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Sherman Resto Started


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Twill almost certainly be making an appearance at next year's (2011)Ponderosa event in Heckmwondike (August i think). I doubt we will have her running by then, but she should be an interesting exhibit anyway - even if she still has the turret off and not much inside... If we are really lucky, could have the engine in by then, firewall manufactured, hull seats, driving controls and be able to move it about....

 

 

Ken - A&E 2012???:D

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Be assured, when it is running it will be going where ever the rest of the fleet goes.

A&E 2012 - why not if it's running...... The only 'problem' with that is getting it there, but given she is going to Normandy in 2014, A&E in 2012 can present too much of a problem.

Ponderosa is fairly local to us, so even as an incomplete restoration (unless something magnificent happens in the next 10 months) it will be fairly easy to get it there, and will be an interesting thing for people to see, climb on, poke with a stick. If anyone fancied Ponderosa this year and didn't make it, all i can say (again) is that it was a very good do, and more can only make it better. We are very happy to have been invited back - although i'll be needing at least one more driver for the GMC353 and possibly the M14.......

Ken

Edited by kpu121265
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It's alot rarer than any of the above mentioned :-D

In that case Steve is going to have to chip in on this one as I am not too hot on early War Armour... at the end of the day we didn't have much of our own armour....that was much cop!

The only British gun tanks that made it into NW Europe after D-Day were:

Churchill

Cromwell

Comet

Centaur

Archer (Valentine SP)

Challanger

Edited by ajmac
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ajmac

In that case Steve is going to have to chip in on this one

It's one of those how long is a bit of string questions?:cool2: If it is as happydayz123 says- rarer than a Churchill, Cromwell, Matildas Valentine or Crusader- then unless it not a variant of anything previously mentioned nor a prototype I would tend to look at either a light tank though Mk6 aren't rare just rare outside museums and A17 Tetrarch would be almost too rare to consider- the only others not mentioned are the early cruisers such as A13 up to Covenanter -which is fairly unlikely- even if one was found they tend to be too fragile to be restorable the earlier stuff A9-A10 would be too rare- but anyway hope springs eternal -I'll be facsinated to hear what it is:-D.

 

BTW Alastair Valentines OPs and FOO gun tanks and A17 Tetrarchs (on D.Day) were also used in NWE there may have been a few A24 Cavaliers in NWE as OPs -one of the A24s I found on OTA had a repaired A/T round hole in the toe plate.

 

Steve

Edited by steveo578
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Thankyou super track. She will be even more beautiful with an engine in, and driving down the road to the petrol station. Hopefully will have found and recorded the rest of the markings in the next couple of weeks, then we can get it blasted and 'get on with it'.

Ken

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well things have moved on, literally.

Tried to turn the sherman round with the m14 (used that as it is due for a rebuild anyway), the ground is very sandy where she is at the moment. The photos tell their own story. 1 hour later and replacement track fitted and off again. More importantly, the original markings are surfacing. Anyone who has done this, knows how long winded and awkward it is - and one false move and you could wipe the marks out. Anyway, the news from the front is that on one side the original number appears to have survived. This is exciting in itself, but even more so as it means there is a good chance that the other markings we are finding on the same layer of paint elsewhere are also original (looking like 2/_\ veh C-16 at the moment, and USA 30100489). There is more work to be done on markings.......

I am incapable of getting the images in the correct chronological order.............

Regards

Ken

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Luckily i have (had) a spare set of worn tracks which came off the M3. It is not a big job to change it when you are in the warm and dry, on hard standing with all your tools to hand. Changing one at the side of the road or in the middle of a field 'somewhere' would be much less 'fun'.

Another small step.....

Ken

Edited by kpu121265
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Sanding, chipping, blowing, thinners, scraping, hoping - i've gone mad several times over the years hunting for original markings. The blue ones are often very hard to discern, but sometimes you get lucky as on the bonnet of the WC16 where they were very clear. It is like archology, a layer at a time, until you establish the layer with the markings on. You can then speed up a bit to get down to that layer in the immediate surrounding area, then it starts again as you cut through layer to the next one.

I can't remember if i have posted these before, but here is a link to the records of the markings for the WC16 http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/showgallery.php?cat=1926&page=3 there are pages of them.

Also found the orignal reg number on one side of the Ford script jeep bonnet we have just completed.

Patience is the thing, not something i am reknowned for......

Couple of images atatched - when we cleaned the steering wheel up that came with this jeep (wrong wheel for the jeep) it had 'Jack' carved in it (son Mk1's name), he insists it was not him - some things were meant to be so it has stayed with the jeep.

 

IMG00073-20100128-0847.jpg

IMG00114-20090413-1614.jpg

Edited by kpu121265
Terrible spelling error
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  • 4 weeks later...

As the date with the blaster draws ever closer, the hunt is still on for markings.

C-16 is clear enough, which if it follows std TO&E makes this a hq section tank for C company.

What is less clear in the photograph is that the unit markings look like 2nd Armored. It is a shame that if the rear markings 'were' there, i can't find them, and that the unit markings and whatever is to the left of C-16 has 'gone'. You can just make out what appears to be the bottom left of the armored triangle and to the left of that a faint 2. It does seem as if this has been marked up twice during it's career, but it is impossible to distinguish what the other markings were. I have a suspicion that she may have been on fire at one time as there are very different 'layers' of 'green' paint on different parts of the hull. The paint is noticibly thicker where we have found markings.

We know that this tank was in a playground from 1962, and did not move again until June (or so) 1996 - when "these pieces of equipment are not in compliance with our current safety standards and need to be removed from the park"...

Ken

2A.jpg

C-16.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

More news, the engine has finally arrived. I finally have within my grasp, all the bits we need to get her moving under her own power, although that requires a trip to Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy to collect them all. Time to get on with the firewall.....

Ken[ATTACH=CONFIG]39934[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]39935[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]39936[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]39937[/ATTACH]

Edited by kpu121265
spelling, what else
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Thanks Eddy. The NOS prop shaft is winging it's way to containerville in the States for me, so will be in the next container - hopefully at last loading around the end of the Feb. The stumbling block is the firewall, but i just need to get myself applied to the challenge and stop taling about it. It might be parked up behind the cromwell, attached by a chain.......

It is nonetheless quite a moment to know that i can almost touch all the bits to allow us to get steam up so to speak - that's actually not quite true, i still need an oil reservoir and the clutch linkage from the pedal to the release bearing (everything in between)..... Although i suppose that would not preclude us getting steam up, but would make it very difficult to do anything useful with said steam.....

Ken

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Can't wait to see both tanks at Ponderosa in July, so far iv'e had enquire's from six other tank owner's four of which have booked in.In fact the owner of Ponderosa is building a large tank coarse on his land for this year's show.If i can help with the nut's & bolt's Ken let me know.Glad to see the sherman is coming together.

Stu

 

Ps if any other tank/AFV owner's are interested in coming to the show please pm me.

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It has run, seen some video of it being test run after the rebuild. It has only just arrived in the workshop though and i am fighting the temptation to fire her up just yet.... Still need the engine oil reservoir/tank - i am disciplining myself to get ALL the parts first......

Ken

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