They are no more prone to breakdown than say your average wheeled armour. Markheliops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billruston Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 Hi mark thanks mate! I have storage but not undercover which is a newsence, and we have about 2 hiab lorrys and 10 ton forklift, owning something tracked and that heavy is abit different I must say to the normal military truck, but I do love the cheiftan mbt's I'd like to find someone with the knolage and knows the tanks, and was looking for a 2 way share in one, I have the storage and equipment to work on one, but if I was going to buy one just for myself I think I'll be biting more than I can chew of, it's a shame because my brother ain't a tank lover otherwise I would do it with him but ideally for me to get a cheiftan would be nice if someone wanted half and knew abit about them. Nothing beats the sound of the l60 I must say! Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markheliops Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Go for a Chieftain ARRV. They aren't silly money like the gun tanks. Far more interesting and at least you can do something useful with them. Gun tanks! (oh look at me - what a large gun I have)! Yes, but it's pretty useless and it makes working on them a pain! My ARRV - Two winches, anchor blade, 6 1/2 ton atlas crane and in my humble opinion - more impressive than a gun tank! One ARRV went for scrap last year (Ex Gulf war too) because the chap couldn't sell it. And how much was he asking for this serious piece of hardware? A measly £6500. Why couldn't he sell it? Because people get all silly when a tank has a big gun. Bill, it's not the size - it's what you do with it. lol Markheliops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 If I had the space..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I agree with Mark 100%. I hate the Sabre at work. Anything with a turret and a gun or look a like is a male member extension. I have always loved the really useful things like a Samson or Stolly with a crane and winch or an Eager Beaver or how about a CET with all its kit? Round here if I had a Samson at harvest season I don't think it would take many seasons of stuck combines in corn and soy bean fields to pay for it and the truck and trailer to float it around. R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0644hunt Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Hi, I would also say owning a big tank is very nice, but moving it about is where a lot of the cost comes, especially when it is over 40 tonnes. A full set of manuals and lots of spares are also needed. It was a shame that AVRE went for scrap, it looked like a nice tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antar Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Go for a Chieftain ARRV. They aren't silly money like the gun tanks. Far more interesting and at least you can do something useful with them. Gun tanks! (oh look at me - what a large gun I have)! Yes, but it's pretty useless and it makes working on them a pain! My ARRV - Two winches, anchor blade, 6 1/2 ton atlas crane and in my humble opinion - more impressive than a gun tank! One ARRV went for scrap last year (Ex Gulf war too) because the chap couldn't sell it. And how much was he asking for this serious piece of hardware? A measly £6500. Why couldn't he sell it? Because people get all silly when a tank has a big gun. Bill, it's not the size - it's what you do with it. lol Markheliops Mark I never realised that your Chieftain had a large comms mast mounted on the front LH track guard ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddy Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Chieftain has certainly helped broaden my skill with regards to electrical work. It makes Centurion a doddle. ARRV is a lot easier to work on - for starters there's no propellant bins in the way and they blummin heavy. If you wanted a bit of experience first you could volunteer at somewhere like Bovington, Duxford, etc. Certainly a good way to get experience. I'm sure there a few people on here who wouldn't say no to a bit of help especially if it was zero hour contract and zero pay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markheliops Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Mark I never realised that your Chieftain had a large comms mast mounted on the front LH track guard ! I'm sponsored by Vodaphone John! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billruston Posted October 19, 2013 Author Share Posted October 19, 2013 I was thinking about duxford, how would I ask just ring up? Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddy Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Call them on 01223 835000. Ask to talk to the volunteer coordinator, Have a chat with Nicola and explain that you'd like to work with the Military Vehicle Wing. It's part of the Duxford Aviation Society. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billruston Posted October 19, 2013 Author Share Posted October 19, 2013 THanks caddy! Will give them a call Monday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billruston Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 Phoned them, there sending me an application form, but there's a long waiting list , it'll be worth the wait tho. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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