T-16 S/N 5399 T.D. 97377 Restoration

[horsa]

Hey Nigel,

Might be a problem with that run. Its 1150 miles from Austin, Texas to central South Carolina. Not sure if me and the carrier are up to 38 hours of continous driving at 30 mph

I've still got to finish cleaning up the panels that cover the engine compartment but after that, I'll shoot a series of photos with the vehicle outside and fully loaded up for you. Wasn't sure if you still planned to do a Vol III with modern photos or not.

We have a WWII vehicle rally here in Texas mid-March so that is where I plan to really break everything in. The fields in that area have a nice lush Normandy look to them. Good tank hunting ground.

[Nigel Watson]

Originally Posted by horsa

Hey Nigel,

Might be a problem with that run. Its 1150 miles from Austin, Texas to central South Carolina. Not sure if me and the carrier are up to 38 hours of continous driving at 30 mph

I've still got to finish cleaning up the panels that cover the engine compartment but after that, I'll shoot a series of photos with the vehicle outside and fully loaded up for you. Wasn't sure if you still planned to do a Vol III with modern photos or not.

We have a WWII vehicle rally here in Texas mid-March so that is where I plan to really break everything in. The fields in that area have a nice lush Normandy look to them. Good tank hunting ground.

It would be fun though! I'd come back with you only if you would give me a shot of the controls!! Thought your speed limit was 50mph anyway!

I'd appreciate a selection of photos of your restoration and finished machine for Volume 3.

Nigel

[horsa]

Manual says the top speed is 33mph for the T-16 which would be regulated by the governor. I still haven't found a correct Waltham speedometer and haven't installed a more common jeep type yet so don't know what my actual top speed is. Haven't gotten into fourth gear either way since I haven't been out in a field for a real run yet and am really limited in what I can do driving on my side lot and quarter mile of flat road in the housing area.

I do know from past experience with my jeep, that a long trip can be pretty rough on the passengers and the vehicle when you're trying to pedal at max speed on a hot day. Nothing like driving an open air vehicle without seatbelts doing 50mph on the highway with regular cars and trucks blowing past you on both sides going 80 plus mph. Only good thing is so far nobody has gotten angry at me being a rolling roadblock. They all seem to either smile and give a thumbs up or look concerned when they see me in WWII Denison with the weapons mounted on the side and hood

No problem doing a spread of shots for you. That way you can pick and choose based on allocated space. Once it's all done, I'll also set something up so I can take some photographs from overhead in a similar way to the 4.2" Mortar Carrier shots the Canadian's did for their prototype T-16s.

[David Ellery]

Thanks David for the PM, Much appreciated

David...

[horsa]

Took the T-16 out over the weekend to attend a WWII military vehicle rally here in Texas. This allowed me to finally do some real test drives and check a few things out that couldn't be done in the front yard at home. Tracks are still loosening up and now the brakes have settled. So I'll need to adjust the control rods for all four of the tillers. The carb is still not performing as it should be so I was keeping the carrier in the lower gears so I'd have more power on the small hills and ditches. Should be able to resolve that one once I get a rebuild kit as I know I need to replace two of the parts.

Shot below is the carrier crossing a Bailey Bridge on the property.



Nothing fancy here but the kids had control of the camera all weekend and took photos mostly of the sky and our camp. They are used to seeing the Sherman, Hellcat and Stuart tanks each year so didn't take many shots of anything else.



This one shows the original GAU canvas meant to protect the wireless set. It has a weather flap rolled up on the top which is held that way with lift-the-dot fasteners. Almost all that I've seen are shrunk like this one and won't safely stretch over the armor wing. So I'm going to use mine as a pattern and see if one of the military canvas places can produce new reproductions which fit properly. If anyone else needs one for their T-16, post me a PM and we can see what the run will cost. More people means a cheaper price for everyone.


And if you have a high speed connection, this last link is a video clip of us driving over the bridge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQkUzSoUBVM

[colin jones]

Great shots Dave, I never knew they dewalt flashlights back in the 40s
Colin.

[horsa]

Hey Mark, got your PM about the radio canvas and will call you tomorrow about the other things.

It's always been amazing to me Colin, how much junk people put into my vehicles at events and then forget. I've attended reenactments with my airborne jeep and almost always find rifles and webbing that people have dumped off to save carrying it. Then they go home and forget about it until they are packing for the next event and call to see if I might happen to have it. Turns out the torch was a friend's and he ended up camping near us the second day out there.

Have some other shots from the weekend below. Mostly from the small public battle that was hosted on site. Me and the T-16 sat it out since it is pretty much a GI/German thing for the crowd. My older daughter got out there though with my full-auto Sten Mark V and her French Maquis impression.













Then there is my younger daugher wearing an original WWII Despatch Rider's pulp helmet. Who would have thought they made gear like that in such small sizes?



And of course the shot of her proving how hungry she is so I would start cooking the evening chow.

[horsa]

Shot of the British Towed 4.2-Inch Mortar after setting it up for firing this past weekend. The manuals officially refer to it as a Mobile Base Plate for the 4.2-Inch Mortar and Mounting but what do they know...

This fires the 30-pound bombs that were transported in the cardboard carriers stored in the bins over the tracks on the T-16 (message # 46 in this thread on page two for reference).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HD_-b3FM3I

Short video linked above shows one of the bombs being fired at a 70 degree angle into a 15-20 mph gusting wind. We did this in conjunction with light launching charges to keep the bombs in a 350-400 yard impact range for easier recovery. The smoke coming from the bomb's nose in the video is to help track the shots and has nothing to do with the bomb firing in case it appears that I'm walking with a lit fuze. The bombs are actually launched with a cartridge in the tail unit in conjunction with a firing pin in the bottom of the mortar barrel which initiates once the bomb drops to the end.

[eddy8men]

great video and it's good to see one of these old war machines in action again

rick

[andrew honychurch]

thats awsome David. really cool . All I can say is "only in America"! we would be hunted down, and arrested and the key would be thrown away if we ever tried that in the UK. I love it. The old boy that used to own my Daimler Armoured Car once fired it with a blank loaded 2 pdr, and an hour later the Superintendant of the local police arrived and gave the old soldier a bit of lecture which resulted in him taking the breech block off and its never seen the light of day since. Although he still has it!!

[Ron Pier]

Andrew! You mean you bought an armoured car with the breech block missing? You were seen off:
The breech block on my 2 pounder field gun was got at with a cutting torch on the firing surface for the deac certificate. But at least it still looks the part. As you say....."Only in America"

Ron