Tiger 131 was back in action in September having undergone a major overhaul during the summer, with specialist engineers supporting The Tank Museum Workshop team.
The famously delicate Maybach engine was stripped, repaired, rebuilt and reinstalled in time for the sell-out autumn Tiger Day event at The Tank Museum.
“When we discovered a major oil leak this May, we decided that the engine needed to come out for a full inspection. The problem is with engines like this, you don’t exactly know what the issue is and how it can be fixed until it’s on the stand.” said Head of Collections Chris van Schaardenburgh.
In a stroke of good luck, as investigations were taking place The Tank Museum Workshop was being visited by ARMYTECH – a company based in the Czech Republic who specialise in rebuilding historic engines.
ARMYTECH worked alongside the Museum’s Workshop Team to develop a plan for the disassembly and repair of the Maybach engine, subsequently discovering damage to a bearing and problems with the cooling of the cylinder heads.
“We had a hard deadline to have the engine repaired by, but at the same time we weren’t prepared to take risks or cut corners,” said Chris.
ARMYTECH returned to the Museum in August and along with specialists from Formhalls Vintage & Racing Ltd, The Tank Museum team completed the work in the Museum’s own Workshop.
Tiger 131 ran perfectly during Tiger Day on 28 September, to the delight of the 4,500 visitors in attendance.
“I can’t overstate just how challenging this project was, particularly under the circumstances,” said Chris
“The team had to pull out all the stops but received excellent support from our partners – who could not have been more helpful. They both understood the importance and urgency of the project and we are very grateful to them.”
The project came at the end of a busy season for The Tank Museum team, who maintain and repair the many running vehicles used during TANKFEST and over 40 other displays over the year.
“The Workshop team have done an incredible job and on behalf of all The Tank Museum, we would like to thank them – and in particular Volunteer Les Wilkins for spending hours repairing components and overseeing the engine repairs.” Chris added.
You can catch Tiger 131 in action at the next Tiger Day on 26 April 2025. Tickets now available!
