Ryan's M3 medium

[anthony urek]

Hey Ryan. Wow another Grant! Congratulations! How complete is she?
As for the tracks, I would flood them with diesel(cos its cheap) and take her on a long pull up a bitumen road.

[Scrivo18]

Hi Ryan

A tow is the best way.. should not take much as long as you have the horsepower to move it..

Did you find any manuals?? Cleaning my libary while working on the Stuart I have found... Handbook on M3 Medium Tank :-)

Tim

[Ryan]

Thanks for the replies guys. Two tractors were used on saturday to move it but to no effect. I don't think there is anything more powerful to pull it where it is. At this stage a crane is coming and the plan is to whack the tracks with a sledgehammer while it is in the air before it is put on a flatbed for the trip to down to me.
Once it gets to my place the plan is to use my tank to pull/drag this one off the truck.
Does this sound ok?
Tim, I haven't been able to track down any manuals for it so far so if you want to part with the M3 handbook or make a copy that would be great.
Tony, it's not that complete, looks a bit like what I've already got.
ryan

[anthony urek]

Thats OK, what you've got is more than most! And typical of what the Grants were turned into. ie bulldozers or loggers. Has she got a motor? What type?
You will surely yank her off if your chains are up to it.

[anthony urek]

on second thoughts.....you better have a plan B!

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by anthony urek

Hey Ryan. Wow another Grant! Congratulations! How complete is she?
As for the tracks, I would flood them with diesel (cos its cheap) and take her on a long pull up a bitumen road.

Diesel to soak through the surface adhesion. Let it evaporate (or burn it off if there aren't any combustable pads or bearings or roadwheels, and if you feel adventuresome ... . Then flail away with a hot torch and 5lb sledge.

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hi Ryan - an old proven method of freeing rusted parts is to put them in a bath of molasses. It is a slow process but you will know if it is working if you get a lot of penecillin on the surface. Your main problem will be to get the tracks into some sort of container, but trust me, it will work. If you go back to my thread on electrolysis derusting in 2004, you will see several posts on molasses. There is also plenty of advice on Google.

Bob

[anthony urek]

Yep will slip right off the truck on all that molasses

[tankbarrell]

Unless the tracks have been changed to a non-original type, all of the Grant and Sherman track, whether rubber faced or steel use pins with rubber doughnuts pressed into the links. Therefore, they cannot seize as they do not move beyond the rubber limit to start with and if you soak them in diesel, it will eventyally destroy the rubber.

If it is original style track, it is likely the brakes are stuck.

[Ryan]

Once again thanks for the advice guys.
Adrian, here's a couple of pics of the tracks. I'm pretty sure that they are original. The tank I'm now told has been sitting in the same spot for between 10 and 20 years.
Bob I'm not sure I'll find a bucket big enough to fit the tank in.

[lynx42]

Nice tracks Ryan, looks like fairly good rubber on the wheels too. Well done. Does it have an engine fitted?
Regards Rick.

[Ryan]

Hi Rick, no it doesn't have an engine fitted. Just a big, stuck garden ornament.

[tankbarrell]

Ryan, that's T49 track and it will not be seized. It is, as is all other M3 track, rubber bushed so it will be a brake or transmission issue.

[cantankrs]

Well Adrian's right (as usual) - the track frames for that style of track still have rubber donuts in the guts, so your problem moving it is not seized tracks - if it were a Matilda or Valentine or Bren Carrier then yes they rust up.

If anything in the bull gears or tranny is jammed then you may have to split the track front and rear and anchor the top track in place so it doesn't damage anyone and tow the hull onto a float. Then try and drag the remaining two bits of track up underneath the hull onto the floor of the float so you can get it home. Splitting it after all these years is the next problem as you probably don't want to cut it cos then you need some bits to replace it. Phill and I know a chap who winched (dragged) a Grant hull onto a float and then had to get it off later. Heavy metal can slide scarily easily on a steel deck but the owner of the float may not be interested.

Can you post some pics of what's left inside both engine bays and the rear of the hulls at some point so we can try and help identify what engines they probably had?

As far as I can gather, depending on the manufacturer there may be a number stamped into the top edge of the towing eyes at front and rear of the hull. I've read that only 1 in about 3 manufacturers did this. Since many of these did a lot of towing in private use the towing eyes may instead be mutilated. If the diff housing has been swapped out then the numbers would be different front and rear.

If either of the hulls is a Petrol radial then it has twin doors or at least a square opening you can step into at the rear. Look centre top edge of that back lower hull corner casting and there might be a number stamped into it with letter punches - I'd be interested to know what the number is cos I'm trying to find if it's a part number or whether some hulls had their number stamped there.

Alex

[Marc van Aalderen]

Well Ryan,

If you need some extra parts here is your chance! http://www.milweb.co.uk/classifieds/...ad=57706&cat=1

Cheers,

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by Marc van Aalderen

Well Ryan,

If you need some extra parts here is your chance! http://www.milweb.co.uk/classifieds/...ad=57706&cat=1

Cheers,

Cheers for that Marc but shipping would be a killer!! It'll put my crane costs to shame. I reckon if I look hard enough I'll come across a Grant upper hull over here.

Hi Alex, my mistake. I thought by the photos that the bogies may have been attached to a frame and welded. Just seeing things that weren't there. Interesting reading about your mystery bogie. Any pics?

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hi Ryan - don't hold me to it, and you may already know, I believe John Belfield has some of these. However he may be hanging onto them to finance another superannuation.

Bob

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by Bob Moseley

Hi Ryan - don't hold me to it, and you may already know, I believe John Belfield has some of these. However he may be hanging onto them to finance another superannuation.

Bob

Hi Bob, I haven't tried JB yet and a probably wont. Feel I want to blaze my own trail a bit. I like the hunt too much also.
On another note I visited Jeff k while I was in SA to look at his collection. Great bloke and some nice stuff. Thanks for the connection.
Ryan

[lynx42]

Ryan, Have you contacted Bill O'Rielly yet? Bill has nearly finished his Grant and has a few wrecks around. He's in the VMVC and they are having a run to his place soon.
Rick.