Mack NR color

[Slava]

Hello everybody!

I'm in the begining of restoration of my old truck NR-14 early 1945.
The truck was in Russia all the time from WW2 till now.
Restoration report shell been little later, when I'll have some good-wiewable results.

But now I have a question.

I have first parts prepeared for painting and I have to choose the color.

During the disassembling the rear bogie (in work now) I find a part with original paint. It is a heat shield for hub bearings and it was inside the brake drum. A paint on it saw no sun last 65 years.
There are two photos of it with different illumination.

Any comments from forum-members about color's originality?

[Slava]

Results of color choice

[Bob Carriere]

That is quite the project.....massive size and very few around have been restored.

On the color...... very difficult because every MLU reader will see it slightly different due to the individual color setting on there computer screens.

Your first pictures..... especially the one on the white snow background.... is the most complicated...... in photography white snow usually throws off the colors of surrounding items...... in digital photography we usually have to trick the camera automatic settings to get better moe accurate pictures.

The secret you have discovered is to find a part(s) that has not been exposed to sunlight, such as the shield you photographed and try to match that shade ......... it does not matter how it looks on our computer as long as you can find a mix that will give you the same shade of army green.

You seem to be making good progress cleaning up and painting parts for re-assembly.

Keep up the good work and keep showing us pictures as you move ahead with your restoration.

Bob C.

[Slava]

Thanks a lot Bob!

I made some color reseach before start to work.
Too interesting facts could be finded looking in the net for "The history of Olive drab". All readen there relaits good to my heat shield color.
I have to say, I have one more NR truck at the moment, and both heat shield's colors are always the same.

Anyway work is doing now and the color is chosen.

New results will be seen for any MLU members as soon as I'll have it.

All the best!

[Slava]

Progress during last year.
Disassembling rear bogie.

[Slava]

Had to repear trunnion bracket unit.
Rust made seals dead and water came in.
Trunnion axle was rusted and weared bruss pipes.
Play of 3 mm makes new seals unworkable.
Have axle machined ower for 1.5 mm to delete rust cavits.
Lot of work and expensive materials was aplied.
Bruss pipe wasn't for sell, by solid piece only. Forgot how many kilos..
New pipes made and pressed in.

[Slava]

Old bolts and nuts were cleaned and galvanized

[Slava]

Everything was sandblasted, primered and painted.

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Slava

Old bolts and nuts were cleaned and galvanized

Vlad.
Welcome to MLU ..You are an excellent craftsman..an artist..Keep up the excellent work..Haven't seen many heavy trucks restored on MLU>You are doing a beautiful job..
Well done.
Alex

[Slava]

And that's the most pleasant part of the work

[Slava]

Continue with all the bolts fixed with liquid seal and owerpainted

[Slava]

Last two weeks it seems to me like this.

Alex, thanks for your interest, I'm 2 years at MLU and it helped me much to get the ball rolling in my Mack story

[cliff]

Excellent work Vlad! Nice to see progress on what will be an excellent truck once finished.

[Slava]

Hello Cliff !
I like to read about the shelter for the man
I think there is a lot of WW2 Mack around Australia.
Here in Russia has finded the only one and I amazed too about his survive.

[Gunner]

добрый день Slava!

Your English is excellent... thank you for sharing the pictures of your restoration... a big job on a big truck!

I'm working on a M1942 zis 3 76.2mm field gun and I have come up agaiinst a translation problem. Would you be willing to help me out?

Ура! Mike

P.S. Years ago, I served iin the Sahara with several wonderful Russian army officers and they taught me enough Russian swearwords to get into trouble but not out of it!!

[Slava]

Добрый день!
As longer I'm beening in the net as more people I meet who have a knowlege of Russian. A little of course, the languach is too complicated. This fact is pleasing me, it means that both worlds have an interest to themselves and it's good.
Any help with translation is avalible, only not a great-size topics, I usually haven't a lot of free time. Just send me a text or link in private msg.
Vlad.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Vlad

Thank you for sharing your progress. From the pictures it looks like you are being very meticulous in cleaning a preparing each part before painting and assembling. The finished product is going to be impressive.

Cheers Phil

[Slava]

Hi Phil

Thank you for attention.
I have not too smooth climate owerhere and rust is growing good. That way I fight so hard to clean an iron. I want also to get a good-driving machine to cover kilometers up. And the 3rd moment - it's a long time job and I don't like to find some components damaged or rusted before the finish is arrived
Vlad

[Gunner]

добрый день Slava!

I hope you are well and that your restoration is moving forward. I have attached an image of the data plate from our M1942 Zis 3 76.2mm Field gun and I hope you can help with the translation. I can get most of the words using an online translation tool but some are clearly technical terms that the translation tools can't handle.

Would you be so kind as to give your impression. I am preparing an English language mini-manual for the museum's volunteers who will be manning and firing the gun and I would like to include an English version of the data plate.

By the way, for those who need the artwork done for data plates, we have a very talented chap on this forum who does amazing work. He may be a bit shy so I'll let him jump in if he wishes to. The attached image is his work from a photo of a faded image in a Hungarian manual! The original on our gun is long gone!

Ура! Mike

[Slava]

Привет, Майк!

It has to be written so:
Upper line:
"Pressures that indicates by the manometer (pressure gauge) on the 2-nd mark (grade) of the scale with the stick (pin?) slidet out for 350mm."
Here is probably the printing mistake.
Word "штке" I suppose must to be "штоке".
It means "with the pin, or shaft". Russian "шток" is straight from German "stok", English "stick". If I read "штоке" it means that, If I try to read "штке" I see no reasons. I'm not an artillery man but I'm mechanical educated and learned an army coursus of mines.
Next-
Right side line up:
"Pressures that indicates by the manometer on the 1-st mark of the scale",
"33,34,35 ATM." - "Bar".
Down line:
"Normally(regular) volume (quantity) of the fluid is 4,27 ltrs."
+0,4 +0,2 "norm." - normal.
"+0,4" - Do you know, Russians using "," dividing numbers instead of "."
Left field:
"There is more then normal volume of the fluid" - "owerfilling"
Right field:
"...less then normal volume of the fluid" - "low level".

You just need to compile all this and put the text on a plate using English artillery/army marking manner.

[Slava]

It's interesting too by what the way the chap does making plates. A friend of mine uses the place there people makes them of the black lack on alluminium.
I need some of also by my old iron has solid zink tables with chemically relief.

Yea, does the plate indicates a volume of flued required for correcting due to pressures combination?
And does the gun ready to fire?

Any help and all the best
Vlad

[Gunner]

добрый день Slava!

Спасибо мой друг!! I thought I was on the right track but as you noted one of the words was wrong which made a big difference. I will be seeing my friend who does the artwork tonight and we will make up the English version of the plate. I will post the results so you can check our work.

The plate clearly refers to the recoil system of the gun and is a guide to the Gunners on adjusting the fluids and the gas pressure so the recoil will work in all weather. Extremes of hot and cold as enjoyed in Russia and Canada can make a big difference in the efficiency of the recoil. When it gets too cold the system will become 'looser' and it will slam back and forth with poor buffering so the Gunners must add more pressure. As the system gets warm the pressures rise so the Gunners need to release some pressure or the recoil becomes too stiff!

There are places that can etch the data plates as on older vehicles. they use the same artwork but use a different ink that is resistant to the acid so the printed areas do not etch. You should be able to find someplace in Russia that can do this... try photographers with older darkrooms. If not, there is a chap in Poland who does good work and he might be able to make the plates you need. He posts on the G503 and the CCKW forums. I can look up his contact info if you wish.

Thanks again, Slava!

Ура! Mike

[Slava]

Hi Mike,
I suppose the mistake was a big trouble, you had good chances without it.
Sorry you had to wait my visit, lots of to do.
Please check out for Polish artist, I'm being in Poland some times in a year, it's not too far. Photoetch is a problem in Russia now, especially for marking plates. It comes close to criminal by the way of stoling cars. There was no problems in Soviet times when lot of people works in a military production and did magic works during his job time having all materials for free. It's gone now...
Vlad

[George McKenzie]

Hi Slava What a great job you are doing .I hope your MLU friends know that this truck has 24" rubber and masive rear ends .Lot's of heavy things to lift . There is one close to where I live sitting in a yard that was a airforce truck .Would it have a plate like the one you have ? It would be in English .George

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Slava

Please check out for Polish artist, I'm being in Poland some times in a year, it's not too far.

Hi Vlad,

Check eBay for the seller "lt.horne".

Impressive restauration you are working on, keep up the good work!

Hanno

[Gunner]

Hi Hanno: thanks for that... I just found hi on the g.503 as well.

Slava: look at http://motors.shop.ebay.com/lt.horne/m.html and on g.503 search for lt horne.

Ура! Mike

[Gunner]

Hi Slava go to g.503 forum and look at memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4291

Cheers! Mike

[Slava]

Hello George,
How does your search for Lanova engine?
I have the plate but with another ch-number, I think it's good to have a clear one to fill it from my frame. Lend-Lease vehicles haven't plates in Russian so English comes well. What's a truck in a yard not far from you living? Didn't you make photos? I'm in interest for some cab parts including dash board, windshield frame and cab canvas frame as partly also.

Hi Hanno,
Holland is the main source of parts and info for my project so I like the country of wind mills too much. I saw a pair of CMPs in Marshall museum, they are impressive of they hood appearence
Thank you for the link

Mike, thank you and waiting for the artwork

Yea, that Polish chap has lots of.
Now the problem is to get a time for one more deal

[Slava]

Some progress during the summer.
Have bought 11 brand new tyres and fit them up.
Also the frame is under construction.

[Slava]

Got the frame finished!

This part of work took more than a half year.
I did two frames apart, clean them up, sand blasted and pressed in all new rivets.
So, step-by-step.
I was afraid to start this work because of need to assemble all pieces back. I needed to re-rivet the frame with no experience of how to do it.
Discussing with most friends gave me a fact that nobody have it done before. I googled "rivet works" (in Russian) and found out that I need U-press and rivets of soft steel to heat them up to red light. Started to look for the U-press, found a firm, ordered, waited for 2 monthes and recieved.
Test rivets got me the mind I need fluid supply power station instead of the hand pump the firm sold me with the press. I asked and they gave it to me for a lease. Had to take it 6 times for a week during the work.
There were 2 frames I wanted to make the good one from.
As I told I was afraid to part everything out without shure I can get it back. So I started on the first one in early June, after recieving the U-press. I took out a "butterfly" (bogie) crossmember, blasted it sand, painted at friend's shop and started to press rivets in.
Forgot to add, I bought 12 meters of 40 mm OD soft steel wire and ordered nearly 150 rivets of different lenghtes to fabricate of it.
Original plan was to clean up metal parts, paint and rivet them. Due to a heat influence I waited a paint burned off around rivet's heads so planned to re-blast assemblies and repaint. To my surprize and great pleasure paint got Ok after riveting, it made my way easier, without overpainting. Rivet's heads only.
My first steps: