Andrew Rowe Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Production has slowed a little at the Tank Factory of late , because we have been doing a seismic earthquake upgrade of the building to the latest engineering calculations. This is involving about 300 man hours of work for more bracing and structural elements to be added to the building. The building is only 10 years old , but I have felt these upgrades necessary. Some people may never have felt an earthquake, but down here they are fairly common. Right, back into production we see the dash fitted to the front L/H side of the interior of the hull. Next are components that go into making up the wheel assembly , that should be rolling off soon. I have come across at least 4 different styles of wheels and hubs that are used on the Valentine. Some of the hubs are 6 , 9 , and 12 bolt and not interchangeable! I found that the dust shields I had put on the front idler were a smaller diameter than the hub that is being used as it needs to set back into this housing, which no way was going to happen with the smaller diameter. Then we show the main pivot shaft of the main suspension unit. This Y- shaped shaft holds the whole unit in place and is held there by 10 x 7/16" bolts on the outside face and then into the inner housing casting that is bolted to the underside of the Tank, with a big nut and split pin. We set the Tank up off the ground for easier working height and the next 4 pictures show the main suspension units being fitted to the tank, these can be tricky little things to install, as clearances are minimal and the inner flange on the unit has a ball that fits into a socket that is made into the hull casting that hangs down. When finally bolted into position there is only 5mm of clearance of bolt heads to the hull from the shock absorber unit. Cheers from The Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 The double bogie unit castings are the next in line to be fitted to the main suspension housings. There are 4 x heavy castings of this type used on the Valentine,. These take a double set of intermediate size wheels that run in the track down at ground level. The main pivot shaft enters into a cone sleeve / spacer in the main housing and locates at the far end through a ball roller bearing of about 4" in diameter, then 1&1/2" nut and split pin. There is a large rubber flange on the outer end that acts as the seal against moisture to the inner workings. The pivot shaft on this casting oscillates up and down on a bronze bush in the main housing, on this outside face. There felt like a 5mm compression on the rubber seal and the face was smeared with rubber grease ( red Colour )on the working side, which lead to a nice smooth action of this unit. Cheers from The Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 i'll soon be working on a tank with the same suspension and just wanted to say you're pictures and detailed explanantions will be a great help. thank you for taking the time to be so thorough. rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 The following pictures show the process of assembling the rubber tyre rims to the wheel rim, and these are held either side by the two separate rims that have 12 x 7/16" BSF bolts through the whole lot and bolted tight together. I have used our special anti-seize compound on critical surfaces, for any future dismantling that may need to occur, if a tyre was to fail. It is surprising that the tolerances in the holes are next to nothing, but when things are lined up , the bolts just drop into their respective holes. Cheers from The Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 After the tyres are assembled into their respective units, they now enter the phase of mating to the hubs. The next pictures show the pair of front return large diameter wheels that are mounted on the track adjusting castings on the hull. On the L/H outer hub, you can see the little cap on the hub flange that accommodates the speedo end drive. Cheers from The Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draganm Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 I know pics can be deceiving, and that sheet-metal can be very strong after acquiring a designed shape from a brake-roll or bending-brake, but the suspension blocks do look a bit fragile for such a heavy vehicle. Roughly 4 tons per assembly. Any history of these failing or developing cracks ? Just wondering because the ongoing Nashorn restoration (Pz IV chassis) had one of it's blocks busted in half. Looking great though, eager to seeing the rolling chassis (on both) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nz2 Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 Andrew, Does the tyre steel band have a beveled shape to it? Also what are the tyre sizes you are working with. We have acquired recently a set of as new solid rubber tyres. Dunlop 670 x 140 with a rounded profile to the road face, more in keeping to a military style. These will fit on the wheels to the front of my Thornycroft. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 (edited) The suspension on the Valentine is built like the proverbial brick____house, so have never come across any issues. There were some cracks found in one or two of the small needle roller bearings that pivot either side of the shock absorber springs in their housings, when we disassembled, but these were soon replaced. The next series of pictures show the bearings that are used for all the road wheels, the inner is a cylindrical roller of 150mm x 60mm I/D x 35mm thick , metric.( N412 ) and then there is the smaller outer one , which is just a standard ball bearing, ( 6409 ). The second pic shows the dust shield and the surface that the inner hub oil seal runs on. The shield is fitted first and then the hub with the bearings, that also has another plate sandwiched to the back of it that retains the 9 x 1/2" bolts that will eventually hold the wheel on. The last 2 pics show the L/H and R/H sides with all hubs fitted ready to take the road wheels. Note that the grease nipple and the pressure relief valve are put on after the wheel is bolted on, as you will end up snapping these off if done in the wrong sequence! Cheers from The Tank Factory. Edited May 12, 2016 by Andrew Rowe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 I have wheelly good news , the wheels are on !:laugh: Cheers from the Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeePig Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Looks good like that, but don't forget the grease nipples Does this mean it will be lifted off those blocks now, or are there still more things to do while it is in this position? trevor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Yes, Nipples all polished !, like little gold nuggets, to be fitted. Tank now lifted off blocks awaiting "Track laying" in the next few days. Cheers Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 Track laying done. The Valentine's tracks consist of 103 cast shoes per side, they are directional, in that where the forward movement is engaged on the sprocket the track shoe casting is thicker where the sprocket "grabs" it to thrust the Tank forward. The track material is high in manganese, which is not magnetic. We have put the tracks on in their rough cast form, so am debating whether they will be blasted and painted black when they come back off after road testing the vehicle for final clean down. Track tension will be obtained by rotating the eccentric front hub , to get approximately 3" of total up and down movement between the top rollers. Cheers from The Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 new track often comes with a black bitumen preservative coating. when i rebuilt my T16 i used roofing bitumen paint with a bit of black gloss chucked in and thinned down with petrol. the end result looked great, black but not "painted" looking and the new owner tells me the tracks still look good 2 years later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdmcm Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Andrew quick question, when re-using old fasteners, especially unique ones that are difficult to obtain, what do you do to prepare and preserve them? Are they blasted and painted or given some other type of coating to ensure they do not rust? Was that a concern with the assembly of the tank originally or was life expectancy short enough that rusty bolt heads were a non- issue? Thanks John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Thanks Rick, interesting option for the track. I blasted and painted Scorpion track years ago, and after running around a day or so it "blended" in quite nicely also. Hi John , every nut and bolt on this project is either subjected to bead / sand blasting, depending on sizes, also wire bushing on a mechanical wheel , and also we treat nuts and bolts in the molasses bath. These are all coated with etch primer , and also the shaft of the bolt is greased with our special anti corrosion paste when assembling. All treads have a die or tap run over or through them. 99% of the bolts with nuts on only have one or two threads sticking out past the nut, to avoid corrosion, wheels nuts have a full nut on and that's it. The final top coats of paint to the head or the nut will happen once the Tank has completed it's trials and tracks come back off and the hull will be prepared for the final painting sessions. Sometimes it may take a day or two just to resurrect the original nuts and bolts for just one assembly to get bolted on , just depending on quantity required. The wheel hubs alone require 168 for the rim and 126 to hold it on the hub, that is for nuts and also for bolts. The main wheel station steel work that bolt to the hull take at least a day each to bolt on in the right sequence. The photo's tell a story that looks simple but cover up the behind the scenes work on the mounting hardware. 95% of all hardware is BSF for the Valentine, Cheers Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdmcm Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Thanks for the information Andrew! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 We have received the engine back from the machinists. Now we can start bolting on all the extra's to build it up to spec.Cheers from The Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfire Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 I love your progress so far. Keep it up. Cheers, Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Shown are engine blower and water pump and govern control unit on the R/H side of the engine. The blower forces a constant volume of air to the cylinders , which when the piston travels down the liner it uncovers a row of slots around the liner that takes in air back up to the combustion at the top of the piston. I think the constant pressure is only about 5 lb., but it is all about forcing volume in. Also shown is the flywheel about to be mated to the crankshaft. Cheers from The Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 The clutch and gearbox are shown being mated up. The clutch is a single dry 15&1/2" plate. Also new pilot bearing for the main shaft was installed. Clutch cover held on with 3/8 UNC bolts @ 40lb torque. Spline on the main shaft slid into clutch easily. Cheers from The Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 The last couple of weeks or so has been dedicated to the detailing of the engine. The first picture is viewed from the rear of the engine, it shows the water pipe to the bottom radiator tank, luckily we have some NOS pipes , as the bends are quite tricky then the gearbox & bevel box breather vent pipe, and also the 2 main fan blades. The L / H one is marked up as NS ( near side ) and the R / H one OS ( off side ). These 2 blades suck air from the fighting compartment through the radiators and out to the rear of the tank. Important that they are put on the right way ! The 2nd pic shows the manifold for the 3 air cleaners with the emergency stop cable coming down from the govner to shut down the blower if needed. If this is used it can potentially suck the blowers seals inwards, I have heard, but if you have a run away engine, I think that is the least of your worries. We have also installed a fuel shutoff valve as backup in case the fuel ever needs shutting down as well... but as often the case if you need to get to this, you have to rotate the turret 90 degree and then lift the engine decks in the right sequence to find it! The 3rd pic shows the front of the engine where the oil and temp outlets start from. The next pic shows the near side of the engine with the generators, 24 volt at the front for charging the batteries, then the 12 volt one for generating power for the turret traverse, then in behind this one you have got the coil and spray nozzle for the cold starting into the air box and also tucked against this is the suppression unit for the turret generator, where the cables run through and then into the main wiring loom. Oil bypass filter hangs at the back also. The 5th pic shows the top of the engine at the back where the thermostat housing is, before it will enter the top radiator tank. The last view shows alongside the generator setup. Cheers from The Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Finally, the "holy grail" of fuse box covers has come to the surface, yes I have found a NOS number 5 fuse box cover for the restoration. It is also interesting to note that these come in bakerlite or a type of alloy / gunmetal casting. The last pic shows the " A " and " B " radio mounts that sit on top, at the back of the turret. Cheers from The Tank Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Sorting out spaghetti junction! , steel conduit for the inside wiring looms. Mostly 1" dia. with a bit of 3/4' throughen in for good measure. Have decided to paint the conduit pipes black, as original manufacturing finish. Cheers from the Tank factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Packhow75 Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Sorting out spaghetti junction! , steel conduit for the inside wiring looms. Mostly 1" dia. with a bit of 3/4' throughen in for good measure. Have decided to paint the conduit pipes black, as original manufacturing finish. Cheers from the Tank factory. Looks like the plumbing in my bathroom! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Rowe Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 From trash to treasure. The complete steel conduit wiring loom ( except front headlights ) laid out ready for blasting and painting. We have worked out that we can feed 99% of wires through the conduits outside of the Tank on the bench, so will save our knees! Also it appears we can install in basically 3 major groups of pipes. The L/H side wall pipes , the turret floor group as one and the engine bay , also basically as one complete unit. Cheers from The Tank Factory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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