VICKERS MK6B's resto

[colin jones]

Times like these I need a bigger lathe

[colin jones]

I will be able to put the tracks on after this. If I choose to of course.

[colin jones]

I machined up the collars to the dia of the sprockets and then milled the collars out to insert 20mm H/T bolts. The bolts were tapered in the lathe for some weld penetration.

[colin jones]

I did the welding over about 4-5 hrs as to not let too much heat go down into the final drive. As it is like a spline with all the bolts in there, the weld is really only there to stop the the whole thing sliding off. That is something that can never happen. Even though it is now all welded on there, it does not stop any maintenance that needs to be done to the final drive spline if it ever needed to be removed or replaced as it is held in place internally. I felt it was the safer and easier option of mounting the sprocket plates.

[colin jones]

After a couple of days machining, welding and all the rest that goes with it, it was time to paint the parts and fitment.

[colin jones]

That's it for the final drives on this tank, I will be fitting the drive train to the other one next which will keep them on about par. Of course as this tank will be full hydraulic drive, it will still be operated by the original tillers which I was ever so fortunate to have both sets for each tank. All of the hydraulics will not be in any view with out lifting covers so they will both look identical but this one will drive so much easier. If I hade the trans for this one as well, I most definitely had used it.

[colin jones]

A relative productive day today. As the original return rollers were not so good I modified some Bren carriers ones. Fortunately the centre hub is identical and also the bearings I just had to reshape them. Bren rollers have tapered sided and 12mm wider than the Vickers so I was able to machine the rubber off and reduce the hub 6mm either side. The overall dia is smaller as well, so with some patients I reduced the outside which intern gave me very good rubber.
I also put the engine and trans back in and made up some clevis's and rod for the clutch which I might say works well. I just need to make 2 brake rods and the accelerator linkage and it will be ready for the final drives.

[David Dunlop]

That original powertrain is certainly a snug installation, Colin. Retrieving dropped tools could be quite a challenge.

David

[colin jones]

Hi David, yes it certainly is! It must have been an absolute nightmare for the mechanics to work on these in the field. There is a inspection plate on the side but even that would be very difficult to access because of the track and bogie. I guess they just did their best not to drop any tools.

[RichardT10829]

Looking fabulous Colin

Are the sprockets the same as regular carrier ?

[colin jones]

Hi Richard, fortunately they are the same. It would have been just another hurdle to get over if they weren't. And there's been plenty of them with a few more to go. Plenty of light in the tunnel now though.

[colin jones]

Done a few jobs today I've been moving from bench to bench . A couple of brackets that fits to the side next to the driver and also the last two rods and clevis's for the brakes. A very tight area they have to fit in but that is the last of the rods and clevis's that I need to make for Bowerbird. The engine will come out tomorrow for the last time and I will check and double check everything before it goes back in and the final drives fitted to it.

[colin jones]

This is the final drive centre gear which I made long ago and made the mistake of not drilling and tapping before I had it professionally heat treated. That was one very slow process to drill and hand tap and I was scared I would break a tap in there as this is a critical part for the drive. About 6hrs to complete the process and I was very relieved after completing the last hole.

[colin jones]

Everything that I can fit to the drivetrain has now been done and I trial fitted the axle and tube which has not ever been together like this since I made the gearbox. A bit of modification was required to some holes to get all the bolts in but I'm happy with the result. Went over all the bolts as once in place it is extremely difficult to get access to certain areas and now is the time to do it. Tomorrow will be drilling and tapping holes in the side as there is a few broken and it is easier to fix now before the drive goes back in, There is a few other jobs inside the hull that I will complete first which means I will remove the turret off Bower Bird as well. It just makes sense rather than leaning, bending and crouching.

[Dave lean]

Looks like I'd better finish off the .5 inch guns sooner rather than later?? I'll drop by later in the week to get some stock from you if thats OK?

[colin jones]

Hi Dave, no probs and I'll see you late in the week.
I got the turret off and checked the bearings which are all very good and just a couple of photos of the inside of the turret.

[colin jones]

So, after very carefully checking everything before the engine went in, I had to lift it out once more the put the cross tube in first. That all went in quite nice until I checked the clutch and found the rod setup I made hit the cross tube funnel by a whisker so out it all came again A bit of grinding and back in it went and that was for the final time. I just do not understand why on earth everything had to be made with very little clearance. These would have been dreadful to work on in the field.

[colin jones]

Anyway long story short, it is back in and now appears to fit well and the sides are all ready to take the final drives. That part has been a long time coming.

[Lynn Eades]

Remember it's "Made in England" Colin.

[colin jones]

😂Yes Lynn, you're right and the ferrets never got any better to work on either.

[tankbarrell]

You could say they were an engineering masterpiece, cramming all of that into as compact a vehicle as possible. A tactical masterpiece!

[Lynn Eades]

Adrian, you appear to be in a tactically defensive position?
Colin, I have done recon work on a ferret trans and assembled a couple of bevel boxes, however I have not been (un)fortunate to have tried working on a broken down Ferret. I have yet to see in British historical photos, images of mechanics hanging by their feet while working on carriers and tanks. I do remember (a picture in a manual) of the Leyland man holding a Leyland 680 cylinder head at arms length while lowering the head (there are two) onto the block. My back trouble probably stems back to TK bedford head work. A much more viable proposition. I digress (again!)
Back to your master craftmanship on the VLT. On your hydraulic drives. I assume you do calcs. to work out what your ground speed might end up at?

[colin jones]

Hi Lynn, I've heard there's a full sidchrome socket and spanner set under every ferret and sarecen engine.
I have done calcs for speed in the hydraulic tank and if my calcs are correct it should do 18kmph and 25kmph. I have a two speed pump and the komatsu drives are also two speed.That should be at around 1800 rpm.

[colin jones]

I decided to do a job that's been bugging me for quite some time. It's the round head bolts that hold the towing/ lashing points on the front of the tanks. I had some normal 1/2"bolts in there but I thought it was time to correct them and finish the front considering that's where I am basically working on.

[colin jones]

After making the round head bolts, I wanted to just put the drivers side final drive on as it was ready to do and I thought it would have been about an hour or so to do How totally wrong I was Much, much frustration. It is a very heavy and awkward component and I had to line it up perfectly horizontal, slide it over the spigot end, line up the two planetary gears and keep sliding until it slid onto the spigot bearing so it all meshed perfectly.
After a full day of on, off, on, off and not sure if I was doing any damage by forcing it on, I decided to continue this morning and disassemble the final drive and reinstall it piece by piece.
I remember removing it in one piece but that was 4 years ago and there was nothing to line up. I have to assume they did that in the field during the war as there just is no way of lining everything up unless you were really lucky. Anyway, it is now done and the other side will not be any where near as hard as this side.

[colin jones]

I'm sure the mechs had plenty of specialized tools and jigs to make their job better as I have already made a few things to make my job easier. I am really happy that they are going back together as well as they are.

[colin jones]

Just completed fitting the other final drive. After putting it on I found it was too tight for some reason, so I removed it and disassembled tha one as well. I am glad I did as I found I never machined the bearing cup quite deep enough so back on the lathe it went and 3.2mm came out. I also countersunk the bolts that hold the planetary gear hub as a precautionary measure.

[colin jones]

They are now both up to speed and ready for the tracks. I will probably wait and have them running to test the drive train and steering brakes. That light is getting quite bright at the tunnels end now.🤗

[David Herbert]

It's a tax man with a torch !

Great work though and it is so good that these very rare tanks found the right guy to rescue them.

David

[colin jones]

David, one would hope it's not the tax man with a torch but hopefully his batteries will go flat. Thanks for your comments.😊