M/H Ford 3a FAT (Aust) question

[Hanno Spoelstra]

cliff wrote on September 13th 2006 13:21:
Do you know if the M/H front axle is different then say the Ford 4X4 CMP front axles?

If so do you have any photos, details etc of these axles?

The reason I am asking is that I intend to build both an Aust #9 Ford GT as well as a Ford M/H 3a GT and as I intend to scratchbuild the axles was wondering if I could use the CMP front axle or would have to build another.

Hi Cliff,

As far as I know M-H made front axles by adding steerable joints to standard Ford rear axles. Many different M-H front axles were made, depending on the type of chassis being converted (1/2, 1, or 1-1/2 ton).
Especially in 1:35 scale outward appearance, I think the 3-ton CMP front axle is very, very similar as the converted Ford/M-H axle fitted to the Australian gun tractor.
I've posted some pictures of M-H axles in my G503 album that might be of help (but I don't know what year/weightclass these are).


Looking forward to seeing your models!

Cheers,
Hanno
Marmon-Herrington Military Vehicles

P.S.: The link between CMP trucks and Marmon-Herrington is closer than you might think, as per The Design Record, Vol. 4, p. 27:

Marmon-Herrington's expertise on all-wheel drive vehicles was also called upon when the Canadian automotive industry geared up for war production: "Immediately after the war was declared, the Ford Motor Company of Canada were charged with the responsibility of developing a 4x4 truck for army use. Obviously, they had very little experience in this field. Consequently they went to the Marmon-Herrington Company, Indianapolis, who in peace time supplied conversion material to convert Standard Ford 4x2 trucks into 4x4 models for various commercial peace time usage. These joints were unsuitable [the weight of the more or less cab over engine design and heavy army wheels/tires put too much load on the front axle joints.] To solve this problem, "Bendix-Weiss and Rzeppa joints were chosen by General Motors and Ford respectively [They later realized that the "Tracta" type was better but they were already tooled up with the above types, so left it as it was.]