As I approach my 70th year, it is good to see old blokes are still valued.

as a mechanic, i wish alot more car companies loved antiseize too.

Awesome restoration work as always !. As a Japanese, I'm so happy to know this gun has found perfect place to rest in peace. 😇👍

I worked at Saint Marys Or otherwise known as Munitions filling factory (MFF) Any and all products that came from this factory had the identification stamp of 2 letters (M.Y) workers called this (mine and yours) this was accompanied with an upwards pointing government arrow like convicts wore. We as apprentices played on this gun and it all worked back then. However it was not out the front of anything, it was in an open space between fuze and Det sections. The administration office did however have 2 never deployed 20lb guns facing each other on the front lawn. Also as apprentices we had the job of maintaining those weapons. They were used in firing off the empty cartridge cases to make safe the primers. After weapons become obsolete, the munitions were broken down and propellants were burnt off and TNT was reclaimed and cast into demolition blocks.

The writing on the top of the breach says "八八式七糎野戦高射砲", (Hachi-hachi-shiki nana-senti Yasen Koshahō), which means "Type 88 75 mm Anti Aircraft Gun" (A minor detail, but they call it a Type "Eight Eight", as opposed to "EIGHTY-Eight...) Under that it says "Showa 16" - making the year of its manufacture 1941. (Showa 16 means the sixteenth year of the Showa Period. The Japanese calendar is based on successive Emperor's reigns, "Showa" was Hirohito's period. So the 16th year of his reign was 1941..). Can't read the bit at the bottom of the breach (too blurry/eroded), below the "16.00" (which might be the serial number?)

now I know its Wednesday

I'm glad the museum saved this rare piece of history. Ive never even seen a real japanese 75mm aa gun except in books.

Reminds me of the great British comedy duo "The Chuckle Brothers" to you, to me! Great job lads

Yes, I’m an American male of 58 years old. But, I’m a retired Amy Infantryman and my hobby is restoring vintage Military Vehicles which I’ve done 31 of them since 1993 and I’ve seen some strange engineering. I owned and restored the Dodge WC-51 that was used in the Movie “We Were Soldiers” in the opening scene of the film, I,paid $1,500 for the truck and it was in great condition needing minimal restoration work. I enjoyed working on my ILTIS while stationed in Baumholder, Germany 2002-07 and I miss my German and Dutch friends dearly which includes Patrick Stoll, Ben Van Dyjk and Richard Nivo. Thank you for the wonderful videos of all the work these men have done, it’s great to follow along and I wish I could work in a shop like this, even if it’s just sweeping the floors for free. If anyone is serious about buying and restoring an old military vehicle, you’ll need a couple important tools. Rust is going to be your worst issue to work with so have a couple nut crackers and thread files. If you saw how they lowered the un onto the carriage you saw how careful they were to avoid damaging the bolt threads but, if you do damage the threads you have a couple options; one is to use a tap and die set to chase the threads and the other option is with a thread file. Buy a high quality thread file, Snap-On makes great files where the teeth are sharp and lasts a LONG time due to the hardness. Files do become dull after time so learn when a file is dull otherwise you’ll be spending 3 times as much time as you would with a sharp file. One method I use to remove rust seized bolts (1/2 inch and larger, not on smaller bolts) is to spray some penetrating oil, give it a couple minutes to soak into the rust then heat up the bolt with a propane or MAPP gas torch then try to remove the nut. If it doesn’t budge, spray more penetrating oil on the nut/bolt while the bolt is still hot, then try loosening the nut again. I’ll repeat this process a couple times before I’ve burned out most of the rust causing the binding as well as the expansion/contraction cycle of applying heat and cold oil, this always works for me. We try to save every original nut and bolt on a vehicle/piece since it’s a critical part. And remember, if it’s a WWII vehicle, you’ll NEVER find a Phillips head screw! Only flat tip screws were used. If you’re doing a complete original restoration, little details like this are things we look for when looking over your work. Nothing I hated more when I saw a beautiful WWII jeep then opened the hood to see something that resembled homemade sin where everything is cobbled from civilian parts and the only original part is the body. Reproduction parts are readily available and their quality is near perfect today so don’t be afraid to use them, especially on the body, the Filipinos make some amazing parts now but in the 90’s they were pretty bad but we convinced them to change them. Joining your nearest Military Vehicle club (MVPA) is crucial as well, we often trade or sell parts for projects other members have and at way cheaper prices than eBay! Take a look on G503.com and Steelsoldiers.com to see what’s available, it’s sort of the inside track on buying MV’s and parts as well as getting advise to any questions you may have. Thanks to KZfaq, there’s a wealth of knowledge out there to help you. Good luck and I wish you well.

a small detail for the square tops of the arm threads it is intended to use the square 1'' railway bolt socket which are still made today (for wood beam railways)

Brilliant. Pride well deserved for that good work. Documenting these transformations is fantastic. Would it be possible for the preservation work being compiled so that viewers coming to the museum can, at a stand in front of each piece, view how it all came together? Be a great way for people to understand the work involved, and a much deserved homage to the souls who contributed so much.

I must sound like a broken record, but I love Workshop Wednesday. And the resto that Al did on the anti-aircraft gun is amazing. He is one very skilled individual, Thanks again for another interesting episode. I was let off the dish washing tonight so as to watch the episode. Cheers

Keep coming back to this channel - Its as much about the people as the projects! Great bunch of people that makes me want to visit Down Under!!! Best

My morning routine here in the States is to get up for an early morning walk sit down with my cup of coffee and watch your videos. Keep up the great work.

You can protect the paint or finish on the nuts by putting one layer of plastic sandwich bag over the nut then push the socket over that.

There’s also one out front of Honiara Airport, in the Solomons. Beautiful to see an example returned to its glory. Thanks!

Restorations of history for next generation is vital.

Nice work Al and Jono… that specimen looks amazingly complete, I couldn’t even see how it was de-militarised… keep it up!

"Weekly fix" is right. It wouldn't seem a Wednesday without my tank soma from down under. Thanks, mate!

Could I assemble an Imperial Japanese WWII Type 88 75mm Anti-Aircraft gun without any instructions?....No! It would be a bit of a struggle, hit and miss, trial and error....especially error! Those boys did a grand job as usual. I bet that's a great museum you have there with a rich complement of vehicles, guns and auxiliary militaria, it's a pity you're so far away from me here in the UK. I doubt I'll ever get to visit. Keep up with the great resto's on this old militaria, another couple of decades and this stuff'll be 100 years old, blimey!

Another great rebuild. It looks a bit like a naval mount.

Jam nuts, The thin nut goes on first then the thick nut for locking, thus full strength is achieved by the thick nut when the thin nut is floated

So nice to see Japanese weapons finally being restored and displayed. I remember in the 70s most Japanese weapons and equipment were just considered junk. Only swords were wanted.

Thank you for restoring Japanese anti air claft filed gun, Type88.From Japan fan.

Puts a smile on my face seeing these projects come together. Many thanks to everyone at AusArmor!

Yes yes yes to the Ha-Go restoration!

Well done lads, as my late father often said, there’s nothing like a gentle tap with a heavy hammer 😂

I can see Jonos Grant in the background, are you going to show it being cleaned up and put on display please 😊

16:45 very interesting detail about where the 88 comes from!

Nice job. Reassembly is always the trickiest part.

I love this channel. The humor, camaraderie, skill, and production quality are top notch. Of course helpful comments from expert Kurt like, "Is it upside down?", always make sure the trickiest bits are sorted out. 🤣 Keep up the great work and thanks.

As always I'm waiting every week for another part of Workshop Wednesday. And this time i saw again amazing work of all of your crew during restoration process. Greetings from Poland!

Hello Aussie Armorer, I particularly enjoyed this episode because of installing the arms to the gun platform upside down. Really reminds me of my home projects putting things together. I really enjoy your channel, don’t know exactly why but it just fascinates me. My best guess is that I was a WWII buff when I was young. Keep the videos coming, I look forward to every Wednesday because of your videos. Cheers!!

Al & johno can perform wonders n miracles! Well done!

Darryl isn't the only one who loves anti seize. Thanks from everyone who has turned the spanners.

Great work gang, Cheers.

Can't wait for next week. See you in Cairns

I was there on Sunday, must have missed it by a few days, will have to go back this weekend. Love it! Awesome work guys

Seems fitting that the most Aussie bloke you'll ever meet is wearing high vis and is very skilled with heavy machinary

Hi AusArmour. Love your work 👍

@5:53 hey! There’s some younger people here too Lol some of us are 30 and younger. Great content as usual guys!

Amazing work I look forward to my Wednesdays love this!

Another great restoration!

Very interesting

The sheer knowledge these guys have just without a reference photo is amazing...

Nice work guys! Love the attention to detail. Keep up the great work, i never miss my weekly “Workshop Wednesday”

Cracking job lads, I hope one day when I can visit Aus I'll get to see this and all the other great exibits you have.

Thank You

Congratulations on so many amazing restorative projects. Many of these pieces were made for no other pourpose than to carry a large gun. Question ~! Do you ever get to test fire any of them ??

Awesome Job as always gentlemen!!!

Look I am 14 I love watching these videos and even I have stuff up like that all I can say is it happens

Bonjour, je vois que les deux EBR sont dans le champ de la camera ! vivement leur restauration ! good job

and now its off to the range for live firing tests.

Then watching Daz unscrewing the block, meanwhile Al comes in again with the sledgehammer!! 😂😂😂

CES= Complete Equipment Schedule. Basically all the tools for the vehicle/gun usually listed in a book so checks can be completed

Great to see these pieces restored

I truly enjoy your videos, so much history. Thank all of you for working so hard to preserve these beautiful machines.

Another very nice piece for the collection!👍

Good job

top work gentlemen

Nice one lads

Absolutely Love This Series. Thank you so much guys for the fantastic content!!!!

Always an Outstanding video and presentation.

4:50….Japanese watching shaking heads, saying to themselves..’How come we couldn’t beat this mob ?’

Iconic, my my my

Thanks for the video. Here's a little hint for the mechanics. Always stamp screw, rivet and normal bolt connections with a number or letter on both sides beforehand (e.g. A - A, 1 - 1). Then you can always assign the right parts and connections later and easily assemble them. 😉 Last but not least, it has to be noted that the gun was mounted 180° wrong on the carriage (see copy at 11:13). The three legs point towards the gun. 🥴

Have all Australian names simply had a Y or an O added to them 😂

Well done! Best part of Wednesday. Got a chuckle out of the legs... nobody's perfect.

Love every episode. The beginning looked like Al and Jono were assembling a giant green spider! Well done all.

Congrats Al on another awesome job

Thanks for documenting these, there needs to be more channels that take a dive into the armory for past wars

As always, thanks for the the entertainment.

Le TOP du TOP .........

Daz is a legend. Irreplacable know how. 🙂

4:50 As always, perfect choice of music. Love you guys!

Another awesome job Kurt. Love these videos mate... 👍

Man, I love this intro - could watch it all day long! You`re doing such great work over there - unbelievable! Best regards from Germany!

Al your a star, Great restoration .

Once again brilliant restoration

Great work everyone! When i saw that in the background a few times, i guessed right as to what it was!!!!

Well done Al & co

Another great episode. You fellas always make waking on on Wednesday morning something to look forward to!

Well done, chaps! I see tou also belong to the "get a bigger hammer" school of repair. --Bob Bailey in Maine, USA

I want that for my front lawn.

You guys do great work

This museum is on my bucket list for sure

"Rookies" 😂 Nice work guys. 👍

Great job guys. You all never fail to disappoint!

That was lovely. What a stunning job (again).

You all should have shown us the the mechanisms that make it go up and down and turn left and right.

Looks great gets Small point thou Wouldn’t the tyre valves face outwards? So it’s easier to fill ? Workshop Wednesday is the best day of the week!

Excelente trabajo de restauración 👌👌

badass

Great job mates, it came out beautifully.

A rare and very valuable piece.

Another good one👍👍👍😁

Was this a dual purpose artillery piece? Yes, Jason answered my question thanks! AA and AP

Very cool restro and history ! Good job lads Keep up the great work !

Love your piano & violin out music, but hate hearing it as it means the end of the episode. Keep up the excellent work and equally excellent coverage thereof.

nice