Sexton 1900 restoration - Page 3

Hanno Spoelstra · #61 14-04-10, 21:49

Jesse,

Excellent! "I love the sound of a round engine in the morning!"

Thanks for keeping the history alive.

Hanno

Ganmain Tony · #62 15-04-10, 22:53

Jesse,

That went so smoothly

playing it over a couple of times & it sounds like a musical tune. Radials do have a fantastic bass note.

Saying 'well done' dosent seem to convey the enjoyment I got out of watching the startup on you tube.

Must be a satisfying feeling for you.

Many thanks for sharing & congratulations.

super dave · #63 16-04-10, 06:26

What a great sound of a engine, You guys are doing great work

Dave

Alex Blair (RIP) · #64 16-04-10, 21:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jesse Browning

It started right up today. Runs great. The video is actually the 4th or 5th start. To many things to do than take pictures. If the links don't work, look up "Sexton 1900 start up". Jesse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJezB...eature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF1Z5...eature=channel

Jesse.That is beautiful..You are a master restorer..The Sexton will be on the way to completion and fun driving soon.
Well done..

RichardT10829 · #65 16-04-10, 22:14

absolute poetry in motion its like the worlds greatest symphony... nearly as awesome as the mighty maybach.... i am seriously impressed with your work Jesse that machine is lucky to have found you !

Jesse Browning · #66 17-04-10, 02:16

The engine is going in the vehicle tomorrow. We have about 4 hours on it. Ran it 2 hours today. I had ear plugs, and flight-line hearing protectors, but my ears are still ringing. A lot of bass there. It shakes the ground, and the house. Jesse.

Gordon Yeo · #67 17-04-10, 04:16

Well Perry, think the cresent on Sutton Place can bear up to four hours of that?

Gord

Alex van de Wetering · #68 17-04-10, 16:24

Excellent! Engine sounds great....especially when you just turned off the ignition....those last few "thumps" sound terrific.

Have you started work on the front fenders/stowage boxes yet? or did they come with the sale?

Alex

David Dunlop · #69 18-04-10, 17:33

Jesse, you are doing an absolutely outstanding job with your Sexton restoration! It's so nice to see when our military heritage gets that kind of care.

One small observation, I thought I would ask about, just to be on the safe side. I noticed in the photo of the rear of the vehicle, that with the engine compartment hatches open, the insides of the hatch doors and the hull edging were white. It might be that those surfaces should actually match the exterior colour of the vehicle. The reason being, if the situation requires these hatches to be opened for any reason, in theatre, the crew would not run the risk of giving away the location of the vehicle with a large flash of white paint. Typically, the inside of crew hatches on a tank, or doors on any soft skin vehicle like a wireless, office, machine shop lorry, would also be painted as per the exterior of the vehicle for the same safety reasons.

I know that in subsequent postwar repaints of many of these vehicles, this point was sometimes lost to shop workers in various RCEME sites and it is not unusual to run across a white interior door finish, but in the original wartime painting, I am pretty certain white could prove a fatal error.

It's a small point, I know, but you are doing such incredible, detailed work, I wouldn't want you to miss a chance to review anything, if it's an easy fix.

By the way, I loved the clips of the engine run ups. Bet it smelled just as lovely as it sounded!!!

Very best regards,

David

Jesse Browning · #70 19-04-10, 01:28

One fender came with the vehicle. It can be repaired, and used as a pattern for the missing one. All the storage bins were present, and in need of repair. David's comments on the engine doors makes good sense. Installed the engine yesterday. We hope to be driving it this week. Jesse.

Perry Kitson · #71 19-04-10, 17:11

To answer Gords question, I certainly hope so!!

Great work Jesse, although I am a little envious (and embarrassed) at the progress you have made in a short time. I am just finishing disassembling the C4, hopefully in a couple of months it will be ready to drop back in. My hull is all finished, except for the upholstery. I saved the biggest job for last! A note on the door paint. When I was stripping the hull, there was only evidence of white paint on the rear and upper engine door interiors.

Perry

Jesse Browning · #72 23-04-10, 03:28

It lives again. The second video is mostly poor, but has good sound. Don't watch if you get sea sick. Jesse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5BoSWGXV_Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_8xb...eature=related

Maurice Donckers · #73 23-04-10, 07:46

About the topic on the white doors , the 4 Shermans that I am working on all have the doors painted white inside , only the Early Lima build M4A1 has O.D. paint under the white . all others just white , there are also no traces of any primer under the white paint. The white paint in all of them is Matt .

tankbarrell · #74 23-04-10, 11:34

Mine were od and had never been anything else!

ron · #75 24-04-10, 10:05

Hi Jesse,
In one word Fantastic,
Regards Ron

Jesse Browning · #76 03-05-10, 02:06

With the half track at this years first event in Highland Indiana. A lot of work left to be done, but at least now we can have fun with it. If you want to get peoples attention, just start-up a radial. No time to take video. We were short-handed as it was. Jesse. **NOTE*** 8-6-17 The owner of the Tiger and myself are both disabled now. we were both rear ended in seperate accidents by no license, no insurance, intoxicated drivers. I was fortunate. Mike's in real bad shape.

Alex Blair (RIP) · #77 03-05-10, 02:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jesse Browning

With the half track at this years first event in Highland Indiana. A lot of work left to be done, but at least now we can have fun with it. If you want to get peoples attention, just start-up a radial. No time to take video. We were short-handed as it was. Jesse.

Jesse..
What a great job..and you are right about getting peoples attention with the radial engine..but if you really want to get their attention ..touch off that twenty five pounder..

maple_leaf_eh · #78 04-05-10, 05:06

As a Canadian-built vehicle, I would be reluctant to display anything but a WWII Canadian Red Ensign flag on it. It resembles the Ontario provincial flag, but has different crest. (Who would recognize the difference ....?)

Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP) · #79 04-05-10, 13:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

As a Canadian-built vehicle, I would be reluctant to display anything but a WWII Canadian Red Ensign flag on it. It resembles the Ontario provincial flag, but has different crest. (Who would recognize the difference ....?)

Quite so... and for those who need them, I happen to have a supply of 3x5 WW2 Red Ensigns (repros, obviously) available at a reasonable price...

Jesse Browning · #80 06-05-10, 02:26

Exiting the farm after 10 months. Jesse.

cantankrs · #81 06-05-10, 16:00

Absolutely amazing Jessie. Well Done!!

That float in the second pic sure is low - does it have a hydraulic gooseneck? Otherwise looks like it'd get stuck on what we call 'speedbumps' in car parking lots over here.

Regards

Alex

Jesse Browning · #82 07-05-10, 02:00

It has about a foot clearance. Jesse.

Jesse Browning · #83 12-06-10, 21:33

Went for a spin today to mark the 1 year anniversory. We had to take a break for the rain. Jesse.

Jesse Browning · #84 02-07-10, 00:40

Now with both fenders, all railing and fittings straight and some markings. Jesse.

Ganmain Tony · #85 02-07-10, 10:27

Now THAT is an armoured vehicle to be proud of.

Looking good Jesse - my evening enjoyment is watching the You Tube Vids.

Jesse Browning · #86 13-07-10, 02:59

We took the Sexton to a steam and power show over the weekend. Hot and humid.

Bob Carriere · #87 13-07-10, 03:21

Fantastic job Jesse.... always enjoy following your postings.

Would the location be the Rought and Thumble in Pennsylvania....Lancaster/Reading area....? buildings look familiar.....

Bob C.

Jesse Browning · #88 14-07-10, 00:56

Bob; It is at the Lake County fairgrounds in Crown Point Indiana. It will be at the Willow Run Airport near Detroit for the Thunder Over Michigan Air Show on August 7-8. Jesse.

Bob Carriere · #89 15-07-10, 04:57

....used to be a steam buff but converted to OD.....

You sure have a crowd pleasure to show...... wonder if people fully appreciate the massive effort to restore and the effort/cost to just move it around at shows.....

Boob

Jesse Browning · #90 15-07-10, 17:16

Bob; Probably for 99% of the people, No. Most people think this rolled in from the local National Guard, and was allways in this condition. One guy asked what year it was. I told him '44, and he asked me what war that was? Another history channel expert insisted that it only had a 7 cylinder engine. He was still sure after I told him that I had rebuilt the engine. Maybe I put the last 2 cylinders in the wrong place. Another guy insisted that I had the wrong cam in it, causing it to idle so rough. I told him that was exactly how it was supposed to sound. He was around front yelling at me through the drivers hatch to push the choke in. You get all kinds at shows. One Korean war vet who was a tank mechanic shared a ton of usefull technical information. Sounded like he was there yesterday. Another vet drove a half track on the autobahn durring the war. They were in a hurry, and plowed through several flocks af sheep en route. Jesse.