Richie's Mk1 Restoration

[RichardT10829]

Right managed to get the rivets out, i used a wafer thin cutting disc and took the heads off the rivets from the inside, they punched straight out no problems, and through patience and a steady hand i might add there is no marks left behind from the grinder. i had tried for over an hour with a new drill set but the rivets although mild steel were killing the drill bits off in minutes despite slow speed drilling and with oil.

whilst working on the tub i noticed loads of holes, wondering what they were all for ?
thought i would post them up see what you think.

anyway here is the brake shoes and gubbins for the gunners side.


and the holes..... there are a load on the gunners side, but as all my tools were there i will get photos soon.

drivers cockpit


drivers side rear part of tub (looking from front backover)


drivers side rear part of tub (looking from the rear forwards)


and finally the rear drivers side track guard sits over the sprocket



i know holes could be drilled for any number of reasons and by anyone, just trying to figure what if anything she has been fitted with. i know she has had the radio as the rear armour plate i have left has the holes and evidence of the battery box .

just plodding on bit by bit, will get the axel clear and engine out this week, glacis plate removed and hopefully center bulkhead or whats left of it out this week.

[kevin powles]

hi rich, that first pic, holes for drivers side ammo bin, holds down the three straps on the bottom of the bin. Last pic are the holes for the ration box tray, you have the remains in the bottom right corner of the pic of the crank extension holder, best to take out those brake shoes wearing a face mask and bag them up, hoover out the drum housing of all lost dust and pressure wash the rest, you can refit the asbestos shoes later.

I have attached some pics of what is fitted to the holes.

kevin.

[Lynn Eades]

If you look up from the uderside,you will find all the holes are countersunk.
If you put bolt heads or nuts under there, the track will wipe them off.
Id say that all those holes are original.

[RichardT10829]

awesome. cheers for the replies guys ! it is like a pandora's box this thing so many little things you miss on a particular day only to discover later. Gantry should be ready this week to drop the tub onto (it has strong castor type wheels with breaks) once the axel is clear and the lump out i will be able to push it in and out the garage easier, i can pretty much push it now, even with all the weight in.

bought some boxes and plastic bags with labels, all to be designated. got some etch primer coming and some high build red oxide primer, when the tub is away i will pick a box of components at a time to clean up and prime, then place back into the bags idea being that they are "new" parts ready to go back on out of the bags.

[RichardT10829]

well managed to get most of the armout slithers off now, i noticed that on the gunners side of the carrier in the rear compartment all the rivet heads on the inside had been hammered flat ?

took the remnants away from the gunners port, and removed the glacis plate which i think i will replace as it is full of holes and the corner is ripped. the removal of the gunners plates were not without incident, i looked at the way the plates lie and i could swear looking at it the gunners armour was on top of the glacis, i cut the rivet heads off and began to ease it without success... my mate came along and plodded on as i worked at a bench nearby. next thing i recall is being struck in the face...........my pal bless his heart was using a crow bar to persuade the armour away from the angle bar, obviously under a great load it slipped and catapulted three feet before hitting me in the face OUCH !! my cheek is pretty bad the worst thing is today i got to go to a wedding ! and on monday i have an important meeting....luckily it had spent most of its inertia before striking me, that and i had my safety gear on, otherwise it could have been real nasty.

never mind an hour and half of frozen pea application has kept swelling to a minimum and i continued finishing my jobs i had set myself. pics of progress will follow once i get a chance to upload them.


so for those who are doing as i am remove the glacis before trying to pry the front armour off !!!!!
Rich

[RichardT10829]

well a bit more done, just ticking over really. i am having major trauma removing the drivers side brake drum, it is solid. i have removed the sprocket, removed the drive axle and outer bearing, i cant move the adjuster for the shoes it is solid. anyone any ideas of how to get the drum off without breaking the cast ? i am pretty stuck.

had a look through the tin cover at the cam plate which looks in a bad way, so not looking forward to that bit, nevertheless it will get done.

finally i may have found the serial number or part of it (unless it is wishfull thinking)

the actual number can anyone show me a picture on the top edge of the armour ? the "ghosting" that i can see contains a five but the number is towards where the dash pannel cover would be ? just wish i had photographed it ! i will try and put some acid on to reveal any stamping evidence.

the area i beleive i can see the numbers is as below


my armour has been cut straight down level with the dash pannel then it slopes in from the outer edge of the hull to the outer edge of the dash pannel.

[Lynn Eades]

Is this what you want? your location is correct.