Armour Dreams

[Jonathan Moore]

Thank you Robert, I am sure its going to be fun.

I have had lots of thoughts on the steering side of things and I know that it wont be simple. The engine, gearbox and drive are situated on the right side of the chassis not down the centre line, which makes things more interesting. I don't really want to cut up a carrier axle. In the simplest terms, my thoughts are based around an axle casing with a diff in it and a set of brakes on each drive shaft left and right. Not quite that simple I know. I have done some work on a tracked dumper that utilised a clutch system on each track but that wouldn't be appropriate for this application. Its a lot to get ones mind around, steering combined with the remote gear box and the fact that to use a conventional gearbox the drive has to be reversed, otherwise you get several reverse gears and one forward.

Jon

[tankbarrell]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Moore

Its a lot to get ones mind around, steering combined with the remote gear box and the fact that to use a conventional gearbox the drive has to be reversed, otherwise you get several reverse gears and one forward.

Jon

That's easy, just flip the axle/diff over. The rest is, as you say, much more of a challenge!

[maple_leaf_eh]

There is a group in Colorado called Panzerfabrik that have made a few repro WW2 German vehicles, including a PzKpfw II.

http://panzerfabrik.net/panzer-ii-ausf-l/

Their build diaries show all sorts of tricks to make bar stock look like the exposed edges of 1" plate and the interlocking keys on hull armour.

[David Dunlop]

Just a thought, Jonathon, but do you think posting a 'Wanted' Ad somewhere for Maybach HL 62TR Engine Parts might turn anything useful up? Most have probably long gone to the scrappies, but one never knows what might still be out there.

Maybe chatting with somebody at Bovington about where the needed bits might still be found, is worth a shot as well.

Worst that can happen in any event is absolutely nothing.

David

[Niels V]

German vehicle parts, eg some engines, gearboxes etc can be found if you know where to look and who to talk too. But these can be scarily expensive, really not something I would use in a replica .

[Jonathan Moore]

Thanks for your suggestions, they are much appreciated. I have been offered quite a few original parts but this is a replica and will never be anything else so I am not going to spend money on over priced rusty original items. The biggest part of this project is the challenge of completing it, to a standard that I am happy with and at a financial cost that I can afford. The Bovington tank museum is a great source of information and I am off there over the summer, armed with my camera and tape measure, to do some dimension checking and lots of sniffing but its a 6 hour drive one way.

Jon