Berlin Blitzer 1943 IH M5

[Mash]

So A&E was just a shake down in preparation for the XXX corps tour, this was going to see a large convoy of vehicles from Guernsey join up with in excess of 250 vehicles from the UK and Europe, this was two weeks in period kit following the route of XXX corps on Operation MARKET GARDEN.

Sourcing a new canvas and bows in the short period of time I had was proving difficult so a cunning plan based off of some period film footage set me on the road to building a wooden superstructure on her instead, this was done with some REME and signal units as it offered more room and drier storage, and with the appalling rain we had I was very glad of that. The wooden frame went up quickly, unfortunately the building suppliers were a few boards short prior to one of our local shows but it went as an ongoing project, once wind and water tight a few creature comforts were added which include lighting and fold down beds (very welcoming compared to the faff of tentage)

For the majority of my time I was in my element, along with one of the other guys we spent the vast majority of the time working on anything green, from motorcycles to trucks and armour we had the spanners out and ensured everything got to the end. My halftrack became an unofficial recovery vehicle for our packet, day one saw a Bedford QL on tow for the majority of the day due to a faulty coil, the M3A1 developed some vapour lock at one stop so that needed a short tow to the next location and finally the recovery of a Norton motorcycle that had been parked up on display in one of the stop off towns, it had been knocked over by a pensioner on their mobility scooter who promptly rode off, this caused the magneto to be out of alignment amongst other things so onto the bumper it went.

A truly great trip with like minded individuals, we even managed an Inter HT photo

[Mash]

Nice job getting the old girl back in service

Cheers, I just cant believe so much time has passed since I updated this post, more to come that is for sure.

[Monkeypirate]

This is so cool! I doubt i'll ever have the money for a trip like that but i love to see people get thes pieces of history out and really show what they could do! Beter to be driven and beat on then rotting in a sealed case in some museum.

[Mash]

Updates and progress

The past few months have been productive with some planned and preventative maintenance happening in the garage, with our liberation coming up and the fabulous Armour and Embarkation following closely behind.

February consisted of two men, a van and 2200mi over four countries in four days on the hunt for any parts covered in cosmoline and some that were not.

Once back home the first job was to refit the newly re-cored radiator, the engine was always running a little hot for my liking, now with the new radiator she sits around 120-130 so much better.

As you can see the old core was definitely passed its best.



In with the new.



I've also managed to source an original oil bath air filter and got rid of the Israeli one.



As the front axle bearings had never been touched since owning it I decided to strip it down and re-pack them, finding the hub nuts and locking washer mullered it didn't take long to see that the bearings has some dents in the cages, new bearings and locking rings ordered and fitted.

The last Job was fitting of some new tracks, this gives me some time to bed them in and ensure everything is settled in and re-torqued prior to the UK trip.




Other things that have happened,

A new bespoke canvas has been sourced and fitted,
Entered a local car show and was awarded best military vehicle,
She ran on our 80th liberation parade (I however wasn't driving),
Did some detail work inside the cabin including some weapon mounts for the driver and commander,
Probably a few more things too.