M4A1 Sherman project

[octo0072000]

i used to own two a willys and a ford one same jeep just front crossmember differs i paid £200 for the two but that was 40years ago both rough one a runner other block cracked bodys not too bad just wish i had kept the good one when i rebuilt it but thats life also the BSA clubman goldie DBD34 Gold star was watching one one fleybay usa went for £10000 in the states minter with low miles

 

[brightspark]

i used to own two a willys and a ford one same jeep just front crossmember differs i paid £200 for the two but that was 40years ago both rough one a runner other block cracked bodys not too bad just wish i had kept the good one when i rebuilt it but thats life also the BSA clubman goldie DBD34 Gold star was watching one one fleybay usa went for £10000 in the states minter with low miles

me bruv sold his goldie for 50 quid and his norton 650ss to me for 40quid that was 40 years ago ive still got it just back on road 3 weeks ago

 

[tigler]

i used to own two a willys and a ford one same jeep just front crossmember differs i paid £200 for the two but that was 40years ago both rough one a runner other block cracked bodys not too bad just wish i had kept the good one when i rebuilt it but thats life also the BSA clubman goldie DBD34 Gold star was watching one one fleybay usa went for £10000 in the states minter with low miles

Thats cheap for a good Goldie now !!

 

[shenion]

I had a '51 Willys CJ3A while in school.

Lots of fun and easy to work on. Put probably 10,000 miles on it. Just wish i could have had the $$$ to put an overdrive in it. Then would have been better on the highway. Still could do 75mph.

When I was married, had no time for it and sold it. I miss it at times.

I had the cracked block problem. had it pinned but did not last. Second shop said it was not done properly. Found a F-head engine for it real cheap that had about 12k miles. Needed gaskets. Opened it up and could sill see the hone marks on the cylinder walls .

The bad block looked like it was made of sand. The metal was real grainy. Some were not cast right.

That M4A1 looks like a huge project. Interesting

 

[octo0072000]

Thats cheap for a good Goldie now !!

i know seen them up to £14000 i had a 350cc DBD32 paid £179.19 shilling in old money for it
glass fibre tank and seat clip ons rear sets alloy rims was very nice etc etc ford angla rurned right in front of me i went over the bonnet girlfriend went over me and landed 4 foot up a big privit hedge miniskirt on all you could see was legs and pink knickers see got scrates igot bruises and crushed nuts on the humped tank did bring tears to my eyes could not stop laffing at my bird stuck in the hedge
angla driver reckoned he had right of way as he indicated cost him his no claims and a ban i repaired the goldie and sold it on too many mishaps on that bike those were the days

 

[octo0072000]

me bruv sold his goldie for 50 quid and his norton 650ss to me for 40quid that was 40 years ago ive still got it just back on road 3 weeks ago

Nice was that wide line or slimline one

 

[brightspark]

Nice was that wide line or slimline one

slimline fetherbed

 

[tigler]

Wish I still had my '69 Bonny, bought for £250 in '77, restored it to as new, sold for £1000 in '84. Would be worth £5000 to £6000 now but I just wish I had never sold it.
Also wish I still had my '79 Ducati 900SS, what a bike that was !

Hang on, M4 A1 Shermans to bikes in one thread, slightly off topic I think !

Anyone been to the Jacques Littlefield military vehicle collection ?

 

[octo0072000]

no but would love to go there he died a few years ago though

http://www.mishalov.net/military-vehicles/military-vehicles.html

 

[Robotstar5]

I saw the program repairing the Sherman on Discovery, think he used 30Kg of wire to do the welds.

As for bikes, a workmate bought a DBD34 new in 1961 (ish) and still takes it out in nice weather, must be worth a few bob now. Last time I saw him, he had a go on my Suzuki Bandit, started braking at his usual point for an island and stopped 100 metres short due to the differance between drums and triple discs!

 

[tigler]

no but would love to go there he died a few years ago though

http://www.mishalov.net/military-vehicles/military-vehicles.html

Yes, that was tragic, I was quite upset when I heard, Although the guy was highly privileged he did good with his dosh and left an incredible legacy. I've promised myself a trip over to see that museum.

Saw the Tank Overhaul episode on the Sherman rebuild, those guys have to be admired for the unbelievable effort that goes into those projects. I whinge when stuggling to get a bike engine back into the frame during a restoration !

 

[GlosterBoy]

What engine does it have ?

It'll have the R975 Conti radial engine in it once all the fuel, oil tanks and the rest of the engine bay gets done.

 

[tigler]

Nice one !! Is the transmission different with that engine compared to the Detroit ?

 

[Drains]

It'll have the R975 Conti radial engine in it once all the fuel, oil tanks and the rest of the engine bay gets done.

Nice one !! Is the transmission different with that engine compared to the Detroit ?

Not the Chrysler 30 cyl engine then? A bit of thinking outside the box, that was.

 

[Drains]

Hey Glosterboy - don't fancy a go at restoring this do you? It's a Matilda, on the beach at Dunbar...

 

[penfold]

Hey Glosterboy - don't fancy a go at restoring this do you? It's a Matilda, on the beach at Dunbar...

View attachment 22159

Bit of T-cut, it'll polish out!

 

[ronan]

me bruv sold his goldie for 50 quid and his norton 650ss to me for 40quid that was 40 years ago ive still got it just back on road 3 weeks ago

I'd like to see a few pics if the ss brightspark , i know everyone raves about the bonny but the norton big twins of the early 60's had great understated class to them.
As for tanks there was a program on discovery discussing the differences between the tiger and t34 , the guy showed the internals of a gearbox from a t34 and then a tiger , the difference in engineering was unbelievable the tigers looked beautiful , lovely surface finish on everything , proper bearings etc , the t34 looked like a knackered tractors.
Quantity over quality , a bit like the mosin nagant or lee enfield compared to the mauser 98k.

 

[penfold]

I'd like to see a few pics if the ss brightspark , i know everyone raves about the bonny but the norton big twins of the early 60's had great understated class to them.
As for tanks there was a program on discovery discussing the differences between the tiger and t34 , the guy showed the internals of a gearbox from a t34 and then a tiger , the difference in engineering was unbelievable the tigers looked beautiful , lovely surface finish on everything , proper bearings etc , the t34 looked like a knackered tractors.
Quantity over quality , a bit like the mosin nagant or lee enfield compared to the mauser 98k.

individual parts of the Tiger were well done, but the system as a whole was dire; about 10t heavier than it needed to be, which exacerbated the problems caused by a weak cooling system and a fragile gearbox, and ruined its tactical manoeuvrability through Olly Reed-style thirst. Operationally the T34 was a paragon of production engineering; nothing was better or worse than it needed to be, and once they fitted the 85mm long barrel it could give the Panther(and Tiger) a run for its money in anything other than open country.

Not sure what you mean with the LE and the 98k;they were made in comparable quantities weren't they?

 

[ronan]

I think the germans had trouble making enough of the mausers and a fact i didn't know (though i should having seen cross of iron) is that the germans used a lot of captured small arms such as mosin and the svt-40.

I think the tiger tanks were part of hitlers meglomania , he had to interfere with everything and every design, but then again i suppose that is what being a dictator is all about , look at the maus tank too, it needed it own personal oilwell to keep it fed.

Then of course there was this brainwave

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landkreuzer_P._1000_Ratte

 

[tigler]

individual parts of the Tiger were well done, but the system as a whole was dire; about 10t heavier than it needed to be, which exacerbated the problems caused by a weak cooling system and a fragile gearbox,

Without mentioning the sabotage inflicted by the slave labour used to assemble them !