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Post by TRM on Jun 17, 2017 11:44:46 GMT -5
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Post by Leon on Jun 17, 2017 12:52:03 GMT -5
Great thread Todd! You and the guys are doing some awesome work.
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John Everett
Full Member
Member since: January 2012
July, 2016 MoM Winner
Posts: 1,278
Jan 17, 2012 0:53:48 GMT -5
Jan 17, 2012 0:53:48 GMT -5
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Post by John Everett on Jun 17, 2017 17:51:13 GMT -5
That's a huge amount of work. But the tanks looks so great when they're finished that I'm tempted to point out that they need more weathering.
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 17, 2017 18:57:44 GMT -5
Don't think there will be any arguments over the 'correct' shade of OD either on these Todd! Nice work and definitely something to be proud to be part of.
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Post by TRM on Jun 17, 2017 21:07:40 GMT -5
Thanks Leon! Pure labor of love! The guys are great...you met most of them at AMPS. The Stuart will be the 5th one being done! Just an honor to be accepted into a group like this! Thanks John! LOL...I threatened to start weathering folling the painting...Pretty sure the tanks would look like they did before we started! Thanks Bill! There is certainly a pride factor in this for sure! LOL...There is no question on the colors on these toys! Between running actual specifications before we start, these guys all served on many of these. I even would have not called for the brownish Olive Drab with a shine...but that is how they rolled off the line! The M5 is going to be a light OD with yellow makings with blue number...I think. Libya WWII. This little girl will look cool!
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joelsmith
Full Member
Member since: July 2012
There no winners in war, only survivors.
Posts: 1,404
Jul 5, 2012 22:33:58 GMT -5
Jul 5, 2012 22:33:58 GMT -5
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Post by joelsmith on Jun 17, 2017 22:02:46 GMT -5
Todd, do you have stencils for the serial numbers, or, do you use really large decals? Thanks for the fine work you do to keep the heritage alive and visible for the future!
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Post by dierk on Jun 18, 2017 6:04:24 GMT -5
Nice work! Must make a nice change to go OOB without weathering, washes and CM
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fhvn4d
Full Member
Member since: October 2012
Posts: 439
Oct 1, 2012 6:30:09 GMT -5
Oct 1, 2012 6:30:09 GMT -5
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Post by fhvn4d on Jun 18, 2017 8:55:08 GMT -5
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Post by TRM on Jun 18, 2017 9:53:46 GMT -5
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Post by TRM on Jul 8, 2017 19:48:37 GMT -5
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Post by Leon on Jul 8, 2017 19:57:16 GMT -5
WOW...You and the guys are doing an awesome job Todd! She looks great with the primer on.
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Post by TRM on Jul 8, 2017 20:07:57 GMT -5
Thanks Leon! She does look a hell of a lot smoother now! The M60 is twice her size and triple her weight but the ins and outs when painting this are twice as difficult! So many nooks and crannies!
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Post by wbill76 on Jul 10, 2017 18:40:16 GMT -5
Already well on her way to a full makeover! Looking good so far Todd.
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Post by TRM on Jul 10, 2017 19:45:47 GMT -5
Thanks Bill! Thi did move along pretty well I thought. Where there are more ins and out on this versus the M60, we made up for it with manpower. Around 15 guys showed up to lend a hand along the way! You know I got my fingers into the paint...just has to be that way! LOL
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Post by TRM on Jul 15, 2017 17:53:29 GMT -5
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Post by Leon on Jul 16, 2017 5:17:05 GMT -5
Those 30 cals do look mean! Have fun in Omaha.
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Post by TRM on Aug 5, 2017 17:19:01 GMT -5
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Post by wbill76 on Aug 5, 2017 17:40:18 GMT -5
Pretty neat! I have to ask, what's going on with the support wooden post at the rear?
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Post by Leon on Aug 5, 2017 17:53:13 GMT -5
You and the guys did an awesome job on the old girl! Looking forward to seeing her dressed up with the markings.
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Post by TRM on Aug 5, 2017 18:24:37 GMT -5
Thanks Bill and Leon! I think everyone is having a little too much fun on this one! LOL Bill, I figured someone would ask sooner or later. That is the post holding the plaque with the original inscription for the tank. They are doing the site work in preparation for the placement of concrete and stuck that under the back so it would not get lost...LOL It does look like it's holding up her butt though!
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Post by TRM on Aug 12, 2017 16:32:26 GMT -5
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M1Carbine
Senior Member
Member since: November 2012
Posts: 1,616
Nov 16, 2012 2:49:11 GMT -5
Nov 16, 2012 2:49:11 GMT -5
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Post by M1Carbine on Aug 12, 2017 16:40:45 GMT -5
FREAKING AWESOME!
Bob
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Post by wbill76 on Aug 12, 2017 17:30:30 GMT -5
Man, that's quite the makeover! She looks great with those markings added.
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Post by Leon on Aug 12, 2017 17:50:20 GMT -5
She looks really sweet Todd! Congrats to you and the guys for doing an awewsome job keeping these relics alive.
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Deleted
Member since: January 1970
Posts: 0
Mar 28, 2024 21:03:12 GMT -5
Mar 28, 2024 21:03:12 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2017 17:14:04 GMT -5
She's beautiful!
G
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Post by TRM on Aug 15, 2017 18:41:07 GMT -5
Thanks for stopping by fellas...and for the kind words! She is looking pretty hot in the colors. I am hoping they decide to place her on the concrete this weekend! Waiting to hear back it it will happen!
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Post by TRM on Apr 16, 2018 11:39:52 GMT -5
Tank Season has arrived!
Springtime brings forth warmer weather (not really if you are having the crap we are in New England) and thoughts of getting outside more to do "stuff"! For me, it means Tank Season has come about! USABOT jump started their engines this year on a new project located in Epsom, New Hampshire. This time is it is the beast, the M60A3!
(as seen last summer)
Aside from the usual treatments of washing, grinding, adding some missing parts and of course painting...which will be standard OD with white bumper numbers, this old girl seems to be sagging a little at the nose if you have not noticed. We figured she has at least to snapped torsion bars. Changing them would not only be an arduous task, but would probably kill us all before we were done! LOL
Fortunately, I jack sh*t up for a living and happen to have some equipment for the task! So when it was brought up, of course I volunteered to take the helm on lifting her back into place!
Other than the fact that the M60A3 comes in at around 57 tons when she is combat ready, this is only a one-sided lift even with the main gun being on that side. In this case she sits without a power pack and the transmission and no internal supplies...possibly bringing her to around 51 to 52 tons (give or take). I did get a little lucky with regards to not only the concrete pad being in the right spot, the 50 ton jacks I have are 9 1/2 inches in height. The clearance at the bottom of the glacis where it meets the belly was about 10 inches. I did need to jack a little first so I could get some cribbing in to disperse some of the weight and not simply punch a hole in the concrete. For a little added safety, 3 jacks were used. Interesting thing is that any one jack was actually lifting the entire take as there was no leaning due to the tank's structure. After checking my note on the A3's Mil Specs, she is suppose to have a full clearance of 18 inches from the ground to the bottom of the hull. One of the guys was actually able to catch me doing some work (for once)! It took about 1 1/2 hours to get the big girl back up to spec. Unfortunately, I didn't snap a pic of the side...I stole this next pic and tried to zoom in to show how things came off the ground as it went up! All the way back to the 3 road wheel station, and with the track, she was off the ground on both sides! Fortunately for us, a couple six foot bars knocked down the wheels and tracks quite nicely. The first station still rides a little high now that she is on supports from underneath, but we will be trying to loosen the idler adjustment and it should fall the extra 1/2 inch to the ground! I chose simple lally columns for supports along with some beefy 1/4 inch steel bases. Each column has a compression strength of at least 27,000 lbs...50k in certain applications, which means unless they punch through the concrete, these will do just fine! A secondary mission for the day was the removal of the vinyl! While I was jacking, the guys attacked the bolts on the mantlet cover for the 105 and the .50 cal. (Which if you have not noticed in the pictures is a 3 inch black tube someone welded to the cupola! LOL There was some jokes flying about what model M60 cam equipped with a 37mm or Lewis gun! No worries...we have a new .50 cal barrel and suppressor ready to go in, along with new vinyl covers! Tricky part right now is working out fabricating plausible M239 smoke grenade launchers! In the end, I was happy with the lift, even more happy that she is dead level front to back and side to side now! (lol...sometimes the plan does come together)! Next stop, Grind-Time! This will not happen until probably the 2nd week in May due to a few engagements Abrams Co. has with dedications for a couple of past projects we did last year. We are still looking to get permission to cut the welds and gain access. Main goal would be to lower the elevation on the duck-hunting barrel! LOL Until we get back up there and I have more to report...thanks for stopping by!
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Post by Leon on Apr 16, 2018 15:58:25 GMT -5
Nice work on getting the A3 to sit pretty Todd! I'll be following this progress as usual.
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Post by TRM on Apr 16, 2018 16:50:53 GMT -5
Thanks Leon...glad to have you along for this one, again! Next up, the real dirty work...LOL
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joelsmith
Full Member
Member since: July 2012
There no winners in war, only survivors.
Posts: 1,404
Jul 5, 2012 22:33:58 GMT -5
Jul 5, 2012 22:33:58 GMT -5
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Post by joelsmith on Apr 16, 2018 19:32:06 GMT -5
Nicely Done Sir! Congrats to you and your compatriots!
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