I've not messed with the off the shelf cars because I never seem to get around to it, but I've built some kit models and mounted them on flatcars. The black blocks that come on the MTH flats come off, but there's holes in the deck, so you need to fill them in. If you weather the deck, you dont need to worry about the holes because you wont see them on a weathered deck once filled. Scale 8x8s (3/16" square) basswood seems to work pretty well for bracing. You can also sand it into a wedge for blocking the tracks. The shermans dont hang over the side of the car, but some armor will. You can buy chains, tensioners, eyelets, etc.... from walthers and probably many other places. Doing them with chain is a pain. There's a product out there called EZ-line, it comes in charcoal which looks quite passible for steel cable. Its flexible so you can pull it tight, and sticks to itself with a dot of superglue.
Find/sand down little pieces of wood to fit in the stake pockets on the side of the car, put an eyelet in it, loop the line through and then through the tie down rings on the tank. Cross the lines. Tanks were also tied down by running lines through the idler wheels in the tracks.
Here's a deuce and a half:
Let me see if I can find a pick of the M10 I built... (EDIT: Found it)