VICKERS MK6B's resto

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Silly question, but does the Chev engine turn the right way to ensure you have 4 forward and one reverse gear instead of the other way around?

[colin jones]

Bruce that's a very serious question that I have no idea about. I would have thought they'd just be the same but it is something that never even entered my mind. Perhaps the knowledge dept here can answer that one

[Lynn Eades]

Colin have you got crank handle dogs on both engines?
Most engines run clockwise as you look at the front pulley.
So if your V.L.T. crank has / had a crank handle and the dog is also the bolt that locates the front pulley and it is a r.h. thread, then your rotation will be the same for both engines.

[tankbarrell]

You would have thought so but....... Each individual engine of the Chrysler Multibank engine rotates anti clockwise but they still use the standard crank dog which would suggest they rotate the other way! Obviously, they simply used the standard dog to hold the damper hub on as you would be hard pushed to turn the engine over on a hand crank.....

I know it is a special case but I thought worth mentioning. It doesn't alter the validity of Lynns point though!

[David Herbert]

I can imagine a small panic for a moment ! However it should be easy enough to look at the power train and work out which way each shaft turns starting with the drive sprockets and working back to the clutch. There would have been no good reason to have the engine turning the wrong way as the bevel gear set could easily have been designed either way round so I expect that they would have used a standard engine. But it is British !

David

[Howard]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

Silly question, but does the Chev engine turn the right way to ensure you have 4 forward and one reverse gear instead of the other way around?

I remember when Hyundai (I think) entered touring car racing. They had to use the same front wheel drive/gearbox system as everyone else, and it was only when their newly-developed 2.0 litre race engine was fitted to their brand spankin' new race car that they discovered.... you guessed it.
Bruce - not a silly question at all. Potential to save a lot of heart ache.

[Richard Farrant]

During WW2, when Rolls Royce car engineers were working on adapting the Merlin aero engine to use in tanks, they had change the rotation to Clockwise because that is how auto engines were and this entailed making new camshafts. This is not a myth, it came from the RR Historical book on the development of Meteor.
Just looked at the Light Tanks manual and the valve timing diagram for the Meadows (and Rolls on earlier Marks), appear to be clockwise.

[colin jones]

Most certainly an interesting factor I'm surprised that the direction of travel isn't a general standard. Anyway, I put the Meadows ring gear along side the Chev and they appear to head the in same direction which looking from the front to the rear is anti clockwise. Interesting point is the Chev starter pushes to the ring gear and the Meadows pulls into the ring gear but the starter is on the same side on both engines.

[charlie fitton]

If they are both belt driven -why not just look at the fans? (My luck one will be a pusher, and the other a puller)

Failing that, put a big wrench on your input shaft and spin the works in the direction that the new engine spins

[Dave Mills]

Hello Colin, have been watching your restoration with admiration of your skills. We had a chance to get into the Tank Museum at Pucka with our local car club today. Grabbed a few photos of their Vickers with you in mind, unsure if they are of any use? Our club has a few ex 1st armoured personal, a case of not what you know but who you know to get such a comprehensive tour.

#1 - Spent cartridge case catcher. No way a this can jam or be fowled once you see it.
#2 - Same as #1
#3 - Looking through drivers hatch.
#4 - As above looking at turrent basket.
#5 - operating mechanism for drivers hatch.

More to follow.

Cheers,

Dave.

[Dave Mills]

Some more.

#1 - Mirror mount
#2 - Rear lights
#3 - Looking through turrent hatches
#4 - Turrent hatch vent lever
#5 - Smoke discharger with trigger wire.