OT-90 to the annual MG Shoot

[Timberwolf22]

That's right we are breaking out of the COVID-19 bubble and prepping the OT-90 for the Annual Stone Mountain Machine Gun shoot.

MG Shoot info:

2021June MG Shoot | shootersgauntlet

www.shootersgauntlet.com

So we used to attend the shoot each year when it first started then life happened. The event organizer was gracious enough to allow us to return to the event this year and we have been spending the weekends preparing the OT-90 for the event.

We are excited to just get out of the damn house let alone drive over cars again.

Here is some old footage of a few years back of us at the MG shoot..... watch till the end for the OT-90 fun.

Will be updating this thread with pictures of the OT-90 as she is prepped and of the event once we arrive.

 

[MadCat2]

That's right we are breaking out of the COVID-19 bubble and prepping the OT-90 for the Annual Stone Mountain Machine Gun shoot.

MG Shoot info:

2021June MG Shoot | shootersgauntlet

www.shootersgauntlet.com

So we used to attend the shoot each year when it first started then life happened. The event organizer was gracious enough to allow us to return to the event this year and we have been spending the weekends preparing the OT-90 for the event.

We are excited to just get out of the damn house let alone drive over cars again.

Here is some old footage of a few years back of us at the MG shoot..... watch till the end for the OT-90 fun.

Will be updating this thread with pictures of the OT-90 as she is prepped and of the event once we arrive.

View attachment 834155

Oh I can hardly wait!!!!

 

[kcimb]

Is it just a 14.5 or do
You have a 7.62 PKt mounted also?

 

[Timberwolf22]

Most of the time we simply leave a spare barrel from a M2 .50 Caliber MG in the turret - helps with the barrel so things don't look "strange" with no weapon in the turret. There is no coax MG in the turret at this time.

 

[Timberwolf22]

This weekend is going to be busy with tank preparations. We fell behind a week with real life getting in the way..... boys had Prom which resulted in Tuxedo rentals & returns as well as lots of pictures - but now back to the OT-90.

First we wanted to make sure and not have to jump start the OT-90 from my Jeep again so 24v portable battery unit procured. Picked up another 24v Solarizer like the one I have on the M35a3 to keep the batteries trickled charged when she is parked.

We need to replace the "dog bone" cable between the batteries and then there will be a bunch of cleaning inside and out. MadCat2 picked up some new stencils and stickers so if we have time we might dress her up to look good for the event.

Since MadCat2 and I are both HAMs I will likely rig the portable HT radios right into the comm helmets so we can keep them on as hearing protection when parked near the gun line and still communicate. I am not a fan of being tied to the vehicle intercom system.

Packed up the drone to get some good aerial shots especially if they let us drive over the vehicles again this year. Had to do some software updates on the DJI Phantom 3 when she decided to lose GPS link and just fall out of the sky.... it's always something. Luckily no damage just some tense humor and looks when that happened.

 

[MadCat2]

This weekend is going to be busy with tank preparations. We fell behind a week with real life getting in the way..... boys had Prom which resulted in Tuxedo rentals & returns as well as lots of pictures - but now back to the OT-90.

First we wanted to make sure and not have to jump start the OT-90 from my Jeep again so 24v portable battery unit procured. Picked up another 24v Solarizer like the one I have on the M35a3 to keep the batteries trickled charged when she is parked.

We need to replace the "dog bone" cable between the batteries and then there will be a bunch of cleaning inside and out. MadCat2 picked up some new stencils and stickers so if we have time we might dress her up to look good for the event.

Since MadCat2 and I are both HAMs I will likely rig the portable HT radios right into the comm helmets so we can keep them on as hearing protection when parked near the gun line and still communicate. I am not a fan of being tied to the vehicle intercom system.

Packed up the drone to get some good aerial shots especially if they let us drive over the vehicles again this year. Had to do some software updates on the DJI Phantom 3 when she decided to lose GPS link and just fall out of the sky.... it's always something. Luckily no damage just some tense humor and looks when that happened.

and then we threw a track on our test drive......

 

[Timberwolf22]

So this last weekend began with someone saying how hard could it be to change the oil....... never temp the gods of mechanical "things".



We have certainly learned a few things over the years with the OT-90. I am convinced their are secret Russian motor pool tools that we never see and are sometimes referenced in the TM's.




After many hours and buckets about 16 Gallons of what I would never call motor oil was drained from the engine of the OT-90. Many shirts were sacrificed in this endeavor. The trip to Tractor Supply for Diesel engine oil by the 5 Gallon bucket was entertaining as people just watch you as you "load up". Yes indeed entertaining till you get to the cash register.



The best part of changing the oil and power washing the OT-90 was hanging out with my brother and getting absolutely filthy in the process. I will say this time I ended up wearing less diesel fuel ...... since we figured while we were changing the oil let's dump some more fuel in her as well.

Nothing like a fun weekend with the "toys".

 

[MadCat2]

pictures required to truly appreciate!

So this last weekend began with someone saying how hard could it be to change the oil....... never temp the gods of mechanical "things".

We have certainly learned a few things over the years with the OT-90. I am convinced their are secret Russian motor pool tools that we never see and are sometimes referenced in the TM's.

After many hours and buckets about 16 Gallons of what I would never call motor oil was drained from the engine of the OT-90. Many shirts were sacrificed in this endeavor. The trip to Tractor Supply for Diesel engine oil by the 5 Gallon bucket was entertaining as people just watch you as you "load up". Yes indeed entertaining till you get to the cash register.

The best part of changing the oil and power washing the OT-90 was hanging out with my brother and getting absolutely filthy in the process. I will say this time I ended up wearing less diesel fuel ...... since we figured while we were changing the oil let's dump some more fuel in her as well.

Nothing like a fun weekend with the "toys".

 

[Timberwolf22]

So after all the new oil and continuous dumping of diesel fuel into her three tanks it was time to take the OT-90 for a spin. The rational, well if were going to take it to the MG Shoot after all this work imagine how bad it would look if we missed something and ended up with a broken down OT-90 in front of everyone.

She started up great ... new batteries really paid off. The new battery cables did not melt which was a positive compared to a few weeks back - a different story. We let her idle for a bit, checked the oil, things looked good and so off we went.

To avoid any roads and just make a quick lap around the front of the property we figured we would use the creek.... a choice that would come back to haunt us. After making our way down the mostly empty creek our path was blocked by a huge tree that had recently fallen.

Soft earth, mostly rocks and a tight space to pivot well you saw MadCat2's post ..... that's when we threw a track.



The solace was that we were at least still on MadCat2's properly.



Pictures coming next.... along with the planned recovery story. Can't get the wrecker into the creek and we had to dig out a path just to get the Skidsteer along the side with the track issue.



I suspect the story will include a bunch of wood planks, bottle jacks, chains and curse words.



I think that is enough carnage for one weekend......

 

[kcimb]

Easy enough to fix. Y’all need help?

 

[Robin33ba07]

Easy enough to fix. Y’all need help?

to make oil changes "easier" there is a hollow tool/tube that screws into the bung hole that controls the flow of engine oil to be drained,I dont know how to post a picture

 

[MadCat2]

Easy enough to fix. Y’all need help?

always need help, i see ur in Texas- i was a tanker many years ago and have popped the other side on before but im always willing to listen to best practices!

 

[kcimb]

always need help, i see ur in Texas- i was a tanker many years ago and have popped the other side on before but im always willing to listen to best practices!

when this happened we would do it 3 ways

Drag vehicle clear (won’t work here, you’re in a bad spot).

have privates break track then guide track on and use track crunchers to bring together and hammer back in place (not sure what pin system ot90 track uses).

Break track, use other vehicle to guide track back on, use track crunchers to bring track together, hammer pins back in.

Easy breezy just a pain in the rear

 

[MadCat2]

when this happened we would do it 3 ways

Drag vehicle clear (won’t work here, you’re in a bad spot).

have privates break track then guide track on and use track crunchers to bring together and hammer back in place (not sure what pin system ot90 track uses).

Break track, use other vehicle to guide track back on, use track crunchers to bring track together, hammer pins back in.

Easy breezy just a pain in the rear

yep we tried to winch it back on, didnt work and we broke track and had it out of the creek 4hrs later, need to get a track tool to pull it back together for sure!

 

[MadCat2]

That's right we are breaking out of the COVID-19 bubble and prepping the OT-90 for the Annual Stone Mountain Machine Gun shoot.

MG Shoot info:

2021June MG Shoot | shootersgauntlet

www.shootersgauntlet.com

So we used to attend the shoot each year when it first started then life happened. The event organizer was gracious enough to allow us to return to the event this year and we have been spending the weekends preparing the OT-90 for the event.

We are excited to just get out of the damn house let alone drive over cars again.

Here is some old footage of a few years back of us at the MG shoot..... watch till the end for the OT-90 fun.

Will be updating this thread with pictures of the OT-90 as she is prepped and of the event once we arrive.

View attachment 834155

Then we threw a track in the creek and took us all summer to get it to a good spot, break track and get it out of the creek! broke a shock absorber and has not run since! SPARE parts are hard to find right now!!!