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  #211  
Old 06-02-18, 09:41
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

More photos.
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20180206_185854.jpg   20180206_190200.jpg   IMG_0835 2.JPG  
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Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #212  
Old 07-02-18, 17:19
James P James P is offline
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Location: Canada
Posts: 386
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Looking good there Big D, you must feeling like a proud new poppa with the M8 home. With most all the sub assemblies done and just a matter of wrenching it should come together rather quickly, then the first drive, shake down, correct faults and such as they surface. Is it up on wheels again and semi mobile ? Hats off to you for bringing the car back to a fine example of a M8 from a random pile of parts.
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  #213  
Old 05-03-18, 22:29
James P James P is offline
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Sooooo.............I hope the absence of updates is because you are feverishly turning wrenches and twisting screwdrivers . Come on Big D, at least throw up a pic or two for the M8 fans and your restoration.
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  #214  
Old 06-03-18, 07:26
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi James P,

Apologies for not replying to your previous post.

I don't have a heck of a lot of positive news on the M8 at this stage. I am now on my third paint supplier as I have not been happy with the paint supplied by the first two suppliers. The paint from both has not been a matt finish. The colour shade appears correct but the finish is more of a dull satin (if that is a thing?). It simply has not been flat enough and this makes the colour shade look greener than it should be.

We have painted another panel with the paint from the third supplier tonight so hopefully it will be a goer tomorrow. I have my fingers crossed!

I haven't had time to do much other work on the M8 as I've had my hands full replacing rear sprockets on my LP2A carrier, as well as adjusting the brakes and repairing the fuel pump. The Warbirds over Wanaka Airshow is coming up and I need that running for that show.

There are never enough hours in the day!
__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #215  
Old 09-03-18, 10:10
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi all,

Finally some progress on the painting of the hull. The latest paint supplier came up with a paint mix which I think is a good match to the OD-319 paint sample I had. We put that paint on today and it looks good. The paint appears a little shiny in some of the photos as it was still wet.

The plan is to get the hull back to the workshop on Monday and then drop off the turret and a few of the loose big parts and get them blasted and painted as well.

I’m looking forward to actually starting to put some of the restored parts on the hull.

I made up some decals for the vehicle and I will apply them as I go. Thanks to David and Seacon for assisting me with sizes etc.
Attached Thumbnails
20180309_133206.jpg   20180309_133220.jpg   20180309_133237.jpg   20180309_133300.jpg   20180309_133307.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #216  
Old 09-03-18, 10:11
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

More photos.
Attached Thumbnails
20180309_133328.jpg   20180309_133428.jpg   20180309_133509.jpg   20180309_214745.jpg   20180309_214752.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #217  
Old 09-03-18, 13:51
James P James P is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2016
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Posts: 386
Default Looks great.

So the thrid time is the charm for the paint work. Do worry to much about the sheen as in a couple of seasons it will be buff shined by oily hands and trouser butts, throw on a couple scratches and oil stains to give it the "lived in look". Are you decals water slide ? if so who made them ?
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  #218  
Old 10-03-18, 10:22
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi James P,

Yes, all those things I have to look forward to with that expensive paint job! Haha.

The decals were done by a local printer. He does the halftrack and scout car instrument decals that I supply and he does a good job. These were supposed to be waterslide decals but his printer clapped out, so he did them on normal decal paper instead. These tend to be as sticky as hell so I'll need to get them positioned right first time.
__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #219  
Old 23-03-18, 10:39
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi all,

Here are a few photos showing progress with the hull. It’s a nice feeling actually putting it together rather than the constant disassembly of the last couple of years.

I’ve had to spend a lot of time cleaning out the threads of all the fixing points on the hull. I ran a tap through each one of these before blasting but I’ve found now that I’m having to do them all again, due to the paint. I guess I can’t really complain about a good paint job!

I will need to do a bit of touching up of the paint on the nuts and bolts once I’m happy with everything.

I haven’t bolted the FT-237 radio tray down yet but I needed to make sure it was positioned right on the shelf. I cleaned up the paint on the shelf mounts so I should get a good earth on the FT-237. I’ll start routing the radio cable through the hull so I can cut it to the correct length.

I still haven’t sourced all the hydraulic lines so I won’t fit too much more in the hull until I have those laid out.

The decals I had made up worked a treat, although you do have to get them lined up first time as they stick like hell.
Attached Thumbnails
20180323_170724.jpg   20180323_170801.jpg   20180323_170817.jpg   20180323_171235.jpg   20180323_172010.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #220  
Old 23-03-18, 10:40
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

More photos.
Attached Thumbnails
20180323_174154.jpg   20180323_174201.jpg   20180323_182906.jpg   20180323_203603.jpg   20180323_203637.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #221  
Old 23-03-18, 15:55
colin jones's Avatar
colin jones colin jones is offline
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You're doing a beautiful job Darryl and It's a really nice feeling when you get to bolt things back on. Keep the photos coming.
Colin.
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  #222  
Old 24-03-18, 20:29
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi Colin,

Thanks for that. It is certainly a nice feeling seeing it all go back together.
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Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #223  
Old 27-03-18, 11:44
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi all,

I am at the stage where I am fitting and wiring the BC606 interphone boxes and the wiring to the FT237 radio tray and I’m hoping to get some advice from the M8 gurus out there.

I have the TM 11-2702 manual for installation of the radio and interphone equipment. I also have all the other drawings and plans for the wiring of the interphone and radios, as per the photos.

What isn’t clear to me is how the BC606s for the commander and loader are connected.

The plans would suggest that the BC606s for the commander and loader each terminate at the terminal boxes in the sponsons, which I have fitted. It is not clear though how those two terminal boxes are connected. The BC606 for the commander is not the problem, as it has a direct connection to the FT237 through the terminal box in the sponson on that side. How does the BC606 for the loader connect to the commander's side though?

I’ve seen many photos of M8s (like the photo attached) that have the BC606 for the commander and loader connected by way of CO213 cable that is strung along the back wall of the interior of the hull. There is no indication of that method of connecting them in the manuals that I have found. I can see the ease in doing it that way, but is it correct?

I know there is conduit that runs along the side of the hull for each terminal box through into the engine bay. I figured this conduit just carried the 12 volt supply from the engine bay to each of the terminal boxes, for the power supply to radios on each sponson. Does that conduit also carry the CO213 cordage that connects these BC606s?

I don’t have the original conduit that goes through the channel from the engine bay along the side of the engine hull to the terminal boxes (as pictured). I also don’t have the conduit/pipe that runs behind the hull interior back wall in front of the fuel tank, so I am running a little blind on both fronts.

If you have any ideas, I’d be keen to hear them please.
Attached Thumbnails
Conduit.JPG   20180327_203957.jpg   20180327_204141.jpg   427231_480907791939025_574603039_n.jpg   19243082_439710849739019_5211578165660896672_o.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #224  
Old 08-04-18, 03:56
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi all,

I have now learnt (thanks to Willy) that the conduit that runs around the hull actually carries the 12 volt power supply for the terminal box on each sponson, as well as the CO213 cordage that links the BC606's for the commander and the loader. The conduit terminates at the terminal boxes and then there is a short length of cordage to each BC606. This fits with what I was seeing in the plans.

What I was confused about were photos of some restored M8’s that had the cordage on the firewall inside the hull connecting the commander’s and loaders BC606’s. I understand now that this is a post-war change. I’m going the wartime route with the conduit around the hull, providing I can get my hands on enough of the conduit!

I’ve now connected up the four BC606’s and the FT237 radio tray using the CO213 cordage. Preparing the cordage was a bit of a tedious job. Seperating the shield on the outside is time-consuming as it is very tightly wound around the internal wires.

I wired in the cordage for the driver and co-driver BC606’s in situ, only because I wanted to be sure of the lengths of the cable required. I wired the BC606’s for the commander and loader out of the vehicle and that was a darned sight easier. I’d have to say, that despite all the drawings and plans, without knowing exactly how it was all laid out, I still needed to do lots of research and have a good think about the layout and how it was connected both before and during the installation.

I was (and still am) a bit confused by the layout of the BC606’s. The plans show that the BC606’s for the driver, co-driver and commander should be positioned with the INT/RADIO switch and Volume Control side of the unit down. I setup the BC606’s for the driver and co-driver in this way as per the drawings.

I placed the loader’s BC606 as per the drawings with the INT/RADIO switch and Volume Control up. As I say, the drawings say that the Commander’s BC606 should be positioned with the INT/RADIO switch and Volume Control side down though, which didn’t make much sense to me.

What was the logic to how these BC606’s were fitted? I have seen numerous variations in the setups in restored M8’s, and a number of pictures of M8’s during wartime also showed variations. Why not keep them all in the same layout with the INT/RADIO switch and Volume Control upwards where the crewman can see it and change it if required?

In the end, I positioned the Commander’s unit with the INT/RADIO switch and Volume Control up, as per the Loader’s unit. I guess someone will correct me if it is wrong.

Along with the radio stuff, I’ve been trying to progress the gun. We haven’t been able to remove the two screws holding the recoil system in place. These screws have an allen type head on them but they were pretty knackered and corroded. I had been soaking the screws with penetrating oil for several months but the heads weren’t good enough to get a decent bite on them with the allen screw bit. We tried welding a bolt onto one screw but even then we couldn’t get the thing to budge. As a result, I will be taking it into a metal specialist next week to get the screws removed by spark erosion.

I got the boys in the engineering shop to profile cut a tool for removing the big nut on the barrel. This will allow me to remove the sleigh. Again, this nut is stuck and I’m better off having a tool that fits it properly before trying to lever it much more. l will give this tool a try next week and see if that will shift the nut.
Attached Thumbnails
20180404_153943.jpg   20180404_155428.jpg   20180406_111010.jpg   20180404_160910.jpg   20180406_132923.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #225  
Old 08-04-18, 03:57
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

More photos.
Attached Thumbnails
20180406_134241.jpg   20180408_133019.jpg   20180407_192339.jpg   20180407_192405.jpg   20180406_103024.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #226  
Old 15-04-18, 12:46
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi all,

Here are a few more progress photos from the last couple of days.

All the radio wiring and conduit is in now, some albeit temporarily. I didn't have any pictures of this cabling before I started so these photos might be handy for anyone else doing this sort of restoration.

I haven’t connected the cordage to the BC606’s for the commander and loader yet. Once I have the radios and a battery in, I will check that the system is working with the BC606’s for the driver and co-driver before connecting the other two BC606’s. I don’t see any point in complicating things until I know I have wired it right.

The mounting of the conduit and piping holding the CO213 cordage is not finalised yet as you can see by the cable ties. You probably get the idea though. I could use some of the correct conduit clamps if anyone has any. My homemade ones just aren’t quite the right shape. I am still finalising the layout and there is a possibility I will have to move the cabling/conduit in the hull to get the firewall in, as that is a tight fit, and not something I am looking forward to fitting. I still have some routing of the wiring to tidy up but I think it is pretty close to how I want it.

The steering box and clutch and brake pedal assembly are next so that I can sort out the hydraulics and instrument panel wiring. I managed to make one pushrod that I needed for the master cylinders and I have the other one coming (thanks John).
Attached Thumbnails
20180415_184734.jpg   20180415_184603.jpg   20180415_184321.jpg   20180415_184054.jpg   20180415_184834.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #227  
Old 15-04-18, 12:48
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

More photos.
Attached Thumbnails
20180415_184130.jpg   20180415_184120.jpg   20180415_184312.jpg   20180415_184301.jpg   Codriver.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #228  
Old 15-04-18, 14:19
James P James P is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2016
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Posts: 386
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And that my friend big D is one hell of a great job you are doing, I see you got the gun off. When is the big green box getting mounted on axles and tires ?
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  #229  
Old 17-04-18, 03:52
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi James P,

Thanks for that. I have the front springs ready to bolt to the hull but I am awaiting the availability of a crane in the workshop to position the hull a bit better so that I can mount the springs and axles. We didn't really have the workshop set up properly when the hull was dropped off after painting so we'll organise this first.

The front axle just needs the hubs reassembled and the brake lines on it done before it can be bolted to the springs. The intermediate and rear axles still need some work before I can fit them.

So, timewise.....perhaps the next couple of months? Fingers crossed.
__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #230  
Old 21-04-18, 06:33
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi all,

Here is what I’ve been busy with over the last few days.

I fabricated a couple of pieces for the pushrods for the brake and clutch master cylinders, so I’ve now been able to mount the clutch and brake pedal assembly. The pushrod pieces aren’t my best work but they will do until if/when I source some new ones. I have some NOS return springs coming (thanks Philippe). I took some extra photos of the clutch and brake pedal assembly as I didn’t have a lot of photos of the layout. It is quite heavy and I had to use wooden blocks to hold this up while I bolted it in place. It is really a two man job to bolt it in but there isn’t room for two people in there!

The handbrake is now mounted. The mounting holes required 3/8” UNC bolts which had me fooled for a while. Most of the other stuff is UNF. The sector gear on the handbrake was pretty corroded and is not great but we’ll see how it goes.

I’ve fitted the steering box. I’ve used a grease and oil slurry in the steering box rather than just straight oil. The vehicle will be sitting around a lot and it might help prevent leaks. It has been sitting for a while now with no leaks so I have my fingers crossed.

I’ve done some touching up of the various mounting bolts in the front of the hull with the modeller’s paint but I still need to do a bit more.

I also starting routing the wiring for the instrument panel. I forgot to take the circuit diagram with me so I haven’t got this right yet and still have some work to do on it the next time I am in the workshop.

Next will be sorting out the hydraulic lines. I note in the parts manual that there are two different versions of the layout for the fuel primer pump. The version described as the ‘old primer installation’ has a fuel line from the fuel filter to the primer pump and a line from the primer pump to the fuel pump. The ‘new primer installation’ seems to have a third line for an engine setup with a vacuum pump. The old layout seems like the most straightforward way to set up the primer pump. Has anyone got any other thoughts?

I need to join a couple of pieces of brass braided conduit. What method do you guys use for that? I’ve heard of copper sheet being used to join pieces. What about the brass fittings on the end of these bits of conduit? Are these ‘sweated on’ to the braided conduit?

Does anyone recognise the single conduit with the fitting on the end of it in the photo? I’m told it is M8/M20 but just not sure what it is for.

I’m working on the markings etc to paint on the vehicle so am looking for some advice on that. I am talking to a couple of suppliers of paint stencil kits so I get the correct sized stars etc. I want the vehicle to have the markings of the US 86th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron Mechanised, 6th Armored Division. Can any of the experts on here advise the correct unit numbering? Presumably something like ‘6 Δ 86C’? What about Company/Troop numbering?
Attached Thumbnails
20180420_115517.jpg   20180420_150710.jpg   20180420_150950.jpg   20180420_151035.jpg   20180421_115426.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #231  
Old 21-04-18, 06:34
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

More photos.
Attached Thumbnails
20180421_122723.jpg   20180421_150509.jpg   20180421_150649.jpg   20180420_184152.jpg   20180420_171937.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #232  
Old 30-04-18, 11:30
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi all,

I’ve been continuing with the wiring on the M8 over the last week or so. I first had to spend some time vacuuming out the channels in the hull where the wiring and hydraulic lines go. It’s amazing how much they fill up with the grit from the blasting.

The instrument panel wiring is in now and the instrument wiring is connected to the rear terminal box. I’ve also been putting together the front wiring assembly. I didn’t have all of the original conduit so I’ve had to make a few pieces up and thanks to Willy for his guidance on these. I think what I’ve come up with is pretty close to correct. I am still needing a couple of the conduit unions for the brake light switch which I will keep an eye out for. The conduit I have for the compass is pretty worn so I will make up another piece for this.

I still need to connect the wires to the correct terminals on the headlight switch. Can anyone confirm what the different abbreviations on the headlight switch shown on the photo stand for?

Is this correct?

SS = Service Stop lights?
S = Service Head and Tail?
BS = Black out stop lights?
HT =
TT =
BHT = Black out head and tail lights?
B =

What do the others stand for? Is 'B' for battery? The circuit diagrams in the manual give terminal numbers on the headlight switch, but not the corresponding abbreviation above. There should be 6 different connections to the headlight switch so I''m keen to get this right first time.

The 12 volt power supply line to both sponsons for the radios is installed now along with the wiring in the junction box on the engine cross member. Can anyone confirm the wiring conduits that come out of this junction block? I have cables for ‘Gas’, ‘Oil’, ‘Temp’, ‘Solenoid’ and overhead filter to the coil. Is that correct? I am actually missing one of the wee plates as per the photo if anyone has a spare.

I’ve found that the conduit for the siren has to be in a very tight curl to get it to fit, so I will need to experiment further with that.

I’ve talked to the engineering guys who are doing the spark erosion on the two screws holding the recoil system onto the mantlet. They think the screws are too big for that and are looking at other options. I’ll let you know how I get on.

Thanks to Seacon, I’ve finalised the Company and Troop markings so will get the stencils for those sorted out ASAP.

The hull is going to be moved in the workshop this week which will allow me better access to it and I hope to have the front axle and springs fitted in the next week or so.
Attached Thumbnails
20180427_130216.jpg   20180430_173637.jpg   20180428_121754.jpg   20180430_143332.jpg   20180430_172806.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #233  
Old 30-04-18, 11:34
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

More photos.
Attached Thumbnails
20180430_164058.jpg   20180430_170409.jpg   20180430_165941.jpg  
__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #234  
Old 16-05-18, 09:55
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi all,

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been finishing a few jobs off and tidying up a few things up that I wasn’t happy with. I managed to get the M8 shifted around in the workshop. This gives me much more space around it to work on and will make life easier getting the axles in place.

The radios are in, pending me doing a test on the interphones to see if it all works. I’m charging up a battery now for the test. Fingers crossed it works. I’ve tidied up the instrument panel wiring and it is sitting in place, also pending testing. Hopefully all is connected correctly there as well!

I’ve started reassembling the front axle, starting with making up and fitting some new hydraulic lines. I had to fabricate the small mounts that hold the flexible brake lines where they connect to the fixed brake lines as I couldn’t find any of those. I have some nuts coming that secure the flexible lines to these small mounts.

The rubber boots on the axles were damned hard to get on. A real tight fit, but I got them on. I have the axle shafts in but I forgot to take the grease (!) to the workshop so I’ll do the axle shafts and joints tomorrow as well as fitting the sleeves and bushes that secure the steering knuckles to the axle.

One thing I have noticed that I don’t have is the nut which secures the Pitman arm lever to the steering box. This is a bit of an oddball size of 1 1/8”- 16 UNF and I don’t have one. Does anyone have one lying around in their box of bits and pieces?

I’ve just started on the hydraulic lines for the brake and clutch master cylinders. This is going to take some time with me not having any original lines to work off.

That's it for now...
Attached Thumbnails
20180502_152359.jpg   20180515_155221.jpg   20180516_123859.jpg   20180516_123911.jpg   20180516_124111.jpg  

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Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #235  
Old 16-05-18, 09:56
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

More photos.
Attached Thumbnails
20180515_155127.jpg   20180515_155158.jpg   20180516_144135.jpg   20180516_153835.jpg   20180516_153844.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #236  
Old 16-05-18, 14:06
Petr Brezina Petr Brezina is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Czech Republic
Posts: 533
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Outstanding job!
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UCw Mk.III
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  #237  
Old 26-05-18, 20:58
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi Petr,

Thanks for that.
__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #238  
Old 26-05-18, 21:20
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

Hi all,

Here is the last bit of work I’ll be doing before I skip over to France for a couple of weeks. I’ll be hitting the military fairs in Normandy so fingers crossed I pick up some of those hard to find parts.

The front axle is now complete, minus the nuts for the brake lines, which are coming. Brakes shoes, slaves cylinders, lines etc are all fitted. As I said last time, those rubber axle boots were dogs to put on. I thought the inner part of the boot was hard to put on, but the outer part was even worse. The boots I used were NOS halftrack ones and they were very stiff. I had to remove one that I had already half fitted and clamp it in a vice with some bits of wood and heat it up with a heat gun to stretch it. That got it on. I left the other side on and heated that up with a heat gun as well. I was then able to stretch the rubber enough on that to get the outer part of the boot on the steering knuckle. I’m told (thanks to Willy) that the best boots to use are the ones for the REO trucks. I don’t think it will be an easy job to ever replace these in situ, but if I ever have to I’ll be using the REO ones.

You’ll see that one of the slave cylinders is marked with a nylon tie The guy who put the stainless steel sleeves in the cylinders said that this cylinder has a split in the body. It shouldn’t affect the operation with it being sleeved, but I will keep an eye on that. The axle is sitting on a dolly now and I’ll slide it under the hull and fit it all when I get back.

I hooked up a 12 volt battery to the wiring to test the driver and co-driver interphones. The BC-604 transmitter and BC-603 receiver both started up as expected, but I noticed that the dynamotor on the transmitter was running all the time. I tried the driver and co-driver interphones with T-30 microphones, SW-141 chest rigs and HS-30 headphones fitted and neither worked. Bugger...I then plugged a T-17 microphone into the transmitter and that gave me audio at the two interphone stations. Okay, some progress, I thought….

I went back to the wiring diagrams I had. As you can see there are three slightly different versions of the wiring for the BC-606’s on these diagrams. I was just about to try rewiring them to one of the other versions when I noted the jumper on pins 6 and 10 on the connector on the FT-237. Two of the diagrams had the jumper on the FT-237, with corresponding differences at the BC-606’s. The diagram I had used though was the one out of TM 11-2702 and this did not have the jumper. I removed the jumper off the FT-237 terminal and straight away, I could transmit from the T-30 microphone on the co-driver side and hear it on the driver side. I noticed to that the dynamotor on the BC-604 was only running when the microphone was keyed which is correct. I tried transmitting from the driver’s side next but couldn’t hear audio at the co-driver’s side, so I obviously still have something amiss there. Whether it is a fault with the headphones I tried, or something internal in the BC-606, I’m not sure. I was out of time then so when I get back to the workshop I’ll work on that some more.

The T-30 microphone, by the way, seems to work really good. Much better than the T-17 microphone I thought.

Anyway, progress, but more work to do.
Attached Thumbnails
20180524_103717.jpg   20180524_124023.jpg   20180525_100025.jpg   20180525_113313.jpg   20180526_155436.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
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  #239  
Old 26-05-18, 21:21
Big D Big D is offline
Darryl
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Posts: 653
Default M8 restoration

The rest of the photos.
Attached Thumbnails
20180526_155357.jpg   20180525_170640.jpg   20180525_170658.jpg   20180525_170708.jpg   20180525_210623.jpg  

__________________
Cheers,

Darryl Lennane

1943 Willys MB
1941 Willys MBT Trailer
1941 Australian LP2A Machine Gun Carrier
1943 White M3A1AOP Scout Car
1944 Ford M8 Armoured Car
1945 Ford M20 Armoured Car
Reply With Quote
  #240  
Old 27-05-18, 00:13
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Winnipeg, MB
Posts: 3,384
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Hi Darryl.

Your nice work continues!

The issue with your wireless gear does not surprise me. A chum of mine (retired commercial radio engineer) currently volunteers at the local RCAF Museum, restoring their wireless equipment. This past Winter he was having a heck of a time getting a late war American piece of kit to behave properly, inspite of several triple checks of the service manuals and circuit diagrams he had available. One circuit in particular was giving him grief and seemed odd to him, even though it was in agreement with his available information.

He was lamenting to me about it one afternoon over a coffee, wishing he had an earlier version of the manual to refer to. When he mentioned the manual reference he was looking for, it rang a bell and it turned up in one of my odds and sods drawers. When I dropped it off for him a couple of days later, it confirmed his suspicions. The later version he was working with had an error in the drafting of the circuit diagram that had been missed. He restored the circuit to the original diagram and the set popped back to life perfectly.

Makes one wonder just how many such errors are out there waiting to make our lives challenging!

David

Last edited by David Dunlop; 27-05-18 at 13:04.
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