Canadian M151A2 Restoration

[Scott Bentley]

Not a huge update, as i'm back to work again, so i'm only able to pick away at this thing when a few spare minutes pop up.

Spent a bunch of time getting the power supply and battery box sorted out. I'm making one deviation from "As Issued" with this thing, and it came in the form of a Master Switch/Battery Cut-Off.

The Dash Switch on these things isn't really a Master Switch, as a bunch of things still work when its switched off (Starter, Lights... etc etc), and most 151 Owners complain of the batteries going flat when its been sitting for a while, most likely from a small power draw somewhere in the system.

Anyway, I spent nearly an hour trying to figure out where I could mount this thing in manner that looks somewhat correct and is functional. I'm not worried about hiding it, thats what the SWR Cable through the Steering Wheel and Clutch Pedal is for I ended up putting it within the seat riser on passenger side, as this puts the connections right in the battery box and out of the elements, so I don't have to start fooling with running cables all over the place:





Lastly, since i'm always worried about wether or not I got the paint right, I finally got some validation today. I took the empty instrument cluster from the old 1 Svc Bn 151 and just gave it a real quick scrub (in the middle) with some soap and water and let it dry..... Not bad at all. I think i'll be able to live with my 383 Green base coat

[Scott Bentley]

Update,

Well I haven't had any spare time lately. Work is eating up most of my energy these days, so I haven't been making a whole lot of progress. I did however go crazy so far this weekend.

So, I managed to get the paint to do my Engine Compartment. So here is where i'm cheating when it comes to painting. Rather than painting this entire thing in Semi-Gloss OD, and then top coating it with the Cam Pattern, I took a short cut. I still wanted the Engine Compartment to be in the OD, as almost every CDN 151 I have seen, still had the original paint under the hood. What I did here was set the Hood down on the Tub and traced around the outside, masked, and then hit it in the Semi-Gloss OD. When it goes back in for the final exterior coat of Cam, that should knock down the sharp edges where I masked it:



I did finally get the Main Suspension Assembly dropped off for sandblasting and primer. I hope to have them back this coming week. While they are gone, I went ahead and blasted the Knuckles, Spindles etc:



Just need to get the Brake Backing Plates and a few of the smaller Suspension Parts done over the weekend, and I should be nearly complete removing paint.

[Scott Bentley]

One more question on the never ending topic of paint....

This time regarding Comms Stuff in the 3 Color Cam/Pre-CARC Era (1970ish - 1987ish).

I'm under the impression that when vehicles went in for a Second Line Paint Job, the Comms Installs were removed. What i'm trying to figure out is what parts of the Comms Installs would have been left in the vehicle when they were painted, and what parts would have remained Semi-Gloss OD?

For example, I know that the Radios should (and are) be Semi-Gloss OD, but what about the MT-1029 Power Trays and the AMU's? My good ones are from the CARC Era, but i've got another older MT-1029 Tray and an AMU that are still Semi-Gloss OD. Also, what about the AMU Utility Brackets on the ROPS and the Power Tray Support Brackets on the rear Fenderwells? Would these have been removed prior to Painting, or just left in the Vehicle? Again, some of mine are Pea Green and others are Semi-Gloss OD.

[rob love]

There was no standard. The radios were never left in the vehicles to prevent theft. But anything left bolted in the vehicle would get sprayed over. This included trays, cables, remote speakers, cockpit map lights. Of the 30 vehicles I got from shilo in the late 80s, they all sufferred from the overspray. They would paint the rollbars, but just to the point where the tarp was left on the roof. Remember that the vehicles I bought were primarily artillery, and they were nuts about making things look spiffy, with no regard to the long term effects of the paint on vinyl, plastic or rubber.

On the bases I worked on, painting was usually done at the unit level, by the combat arms guys themselves. If they managed to get a hold of a paint gun, then away they would go. If there was a paint party going on (ie, a change of command parade coming up) then the vehicles would go through an assembly line process, with some guys greasing the lenses and headlamps, then one guy painting the black, one the light green, and one the dark green. They would overspray the seat cushions, the turn signal controller, and just about anything else in the way.

When I got to the artillery in 96, they actually had a section in transport that was supposed to paint vehicles. But by then the CARC warnings were coming in so they became redundant. I remember getting flack from them for painting my M113, cause that was supposed to be their job.

[Scott Bentley]

Originally Posted by rob love

There was no standard.

Rob, as always, that pretty much answers that question

[Eric B]

Hello Scott

How is the project going?

It looks fantastic. No doubt a project you can be proud of.

Its come a long way since i last saw it.

Eric

[Wpns 421]

Excellent work on the jeep. Something to be proud of. Gilles