Building a Tank??

[SilverCat]

Sorry, I mistyped 'An' in the title, meant to say 'A'.

Okay, so the other day I was riveting the ribs onto a buddy of mine's triplane. We were talking on the subject of tanks and whatnot because another friend of mine was in an armored unit a while ago and was a tanker. Anyhow, the fact that I was building a plane and talking about tanks got me thinking: Can I build my own??

Now of course I know you can, but I would like to try starting on a newly designed MBT. Not anything that can compare to an M1A1 or anything ridiculous, but an inexpensive (for a tank), original MBT build with pretty decent armor and any other goodies I could pack into it.

Can I?? I'm not asking about the legality because I am well informed about DD's and whatnot. I am pretty mechanically inclined, however, I've done about jack-squat vehicle work. I will be doing this with people who are a bit more experienced in regards to vehicles.

How would this need to be built???? Thanks all!!



(I believe this was in the proper forum, if not, my apologies.)

 

[swbradley1]

With enough money you can build almost anything you want.

You could start by putting to paper what your design goals are and then see what it would take.

Goals
Light or heavy weight?
Slow or fast?
Diesel, gas or turbine power?
Road gear?
Suspension?
Transmission?


You can turn a bulldozer into a "tank" but it will be slow and not very functional.

 

[SilverCat]

Well here's the main issue, I'm not incredibly knowledgeable about the inner workings of a Tank. Some things I could decide on of course, but right now, I wouldn't know about certain features of a tank.

 

[swbradley1]

Augdog1964 is the closest to me (about 35 miles) who has armor. My Brother was a tank driver.

If it were me and money were no object I'd use hydrostatic motors but I'm not sure how that would work. Works well for slow moving tracks.

Simple design would be a hull with road gear, suspension, engine and drive train sort of like a Soviet BMP-1. Stick a gun on top.

 

[EmbarkChief]

Just don't be like this guy....

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer

 

[phreakboy4]

If you Google ripsaw, you can get a pretty decent idea of how they did the track setup and it works for some pretty Impressive speeds.

 

[patracy]

Yeah, it'd be legal to build one. Provided that you adhere to a few rules. (Width, rubber tracked, if you're going to use it on the roads) And as far as any guns go, they'd of course have to be legal as well...

I kinda have an idea for something I'd like to build next. It'd have to be lightweight, made from aluminum for the hull. But it'd be pretty straight forward. Just a hull with something smaller in mind like a M114 design. Use a HMMWV front diff with it's brakes still attached. Run that out to 12K halfshafts and gearboxes to run the drive wheels. You could use the two brakes to "steer" and brake with. From the HMMWV diff, run a driveshaft to the engine/trans. From what I see, the tallest gearset for a "hummer" would be a civy 2002-2006 unit which had 2.56:1. I know it sounds strange to look for the tallest gear. But think about your effective "tire" diameter of the small drive wheel. 2.56 is still multiplied by the gearboxes to make a diff ratio of 4.92:1. Honestly, I'd probably look at a late model chevy engine (4.8, 5.3) to power it to keep things light and powerful/simple. Just a simple TH400 for the transmission. Running the numbers. If it had about a 20" tall "tire" effectively. 4500rpm would be about 52mph!

 

[SilverCat]

You kind of feel bad for the guy up until the point that he demolished 7 million dollars worth of buildings.... And then claimed he was doing it in God's name....
Anyhow, I don't plan on destroying anything that I can't lawfully destroy.

Is there anyone here that's extremely knowledgeable about Tanks mechanics and whatnot that I might PM one day??

Anyways, I don't plan on pouring loads of money in, but I wouldn't completely skimp on cash and make a really cheap vehicle. Thanks all.

 

[patracy]

Anyways, I don't plan on pouring loads of money in, but I wouldn't completely skimp on cash and make a really cheap vehicle. Thanks all.

Tracked vehicles are money pits, even ones that aren't home built. Speaking from my SEMTT project, you'll spend waaaay more than you ever expected.

From my idea, I'd suspect it'd cost $25K or more in parts/materials to build something functional. That's also considering using junkyard engines/trans, used track parts/wheels/susp.

I've not ran the numbers on my SEMTT project. But I'm certain I've poured a lot more than I planned into it.

 

[SilverCat]

So as a newbie (with much help from knowledgeable friends, of course) to this kind of thing, should I try out maybe a wheeled APC instead?? Something of a BRDM-2 sort?? I still want to create an MBT, but it can wait. I can also prolong the construction over a great period of time.

 

[patracy]

Any kind of armor or tracked vehicle has a high cost of admission. I've been shopping lately, and let me say, it's eye opening....

 

[insanejecke]

Honestly I been thinking about the same thing if you keep it small and simple remember they were making tanks in the 20s and we have 100 times more tech now then then.

I think finding a old bobcat and taking the drive train and making it a little longer, add at less 1/4 inch armor ( to stop most small arms other then AP and some high power rifles ) a small turret or not you could make a TD stile tank. Like the T18 ( ) Its smaller then most full size pickups And there's a bunch more you could base it off of. with me I don't have the money but if I did I would make this Yee buddy

 

[Flyingvan911]

Do you actually need armor type strength? You might think about a tank looking vehicle. Lightweight and easy to move. It would also be easier to maintain. All you'd need it a sturdy frame then sheet metal for the rest.

 

[patracy]

Do you actually need armor type strength? You might think about a tank looking vehicle. Lightweight and easy to move. It would also be easier to maintain. All you'd need it a sturdy frame then sheet metal for the rest.

That's kinda what I've been kicking around in my head about this idea. It'd need to be as light as possible. But I'd certainly want the undercarriage to have something more than sheetmetal.

 

[SCSG-G4]

Get a deuce, mount the motor in the back, shorten the frame a couple of feet and build a 'modern' M-8 or M-20 scout car.

 

[insanejecke]

Yes you need armor because whats the point of making a cardboard box tank. If you know what I mean. And yes I know what you mean that's why I said 1/4 inch of armor is still armor but not too much or you know what how about aluminum yes it would cost more but it would be lighter and a 1/4 inch would still stop some small arms and pistols. and still let you run over cars and trees. if u had sheet metal I don't think you would want to run over a car or a tree lol.

 

[insanejecke]

Get a deuce, mount the motor in the back, shorten the frame a couple of feet and build a 'modern' M-8 or M-20 scout car.

hey good point there mike

 

[zout]

Depending on the requirements of whatever you decided to take a track drive system off from - the option of having the chassis built from square tubing (rectangular) for durabability. Fab your drive system on to that.

As far as bodywork - see no reason for a simulator tank to be made out of no less than a 20 ga steel with proper supports to firm it up (steel is NOT cheap).
If your going to built a fake - why spend all the money to make it "look" and feel like its real ???? Might as then just go out and buy a real one.
If I could ever get my hands on that lawn tractor MDMorgan had at the last Ga Rally - a little work and you could have a mini butt kicking tank - fast too.

 

[B3.3T]

I would be asking yourself why? Why reinvent the wheel? It will not be cheaper in the long run for two reasons; built cost will be more than you realize, and it will not appreciate at all like something real. Real armor appreciates. Replica stuff does not. Plus, you spend all your time telling everyone its not real. No fun in that. Just ask anyone with a kit car Ferrari. Or a German reenact or with a FV432 Stug III. Gets old real fast.

You want a bargain in this realm, there's a beautiful 2/3 scale Merkava MBT replica on www.armyjeeps.net No connection, just saying.

 

[SilverCat]

I see a few of you recommend buying or just making it from aluminum. While that may be cost affective, I can prolong his project over a great deal of time. Can't you buy pretty good vehicle armor on Alibaba from one of the 100 Chonese companies?? I believe so.......