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

[James P]

David, go tank in tank and save yourself a heap of grief that may, or may not, work as original with a bladder. Unless Clark Kent is looking at the vehicle and its fuel tank nobody will ever know (unless you tell them or they read it on MLU) that the tank is modded. Great work and I enjoy following the progress of a restoration(s) done right. I say restorations as the overall campaign of a detailed and large restoration such as yours is really umpteen small battles won to get it accomplished.

[Lynn Eades]

Darryl, If you wanted to go down the track of a fuel cell, talk to the guys who do race cars. price and size might shift you back to a tank in tank set up.
Genny should be Std. QMC part, with the 12 volt Dodges and Fords using these (Autolite) 60 amp generators. with varying end plates. (same as Scoutcar???)
Take both generator and voltage regulator to the auto electrician, together.

[Big D]

Hi David, James and Lynn,

Thanks for the replies. I have to say that after doing some more research, I have been leaning toward a stainless steel tank that will fit into the tank enclosure. That would ensure the correct 'look' while making it a practical solution. From what I've seen, others have had success doing it this way.

In saying that, I did have someone on another forum describe how he used the bladder enclosure itself as the tank. He removed the bladder, reapired the metalwork, sealed the ends, had a specialist coat the inside and refitted some of the ports from the bladder onto the metalwork of the enclosure. A bit of work, but another good solution with the correct look.

Lynn - the generator is a beast, and bigger and heavier than the scout car one. I have nearly got it apart and will look at the innards and see what I can do with it. I have a new mount and some parts for it. I'll take the generator and regulator to the Auto guys once I've gone as far as I can go with it.

[James P]

Hey Big D
Just a question ? Have you ever done any out reach within the M8 owners community and asked about what others have done regarding the tank/fuel/bladder issue ? I am sure that others have gone down the road you are on and come up with all kinds of creative solutions. G503 would be a good jumping off point to get connected (if you are not already).

[Big D]

Hi James,

Yes, I did ask around a few M8 folks who'd 'been there, done that' and the idea of getting a stainless steel tank made up to go in the enclosure was a common theme.

I have a similar restoration thread to this one going on g503 and a guy posted there about using modifying the existing enclosure to become the actual fuel tank.

All good food for thought!

[Big D]

Hi all,

Here is another update.

I finally got the fuel cell out of its enclosure. The screws and nuts holding the panels at each end of the shroud are a bugger to get out. I had to use vice grips on the head of each screw as a screwdriver was just not going to do it. The cardboard inside was for the most part still in one piece but there was lots of loose rust inside. The sheet metal on my enclosure was obviously not as good as I thought and I think the paint was the only thing holding some of it together. There was also some fibreglass repairs, presumably done by the Italians?

The cell itself had obviously hardened over time as it was an absolute pig to get out of the enclosure. As you can see by the photos, I had to resort to creative ways to get it out of the shroud and all up I must have spent 4 hours mucking around with different methods to try to drag it out. In the end, I finally got it out of the enclosure far enough where I could remove the filler cap and then I put the crane hook on the cell itself which really got it moving.

The cell itself still looks in reasonable condition but I won’t be using it. The idea of taking that out again if there is a problem makes me cringe! I will opt for a stainless steel tank option I think.

The courier dropped off a nice package the other day. Lots of electrical conduit including the elusive junction box that sits on the engine cross member. I had not seen another one of these around so many thanks to Reg for these.

I have a number of engine blocks to drop off to the reconditioners to see what they can do with them. All need lots of work but I’m sure they can make one good engine out of this lot. I have new pistons and sleeves and now need to order the right bearings etc. It looks like one of the blocks had some service with the Greeks.

[Big D]

More photos.