FGT Restoration

[rob love]

Just wanted to mention that we are fairly rust free here in Manitoba. If there are certain frame brackets anyone needs off the 15cwt that I will have extra, please ask. I will put up some photos of what is spare a little further in the thread.



At this point I am disassembling the tractor. I have removed what I could from the rear frame, as well as removed the rear axle and springs. The overload spring packs have some bent leaves from the harsh duty the boom subjected them to. I will salvage some new leaves from either the 15cwt springs, or else from some spare MLVW spring packs that I have. I am now just removing the cab floor and will remove the remainder of the drive-train after that. I did notice this cab had a lot of bonding straps...many more than I am used to seeing on any vehicle.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Rob,

this will be an exciting project to follow. The frame on my C8 was bad (cracked, welded, beefed up, cracked etc.), but probably not as bad as yours!

I know the subject of the actual difference between 15cwt and FAT chassis has come up on the forum before; so it's interesting to see the hands-on differences you'll find along the way.

Well done on finding an original body!

p.s. would that be the original chassis number painted on the door???

Alex

[rob love]

Pretty sure the number is meaningless. It would have likely had a domestic number on it. I will carefully strip the door with the CAA and see what I can find.

At this point, aside from the hitch difference, I would say the frame rails are identical. All the holes are there for the winch, the various crossmembers, and even the winch guide. There is one hole on the rear crossmember that has to be enlarged for a cable guide, but the frame itself seems identical aside from the hitch area.

The toughest part is going to be to salvage some of the frame gussets near the winch. A lot of them have been welded over to the point that I don't even see the rivets anymore.

Notable is that the crossmember from the 15cwt that was behind the transfer case had to be moved up about a foot, and there needs to be a pair of spacers underneath as the frame gets wider. I was able to salvage those from the tractor frame. All the frame holes were there.

[m606paz]

Good lock with the proyect Rob! Thanks for sharing!

If you need any measurement or pic , we have this 1944/45 FGT http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=31692

[rob love]

We have a couple of unrestored FATs at work, so I can measure here if I need. I have noticed some differences already though between the one earlier Cab13 FAT here at my workshop and the late one I own at home. There is one more down at the dustbowl which served as Bill Greggs gate guardian. I have not been down to check that one in a while. The wood-ticks should be mostly gone down there, but the poison ivy will have had a good growing season so I try to avoid that compound.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by rob love

I did notice this cab had a lot of bonding straps...many more than I am used to seeing on any vehicle.

Fitted For Wireless? It's usually done as an interference suppression measure.

Chris.

[rob love]

That is what I figure, but there are multiple bonding straps going from the frame up to the cab floor into 2 different spots just 6" apart. Then another one from the frame forward maybe a foot or so going from the frame to the floor again. Opposite side of the truck has the same thing again. There was even a bonding trap to the door from the pillar, and short ones from the floor to the firewall frame.



I have unhooked the floor to frame ones as I want to lift the remainder of the cab off tonight. I just have to make sure everything is off. I was working on removing the steering box last night when it got too dark to work.

[m606paz]

Both FGT we have, 7B2 and 7B3 body, a lot of bondstraps . Hood , doors and dog house and others places.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by m606paz

Both FGT we have, 7B2 and 7B3 body, a lot of bondstraps . Hood , doors and dog house and others places.

It'll be safety related, static protection in case there's loose explosive about, and redundant straps in case of combat damage.

That would be my guess.

("Licenced powder wagon" for pyrotechnics requires lots of bonding between all metal parts (also screened wiring, no earth returns via chassis, etc.)

Chris.

[rob love]

I pulled off the steering box last night and it had a bonding strap from the frame to the box, with an extra bolt hole half way along the strap. They may have been for the floor toe plate or the front cowl. There is a part number on a little plate attached to that strap, so maybe the prefix to the part number will give an idea to the rough date. At this point I don't have the FAT specific parts manual, rather I am using the earlier and more generic manuals which covered all the Ford CMPs in one manual.

[rob love]

Below are some shots of the spacers for the crossmember just behind the transfer case. I have to remove these and move them over to the other frame. They were welded to the tractor crossmember and the whole unit rivetted to the frame. Since I am moving the crossmember forward, there is the need for these spacers. I am also showing why it is better to remove the rivet head before center punching and drilling. You just can't trust the peened end of the rivet to represent center.



Best bet is to get rid of the rivet head and center punch the shaft. I then like to drill around 1/8 about 3/4 the way through the rivet. I follow that up with a 3/8 bit, then knock it through with a punch and hammer. A pnematic hammer with punch are also good, but the neighbors will not like you and as well you lose the tranquility.