How To: Restoration of Ford M8 armoured car US Ordnance number 7373

[Big D]

Hi all,

I’ve been busy doing a few small tidying up jobs on the M8. My master ‘to do’ list is gradually getting smaller so I guess that is a good sign.

I had saved a trace of the star decal I used on the front of the hull and used the outline to paint the part circles on the inside of the front hatches. They came out pretty good.

A Zero arrow in the turret for the sighting quadrant was next. Thanks to Jonathan for the dimensions which I used to make a small paint mask.

I’ve done some more work on both sand skirts. I spent probably a day and a half dollying out the dents and creases in the second sand skirt. Even after that, I think I could have spent more time on it. The sand skirts were both pretty beaten up and when I got them they looked like a Sherman tank had driven over them, but I think what I have done so far will have to do. It still needs to look like it has been in a war. I used the last of the star paint masks I had to paint the US stars on the sides of the sand skirts and they look pretty good now. I will look to do something about the front guards at some point. I am not happy about those but they will do for the moment.

I knocked up a very rough compass mount which will do until I can find (and afford) the real thing.

I made up some exterior decals for the hull and tool locker covers. I am not convinced on the use of decals especially with some of the rougher steel surfaces and if (when) these come off I think I will make some paint masks instead.

I had a long pin .50 cal pintle arrive for the trolley on the gun ring and I’ve been busy cleaning that up. The pintle came with a trolley stuck to it, with the pin from the pintle completely seized in the trolley socket, so I had to spend some time trying to get that out.

I’ve also been doing a bit more work on the turret. I wasn’t happy with the movement of the turret and it seemed tight in places in its rotation. I removed the traverse gear and sure enough the problem appears to be the skirt on the turret binding with the ring on the hull. I had repaired a section of the skirt on this and it looks like it might have a few high spots on the inside which are rubbing on the paint on the outside of the raised ring on the hull. I’ll persevere with that.

That’s all for this week.

[Big D]

More photos.

[Big D]

Hi all,

I seem to have been really busy lately but in between time I have completed a few things on the M8. I picked up a couple of NOS BG-96 radio covers, one of which I’ll use in the SCR-508 radio in the M8. They are very nice and give the radio setup a nice clean look.

I got my hands on an original Kidde fire extinguisher so I stripped that and restored it including putting a new decal on it. It does look nice now. I also picked up a couple of headlight locking pins which I have cleaned up and fitted, along with the remaining recoil oil can holder which I’ve also repainted and fitted into the crew area.

I wasn’t happy about how the handbrake was working so I have pulled that out and reassembled it.

I’ve taken the M8 for another couple of road tests. It is not road legal, and I have to be careful where I drive it around here, so I didn’t get it into top gear but I drove it around the block a couple of times and it did go well. My impressions from being a first time M8 driver are that first gear is quite low and once you get into second gear it feels like it really wants to accelerate. It seems to handle well enough and you don’t notice the size or weight of it. Here are a couple of videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3skUfbKPKI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0wuoETkehk



I found I was having a problem with the return of the throttle. When I took my foot off the gas pedal, the throttle would hang for a bit instead of returning quickly. The return spring I fitted on the arm on the slave cylinder was one I picked up and was a guess on strength, so I figured I needed to find another that would return that throttle arm a whole lot quicker. In the meantime I saw a post on the M8/M20 page on Facebook which talked about a return spring on the arm on the throttle master cylinder at the foot-pedal. I was not aware of this and it seems like not everyone has it fitted. I’m told it was a later modification but I am not sure about that. I fabbed up a tab and found a spring of the right size and fitted it. I have yet to test it but I think this will make a big difference.

I finished the engine cover locking handles I fabricated. In five years of searching, I had never seen any original engine cover handles for sale so I fabricated these. The originals have a tab with a square hole punched in it and a matching milled square on the threaded rod of the handle, held on by a nut. I didn’t have access to a square punch and the milling on the handle itself was another complicating factor so I made up a simple handle out of bent rod with a thread on the end. I welded a nut onto the tabs (at the correct angle) I made and put a pin through the nut so it can’t turn once its on there. It seems to work.

Apart from that, I’ve just been adding a few accessories to the vehicle like the 37mm Spare Parts Box and .30 cal spare parts box, ammo cans etc. I need to fab the strap for the front of the fire extinguisher holder but don’t have too many more things to do on the vehicle now. I am still tweaking the turret skirt as that is still binding a bit but I am getting close now to the vehicle being done.

That’s all for this week.

[Big D]

More photos.

[MikeV]

Darryl WOW good work on the M8 !
I am sure we will never have ours looking as nice as that. We have just returned to the museum after a long time due to covid restrictions. And our quest for the Brakes has started , We have bled the brakes and we are having a few problems, which I hope Brian and I can Iron out. Our grey hound is being prepped for certification to run on the road here. So the brake light was a challenge. I would rather do wiring then Brakes, And I am sure My partner in crime will agree they are a royal pain. I have attached a behind the scenes video , That Brian Butt my M8 Crew member is in explaining the project . This was prior to the shut down so since then we have like I said started the brake bleed process. Enjoy and once again great work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n7pOwccYU0

[Big D]

Hi MikeV,

Thanks for the kudos. I feel like I know the M8 braking system quite intimately now....

I just checked out your video. Great work by you and Brian. How did you get on with your brakes? Do they still have the original wheel cylinder piston setup?

I just stripped down the wheel cylinders on my M20 and they have been upgraded by a previous owner to the shorter pistons, full cups and spring, like I did on the M8. Like your M8 I will need to sleeve the master cylinder but I'm not sure what I will do with the wheel cylinders yet. I may get away with honing them.

I'll be interested in how you get on with the brakes on the M8.

[Brian Butt]

Darryl,
Mike and I are back at our M8 after another round of lockdown.
Ours is using the original style cylinders, which we have sleeved. unfortunately due some errors we had to have two spare cylinders sleeved, which are now installed.
One of the other museum members is working on cleaning the brake shoes, they should be ready soon. Our latest problem is the worn out brake hose for the rear axle. What did you use for replacement brake hoses?

Brian