Guys start abandoned tank for first time in 30 years

YouTuber Mr Hewes has done it again, completing a restoration of a T-34 tank and attempting to fire it up for the first time in 30 years.

If you’ve been following his military-vehicle adventures you’ll know that tanks are truly a passion of the mechanic and content creator.

This is a huge milestone.

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The T-34/85 tank

Per The Tank Museum, the T-34/85 is a Soviet tank that was introduced in 1943 during World War 2 as an upgrade to the T-34/76.

The medium-sized tank boasts 90mm armor, seated five crew, and its 32-ton heft could achieve speeds of 55km/h (34mph).

Its main weapon was an 85mm ZiS-53 gun and secondary to that were two 7.62mm DT machine-guns.

Mr Hewes’ restoration

After sitting idle for so long, Mr Hewes had his work cut out to get this WW2 giant fired up again.

First up, a malfunction was found in the injector pump where a stuck plunger prevented proper fuel pressure, leading to a non-functional cylinder.

The team was able to painstakingly clean and fix the part and managed to get it working correctly without leaks.

Next up – starting the engine.

A caption over the video explains: “Because the piston rings are stuck we use heat and easy start to keep. the engine running long enough to warm up.”

With whoops of joy and a serious amount of smoke – the engine is fired up.

It’s pulled from the barn via a JCB until the following day.

Members of the team close into the tight space and throw out any rubbish left by its former occupants, including a pair of trousers that are ‘dripping in blood’.

Finally, the hatch is lowered, and the tank is put around its paces in the yard before being returned to the barn.

This isn’t Mr Hewes’ first rodeo.

He previously managed to start the fire-breathing Rolls-Royce V12 engine of a FV4005.

Previously he had stumbled across a FV432 APC (armored personnel carrier) in a bush in the English countryside.

If tanks are your thing, check out the tale of this army tank that had been parked on a British street for years.