VICKERS MK6B's resto

[colin jones]

Yes it is such a shame it's not open . AS these are so rare and as far as I know all the other examples left have been refurbished. The one at Pucka was also redone and the internals are not original as I was told by the curator there a couple of years ago. I think there is a wreck at a museum in Egypt so I will follow that one up as well. I have seen photos of that one and it does have significant battle damage but it is still original. I'm sure that the right connections could get access to the inside of the one in Canada. Looking inside tanks is something everyone wants to do at these museums and the openings could be covered with Perspex or glass if it was a safety issue.

[colin jones]

The suspension is now complete on both tanks as well as new cover plates. So the underside is finished. I am now waiting on my new wheels as it is so much easier to put them on in their current position using the overhead gantry.

[colin jones]

Wombat is now back on its wheels and sitting nice and level. Just having a good look this morning, I have a lot of fabrication to do on these two tanks before they're finished.

[Mike Cecil]

Bruce,

All the Mk6A tanks in Australia were named. You can see the list of tanks on line in AWM126.

Registrations C270 to C279 in this book: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2143572

Great job, Colin!

Mike

[jdmcm]

You have come a long way Colin, been a pleasure to watch the amazing progress so far! You Inspire me to keep going on my projects with your ingenuity and tenacity

Regards
John

[Tim Lovelock]

Hi Colin,
Wow, what progress, I sure hope you're experiencing a tremendous sense of satisfaction with each leap in your restoration.
I am certainly enjoying your progress.
Cheers Tim

[colin jones]

Thanks John, you certainly need to be persistent in this hobby or you will never get a project finished.
Tim, I get a great amount of satisfaction with every piece that I add to these little tanks and that makes it all worth while.
I have just done the front top plates that includes the drivers head room and top of the engine bay. I did the plates for both tanks.

[colin jones]

There's plenty of light at the end of the tunnel now.

[lynx42]

Hi Colin,

A couple of photos of the web. You might get a rego number but I cannot.






Great work you are doing there,

regards Rick.

[jack neville]

Coming along nicely Colin. A question though. Having rebuilt the bits you have, using what remains were left as patterns, what are you sourcing for specs on the missing bits.

[colin jones]

Hi Rick, great photos. There would be a few photos of my tanks around somewhere. It would be great to see some photos of my actual tanks showing their names if anyone has access to them.
Hi Jack, yes they are coming along good. Apart from copying parts from originals I was lucky enough to aquire 97 drawings like the ones shown. It is very easy to expand them and scale of the original and then reproduce from the drawings. I have done the exercise of scaling a drawing of a part I have and I am amazed how accurate the drawings are. I am very confident that what I am reproducing is as close to damn is to swearing. I still need to go the one at pucka for turret measurements.

[colin jones]

Is there anyone in the UK that could put me in touch with a company over there that can supply me with Slotted top, countersink BSF bolts. The suppliers here are telling me two months for delivery and that's just way too long.
Colin.

[Ben]

Hi Colin

Try Namrick, they're pretty good. Happy to help this end if it makes it easier for you.

Ben

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Hello Colin,

Astounding work! It does no go unnoticed by people who are not members of this forum. He has four Vickers light tank wheels for sale. I tried to forward an email to you but it bounced. Please update your email address here on MLU, or contact me.

Thanks,
Hanno

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by lynx42

Hi Colin,

A couple of photos of the web. You might get a rego number but I cannot.

Attachment 93248


Attachment 93249

Great work you are doing there,

regards Rick.

Hi Rick,
Both those photos are of 'Platypus' which was restored for the late Jacques Littlefield (and now in the Collins collection). When I was involved in the restoration, I searched the photo libraries and matched the numbers. There are quite a few photos to be found of the 10 tanks.
I have seen a photo of Bower Bird in the background beside Kookaburra, taken at Liverpool Camp in 1939 it was one from Paul Handel's collection in an article.
cheers
Richard

[colin jones]

Thanks Hanno, my email address is

cs.design @ bigpond.com

without the spacers of course.

[colin jones]

I now have my bolts on order with two weeks delivery. Thank you Ben for the help.

[colin jones]

I've been quite busy making one of the drivers hatches and certainly very strong hinges

[colin jones]

I needed some T section so I cut it out of some I beam I had and bevelled the required edges. This hatch is fully riveted with a lot of them. It was handy to use my hole punch and press them cold.

[colin jones]

I used a 8.8 bolt for the rivet support which worked very well and a flat bottomed punch die to press a flat top.

[colin jones]

It's finished and is a very good fit. Glad I only had to make one.

[Lynn Eades]

Hi Colin. The hinges look to be the same as those on a riveted U.C. folding flap
on the upper left side front armour. The have 2 inch hole centers.
Looking great as normal. Enjoying your thread. Keep it coming.

[colin jones]

Hi Lynn, yes you are right and after looking at some carrier photos I see the speedo on the MK1 carrier is the same as the Vickers so my next question is!
Has anyone got a 1 or 2 MK1 speedos in any condition that they would part with.

[Lynn Eades]

We are of course talking a Britsh Smiths type?

[colin jones]

Yes we are.

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by colin jones

Hi Lynn, yes you are right and after looking at some carrier photos I see the speedo on the MK1 carrier is the same as the Vickers so my next question is!
Has anyone got a 1 or 2 MK1 speedos in any condition that they would part with.

Hi Colin,
The Smiths speedo is listed as being the same as the British Carrier one, the numbers on the face are:
A-787169
X25660
and it is marked as 0-40 mph
This is from the original speedo fitted to Platypus.
Also the Smiths rev counter is same size and similar appearance, markings as below;
R-R 9955
2-1
marked as 0-4000 rpm

Will email you soon with other info re. electrics and instruments.

regards, Richard

[David Dunlop]

Colin.

Is the driver's hatch a two part clamshell arrangement? The recent photos posted suggest the assembly you just completed would be a lower portion that would be opened last and closed first, with a heavier angled upper door lapping over it in the closed position.

If so, does the lower door simply rest open by its own weight, or does it lock open and closed? I suspect a counterweight system of some sort will be part of any upper hatch setup. It would be quite a head flattener otherwise.

Must be quite a turning point for you now, actually thinking about instruments and other internal fittings.

Cheers,

David

[colin jones]

That's great Richard as that means that there should be some spare parts still lying around somewhere.
David, I am still a ways off the electrics but I don't want to leave things to the last minute as I am making quite steady progress now. I hope to have my other wheels back at the end of next week and that is only a few hrs to paint and assemble then it will get turned over an work on that one until it is the same as Wombat. In the two drawings shown, the blue circled are what I have just made and the red it what you are refering to. The other drawing is a complicated spring mechanism that holds the hatch open. I will have to ponder that one on my verandah with a cup of tea for a while . But your observations are indeed quite correct .

[colin jones]

After some very careful homework, cross reference and finding original holes in both hulls it all became as clear as the nose on my face. Now I know exactly where the brackets go and how they work. I have enough drawings and photos of Littlefields tank during its reconstruction to piece together the not so complicated shutters and spring loaded drivers top hatch. It's almost a shame I need to sleep as I can see it in my head and I want to get it made. I have machined both openings for the mech so they are identical. The pieces welded in the first photo is just so I can put it in the machine vice then I'll grind it off after. It's a lot simpler than packing it up on the mill bed and clamping it down as well as the angle pieces are easy to do with a rotating vice. A couple of days should see both of them done and the mechanism as well.

[James P]

Colin, that is jaw dropping attention to detail and going all in on the restoration work you are doing on these tanks.