Recon. Jaguar J60 Engine

I have a Army Reconditioned Jaguar J60 Engine to fit in the Sabre....  or I may fit the one supplied by Chris ... (also Recon to A2 Standard) 

I will get them both running... then make a decision.

J60 Engine with its Transit Case

Brake Calipers

Today...  removed both brake calipers.  They cleaned up beautifully...  look to be in great shape. Replaced the rubber "Flexi" hoses.

Before......

After...  with new rubber hoses.  Pistons moved freely.

ALVIS SABRE - Restoration.: Behind Schedule - Update !!

ALVIS SABRE - Restoration.: Behind Schedule - Update !!: OK..  I have not done any work on the Sabre since early November !!   Well frustrated... as my employment is getting seriously in the way ...

Behind Schedule - Update !!

OK..  I have not done any work on the Sabre since early November !!  

Well frustrated... as my employment is getting seriously in the way of this.. more meaningful work.

Anyhow...  today I spent a few hours in the Drivers / Engine bay area.  The Generator was removed along with the Brake & Steering master cylinders and associated brake pipes. 

The paintwork, in this area, is in really excellent condition and is cleaning up extremely well.. degreaser and a bit of "elbow grease" is all that will probably be needed...  with maybe just a bit of paintwork.  This is a great relief...as with the Striker restoration, all the interior had to be stripped back to bare aluminium and repainted.

So here are a few photos of todays work...

Still some de-greasing to do... but looking good

The next job is to remove the brake calipers and check / refurbish as required.

Still some adhesive, from the vinyl covering, to remove. I will probably not replace this as the white paintwork looks good 

Brake master cylinder removed for refurb

Steering Master Cylinders removed for refurb

Generator...  looks worse than it is...  I think a good clean up will be all that is required.

Commanders Sight Periscopic No68 Mk3

This is the complex periscope that mounts in the roof of the turret - for the Commanders use.  The Gunner has a smaller version and also a image intensifying night sight (photos and info on these at a later date)

The Commanders sight is in excellent condition as can be seen from the photos - indeed it looks possibly unused !

Turret Basket Removed

I have now removed the Turret basket and most of the bracketry etc from the lower part of the fighting compartment.

The Basket rollers are badly corroded and will need replacing.  The plugs on the end of the cables to the rotary connector unit crumbled away ... I guess several years of being under water has taken its toll !

The Rotary Connector base unit hopefully is ok (not had chance to look yet).

The turret interior paintwork is pretty good.... will not all need stripping back to bare metal... as I had to do with the Striker.  Any flaking / corroded areas will be treated and repainted... I will then paint the exterior of the turret before refitting all of the interior items after each has been checked / cleaned repainted etc.  I can then start on the engine bay !

The Turret "Basket"..  with the Rotary Electrical Connector in the centre.
The Basket rotates with the turret... and has the Commander & Gunners seats attached to it along with a pair of hefty batteries etc.

The elliptical panel is an access cover for the fuel tank. 

NBC Pack and Rack for 30mm Rarden Shells removed.

Over the weekend I removed the NBC Pack and Rack for 30mm Rarden Shells.

These exit via the hinged (& armoured) rear access panel.  I understand that the larger items inside the turret can also be extracted via this route !!

The largest item that needs to come out is the circular "basket" which rotates, along with the turret, on small rollers fixed to the floor of the fighting compartment.  The Commanders & Gunners seats are attached to this ring along with two batteries and another rack of Rarden shells etc.

NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical filter unit) Pack half out

NBC Pack

Rack for over 70 30mm Rarden Canon Shells

View through rear access panel into Turret area

Turret Interior

Fuel Filler Tube (Left)   & Blower unit for NBC System

Turret Interior

A few "reference" photos of the turret interior before I start removing parts. Always useful ... in 4 months time I doubt I will remember where everything should go !!

30mm Rarden Shell rack underneath the NBC unit

Gun Elevation Mechanism

The floor area !!

Time Lapse... Sabre into garage - Funny

Listen to that TD5 engine rev !!

CVRT Sabre Arrives at Cooper Close

Its arrived !  Exciting day....

Looked good on the truck.   Dragged it off with my Landrover Defender 130.

Chris (who I purchased the Sabre from) left his Towing "A" frame on the Sabre which made it very easy to move.  It was, for me, an unknown quantity... the Sabre probably, with most of its internals removed, weighs around 5 tonne..  so I was unsure how easy it would me to maneuver...  it was really easy.....  left a few marks on the road though !!  The tracks are completely worn out.. no rubber left on them...  luckily Chris has included a good set of tracks with the Sabre...  they still need to be collected from his house.

Anyhow enough waffle....  here is a brief video and a few photos.

Will not fit in Garage !!

Sabre scheduled to arrive in Bromsgrove

Just received confirmation from Bob Grundy that my Sabre will be collected from its current location, a farm in Stanley (near Derby)  this Thursday at 09.00hrs.... so should be with me around 11.00hrs.  The Striker, of course, will be departing on the same truck...  starting the first stage of its long journey to Canada.  Exciting..!

Video of Sabre Parts arriving in Bromsgrove

Brief Video of Sabre Parts arriving in Bromsgrove..

Sabre Parts arrive in Bromsgrove !!!

Sunday 9th September 2012

My neighbour, Dave, and I took his large van and very large trailer over to Sandiacre (Nr Derby) to collect all of the Sabre parts.  I nearly decided that the trailer may not be required... but... I'm really glad we took it.  

We filled the lot...  estimate... 2.50 to 3.00 Tonne !!

Main items were...  J60 Engine, Two Gearboxes (0.5t each) 4 Messier Dampers, Exhaust, radiator, dashboard, Dummy Barrel and Chain Gun, interior partitions, Commanders sight, Gunners sight, Gunners Infra Red sight, set of periscopes, wiring harnes, 30mm Rarden Shell racks, seats, all the exterior bins, Turret traverse gearbox, cooling fan etc etc....

Our front lawn yesterday afternoon....

One of Two Gearboxes

Daves Van & Trailer

Dave and the J60 Engine

Introduction and Overview

This is what it should look like when finished !!

So... The Striker Has sold... and is heading to Canada. After much soul searching I decided that I needed another project.... I just have to accept that without something to tinker with I would probably go crazy... or I might just grow up...  can't have that !!

By an amazing stroke of luck... a CVRT Sabre has just become available courtesy of Chris McMillan... who has too many projects on the go at the moment so needs to let one go !

The Sabre is completely stripped down but comes with all the parts (literally everything) to get it back together.  Just a load of hard work, Paint, nuts and bolts etc etc.

First task is to get it picked up from Derby and delivered to my house.  The Striker is being collected by Bob Grundy prior to shipping to Canada... hopefully Bob can collect the Sabre on his way down from Manchester and do a swap over in Bromsgrove... sounds like a plan.

The engine, two gearboxes, a mountain of parts and a set of good used tracks will also have to be collected at some time !!

So enough waffle for now... here are a few photos of the Sabre as it was a few weeks ago and as it is now.... after Chris steam cleaned it... plus a couple of videos.

As received by Chris

Engine bay after steam cleaning - Bulkheads removed

Spare suspect gearbox

A2 Spec Jaguar J60 engine