Guys start abandoned tank for first time in 30 years
- A YouTuber has brought a T-34 tank back to life
- It sat idle for 30 years
- He finally got to drive it
Published on Aug 14, 2024 at 6:28 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Aug 15, 2024 at 5:25 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
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.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
