A Little Bit of Background

So, here it is. Everyone has their own list of goals they want to achieve. Some people want to skydive, some want to sail around the world, and some want to climb Mount Everest. My goal could also be considered a hobby. I want to build a tank. Not scuba tank, not oil tank, not oxygen tank. Tracked tank.

Tanks have always fascinated me, and my first choice of jobs when I joined the Marine Corps was tanks, but there were no openings at that time. Nevertheless, I still enjoy them, and I want to own one. Surprisingly there is a market for tanks, and if you have the $150,000 or more you can easily buy one. I don't, so I can't. I do work in a shop however, where there are plenty of parts, tools, and years of mechanical experience to build a scaled down mock tank. And that is exactly what I plan on doing, and documenting here for the entire information super highway to access. If they care.

About a year and a half ago I started to seriously think about how to build my tank. I came up with plenty of designs that were easy in my mind, but not so much in reality. I needed a good place to start from. That was when I first discovered a machine that was little known to most, but if I could find one would be a perfect place to start. That machine was the PasseParTout. French for "Go Anywhere," the PasseParTout (or PPT as I will refer to it from here on out) is a tracked ATV that was produced in Quebec in the 1960s and 1970s.

Aside from a few minor details, a PPT would be easily and perfectly converted into a tank. They used a two stroke engine, mostly Arctic Cat, and were truly a go anywhere machine. Whereas most tanks are not powered by two stroke engines, this would be changed to a four stroke (which conveniently is what I have access to in the lawn and garden world.) The engines in tanks are mounted in the rear, where most PPTs are front mounted. So, I concluded that if I could find a beat up PPT with a bad engine, it would suit my needs perfectly. To craigslist I went, searching non-stop for that perfect deal. PPTs were rare enough already, finding one with a blown engine seemed near impossible. Not to mention that worn out PPTs that hardly run sell for $1500 or more.

Then in May, I found Frank's posting: Passepartout $150. That was all I needed to see, nevermind that it was in Amenia, New York. After several emails back and forth, my brother Sean and I left one morning with the shop flatbed pickup, headed for exactly what I wanted: a PPT with a blown engine. It was about four hours out and back, but it was well worth it. The PPT had been sitting for about 15 years, given to Frank by a neighbor that was moving and didn't want to haul a hunk of scrap with a blown engine with him. Always intending to fix it up, Frank never got the time. Enter me.

My PPT on the flatbed the day we brought it home.

We put it on a pallet, and buried it out back to wait for winter and a slower time of year.