VICKERS MK6B's resto

[colin jones]

I welded the graft plates and had some trouble getting them to line up perfectly as you just can't blend the join if the alignment is out. I thought I would just show how I got some serious leverage easily as the plates are over 1/2" thick. I also concentrated on the mud guard as well.

[colin jones]

There were some support brackets to make which I had to go and get the right size 40mm x 8mm. I did a couple of bends in the hand bender and then made a jig.

[colin jones]

After I made the jig it was just a repetition to get them all the same. I used heat to get the last couple of bends, cut the excess by hand, welded the joint and ground them off inside and out. Test fit all OK.

[jack neville]

Looking good Colin. I'm glad I got a look at them before you started. Helps to appreciate the effort you are putting into them. It's amazing just how much squaring up the box makes to the overall appearance.

[colin jones]

Thanks Jack, there is a lot of work to do any of these as you certainly know.
I made some brackets that go on the mud guard. Not a important job but I just thought I might as well finish the guards totally.

[colin jones]

The bracket are for shovel, crow bar, towing chain/Rope. Again time consuming things to do but how lucky am I to have them to copy.

[colin jones]

I also cleaned up the other drivers hatch from the other tank so I can copy it for this one. I still have a couple of spring clamps to make but they are quite minor.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by colin jones

I welded the graft plates and had some trouble getting them to line up perfectly as you just can't blend the join if the alignment is out. I thought I would just show how I got some serious leverage easily as the plates are over 1/2" thick. I also concentrated on the mud guard as well.

Let's not lose sight of the craft style of construction for many of these old vehicles. The designer issued drawings, but at some industries those were taken only as a suggestion. Standardized parts, thoroughly managed workflows and strict adherence to plans was a lesson re-learned in WW2. Why were American tanks so widely used - because they were easily repaired and salvaged.

When the Canadian War Museum's M1917 Light Tank was being rebuilt, the workers at the industry benefactor's shop were frustrated trying to get it left/right symmetrical. Don Dingwall (?) had to tell the fabricators not to be so precise, and remember the working conditions where it was constructed originally. Once they parked their CADCAM viewers, laser cutters, CNC machining, and micrometers, the project picked up pace.

[colin jones]

Yes Terry, very true, they certainly were extremely good tradesmen back then. The machines were only as good as the operators but it now the operators are only as good as their machines. Both received great results.

I got the top off the trans today after a reasonable fight and the gears are in really great cond. I am even more confident this little tank will have it's original drive train running once again. I have a very good old school engine recon man taking possession of the Meadows next week to totally overhaul it. By the time I am ready for the engine he should be done with it.

[colin jones]

I am well documenting this project because of its rarity and have already taken a couple of hundred pics.

[jack neville]

What is the plan to disassemble the gearbox Colin? A thorough soak in something for a time first? Or does it just look worse than it is?

[David Dunlop]

What type of alloy is the transmission case, Colin?

David

[colin jones]

Yes jack, i'm in the process of getting it apart now and it only looks bad because it is bad but not the gears. I think that the bearings are also untouched. The electrolysis has not effected the steel from what I can see but I will evaluate them when I get to that stage. The box itself is basically flat sides all around so my thinking is do each piece individually with all machining done prior to assembly, tack it all together with bearings, shafts and gears and then Tig it all together. I would use the original top plates as they came off in good cond and to answer Davids question, I would think that it is a aluminium alloy and I can be assured that it has magnesium in it but its I don't know its exact composition is. I will keep the pics coming as I progress.
It sure is an interesting little project.