Rick,
Actually, engines and drive trains are fairly simple. The Continental
R975-series radials were used in quite a number of vehicles including
the M-3 Grant/Lee, the early Sherman, the Canadian Ram, Sexton and
Grizzly and who knows what else on your side of the border. They remain
fairly common today... as a matter of fact, there's a chap in Australia
right now trying to unload a dozen of the things, in crates! Compared to
the GM 671 diesel pack and Ford GAA (hard to find but out there) and the
Chrysler multibank (scarce as hen's teeth), the Continentals are the
least of one's problem. Of course, given the early Sexton used the
R975-C1 and the later one the R975-C4, one would have to use some
discretion on which replacement engine was sourced, but I reckon that
goes with the territory... :-)
I can only suppose the disparity in engine availability for these
vehicles is directly related to the industrial usefulness of these
various powerpacks in the postwar period.
Regards running gear, given that Shermans have been 'in business' some
50 years, there's a remarkable quantity of the stuff out there. Yes, it
costs, but again, the market is fairly restricted; it's not liable to
run out anytime soon.
Big armour... expensive to buy? Usually. Expensive to restore - in time
and money combined, yes. Expensive to move about and maintain? Yes, of
course. But never mind all that... it's unique and a labour of love! Ask
any restorer of even the lowly Universal Carrier just how much ingenuity
he must employ during the process! It's the challenge that counts... :-)
And yes, a lot of the foregoing explains the relative popularity of
wheeled armour, never mind that of smaller units like the Stuart.
-- Regards,Geoff Winnington-Ball MAPLE LEAF UP! ==> Zephyr, Ontario, Canada ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maple Leaf Up - The Canadian Army Overseas in WW2 http://www.mapleleafup.org <sunray@mapleleafup.org> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment http://www.1cacr.org <info@1cacr.org> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Richard Lathrop wrote: > > Just my opinion but... > > What is the condition of the engines, transmissions and final drives going to be after all those years sitting in Georgia? > > If all those get sold how much and how hard is it going to be to get parts for the radial engine? > > As attractive as the cost is, I think you need to look at the bigger picture. As has been stated on the list before unless a show is next to where you keep it, it becomes very expensive to move these things. > > That is probably why wheeled armor is so popular.
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