T-16 S/N 5399 T.D. 97377 Restoration

[horsa]

Labor Day Weekend Fun....

Needed to do some adjustments on the vehicle so decided to do them all at once. Track had loosened up enough to justify pulling a link on each side and I had the bogie assemblies with the heavier duty double springs on the front of the vehicle and they should be on the rear to keep the butt higher.

Swapping the bogie assemblies was a piece of cake since everything is still well maintained and free moving. Had to take the fronts and put them on the rear but at opposite sides so that my road wheel grease fittings would still be on the outside. It didn't take long but sure isn't getting any lighter lifting these things off and back on by myself.

While the tracks were off, I applied a chemical rust converter to make them black again. I'd never painted the tracks since I knew paint would crack and chip over time and then be hard to touch up being dirty and/or greasy. Plan from the start was to allow the tracks to develop surface oxidation and then convert it. That way as it wore off and oxidized again, it could be touched up as the chemicals only react with rust and don't hurt paint.

Putting the tracks back on wasn't as easy as removing them since it was a lot hotter by then and I was getting worn down. Also forgot that when I first put the tracks on, I'd used my winch to pull them on and over the wheels. Did it all free-hand this time, again by myself. So that shows it can be done with a little determination.

Shots attached show the chemical as it was sloppily brushed on and then the excess was brushed off or spread around to other missed areas. The reaction was fairly quick and you can see some initial shots I took showing places I left untreated for the photo as a comparison. Later spread the track out to get all areas and then flipped them over to do the ground side even though the pads will rub clean again with use. Figured this would allow me to better hit all the inner spaces and I had plenty of chemicals left. Even being sloppy and wasteful, I only used 1.5 gallons for both sides of both tracks. This stuff costs $49 per gallon with shipping and I bought mine on-line via Home Depot since they don't stock it in the stores. It had great on-line reviews and I think I'd agree that it turned out pretty good for little cost or effort. And now the tracks look like all the armour models I had as a kid