That looked so much fun. Definitely character building - well done to Mr. Best for not going postal. As mentioned below - you guys really should have way, way more subscribers. One of the best channels on YT. You're all legends, especially Ted. I shall buy a Foden t-shirt and bemuse my friends.
As someone who drove and repaired a chieftain nearly everyday for 7 year, I can honestly say, it's like everything if you look after it, it will look after you!
@@lesjones471, I worked on Cents but no, I never changed the plugs. In fact 1992 I drove the second last Centurion in service with the British army, down to the rail flats to go back to the UK from Munster Larger. The last one was driven straight to the tank museum in Munster Larger. As an armoured engineer we still had Centurion AVREs until that time.
@@steven9562, it was over 25 years ago, and I drove quite a few different AVLBs and AVREs, as well as Spartan CVRTs! In Germany, Canada and Bosnia! I was 31AES for my entire 7 years in the army!
It was a safety feature for those tanks fitted with Leyland engines. You’d never actually make it to the front lines so complete survivability for the crews
When I was in the Army, back in 1979, I was informed that if 20 Chieftains were sent into action, 19 would break down on the way and the remaining one would break down when it arrived.
@@CZ350tuner you lot only know about our xxxx-ups cos you saw them! If we're bad then what would Russian tanks be like for maintenance when the current officer class is selling the logistics chain off! They're selling the diesel, the spare engines... their troops must know theirs is a "me first" fxxx-up army as they abandon their vehicles first chance they get.
I used to put a flame into the intake manifold, using a piece of cloth soaked in methylated spirit wrapped and tied around a length of fencing wire. One holds it in the air stream entering the inlet manifold. The cave-man's glow plug we called it. Starts damn near any diesel engine.
Ahh, did not understand what that was all about. Now I get it. Thanks for the "heads up." Oh, and yeah. "Don't put water in the fuel tank." Got it first time.
As a young apprentice pipe fitter I worked a few times at Chilwell Depot in the late ‘70’s and I watched in awe as these monsters were taken out and put through their paces on the test track. The howl they made seemed as if your could hear it for miles around. Unfortunately the Depot is closed to this type of work now so all we have left are memories of the sound of this lovely beast.
When in Germany on exercise you would get the odd tank going off the road going down hill and into the woods knocking/chopping trees down which could be 24" in Dia
@Mr Hewes, I presume you do realise that the GUE is for, well, generating. It is also the way to warm the main engine prior to attempting to start. Very, very rarely was the main engine started WITHOUT the GUE running first, it help to stop knackering the driving batteries...
I think I just hallucinated. Whilst Joe was checking all the levels, I swear that I could smell the garage where my father worked when I was a child in 70's and early 80's. It was quite surreal. Of course, it could be the fact the children woke me at an ungodly hour this morning. 😊😊❤❤❤😊😊
I was in the Army in the Seventies, I always thought that the L60 was a deliberate attempt of sabotage by " Red Robbo" and his band of communists over at Leyland. In fairness I don't think it was designed to have the L60 at 650hp. I think the original spec was for a 1200 hp Rolls Royce engine. Usual MOD incompetence and cost cutting at the expense of our troops.
Red Robbo and BL cars had nothing to do with the L60. The L60 was designed in the 50s to meet a NATO requirement for a multi fuel engine by BL before they bought Triumph in 1960 and Rover in 67. Red Robbo at Longbridge (Austin) and the guys at Cowley (Morris), Solihull (Rover) and Coventry (Jaguar) etc had nothing to do with it. If Britain had ignored the NATO requirement, as other countries did, and had made the L60 a Diesel engine or gone for the Rolls Royce diesel Chieftain would have been fine.
As a class1mechanic in the UK forces you always tied your tools together,other mechanics learned their lesson when adjusting 432 personel carrier steering drum brakes,if you loose a spanner down in the steering box you tried a magnet on a string to retive it,if not it was steering box out to get at the lower access plate hoping it did fall to the bottom.
British leyland were fine as long as you don’t buy one that was made on a Monday morning, Friday afternoon, just before they went on strike or just after they came back from being on strike.
I know its hindsight, but the level of maintenance observed during the prestart checks, would have indicated that the fuel filters would be worth a inspection before start.
Yes you were, sorry. .. It depends of course on how long it had been since the previous sucessful run. Still fun to watch, but not necessarily for you, as its always easier for the person who has come to assist, rather than the owner. @@AdamBest1920
British Leyland measure thier success by the size of their profits. Or more accurately, they measure their failure by the size of their losses. - Sir Humphery Appleby, Yes Minister
Served in a Recce reg, loved those bad boys starting up, and the howl when they moved off. The LAD were immense back then. Great video fellas, keep up the good work 😁
That's quite an early Chieftain that hasn't been upgraded Mk1 with upgraded commanders cupola or a Mk2 ), old style NBC kit and 50 cal ranging gun hole not welded over, at least it got the updated commanders hatch. Maybe it was a training tank. There were a few of those still at5 Catterick back in 1984 when I did my basic training.
@@markellis7819thats the first thing you notice ... we were the last ones to use Ch in the middle 90’s at SPTA as the Armoured Sqn...a true love/hate relationship...
@@markellis7819 after 25years in the RAC, I’m pretty sure I know what SP on a reg plate means..... pretty sure..... Sarcasm, an often underrated form of communication......
I recognise this Chieftain - have got many photos of her, been inside the turret etc, glad to see you have her running again. She used to live up Brookfoot, near Brighouse, West Yorks.
@@chrishavard5871but not worse than an Alfa sud or any of that jap junk that come here in the 70’s .non of them are seen at classic car shows now .there’s BL stuff still showing up …Lancia stopped selling to the public after so many warranty claims for rust .just built for motorsport after that ..
Started my career working on Leyland Cars. They were happy days, anyone remember STAVI training with presenter Michael Rod? P.s love the Windows boot up/down, sounds like me keep accidently leaning on my PC : )
bless - Adam's poker face reminds me of a silent assassin i once knew - has that look that just one little word might turn him into a mad raging beast and rip your throat out with a snide remark - having said that i thought he did rather well, kept his cool and didn't throw his teddy out the pram, or even you Joe, your very privileged to be working so close to him without having your arms and legs wrapped around you and tied in knots, i've had that done and its not particularly nice especially on a cold day well done for getting the old kitten purring again (not so sure about the Windows start up effect, but did make me giggle a lot)
Like how you've got an SP number plate, I do believe it stands for 'service prototype' if its the right no plate, its a very early modle. We had a few challenger 1's and vickers mk5 or 7's at Bovington in the mid 80's on those plates.
On my first exercise as a REME Fitter with Scots DG in 1974, we were initially very busy fixing hydraulics problems (the seals degraded if unused). However, after that the Chieftains ran and ran no problem. They were noisy and underpowered but the tankies seemed confident they'd be effective in battle.
A very good Chieftain driver could creap up to the enemy without any problem and win the battles.I joined the forces in 1966 to become a fully trained mechanic,traveled to many places close to trouble in the fareast,became a full corporal and did 18+ years,became an inspector of equipment which were tanks,432's and soft skin vehicles,best posting was Gibraltar for 2 yrs.
Ahh the L60 I once saw one drive out the hanger but never made it out fully as the engine grenaded. I'm still in love with the Chieftain despite it's flaws. If I could afford and store one I'd buy one in a heartbeat. FYI I was a B3 crewman on these once upon a time.
used to have a works runabout that was a Maestro that often wouldnt start either and the Electrics on it made Fiats look good! Great video as always and well done on gettibng the old girl running.
when the Dutch army tested the chieftain against the leopard,they liked the gun and the armour- but they were apallled by the mechanics of the thing. and of course they had to put in a new engine after 2400 km(broken piston ) and the engine room was a bloody mess, oil everywhere.....their comment was " badly constructed, bad workmanship and ineffective or inexistant quality control. " for the dutch army reliability was a major factor- atankwith a good gun,good armour but sits in the workshop all the time is not only no use, it also takes manpower and space away....no use. they chose the Leopard.
I know next to nothing about the Chieftain regarding it's reliability and so on because as an Italian I was driving in the 1972 the Leopard 1A2 and was very reliable. Personally I liked it very much and even enjoyed it it. What a shame I couldn't take it home...
The leyland engines were a built down to a budget feature which in the end cost more! The Leyland L60 engine is a two-stroke opposed piston design intended for multi-fuel use so that it could run on whatever fuel was available. In practice the engine did not deliver the expected power and was unreliable, estimated to have a 90% breakdown rate but improvements were introduced to address this. Primary problems included cylinder liner failure, fan drive problems and perpetual leaks due to vibration and badly routed pipework. However, as the engine power improved the tank itself became heavier. Should have put a Rolls Royce engine from the start but cost to much! The original design of the Chieftain tank called for a petrol "V8 Rolls Royce engine". With a two year delay in the development of the V8 engine - "the decision was taken to drop the V8 and go with a yet to be produced multi fuel engine." A Leyland L60 engine pack displayed at the Bovington tank museum.
On exercise, wrapped Up warm in your sleeping bag at night and then you hear the howl of the chieftan engines and the ground shaking as a troop Drives through you Location without lights. Thats when you start talking to god.
Iv,e got a leyland alloy v8 4.4 all alloy, it goes really well attached to a borg warner 4 speed manual, it doesn't boil on a 42c day because it was built by leyland australia in zetland sydney, nothing wrong with 1973 leyland p76!
Perkins Condor, acquired when they bought Rolls-Royce Diesels in Shrewsbury. Apart from being in cast iron, the engine had some common features with the Merlin, e,g,. 60° V12, and versions with 27 litres displacement. I remember admiring a marinised one for yacht applications at the Düsseldorf boat show (Boot).
I was an MOD apprentice and saw the first Chieftain drive out of A Vehicle workshop. It broke down halfway out the hanger doors. It was the appallingly built Red Robbo British Leyland L60. Every Chieftain that did trials had to have its brand-new engine removed, stripped and repaired due to sheer bad workmanship. Liners not located properly, broken piston rings, scored bearings due to no assembly lubricant, etc., etc., etc. The L60 design was basically sound, as was the Rolls-Royce K60. The only difference was I never saw a K60 power pack in the engine bay with a problem with the actual engine. I have never heard an engine accelerate so fast as a K60, not even a Cummins. Bloody thing would hit the stop before you could get your finger off the throttle. The Labour Government decided that BL should make the L60 due to BL going to the wall. I vote Conservative now. They lie better. It was so nice to hear an L60 again. We did get 730 BHP with a pretty clean exhaust in the end. I ended up Chief Design Draughtsman and then got myself made redundant. Grass in the car park now. We can't (not 'don't') make tanks now. I did my best and that's what you get. R Soles.
Imagine facing off the eastern hordes in stuff like this - great when it runs, but runs 10% of the time ;) The T-72 crews would get sick and tired of responding to tow calls (they probably knew they were better off to ignore the British tanks, or even help the British tankers keep them running knowing the British tanks consume so many valuable resources ;). Jump start us for a cuppa hot tea?
You have more patience than me, after finding water in the filters i would have been tempted to sack it off. water usually includes frogspawn and foliage that blocks every pipe fitting and banjo, 🤦♀
I worked on these tanks in Vickers Armstrong works Newcastle and they were a sack of shit from start to finish. Part of the trial was to try and get them to drive out of the factory before they broke down. For every twenty Chieftain we built we also built a Recovery Tank, it should have been one for one. The Leyland engine was the start and end of its trouble better men than I will tell us why Rolls Royce were overlooked. In its favour the gun was up there with the best of them so we were told, never being on the receiving end I cannot confirm this. Still on the bright side most were built and sold to Persia for the Shah so Iran are stuck with them though I did repair a few for dare I say a middle east country that had quite a lot of Jewish chaps driving them during an arms embargo! The Official Act forbids me to name the country Up to seventeen years in jail was the the warning to the work force as I remember in the sexy seventies The Chieftain a tank best forgotten even with the dozer blade fitted.
that is about the cleanest L60 I have ever seen running, I did have a chuckle about the spanner, sorry, it was a common occurance when working on them. Injectors are a bastard to get to though. I can't see any reference to any prototype Chieftain in the book I have, which I used to find out about the stuff at Catterick.
That looked so much fun. Definitely character building - well done to Mr. Best for not going postal.
As mentioned below - you guys really should have way, way more subscribers. One of the best channels on YT. You're all legends, especially Ted.
I shall buy a Foden t-shirt and bemuse my friends.
No they were always sh!te!
As someone who drove and repaired a chieftain nearly everyday for 7 year, I can honestly say, it's like everything if you look after it, it will look after you!
Did you ever change spark plugs on the Centurion tank which took 24 hours to change
@@lesjones471, I worked on Cents but no, I never changed the plugs. In fact 1992 I drove the second last Centurion in service with the British army, down to the rail flats to go back to the UK from Munster Larger. The last one was driven straight to the tank museum in Munster Larger. As an armoured engineer we still had Centurion AVREs until that time.
@paulsandford3345 what was the reg number of your chieftain
Did the owner get the stab kit fixed on this
@@steven9562, it was over 25 years ago, and I drove quite a few different AVLBs and AVREs, as well as Spartan CVRTs! In Germany, Canada and Bosnia! I was 31AES for my entire 7 years in the army!
It was a safety feature for those tanks fitted with Leyland engines. You’d never actually make it to the front lines so complete survivability for the crews
that is one explanation- but me ithink the Leyland engineers were bought by the Russians.
Or as long as the workers had plenty of toilet paper 🧻
The average Leyland L60 engine done more miles in the back of a REME FV434 than in any Chieftain.
When I was in the Army, back in 1979, I was informed that if 20 Chieftains were sent into action, 19 would break down on the way and the remaining one would break down when it arrived.
@@CZ350tuner you lot only know about our xxxx-ups cos you saw them! If we're bad then what would Russian tanks be like for maintenance when the current officer class is selling the logistics chain off! They're selling the diesel, the spare engines... their troops must know theirs is a "me first" fxxx-up army as they abandon their vehicles first chance they get.
I used to put a flame into the intake manifold, using a piece of cloth soaked in methylated spirit wrapped and tied around a length of fencing wire. One holds it in the air stream entering the inlet manifold. The cave-man's glow plug we called it. Starts damn near any diesel engine.
I sat next to many Gardener engines as a youth, just able to see over the engine cover while thundering down the roads with my father. Great sound.
I lived next door to Gardener in High Legh, Cheshire. Nice bloke. Had a donkey called Daniel.
The windows startup, shutdown and error sound effects were absolutely inspired. Had me spraying my tea.
Ahh, did not understand what that was all about. Now I get it. Thanks for the "heads up." Oh, and yeah. "Don't put water in the fuel tank." Got it first time.
seeing that chaps facial expressions brought back so memories for me of Chieftain Drivers covered in oil maintaining their tanks
Served with several tank regiments in BAOR not as a VM but Instrument Technician. Loved my time with Chieftains.
She has stayed remarkably old school, I think she even has the old metal bazooka plates. I did 18 years on tanks, loved this old smelly!
As a young apprentice pipe fitter I worked a few times at Chilwell Depot in the late ‘70’s and I watched in awe as these monsters were taken out and put through their paces on the test track. The howl they made seemed as if your could hear it for miles around. Unfortunately the Depot is closed to this type of work now so all we have left are memories of the sound of this lovely beast.
they could wake the dead when crossed the cobbles
When in Germany on exercise you would get the odd tank going off the road going down hill and into the woods knocking/chopping trees down which could be 24" in Dia
I served my time in 38 central
Though i don't recall having any pipefitters in the workhop
Don't care what you say, that engine sounded fantastic when it was warmed up.
Nothing more enjoyable than lifting a pack. It's like Christmas with all of the buckshee tools you can school up.
@Mr Hewes, I presume you do realise that the GUE is for, well, generating. It is also the way to warm the main engine prior to attempting to start. Very, very rarely was the main engine started WITHOUT the GUE running first, it help to stop knackering the driving batteries...
@@scraggy983 First task of the day, Hydraulic start, not electric start.
Hi,NOT CLEVER ENOUGH??? You and Adam got a bloody tank going. That's more than clever. Many thanks for the entertainment.
I think I just hallucinated. Whilst Joe was checking all the levels, I swear that I could smell the garage where my father worked when I was a child in 70's and early 80's. It was quite surreal.
Of course, it could be the fact the children woke me at an ungodly hour this morning. 😊😊❤❤❤😊😊
Working with such quality of machinery in such mint condition one wonders why you boys make such a meal of things.
Keep it up lads.
I was in the Army in the Seventies, I always thought that the L60 was a deliberate attempt of sabotage by " Red Robbo" and his band of communists over at Leyland. In fairness I don't think it was designed to have the L60 at 650hp. I think the original spec was for a 1200 hp Rolls Royce engine. Usual MOD incompetence and cost cutting at the expense of our troops.
Red Robbo and BL cars had nothing to do with the L60.
The L60 was designed in the 50s to meet a NATO requirement for a multi fuel engine by BL before they bought Triumph in 1960 and Rover in 67.
Red Robbo at Longbridge (Austin) and the guys at Cowley (Morris), Solihull (Rover) and Coventry (Jaguar) etc had nothing to do with it.
If Britain had ignored the NATO requirement, as other countries did, and had made the L60 a Diesel engine or gone for the Rolls Royce diesel Chieftain would have been fine.
Ex REME guy i worked with said you had a que of people waiting to recover lost tools whenever you did a pack lift.
As a class1mechanic in the UK forces you always tied your tools together,other mechanics learned their lesson when adjusting 432 personel carrier steering drum brakes,if you loose a spanner down in the steering box you tried a magnet on a string to retive it,if not it was steering box out to get at the lower access plate hoping it did fall to the bottom.
British leyland were fine as long as you don’t buy one that was made on a Monday morning, Friday afternoon, just before they went on strike or just after they came back from being on strike.
should you avoid all those obstacles, the superb management could hit you with the classic lineup of marina, princess, maxi & allegro.
But every part needs to not be made on any of those days
But that leaves 25 minutes on a Wednesday afternoon every 6th week?
Or just after lunch? 😊
I had an easier time keeping my Citroën SM running, than my Jaguar XJ6
OMG that look Adam gave at 12 minutes in when he dropped his spanner, I felt it in my soul 🤣
Ooh Yess. Just the sound of that engine starting and running gives me that fizz. I could listen to it all day long.
Well done.! Proper L.A.D work.
Cept you got it going.
Parts falling from this vehicle are from the best british craftmanship..
Adams eyes peeping over the top of the drivers hatch always makes me laugh!
I know its hindsight, but the level of maintenance observed during the prestart checks, would have indicated that the fuel filters would be worth a inspection before start.
I seem to recall Joe asking if they should do that and Adam replied in the negative.
sorry ,yes but te helpers should have ignored that given what they had observed previously.@@johnnunn8688
We were talking about priming the oil filters
Yes you were, sorry. .. It depends of course on how long it had been since the previous sucessful run. Still fun to watch, but not necessarily for you, as its always easier for the person who has come to assist, rather than the owner. @@AdamBest1920
British Leyland measure thier success by the size of their profits. Or more accurately, they measure their failure by the size of their losses. - Sir Humphery Appleby, Yes Minister
Served in a Recce reg, loved those bad boys starting up, and the howl when they moved off. The LAD were immense back then.
Great video fellas, keep up the good work 😁
Give the old girl a break, she is, after all, over 60 years old and I think she looks/runs very good for her age.
She looks like she could have been an old adversary of mine from back in my days as a vehicle inspector at MVEE. Good to see her running.
At one time,,the Chieftain was THE tank you wanted!!!!
That's quite an early Chieftain that hasn't been upgraded Mk1 with upgraded commanders cupola or a Mk2 ), old style NBC kit and 50 cal ranging gun hole not welded over, at least it got the updated commanders hatch. Maybe it was a training tank. There were a few of those still at5 Catterick back in 1984 when I did my basic training.
You didn't notice the SP registration ?
Didn't notice that but I remumber us having a few SP pieces of kit in heavy track troop back in 87 at Bovy @@markellis7819
@@markellis7819thats the first thing you notice ... we were the last ones to use Ch in the middle 90’s at SPTA as the Armoured Sqn...a true love/hate relationship...
@@johnhughes8016 You understand what an SP registration is?
@@markellis7819 after 25years in the RAC, I’m pretty sure I know what SP on a reg plate means..... pretty sure.....
Sarcasm, an often underrated form of communication......
that spanner drop, class
Never to be seen again
Yeah, that cinder block will deffo stop it buggering off. 🤦♂️
I didn’t think it started as there was no smoke!
I recognise this Chieftain - have got many photos of her, been inside the turret etc, glad to see you have her running again.
She used to live up Brookfoot, near Brighouse, West Yorks.
I was thinking the same thing got videos of it broken down at Yorkshire wartime experience.
I have 2 p6 Rovers, the 60's Rover one and the 70's Leyland one. The Rover one does not rust and the chrome is still there.
I feel your pain,my first car was an 80's Rover SD1. If you were quiet at night you could hear it rusting.
@@chrishavard5871but not worse than an Alfa sud or any of that jap junk that come here in the 70’s .non of them are seen at classic car shows now .there’s BL stuff still showing up …Lancia stopped selling to the public after so many warranty claims for rust .just built for motorsport after that ..
Still love the sound of this tank, my dad drove these while he was in the 14/20th x❤
Started my career working on Leyland Cars. They were happy days, anyone remember STAVI training with presenter Michael Rod? P.s love the Windows boot up/down, sounds like me keep accidently leaning on my PC : )
bless - Adam's poker face reminds me of a silent assassin i once knew - has that look that just one little word might turn him into a mad raging beast and rip your throat out with a snide remark - having said that i thought he did rather well, kept his cool and didn't throw his teddy out the pram, or even you Joe, your very privileged to be working so close to him without having your arms and legs wrapped around you and tied in knots, i've had that done and its not particularly nice especially on a cold day
well done for getting the old kitten purring again (not so sure about the Windows start up effect, but did make me giggle a lot)
NOT THE MACHINES FAULT THAT OIL AND WATER DONT MIXXX
I love the problem solving between you two... 'Why's it doing that then'? 'I don't fuc*ing know'. 😆
"Outside the environment"! 😂😂😂 Good one! Great show.
Like how you've got an SP number plate, I do believe it stands for 'service prototype' if its the right no plate, its a very early modle. We had a few challenger 1's and vickers mk5 or 7's at Bovington in the mid 80's on those plates.
That would explain why it's not on the Merlin ERM database then.
It is it’s genuine number it’s a MK3
We used to call it "Special Projects" as it was on all the vehicles we had in a REME trials section.
Once while struggling with a pesky engine my wife appeared and asked if it was fixed yet? The wrench I had in my hand was never seen again.
Must admit, that's the cleanest running chieftain I've ever seen!
That sound took me back to the days of my youth living here in Bordon.
I know nothing about Chieftan Tanks , but that seems to run very well , hardly any smoke, well done.
Love the show great mechanical works. So many parts
On my first exercise as a REME Fitter with Scots DG in 1974, we were initially very busy fixing hydraulics problems (the seals degraded if unused). However, after that the Chieftains ran and ran no problem. They were noisy and underpowered but the tankies seemed confident they'd be effective in battle.
A very good Chieftain driver could creap up to the enemy without any problem and win the battles.I joined the forces in 1966 to become a fully trained mechanic,traveled to many places close to trouble in the fareast,became a full corporal and did 18+ years,became an inspector of equipment which were tanks,432's and soft skin vehicles,best posting was Gibraltar for 2 yrs.
In the last war, you would be put against a wall.
Glorious, 1 careful owner, full service history.
It seems to me that not only has this tank not been maintained but also it is clear that you do not know what you are doing!
Condensation in the fuel tank. Keep it full and buy your diesel from a good supplier
Ah the memories - Royal Scots Dragoon Guards 1983 - 92
Definitely a child of it's time, much like a Landrover that will run forever but is a screaming horror show to work on.
LOVE THE SOUND OF THAT ENGINE!
they would probably be amazing looking gate guards!
She sounds so healthy in the end compared to the beginning!
Bring out your can of StartYaBastard, works every time. 😆
Ahh the L60 I once saw one drive out the hanger but never made it out fully as the engine grenaded. I'm still in love with the Chieftain despite it's flaws. If I could afford and store one I'd buy one in a heartbeat. FYI I was a B3 crewman on these once upon a time.
L60s were designed to be driven every day, not parked most days. A huge mistake for a tank engine.
used to have a works runabout that was a Maestro that often wouldnt start either and the Electrics on it made Fiats look good! Great video as always and well done on gettibng the old girl running.
I take it the breeze block in the tracks was the “handbrick”?
I swear you guys could raise the titanic if you put your mind into it
when the Dutch army tested the chieftain against the leopard,they liked the gun and the armour- but they were apallled by the mechanics of the thing. and of course they had to put in a new engine after 2400 km(broken piston ) and the engine room was a bloody mess, oil everywhere.....their comment was " badly constructed, bad workmanship and ineffective or inexistant quality control. " for the dutch army reliability was a major factor- atankwith a good gun,good armour but sits in the workshop all the time is not only no use, it also takes manpower and space away....no use. they chose the Leopard.
You mean they chose an MRAP made out of a split window VW hippie kombi in Rhodesia instead????
that must be the strangest comment i ever read.@@andrewallen9993
@@andrewallen9993which tells you exactly how poorly they thought of the Chieftain…
I know next to nothing about the Chieftain regarding it's reliability and so on because as an Italian I was driving in the 1972 the Leopard 1A2 and was very reliable. Personally I liked it very much and even enjoyed it it. What a shame I couldn't take it home...
They chose the Leopards because the whole engine package can come out the back and me hoisted with a crane.
The leyland engines were a built down to a budget feature which in the end cost more!
The Leyland L60 engine is a two-stroke opposed piston design intended for multi-fuel use so that it could run on whatever fuel was available. In practice the engine did not deliver the expected power and was unreliable, estimated to have a 90% breakdown rate but improvements were introduced to address this. Primary problems included cylinder liner failure, fan drive problems and perpetual leaks due to vibration and badly routed pipework. However, as the engine power improved the tank itself became heavier.
Should have put a Rolls Royce engine from the start but cost to much!
The original design of the Chieftain tank called for a petrol "V8 Rolls Royce engine". With a two year delay in the development of the V8 engine - "the decision was taken to drop the V8 and go with a yet to be produced multi fuel engine." A Leyland L60 engine pack displayed at the Bovington tank museum.
APFSDS through the block, my war thunder crew: 45 seconds
Mr hewes, i dont think I would let im near my car.
Those windows noises cracked me up
On exercise, wrapped Up warm in your sleeping bag at night and then you hear the howl of the chieftan engines and the ground shaking as a troop Drives through you Location without lights. Thats when you start talking to god.
Iv,e got a leyland alloy v8 4.4 all alloy, it goes really well attached to a borg warner 4 speed manual, it doesn't boil on a 42c day because it was built by leyland australia in zetland sydney, nothing wrong with 1973 leyland p76!
Your hard work much enjoyed ! Merry Christmas! Thanks for sharing!
16:14 the look of FACK OFFFFFFF
Windows meets Leyland meets Chieftan! 😀 A match made in heaven! 😂😂
Maybe that's where they went wrong. Should have used Linux for the CAD!
3:21 But unlike a Leyland, Windows was reliable when maintained.
Did you see that oil? Last changed in in 97.😁
Thats the nicest sounding bit of kit yet - Good ole Leyland
Good looking example with all original kit and bins
Really enjoyed this video !! Good Work UK
Perkins Condor, acquired when they bought Rolls-Royce Diesels in Shrewsbury. Apart from being in cast iron, the engine had some common features with the Merlin, e,g,. 60° V12, and versions with 27 litres displacement. I remember admiring a marinised one for yacht applications at the Düsseldorf boat show (Boot).
I was an MOD apprentice and saw the first Chieftain drive out of A Vehicle workshop. It broke down halfway out the hanger doors. It was the appallingly built Red Robbo British Leyland L60. Every Chieftain that did trials had to have its brand-new engine removed, stripped and repaired due to sheer bad workmanship. Liners not located properly, broken piston rings, scored bearings due to no assembly lubricant, etc., etc., etc. The L60 design was basically sound, as was the Rolls-Royce K60. The only difference was I never saw a K60 power pack in the engine bay with a problem with the actual engine. I have never heard an engine accelerate so fast as a K60, not even a Cummins. Bloody thing would hit the stop before you could get your finger off the throttle. The Labour Government decided that BL should make the L60 due to BL going to the wall. I vote Conservative now. They lie better.
It was so nice to hear an L60 again. We did get 730 BHP with a pretty clean exhaust in the end.
I ended up Chief Design Draughtsman and then got myself made redundant. Grass in the car park now. We can't (not 'don't') make tanks now. I did my best and that's what you get. R Soles.
Mechanical wizard with the eyes of a serial killer.
That Leyland L60 is crap but the Chieftain sure looks the part! Love the Windows sound effects on this vid btw😄 Joachim
Those eyes were speaking volumes.
That M600 is not a piece of trash. It's an amazing car with the best bus motor of all time in it. :)
I'd have it in a heartbeat.
Imagine facing off the eastern hordes in stuff like this - great when it runs, but runs 10% of the time ;) The T-72 crews would get sick and tired of responding to tow calls (they probably knew they were better off to ignore the British tanks, or even help the British tankers keep them running knowing the British tanks consume so many valuable resources ;). Jump start us for a cuppa hot tea?
You are to make tea with the water, and not try to run a tank on it.
As much as this looks a pain, it looks like so much fun. Wanted to do this stuff in the army but my eye sight is shit so they said no thanks 🤣
You have more patience than me, after finding water in the filters i would have been tempted to sack it off.
water usually includes frogspawn and foliage that blocks every pipe fitting and banjo,
🤦♀
Makes a steam Traction Engine much more attractive.
A better bit of kit than anything the Yanks put together, right up until the Abrams.
I worked on these tanks in Vickers Armstrong works Newcastle and they were a sack of shit from start to finish. Part of the trial was to try and get them to drive out of the factory before they broke down. For every twenty Chieftain we built we also built a Recovery Tank, it should have been one for one. The Leyland engine was the start and end of its trouble better men than I will tell us why Rolls Royce were overlooked. In its favour the gun was up there with the best of them so we were told, never being on the receiving end I cannot confirm this.
Still on the bright side most were built and sold to Persia for the Shah so Iran are stuck with them though I did repair a few for dare I say a middle east country that had quite a lot of Jewish chaps driving them during an arms embargo! The Official Act forbids me to name the country Up to seventeen years in jail was the the warning to the work force as I remember in the sexy seventies The Chieftain a tank best forgotten even with the dozer blade fitted.
When I was in a quarter of them never got out of the sheds on crash-out
So much for a decent warm up after a cold start….😬
Beautiful tank. A surplus store in bakersfield had a Chieftain for sale a few years ago...
good job guys. thank you very much for good entertainment. 👍🤗👍🇸🇯
that is about the cleanest L60 I have ever seen running, I did have a chuckle about the spanner, sorry, it was a common occurance when working on them. Injectors are a bastard to get to though. I can't see any reference to any prototype Chieftain in the book I have, which I used to find out about the stuff at Catterick.
The British have green brake fluid !?!?! Guess I know what I'll be doing today, have to keep up with the joneses
The owner used to drive it round the yorkshire wartime experience show
I used to powder coat the instrument panels in matt black. Leyland took ages to pay me.
Well thats experience for. You , i wouldn't no were to start boys , magic !!
I've never seen a bloke so happy.
Never had a problem with mine, except for throwing a track in 5 years as a driver.
We actually love the chieftain