Staghound Update

[Ryan]

get on it

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CHEVROLET...#ht_216wt_1362

and a gauge
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AMMETER-A...1#ht_54wt_1362

[Wayne Henderson]

Thanks Ryan, I'm on it.

There is so much NOS parts for M6 AC still out there, in Australia and Europe.

The reason in Australia is the army sold off the spares in batches in the 1970's (I have copies of the sales cats)
"Spares, Armoured Car, various 3,589
"Spares, Armoured Car, various 2,500 etc.

I heard that Two sea containers of NOS parts went to the US a few years ago. Would have liked to have picked that pile over...

Now if these were NOS jeep parts the demand would have seen them vanish years ago. There are only a few people out there mad enough to restore a Staghound and they are all chasing the same parts.

Some of my lights and a Dash panel I scored.

I will bid on the fan belts but don't tell anyone.

[Wayne Henderson]

This was fun to take out. Power steering unit.
Good part is it still has oil inside but the few external seals are buggered.
The steering arm spline has taken a direct hit so this will have to come out and be machined.
A quick clean and into the shed.
I'll leave this job until latter, after some serious manual reading and Voltaren.

[David Herbert]

Good that the steering box is repairable. With a bit of luck you might find one with a servicable shaft before you need to repair yours. It would be a nice feeling to have some spares for the insides of the box too.

Good luck, David

[Wayne Henderson]

Been doing some more hull repairs, here is a patch of 3/4" plate from the donor Staghound cleaned up and ready to fit.

Hi David, I did find a good steering box in a wreck at Corowa but it was not for sale as the Gentleman's armour collection had not rusted into the ground enough yet.

[Wayne Henderson]

Picked up another motor and unfortunately it is also a left hand block.
Have found 4 motors so far and all ACL but am still looking.

After talking to a few people it turns out a GMC 270 Stag motor is worth 10 times the price of a GMC 270

Bought home this Hydramatic and am a bit stumped as to what is that thing hanging off the back.

Pulled it apart and got a look inside, looks ok Should clean up well.
I know nothing about automatic gearboxes but I will find someone who does.
Information found so far indicates 1939 design, Cadillac or similar model car but possibly "beefed up".

[Wayne Henderson]

Hydamatic model

[marco]

Hi Wayne,

Don't worry about the left and right hand engines.
It is possible to assemble a right hand version from an ACL (LH) marked engine and vice versa.

Marco

[Wayne Henderson]

Hi Marco,
I had a look at the motors and I can swap over the oil lines coming out of the crankcase. Thats easy done.
How do I mount the generator to the other side? Is there any other changes required on the block? I know the radiator pipes are different, I have those.

Also worked out the extra bit on the Hydramatic... it is a servo band from another gearbox added to increase the length of the tranny.

Johnny made me a pin puller, worked a treat.

[marco]

Wayne,

The generators are mounted with U-shaped brackets which attach on the crankcase.
The crankcase has 4 mounting pads with 3/8" UNC threaded holes on both sides so the generators can be mounted on either side of the engine.
The U-shaped brackets are different though for LH and RH engines.
Using the wrong bracket will result in incorrect pulley alignment.

Marco

[Wayne Henderson]

Hi Marco,
Thanks for that.
Checked over my parts and found that one generator has the mount attached, it is off a ACR motor. Now I need to find a left or make one.

Also finding the drawings in the M6 manuals show a standard GMC motor most of the time and no reference in any of the books about the harmonic balancer or several other parts unique to this engine.

Wayne.

[Wayne Henderson]

Tried to get the brake drum off the hub but too much paint/rust put hold to this. There are holes to screw a tool into that push the rim off but not on my shift.

I took the hubs to a Truck Shop (BIG WHEEL) and they put them in the secret sauce to soak for an hour then pressed them off in the 100 tonne press.

Then I removed the wheel nut bolts so I could remove the old paint from the hub centre.

Never get tired as to how well made these parts are.

I am going to anti seize the hell out of this drum when it goes back on.

[rob love]

Originally Posted by Wayne Henderson

I am going to anti seize the hell out of this drum when it goes back on.

Moderation.....especially that silver stuff. It has a mind and a life of it's own and will find it's way into the brakes if used excessively.

[marco]

Wayne,

There is no need to use anti-seize compound once you have cleaned and repainted the hub and drum.
The three tapped holes in the drum are very helpfull when removing the drum from the hub in the future so I would check if the thread is still o.k. and when not, enlarge to 1/2" UNF.

Marco

[Wayne Henderson]

Hi Marco,
I tried the holes but with no success, there is even a broken tap in an extra hole the army added. The rear axle hubs came off very easy.
I use anti seize a lot now and find it helps.

[Grant Bowker]

There's a GMC 270 engine listed on ebay at the moment that seems to have a serial beginning ACR or AOR with a rebuild tag headed RCEME. Is this of any use to you? http://www.ebay.com/itm/270-GMC-LONG...E:B:SS:CA:1120
All standard disclaimers about no knowledge of the seller apply but it is possible they are an arm of Sam Winer Motors (surplus dealers).

[Wayne Henderson]

Thanks Grant,
That motor is correct for a Staghound, correct crankcase and pulley also.
I now have a couple of usable engines to rebuild but thanks for the heads up.

[Mike Kelly]

There is a story in a recent VMVC newsletter by dinger Belfield . He was on a army reserve exercise in the early 1960's in Gippsland with the Staghounds , he wrote , "they were worn out and prone to breakdowns" his recovery truck was needed often

[daninnm]

I have TO axles complete to the hubs along with shocks and tons of engine and transmission NOS stuff.....making a list over next 30-45 days
D 5052692056

[Wayne Henderson]

Hi Mike,
Have heard the same stories from XLH members from that time. Problems with veering to the right under hard braking, poor judgement in cornering, getting bogged if it even sees sand and blowing reduction hubs.

Not a case of worn out but a spares problem 25 years on. Most of the Staghounds over here would have done very few miles.

One gentleman told me they would turn back to base after 5 miles stating engine troubles so they could drive off in a new Landrover.
They ended up with one remaining operational Staghound and robbed bits off decom vehicles to keep it running until about 1970.

[Stew Robertson]

The biggest problem with the Staghound was that the engines were not tuned together so one was working against the other and therefore a heating problem and no power
The one that I restored way back when would go over 70 Miles per
on original run flats and would stop straight as an arrow
it is all in the way you do your repairs
I thought that it was one of the neatest machine I ever restored
way ahead of it's time
Electric power steering
Great power brakes
great power and automatic
and steered like a dream
I have kicked my ass many times for selling the other two before they were restored