$100 dollars of Behr housepaint and a gate guard is born!
 

Just like the title says, 2 gallons of Behr exterior flat olive drab and the jumbo is ready to sit around a few more years waiting for restoration...

Attachment 82357 Attachment 82358 Attachment 82359

As found Utah 2011

Attachment 82360 Attachment 82361 Attachment 82362

John,

That's a great find. Did it come off a range?

All that's left for now is to stick a piece of drainage pipe in the mantlet and it's ready for gate guarding :thup:

Hanno

Hanno is right...you can't guard anything without a gun.

Looks great. A coat of paint on almost any military vehicle will make it look like it's ready for service.

Yes sir, we believe it came out of Ft. Ripley in Minesota where the Natl. Guard had been shooting and shelling it for years. It Ended up in Utah with Karl Smith, his Jumbo Sherman is just about completely restored now. According to Don Moriarty who was instrumental in the restoration of Cobra King, it is number 73 of 254, 250 of which fought in the ETO. Far as we can tell there are seven left.
And since Rob put his two cents in I have to credit him with the idea to bolt the tank together, even with non-jumbo differential, and stock T26 mantlet, paint her up and let it at least look like a tank while we get around to eventual restoration. One thing to sit under a tarp or in pieces, but at least now visitors can see it in one piece and marvel at some of the incredible damage inflicted while on the range.
As for the gun, I do have a nice uncut 75mm barrel but figure that should stay inside and my useless apendage of a brother refuses to let me loose on his CNC lathe to hog out a replica barrel so we are trying something new. I tried the pipe but I need the taper in the barrel so we are bump forming two halves of the tapered barrel on the brake...will let you know how it turns out!

Big tow truck, camo painted lowbed and she is in the back yard waiting on her gun

Attachment 82764 Attachment 82765 Attachment 82766 Attachment 82767 Attachment 82768

John those are great pictures. Was that one lurking under the tarps outside when I dropped by your place a few months ago? I wouldn't want to have been aboard when some of those rounds hit home. Looks good with a new paint job. The low bed and tractor look like they belong with any of your fleet. I liked your OD forklift too....

That's one of them Jes. One starts to wonder which you will run out of first, projects (seems unlikely) interest and desire (shows no sign of waning) money (always a distinct possibility) or time (a certainty). As most of my collection is composed of orphans, in need of one thing (several things) or another, I have been motivated to cast off the tarps, try to get them into some form that can be enjoyed, even statically while they wait their chance for a second life...NEXT!

Gun fabricated and fit

Attachment 83419 Attachment 83420 Attachment 83421 Attachment 83422

Looks good John.
I think I saw your camo painted tractor and low-bed going north on hwy99 through Richmond earlier this week.

Our of random curiousity, what paint code did you use? Is their OD a standard item?

Terry I just picked a paint chip "off the rack" but it turned out real nice once it dried, I will get you the code. I just had Home Depot mix it ultra flat

Wayne, that lowbed belongs to a local fellow named Brent Hill, I built the camo Peterbilt tractor but before it was even on the road Brent saw it and had to have it...as for the trailer, he just spent a cool quarter million having that built...

I still have two tractors from my now sold trucking company, I kept them to haul horses and my own gear now and then...I tried out an M1070 HET in California a year ago, very neat truck but not at all practical for highway hauling in Canada, very under-powered, ridiculous low gear ratio and the auto...well I will take 18 gears any day over that thing...

Attachment 83432