M2A1 Halftrack Resto dialup beware

Picked up rear pumpkin, looks like both side bearings were replaced. Also dropped off rear drums to the local Napa to be turned. All the truck shops seem to no longer turn large drums any more. Guy at the Napa machine shop told me he hadn't used the lathe in months to turn drums or rotors. I have one issue that needs to be corrected. The rear idlers were towed in, and it seems the shaft is bend forward. Usually from not adjusting tension properly. There are turn buckles that can pull back the angle, but im not sure how much i can pull them back.

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Pumpkin looks nice - did he disassemble it, or just press in new bearings? The gears look like they were wire brushed, but definitely not blasted or dipped. Lockwire doesn't look to have been undone.

I assume you'll have to tape off the lated area in the drums before you blast and prime?

Not sure on the gimbles - can you get new straight ones, or do you have to fix these?
 
Pumpkin was dissembled. Thats mig wire he used to relock bolts. Wire brushing is the way to go on the gears.

I will wire bush inside drum some more, and blast outside when installed and final frame blast is done.

Its not going to be easy, the posts and the pivot arms are worn to each other, replace just one could be huge problems. I will have to look up in the manual to see how much they can be pulled back,, or i might be able to rotate them 180 degrees. The shaft is separate from the frame mount

Claven2 said:
Pumpkin looks nice - did he disassemble it, or just press in new bearings? The gears look like they were wire brushed, but definitely not blasted or dipped. Lockwire doesn't look to have been undone.

I assume you'll have to tape off the lated area in the drums before you blast and prime?

Not sure on the gimbles - can you get new straight ones, or do you have to fix these?
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vettes its Speedy from Mapleleafup!
just joined on here recently, no doubt we have the same interests :)

I just cant realize my vehicle part of it yet..... :(
but I have your progress to drool over! :D
 
Sorry guys, not much to take pictures of right now. Mostly assembling drums, replacing bolts here and there. I was hoping to get the frame painted but am behind. The rear boogies are giving me trouble. Broke the prybar trying to remove some bolts. So they are taking time too. All the paint arrived from the US today so once I get the frame primed im ready to shoot some green. Give me a few more days to catch up, last few days been shearing the Alpaca herd.
 
Sorry guys, some family stuff side tracked me. Found out i have another whole family i didnt know about LOL, but i am still moving along.

Removed all the boogie assembly's, both sides took a few hours lol. I'll strip them down farther at a later date. I have NOS wheels coming. I need 16, at 125 each plus shipping, and them weighing in around 30 pounds each, ouch its costly. I had a company up here price me polyurethane, they told me 425 each!!!

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First coat of primer (second on now and waiting to dry a few days before final paint)

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Cool - did you manage to correct your rear idlers?

Also, some of those wheels have rubber that looks darned near new, while others are badly worn. It's clear some were swapped at some point, but you probably did not need an entire new set...? Although if you can find them now, probably smart to buy extras as they will only get harder to locate.

Did you strip the suspension for blasting prior to painting, like in between the leafs, or did you judge it OK to just blast what you can see and prime?

It looks like you didn't bother grinding the old weld slag completely flush in a few areas where you removed I-beams. Are you certain the rear armour won't interfere?

In any event, I think it looks great :)
 
Hi Claven,
Some wheels were replaced abit ago, and I may keep them for spares, but i wont know if they have issues in them till i take them off and tap them for sounds to verify no de-lamination inside.

The front suspension and front Diff were NOS, so there was no issues. I did remove the spring hangers to clean them out of old hard grease so there would be no problems greasing them later.

I left some after war reinforcement on the frame for strength, the frame had been damaged in the past and i figured extra metal in spots wouldn't be that bad, and it should be hidden. I am a bit worried about one spot on both sides that "may" interfere with the rear floor, i got some measurements from another "track" and should be ok. Also some spots i had to leave sections of weld because the extras that were welded on were welded over factory rivets and bolts. Once again will be hidden

The rear floor sits on the frame like a late model pick-up truck box, there is space between them

Claven2 said:
Cool - did you manage to correct your rear idlers?

Also, some of those wheels have rubber that looks darned near new, while others are badly worn. It's clear some were swapped at some point, but you probably did not need an entire new set...? Although if you can find them now, probably smart to buy extras as they will only get harder to locate.

Did you strip the suspension for blasting prior to painting, like in between the leafs, or did you judge it OK to just blast what you can see and prime?

It looks like you didn't bother grinding the old weld slag completely flush in a few areas where you removed I-beams. Are you certain the rear armour won't interfere?

In any event, I think it looks great :)
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What sort of damage was done to the frame that you need to leave some reinforcement? Just curious - it would take "a lot" to damage such a heavy structure.
 
This originally was an M4A1. It was an 81MM mortar platform. Frames were highly stressed from the launching of them from inside the half-track. Half-tracks were really only expected to survive a few months in combat. Half-tracks were also designed to go everywhere. They were the ultimate 4x4 and such in combat, some did drive beyond the scope of the drive-train. After the war, this was modified, i believe to carry hydro wire thru forests. The weight of the cable and terrain could have bent/and or torn the frame after time. There are frame patches at the same point on each side for the frame just before the rear differential.

I will fill in the extra reinforcement with filler (today) to hide most of it before final paint (later this week)

Andy

Claven2 said:
What sort of damage was done to the frame that you need to leave some reinforcement? Just curious - it would take "a lot" to damage such a heavy structure.
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I just painted the frame Tuesday. I didn't paint the front bumper as i want to make sure the paint matches the body, so i will shot it when doing the body. Engine has been painted as close to possible as it should have left the factory in.

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Next week I will fire the engine on the stand, start brake lines etc. From here on its assembly.


Andy
 
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