M38a1 CDN2 - Winter Project

[Frank v R]

I was looking at the patch kit photos, your lucky that they followed the instructions, the one I'm working on now were all welded and the rear corner panel was replaced for WHAT reason? lots of fab work but it's coming along , great work on yours , should be on the road soon,

[Wayne Hingley]

I hadn't really thought of it that way Frank. Originally I thought it would have been better if they had welded the patches on, but now that you mention it, the rivets made it much easier to get them off. I just had to drill out about 500 rivets and then fill the holes with weld. I still can not understand why 90% of the patches were even on this jeep... there was no need in my opinion.

Good luck with your project. It would be good to see some photos of what you are dealing with.

[Frank v R]

the other problem with them welding them is they warp the hell out of those areas on the tub, I also see you have 1 53' fender,

[Wayne Hingley]

That fender is actually off this CDN2, but due to patch damage I removed the original reinforcement plate. I have a new reinforcement plate that I will install.

[Wayne Hingley]

What is the black coating inside the battery box? Is the product (or something similar) available on the market? The only product I have found on line so far is for aircraft http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...lkfloatbtm.php

I don't really need to re-do the coating in my battery box, but it would be nice to apply a fresh coat of sealant while it is apart.

[rob love]

The army used coal tar epoxy for the battery boxes. You can use POR-15 instead, you just won't get the jello look of the coal tar epoxy.

[Wayne Hingley]

Thanks Rob. It is good to know what product was used. It looks like coal tar epoxy is available from a few different manufacturers including Rustoleum http://www.rustoleum.com/product-cat...coal-tar-epoxy

However, it is only available in 1 gallon cans and larger. The coating in my battery box is still quite good, so I will not redo it at this time. I was kind of hoping to find something in a spray can that I could do a minor touch-up with.

Ill save the complete recoating job for a future time.