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Scorpion/Scimitar Restoration in New Zealand


philm1

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What do you plan to do with the coupling shaft? Will you keep it or change it up?

 

There is a CVR(T) FB group and there were a couple f Belgians posting on there and tracing vehicles for folks.

 

Hi Robin,

 

The coupling (propeller) shaft is the more modern version so the intention is to replace the rubber donuts and bolts and reuse the coupling. Like everything else that has had water in or on it rust is like a weld and it took some pressing to get the 2 parts to separate. Seems fine now and has been cleaned up and undercoated. As mentioned we will replace the bolts and lock nuts as at a recent tank weekend a Scorp pulled up when the driver noticed a vibration in the engine area. One coupling bolt was completely out and another that loose it was about to fall out as well.

 

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I think that should read BESCI 49, IE Belgian Scimitar hull 49.

Interesting in that it confirms that the hulls do not run in concurrent numbers or mine is an odd out! My Scimitar is 65223 but has a hull number SCI 84, (Note the missing BE) There is unconfirmed rumour that some of the first hulls were manufactured by Alvis and shipped for final assembly in Belgium which may suggest why BE is missing. Judging by the internal condition it is more than likely that your vehicle is an Op Restore Hope vehicle used in Somalia, I've looked through my collection of pictures and unfortunatly I can't find one of 192.

 

Very unusual to see the uprated prop shaft in a Belgian CVR-t!!

 

D

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I think that should read BESCI 49, IE Belgian Scimitar hull 49.

Interesting in that it confirms that the hulls do not run in concurrent numbers or mine is an odd out! My Scimitar is 65223 but has a hull number SCI 84, (Note the missing BE) There is unconfirmed rumour that some of the first hulls were manufactured by Alvis and shipped for final assembly in Belgium which may suggest why BE is missing. Judging by the internal condition it is more than likely that your vehicle is an Op Restore Hope vehicle used in Somalia, I've looked through my collection of pictures and unfortunatly I can't find one of 192.

 

Very unusual to see the uprated prop shaft in a Belgian CVR-t!!

 

D

 

Thanks and yes it should be BESCI 49 which I have now corrected in previous posts.

 

Will be interesting what else people can come up with on the prop shaft. Perhaps it was in the right place at the right time? I have the engine service scroll from the tube on the engine so will post a picture of that to see if it enlightens anyone.

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As mentioned earlier, when the vehicle arrived from the UK the periscopes were missing along with the drivers seat cushion. This was obviously very disappointing but we are very grateful to David (aka 'Topdog') whom we purchased the project off for his detective work and in securing replacements. David is a 100% top guy.

We know that the scopes were in place the night before it was moved with the seat cushion place inside the hull. We know that the next day when it was transported they were gone.

Interestingly one or 2 of the replacements look very much like the missing ones. The seat cushion was seen on the shelf of the commercial workshop of the yard where it had been stored for many months. We shall draw our own conclusions. Some 6+ months later the scopes arrived. An expensive little exercise.

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The next plan of attack was removal of the gearbox. I have seen on other forums mention made on how quick time wise these things can be removed. Well we were at the other end of the scale.

Vince (aka Grasshopper) and Pavl (aka Teletech) were great helps with detailing the process which is quite simple in theory

- remove the hub end cap

- locate the sprung detent on the gearbox side

- depress detent whilst someone pulls the quill shaft out

Now imagine that the hubs wouldn't rotate, steering and foot brakes all seized and no signs of the sprung detents. Oil and heat were applied to the shaft end where it met the gearbox over several days and at the same time we worked on effectively braking away the seized brake pads. Finally we were able to rotate the shafts just enough to get to the detents and remove the gearbox. This was a big day for us as we were nearly beaten and thought of the gas cutter as a final resort.

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If you can't get the shafts out or the plungers won't move you can always remove the final drives first.

 

That was another option put forward and removing the final drives was another battle on its own which I will detail soon.

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I have been working on the commanders periscope that we got from Andrew Rowe's tank factory. AV.NO.71 MK.1.

It is an ex NZ Army one but has suffered a bit of wear and tear.

The periscope glass was broken

a bit missing from the aluminium hood that frames the glass

the dial unit was seized (a mixture of rust, broken glass and other debris)

the eye pieces lens have had big dirty fingers damage the coating.

The plan was to take it apart as little as possible to get things moving again and make it look pretty externally. This done and mirrors and all lens carefully cleaned.

Using a product called Permatex steel weld I repaired the damaged aluminium hood

A new glass was cut by the local glass shop which I fitted.

the dial unit was successfully un seized over a period of gently oily and trying to rotate

the eye piece lens have been taken to a local expert to see if they can be polished. IF ANY ONE HAS REPLACEMENTS sitting on the shelf somewhere it would be even better.

I do have a question on the operation of the dial unit. Should the numbered dial rotate at the same time as the outer dial? If so I need to have another look at it. If not what does the inner numbered dial actually do as it just seems to turn some gear spurs but not adjust anything. Was seized before so possibly I have not put back together properly. SAM_2330.jpg

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Other internals came out relatively easliy with the odd bolt snapped that will need to be drilled. The generator was another hurdle as one of the cap screws (yes had to be one underneath) had its head already stripped so that and being seized we had to use an air tool to grind the head off. A hard to reach area and cold on your hand with the air tool working. It appears that the generator has the mounts fitted to it then the whole unit fitted to the hull. A couple of nights work and a good hit with a cold chisel and success.

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Removal of alternators is easy if you know how! I've taken out loads. The trick is to get a track pin, cut off the threaded potion and slightly round off the edges. You can then insert it into the cap screws, tap it in with a hammer or mallet and turn it with a spanner. I got the process down to 10mins with this method, even with the engine in place. Yes the brackets are fitted to the alternator before it goes in.

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Removal of alternators is easy if you know how! I've taken out loads. The trick is to get a track pin, cut off the threaded potion and slightly round off the edges. You can then insert it into the cap screws, tap it in with a hammer or mallet and turn it with a spanner. I got the process down to 10mins with this method, even with the engine in place. Yes the brackets are fitted to the alternator before it goes in.

 

A huge learning curve for us but we and others will now know and easier process thanks.

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We have 3 engines to choose from when things start to go back together all with their tubes with service history notes attached. The first is the engine that was removed which I think will be better as an anchor once stripped of any usable spares.SAM_2288.jpg

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2nd engine is a take out. Why, where, when? I wonder whether the name 'Spike Walker' means anything to anyone? The engine notes for this one say "Stripped for the last time Spike Walker ATDU August 2008". I guess that means the engine was stripped for the last time and not Spike Walker :nut:. Not knowing much about history of this engine I think this is best kept as a spare.

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Front Sprockets and final drives - yes another challange. We knew that the sprockets would need a good hit with a sledge hammer or levering with a bar. We ended up needing a porta power which we hired brand new and broke (blew a hose under pressure). Again with time, patience and effort the sprockets and drive wheels came off.

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Final drives wouldn't budge even with jacking from underneath and dare I suggest an agricultural (only in NZ) method of hooking the ute onto them to try and pull off (didn't work so don't try that at home). Andrew Rowe of the tank factory assisted again with suggestion of a bottle jack inverted under the hull skirt and push downwards which worked a treat. Final drives were seized and full of water. On dismantling and inspection several bearings were beyond use. We priced up replacement bearings but a visit to the tank factory yeilded some suitable replacement complete hubs which have been checked and are good to go.

 

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Edited by philm1
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With the front torsion bar channel cover split and full of gunge it was decided to pull the torsion bars to clean and repair. Our understanding was to use a track pin under the hull edge and wind the thread into the tosion bar retaining pin and withdraw. Didn't work as hole is too small. using a 7/32 Allen key a grub screw came out which we thought was the retaining pin (nope). We then found a bit of accelerator linkage threaded rod about 1/4" which wound into the retaing pin and pulled it out. Job done and torsion bars removed and carefully marked 'left' and 'right' then we have a better than 50% chance of putting them back the correct side.

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2nd engine is a take out. Why, where, when? I wonder whether the name 'Spike Walker' means anything to anyone? The engine notes for this one say "Stripped for the last time Spike Walker ATDU August 2008". I guess that means the engine was stripped for the last time and not Spike Walker :nut:. Not knowing much about history of this engine I think this is best kept as a spare.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]123207[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]123208[/ATTACH]

 

I think I know this man I will email him when I get home

 

Al

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With the front torsion bar channel cover split and full of gunge it was decided to pull the torsion bars to clean and repair. Our understanding was to use a track pin under the hull edge and wind the thread into the tosion bar retaining pin and withdraw. Didn't work as hole is too small. using a 7/32 Allen key a grub screw came out which we thought was the retaining pin (nope). We then found a bit of accelerator linkage threaded rod about 1/4" which wound into the retaing pin and pulled it out. Job done and torsion bars removed and carefully marked 'left' and 'right' then we have a better than 50% chance of putting them back the correct side.

 

 

Just a word of warning, if there is any rust pitting on the torsion bars (and they do look rusty) then it might be wise to replace as the pitting is likely to produce a fracture in use. This is why torsion bars have a coating or wrapping on them.

 

regards, Richard

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