Can we get the French AMX-13 Light Tank running???

At first we thought this French AMX13 Light Tank would be a phenomenal vehicle to get up and running... but Steve's initial diagnosis does not look promising...
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[@TX-biker]

Hats off for even TRYING to start it. As soon as you showed us rust INSIDE the engine I assumed she was DOA.

[@billyponsonby]

They were just trying to turn it over on the clutch not actually fire it up

[@obsidianjane4413]

As soon as they saw the insides of the engine it WAS DOA. They really shouldn't have even tried because they put a lot of stress on the whole drive train. Final drives n' gearbox vs a seized crankshaft... no one wins.

[@patrick-rx6qz]

Missiles were "Wire guided SS11". I was in the French army in 1978 in the 151st RI and was tank commander of an AMX13 90. Great light tank.

[@swedesamurai3331]

Was stationed in Germany in the 1970's and went to French Commando School #4 and they made use lay down in front of the AMX-13s as they drove over us. After that I looked on the inside and talked to the crew about it as I was a Scout working on an M551A1 Sheridan and compared the two. The crewmen told me that the seals on all the hatches always leaked and when they were on maneuvers and it was raining they got just as wet on the inside as the outside. I did notice that at their tank park all the turrets were under tarpaulins. just as ours were. So I think just parking the tank outside for years would allow the turret insides and the engine to collect water and rust.

[@evh1734]

"NBC Protection"

[@mtw56or]

Toujours Pret We used them for targets in the1974-76-time period. The M551a1 was a lot easer track to keep running.

[@discordia013]

I started getting Mr Hewes level flashbacks when I saw the water filter... sorry I mean air filters. The only thing missing here is having Ted to supervise.

[@quentinstacy35]

Love Steve's contributions. He presents his content so well

[@mattcarroll3469]

Yeah I have loved the addition of Steve !

[@plasma453]

We visited the museum on Tuesday this week and really enjoyed it. We were on a cruise ship and no one on the ship new the museum existed, a shame as many were older people and veterans.

[@kristoffermangila]

You should have told them!

[@plasma453]

@@kristoffermangila lol well obviously I did were possible. Once they get on land it's too late as a schedule will already be in place mostly.

[@Boggy2a1968]

Welcome, to workshop Friday!

[@FrancSchiphorst]

More like Welcome, to Rusty Friday :D

[@ricksmith4736]

Steve does such a great job explaining what he is doing and how the machine he is working on works.....

[@shawnc5188]

Two Australian neighbours used the AMX-13. In fact, from 1990 to 2008, Singapore had AMX-13SM1 tanks based at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area for armour exercises, until they were replaced by Leopard 2SG. Indonesia still operates the AMX-13.

[@Benji_saur]

The amx 13 got to be my fav light tank love to see it up and running

[@jacobstephens7153]

Not for the mechanics working on it xD

[@williamschultz298]

same

[@StrangelyBrownNo1]

Steve is so fantastic on camera. This curious mix of super engaged and absolutely sick of the everyone’s shit is wonderful.

[@HK94]

This is almost like an extra workshop video this week👍

[@dominicalbrecht7039]

And welcome to fix it friday...

[@ray.shoesmith]

or 'I think she's fcked Friday'

[@pierregrosjean3241]

Le moteur est placé à droite du conducteur. Il est à l'origine un moteur d'avion Mathis 8GB.20 à essence de 8 cylindres horizontaux, développant 250 ch à 3 000 tr/min, et qui équipe notamment le Morane-Saulnier MS-733 Alcyon et l'hydravion SCAN 30. Mais, avec la faillite de Mathis, il est remplacé par un 8GXB de 8 cylindres à plat, développant 270 ch à 3 200 tr/min. Le rapport poids-puissance est de 15 ch par tonne. SOFAM 8 Gxb à essence, à 8 cylindres à plat refroidi par eau dérivé d'un moteur d'avion Mathis et construit par SAVIEM

[@yattaran1484]

Thanks for the review !. So happy to know at least she found a nice place to sleep. May be someday she might have chance to wake up ! 😄👍

[@mickleblade]

The musée blindés at saumur may share info, they've got several there. They've also got a Bat Chat 25T!

[@AdstarAPAD]

Definitely NOT designed for maintenance.. I have no doubt mechanics would have cursed the designer of the tank on many occasions during the tanks service..

[@kittehgo]

Yeah no doubt the engineers went on to have horrible life due to all the curses

[@jacobstephens7153]

​@@kittehgo damn these Fr#nch engineers!1!1!1!

[@mynameisname567]

Designing the spark plugs to be inside the center hull and only accessible crawling through the tracks? 😆Gaping holes in the side of the hull don't seem like a good idea for a tank, especially in the context of NBC protection. Can you imagine any modern vehicle being disabled by the rain? Air filter clogged with water, doesn't it rain in France or were these meant to be kept in a garage?

[@jims4877]

@@jacobstephens7153 The French should stick to making wine and cheese.

[@vintageshed965]

Asking engineers to make something as light, fast and easily deployable, while also being a dream to work on and maintain, is too much, isn't it 😅

[@kevinbelcher8490]

I would love to see you guys eventually do a full restoration of that tank

[@paulday-lh5mx]

Thanks for another great video. Just fun to watch everything that is going on.

[@user-ho1fg8xm3i]

Well, you guys have some serious work to get this one going.

[@fireabend_1226]

pretty interesting new project. The shell has good substance. Thanks for the pics.

[@bwcdevices3028]

I actually got a feeling of claustrophobia from the inside shots - nice video!

[@patchmack4469]

good testing, this is where i'd be dropping some fluids into the top through the spark plug holes to sit and unseize the engine for a future date, and leave a proper notice into the engine bay to say so so when ever it does happen the next mechanics can get to work with a head start, certainly worth doing when you have a vehicle so complete, to have her working in the future is a massive bonus to the museum

[@bgdavenport]

If this is going to be a regular occurrence, and I hope it is, you could call these excursions, "Tech Thursday!"

[@scottburton509]

EXCELLENT idea!

[@54mgtf22]

Great work, AusArmour 👍

[@russwoodward8251]

It's still a great museum piece. Thanks Aus Armour.

[@andreim841]

You can still find brand new old stock 8 cyl boxer engines for the AMX online from time to time.

[@nevillegoddard4966]

Awesome a brand new engine imagine that?🥳

[@andreim841]

@@nevillegoddard4966 Yes, most of them pop out on the market in Argentina since they had quite a few AMX-13

[@emersonsteffler4149]

Love the AMX 13! I believe those mountings house around 4 ss. 11 French missiles. They're wire guided and were some of the first ATGM's used in service by any nation.

[@robertphillips6296]

We need to start a Go Fund Me for this Tanks Restoration.

[@nevillegoddard4966]

Great video guys! 😃👍! A flat 8 huh? Fascinating to see youse do a rebuild on one some day when you find one! Excellent it's so complete!

[@Joe90V]

That engine would be a great project for some engineering students at a Uni :)

[@highlander147]

Another nice video - cosmetic resto makes sense, I looked at all the hydraulics and winced at what it’d take to bring back on-line. Keep up the good work

[@williamschultz298]

I would love to see her restored fully!

[@davekreitzer4358]

Looks like a great project for the mechanic , pull it and rebuild it , mothball it until the restoration !

[@smalcolmbrown]

Thanks :)

[@diabolicalartificer]

Would it be worth pulling the plugs then putting some oil into each cylinder to arrest & prevent any more rust build up? Thanks for another grand video.

[@lap4793]

Looks like a great video series pull the engine set up a stand and pull it apart get what you need in parts ect and rebuild it but get the H2O out of it and fill it with crc or something like it great work guys.

[@grahamejohn6847]

Chuck some paint on and make it a static display

[@user-co7dr3rl8b]

Hopefully one day you can get it running. Because it is A unique vehicle. And that is putting it mildly.

[@herman7661]

The Sofam 8Gxb engine is an overhead valve, flat-eight engine, with a bore and stroke of 112 x 105 mm, for a displacement of 8,27 litres. Compression ratio was 6,53:1 and it supposedly developed 200 Kw at 3200 rpm.

[@tedstrikertwa800]

That's a cool tank. I think to restore it you would need a complete semi or working donor engine and gearbox instead? That's probably a whole other problem to source one.

[@scottburton509]

In a Q&A video Kurt said they have lots of contacts in the "surplus armor" world. Wouldn't be surprised if they found the proper engine sometime.

[@brissyboy7164]

Awesome .............. Thumbs Up

[@anthonylarocco161]

Are a lot of these tanks submerged in water?? My girlfriend an I are going to plan a trip to Australia and this is for sure on the list. Love it guys. See ya soon.

[@kevin5073]

Enjoyed this video. From my point of view, there is more value in restoring a vehicle like this than yet another Sherman. Keep up the great work.

[@paulgdunsford7469]

So how long will it take to completely dry out in the tropical north

[@drmarkintexas-400]

🎖️💪🏆🤗🙏💙 Thank you for sharing this

[@ant4812]

The missiles would have been Nord SS-11's.

[@ray.shoesmith]

Don't you mean Nerd SS-11's?

[@kristoffermangila]

He's referring to the SS. 11's manufacturer, Nord Aviation, which later on became Aérospatiale.

[@ray.shoesmith]

@@kristoffermangila Nerd, I say

[@kristoffermangila]

@@ray.shoesmith I give up! What a...

[@lukefriesenhahn8186]

I pray the good home it goes to takes good care of it, and potentially restores it.

[@clchan1953]

Wait around a bit, there’s still current AMX-13 operators so there will be parts support or at least whole tanks coming onto the market when they get retired

[@kristoffermangila]

For example, they could use the Detroit Diesel engine (DDA GM6V-53T) that Indonesian Army AMX-13s uses.

[@StevenG222]

The launcher is for ss-11 guided missles

[@Justin-iu9ih]

Hey guys do you fix helechopters ,,,do you think peristaltic motion for shaft of twin duel diesels with turbos,,,driving one flywheel ,,,the peristaltic motion shaft is it good enothe for helechoptets

[@bluerebel01]

Ever try Marvel Mystery Oil? Pour into every cylinder and let it sit for a few weeks, it has worked on tractor engines that were locked up and unlocked them. Did you drain the oil and if so how much water came out first?

[@christianjunghanel6724]

Are you guys planing to equip it at some point with replica rockets?

[@peterjanssen7573]

Definitely should be a high priority for a future restoration, I am sure with some love the magicians and the museum could get it running and looking amazing

[@stevestruthers6180]

It'll take a while, though. The rust is pretty extensive and the tank will likely require complete disassembly to do a good job of restoring it.

[@cmck472]

That looks cream crackered 😢

[@Agnemons]

I would suggest you find some way of heating the engine to dry it out then flood the cylinders and engine with light oil. The goal would be to stop it deteriorating any further until it can be rebuilt. I suspect that it would require cylinder liners and pistons at a bare minimum. But thay can be manufactured.

[@roberthocking9138]

No she’s gone Ime afraid, but at least you have a complete unit. Great video

[@kristoffermangila]

They could replace the powerplant with a Detroit Diesel, like the Indonesian Army AMX-13s.

[@RectalRooter]

@ausarmour Why doesn't the museum have any New Zoolander tanks ?

[@re1644]

I always wondered how the crew would ride on this tank. Now I know they always had to breath shallowly or else they could not get in. Damn, that is a tight space inside. It looks claustrophobic to me 😵‍💫

[@davidhandyman7571]

Definitely for submariners!

[@TheFurriestOne]

All that corrosion makes for a lot of time needed for restoration! Oh dear, that's supposed to be an oil-bath air-filter, not water-bath! Welp, the sooner any water is drained, the better? Maybe fill it to the top with diesel afterwards... Definitely gonna need a full tear-down and rebuild, that's for sure! Looks like some of my old ACVW engines... Maybe turn that engine into a display on the effects of corrosion and repower it? Someday, eh?

[@kristoffermangila]

Better yet, replace that GIAT V8 with a Detroit Diesel engine, just like the AMXs being used by Indonesia.

[@TheFurriestOne]

Ooh, yeah! Be easy to get it going then...

[@kristoffermangila]

@@TheFurriestOne and it'll be accurate historically, since Indonesia's AMX-13 fleet uses those.

[@andrewsteele7663]

Thanks Team, I will make it to Wednesday, Cheers

[@roblox-vp1rq]

Leave it to the French to make one of these! Were they using it as a frog net? One of these days it will be up and running... Nice video :)

[@lecirus2140]

Save it!🙏👍

[@BeatRoot14]

what is the history of this particular vehicle?

[@stanislavczebinski994]

I think for a proper restauration it would be cheaper and easier to find a better one. There are significantly more Cold War AMX-13s out there than Panzer I, STUG III - or any other oddball WW2 vehicles. Plus: In comparison, they are relatively small and light - and therefore easier (and cheaper) to transport to Australia. Greetings from Germany!!

[@glynluff2595]

I think it qualifies for the definition’Not well’!

[@evh1734]

Gorgeous little tank. So very very French.

[@MGB-learning]

What a French engine that won't start? Parrish the thought! Always a Great video, presentation and video work.

[@herman7661]

The petrol engine was replaced by a GM 6v53, two-stroke, diesel engine of 270 hp or by a Deuts F8L413, V8, air-cooled diesel of 250 hp, in various countries using these vehicles. The Detroit Diesel unit was the more common and successful conversion. The Deutz version was done by a few countries in South America.

[@Scottinqc]

I think the proper technical description for that engine is "knackered"......

[@scottburton509]

I think the term is VSF. Very Seriously F'd.

[@GERntleMAN]

Well, the normal procedure is to fill the cylinders with rustremover for two to four days, drain, fill with hydraulic oil, wait one day and then fill with a little bit of fresh oil. Then you can try to start an engine looking like that

[@nathanroberts355]

It be good to see the m4a1 Sherman tank up and running and I drive it

[@karlpeterson9334]

Anything that sits for more than a year or two is going to not just start up anyways. At least the discovery to what extent is thorough.

[@conceptalfa]

👍👍👍!!!

[@manurama2372]

Buenos días, sería posible que poder disponer de subtítulos en Castellano, Español. Muchas gracias Hacéis cosas impresionantes

[@aserta]

Probably should spray rust inhibitor all over the interior if you're not getting at it soon. And given the size and scope of the project (basically complete disassembly by the looks of how corroded it is) ... yeah, it won't happen soon. Could also put oil all over the surfaces. Something with a thicker consistency.

[@chrisc5275]

I see the vehicle has insignia of the 1 REC. 1iere Regiment Etranger de Cavalrie.

[@keithgarland3404]

Engine internals look rough, is there not a way of getting some lube / freeing oil into the cylinders, not as easy as upright cylinders, but worth a try, leave to soak whilst it's stood,👍

[@obsidianjane4413]

It wouldn't do any good. Its not your '86 Toyota. The bearings will all be trashed. The only thing freeing it up will do is to ruin irreplaceable parts like cams and crank.

[@orbitalair2103]

@@obsidianjane4413 yeah, thats why i cringed when they try to push it to break it free. it has to be pulled and rebuilt.

[@keithgarland3404]

@@obsidianjane4413 not necessarily, but point taken.

[@asya9493]

7:50 I was expecting to see a rat running the other way.

[@MrKingdavis13]

Put a mixture of 50/50 acetone and automatic transmission fluid in each spark plug hole and let it sit for a few days and I bet you will be able to turn it over. I have used that trick many times to get motors to turn over and it has never failed as long as there wasn't a rod wedged somewhere it shouldn't be. I have never tried it on something that has sat under water for 80 years though to be honest so your mileage may vary. Lol

[@diaulhaq633]

Still in service in here.

[@tedheath9018]

The two guys are a really funny

[@kirankrishnars9089]

❤❤

[@larsbkurin1740]

Unfortunately I live in Sweden otherwise you could have taken the engine out and sent it to me for some TLC. Also think there are good retired mechanics in Australia with decent workshops who would be happy to help get the engine running for you.

[@Nordsturm921]

Aus Erfahrung kann ich guten Gewissens sagen, das 10 Jahre Regen im Ansaugtrakt vollkommen ausreichen um einen funktionsfähigen Motor in einen festgefaulten haufen Schrott zu verwandeln. Meistens läuft das Öl dann auch am Peilstab raus und die Ölwanne ist voll mit Wasser, und obwohl es nur Regenwasser ist, kann es Aluminiumteile wie Ölpumpengehäuse nahezu auflösen. Aber der Rest sieht gut aus, ist also mehr oder weniger nur die Frage eines Ersatzmotors.

[@FrancisFjordCupola]

I imagine once upon a time in a different galaxy far, far away there happened to be a real tank lurking underneath all that rust. Wonder what would be the best way to preserve that vehicle. Seems it has had a rough life.

[@nemisous83]

I feel like the only possible way to make this a runner is to replace the engines or replace them with new commercial engines.

[@nathansherman5684]

Amx-13 SS11

[@DRNewcomb]

I understand that doing an engine swap on an AMX-13 is a royal PITA.

[@kalaharimine]

Still in infinitely better condition than the Stug (blown up).

[@bobwilcox1147]

As Rob and Chris would say, that's been a spark plug too long!

[@mikekell9889]

That's gonna need a rebuild

[@jimmyandtommy1]

Random question but are those anti glare clear safety glasses?

[@davidbarnsley8486]

I think that engine has to come out and be rebuilt or replaced It is a boat anchor

[@ulfhedtyrsson]

Paint me like one of your French tanks.

[@jaycrank8163]

Why not pull the engine and then put it in a tank with fluid to covert the rust. It can be on display thought this time till you get it free then do a mini series on the motor. They say to eat an elephant take it as a bite at a time.

[@66kbm]

There could be a high probability of the possibility that some water may have been ingested into the Engine........Only a suggestion

[@vsvnrg3263]

i think the minimum and the maximum to do to it at this stage is to dry it out. get every last bit of moisture out of it. then, one day..............

[@westmus]

It's french!! Ii's probably like older french cars. They are not necessarily difficult to service or work on, but you may have to really rethink from how you used to doing stuff. I know an guy that are an big fan of old american cars, he do think the Citroen's (including hydraulics) are really easy to work on, but he also know all the tricks, since he have worked at an Citroen dealer for many years,

[@richardphelan8414]

With the engine in that condition it's best not to try to even turn it over you can do more harm than good ,the engine needs taken out and completely stripped down cleaned then checked to see if it can even be rebuilt or junked and replaced with something newer and better

[@Larsen1077]

Look at Tank Chats #174 from the UK Tank Museum kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHycZodrmcSrqM0. It's about the AMX-13 and it's history.