WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY: Inspecting an ORIGINAL WWII StuG III transmission for our RESTORATION project!

Against all the odds, we sourced and acquired an original WWII StuG III Transmission. But what's its condition like inside???

Follow the progress of our restorations every Workshop Wednesday! 😱

Keep up to date with the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum!⬇️⬇️

[billguernsey]

As a member of the society for the protection of bolts I was glad to hear that none were harmed.

[bigmac]

Steve is now one of the world’s experts on this transmission 👍👍

[mzimmerman]

"feral tofu" I nearly spat out my coffee 🤣 . Please don't change anything about workshop Wednesday, I really enjoy the balance of mechanics and relaxed atmosphere.

[joncutt]

The fact that the watchmaker hammer is a joke in aus shops too, makes me unbelievably happy.

[mmrik]

as a old engineer its good to see people that don't always reach for the power tools to work on stuff

[Duffy]

Running the gearbox on the bench properly with some sort of external oil tank and filtering system running at the same time would be well worthwhile

[aserta]

12:57 the reason there's both a (provision for a ) tab and a pin is because of options. In the field, repairs go as field repairs go, but if luck holds for the repairman, then they have at least one option of the two to put some restriction back. One can break, rarely would both break and if they do, you have the option to spread your locking methods between all the bolts, because you started with 2 separate locking methods. At least that's what i was told in regards to old machinery from ... well, the area where these would be native. Germany.
edit: tho in this case it's pretty obviously for a different reason. Those are studs. Even if you've pinned the nut, there's still a chance for the stud to walk out. So they locked and pinned it because the pin transforms the nut and stud into a bolt and the tab locks the "bolt". Clean reason.

[TX-biker]

I haven’t seen a mechanic use a speed wrench in 15+ years.

Thanks for the flashback 👍🏽

[RussianPenguin]

It was so satisfying watching every bolt come out with ez

[JensAndree]

Although every inch of me are screaming total rebuild I totally understand that there's a limit to how much you can spend on every little part...
The reason why you aussies are so successful is that your mentality of repairing and refabricating instead of slavishly sticking to original parts - and that's how you're able to restore tanks in a couple years that others haven't managed to do in a couple decades! This I applaud you for - and it makes for awesome content too!
I'm sure you'll be able to get this early Pz III transmission into working order after taking it apart for a good clean and some rust repairs. Perhaps some parts/cogs will need attention but that'll be money and time well spent since it'll last for another couple of generations. Museums are all about saving the past for future generations and a ~90% original working piece will always be better than a near 100% pile of bits on the floor... I mean there are sure to be many restoration projects that have been halted for years just because some original bolts and nuts are missing?!
I only wish I could visit you at the Australian Armour & Artillery Museum but I live more or less exactly as far from you as humanly possible (Sweden) so it's not just hopping on a bus - but if I ever make it to Australia you're the first place I'm going to visit!
Many thanks for making these videos!

[kenmarsh]

Hi guys from the UK. I look forward too this channel every Wednesday morning. The German engineering is is unbelievable. All the best guys see you next time.

[detlefmester]

Hello from Germany. 80 year old German quality. This is impressive. It makes me proud as a German mechanic.

[JoeyWebber]

I trick that was used years ago on tractors and other heavy equipment, fill the case about 1/2 full with diesel or kerosene . Attach a drive source to the input flange and run the unit at low speed through all the gears with no load on it . Change out the fuel a couple times until you get it clean . Then you would fill it with the proper lubricant and run it really well, then drain it and refill it one last time . Just something to think about if you see this post so far down .

[stevenhicks]

As a fellow wrench turner and Steve, I can say without question that Steve was on a high after all of those opportunities for failure didn’t materialize ! I’ve had worse experiences with 20 year old hardware, that was truly amazing ! Like hitting the lottery. Can’t wait for the back story on acquisition of the transmissions…..if only they could talk ! Great episode !

[whythesadface]

That was fun. I followed using my Gregory's StuG III service and repair manual. I got it at Repco a few decades ago.

[epic_ww_stories]

Watching this video makes me wonder about the people who operated these vehicles during WWII. Does anyone have any interesting stories or historical anecdotes about Stug III crews that are worth telling?

[ggginforlab]

8:55 PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Alkett machines) is happy 😁

[dash]

I was an aviation mechanic in the Navy. It's amazing that after about 80 years the ease of taking it apart. Germans really built things to last.

[shed]

Can't beat a solid and trustworthy 'slight adjustment tool' (aka a hammer), many a problem has been solved using one of those. Great job by Steve, and seeing the condition of those gears after nearly 80 years is just amazing.

[NSYresearch]

Seeing those 80 year old bolts come out relatively easily and in tact, you can only admire German engineering