[Big D]

Hi all,

I fitted the turret and the engine covers yesterday. I hadn’t actually planned for the turret to go on just yet but I have a new project coming in and I need the space so I thought I would just get it done. It certainly creates another ‘wow’ moment seeing the turret go on.

The turret was all ready to fit so there wasn’t a lot of preparation required. I did have to fit the last turret support bearing into the hull. I had left that off until now to avoid smacking my head on it each time I got into the hull. One of the guys from Action Engineering next door came through with the truck and Hiab crane to give me a lift. These Hiab cranes are much better for fine movement adjustments than mucking around with a forkhoist.

The main problem we had was slinging the turret so that it lifted evenly. We decided to sling it around the three gun ring mounts along with a stabilising strap around the barrel. I mulled over stropping through the opening where the rear plate on the turret is fitted along with the barrel but we decided this way was going to make it more stable during lifting. As you’d expect, there is some weight in that gun at the front of the turret. After a little bit of mucking around with the lifting strops we got it up and lowered onto the hull. It sat there nicely and we were immediately able to rotate it on the three support bearings just with one finger pushing on the barrel. We tried rotating it right around but I must have the placement of the fire extinguisher bracket not quite right as the base of the seat towers comes into contact with the back of the extinguisher bracket. I will get that moved.

The movement of the turret on the bearings is quite good but there are a couple of points where the rotation isn’t as smooth, so I will look at that. I have the turret hold down rollers sitting in place now and I will need to set all of these up. Several look like they will need shimming so I’ll get all those fitted next week.

I have the quadrant covers ready to fit over the turret roller lock bearings. I have seen some period photos of the arrow marking the zero point that is painted on the inside of the turret. Can anyone give me some dimensions of this arrow and perhaps a close up photo?

I also fitted the engine covers. Thanks to Reg who warned me about being careful with fitting the cover over the carburettor so I monitored that closely. Sure enough, there was a bit of grinding required in that spot for it to properly clear the carburettor. Grinding is not the sort of thing you want to do over the fuel tank but I covered the engine bay with pieces of timber and then some leather blankets and that worked out fine.

The hinge mounting plate for the engine covers is one I made up. I had ‘test fitted’ the engine covers on the hull after that but it’s amazing what a few coats of paint does as the engine cover on the carburettor side is sitting a little high at the fuel tank end. I think I will have to lift that engine cover and tidy up the face of the hinge mounting plate where it meets the engine cover. Those covers are certainly unwieldy and not easy to lift unless you are actually above the engine cover….

I also did some work on the rear sand skirts. I had a mix up with these with the sandblaster/painter a year or so ago. The sand skirts were very rough with both having some wicked bends in them. I had only done a very rough straightening job on them and just wanted them sandblasted but he painted them anyway! As a result I’ve had to remove a lot of the paint and dolly out some of the bigger dents before applying some fibreglass. I may actually ‘revisit’ the front guards later on as now that they are on and I am looking at them all the time, I’m not sure I’m happy that they are straight enough.

I had to move the M8 yesterday as I had parked it where there is a leak in the roof of the workshop right above the M8, which was annoying me. I hadn’t started the engine for 5-6 weeks but it started up first time and ran nicely. I have also figured out that having the steering wheel easily removable is the way to go for being able to easily squeeze into and out of the driver’s seat. Once you are in there it is not too bad. It is getting the legs around the steering wheel that is the problem for me, especially climbing in and out.

That is all for this time…