Ideally, all the vehicles and gear will be fully restored and operational someday and will be on display in a museum. Some have sat around for the better part of a year before he was able to get them to Beaumont. He has bought some vehicles sight-unseen. Giarraputo works with an Oregon-based trucking company to move the thousands of pounds of military gear around. The shipment was tied up for some time in bureaucratic red tape until the federal agency realized that it was only engine parts, not ordnance, being shipped. from England, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seized it, labeling the engine and other parts "implements of war." Of course, sometimes the nature of his hobby gets Big Brother's attention. He's gotten parts from Eastern Europe and the ?tank engine came from England. Through them, Giarraputo is connected to the people who have or know how to find the parts he needs. There is a community of people, most of who belong to an international organization called the Military Vehicle Preservation Association, who are into the same hobby. Getting all the parts to restore each of his vehicles to working order is an exercise in international diplomacy. The tractor's engine runs, so he only needs to do the cosmetic work. Just to restore the significantly smaller M4 High Speed Tractor, used during World War II to tow Howitzer cannons, will take about 600 hours, Giarraputo estimated. Giarraputo hasn't been able to devote a lot of time to his hobby lately, because he's busy running Beaumont Wings, the company that operates the Beaumont Municipal Airport.Īnd his restoration hobby takes plenty of time.
The tank, an FV 4201 Chieftain, was the main piece of armor manufactured for the British army in the 1960s and 1970s.
If he can find the time, Giarraputo plans to install a two-ton, 750 horsepower engine. His prize is a 1960s Chieftain tank, he told the Beaumont Enterprise, a sister paper to the Midland Reporter-Telegram.Īt 62 tons, the Chieftain is the biggest piece in Girarraputo's arsenal. But at some point, each piece was overseas, often actively deployed in combat, he said. Giarraputo's collection comes mostly from within the United States.
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