T24 Weasel #0046

[ozm29c]

Fellows,
I thought I would put up a brief general interest thread showing some repairs that I have just completed on T24 weasel #0046.
My good friend Steve brought 0046 into Australia in 1999 and it has been collecting dust ever since due to other projects (Australian weasel T24 ARN 139999) family commitments etc. As you can see by the photos it was in a pretty ordinary state. Steve and I made a decision to try and get it mobile for Bundy 2011. I gave it my best shot but regrettably time was against us. The first part of the project is now complete (replacing sponsons and lower hull panels) but the repairs to the rear panel will have to wait for another day.
BTW the silver paint is just a coating that I brush over bare metal to prevent corrosion until the hull can painted proper.
Cheers
John W.

[ozm29c]

0046 after repairs

[Bob Carriere]

You certainly do not lack that attribute.

You seem to be doing good and doing it well.

No rush....take you time..... half the fun is doing it.... the other half comes from admiring the finished product.

For some of us the chase is even more important that getting there..... which explains why we have been working on the same vehicle for 6 + years.

Keep plugging at it..... and keep posting pictures of your progress...some of us can't read and need pictures.

Bob

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

You may have missed out on Bundy 2011, but there is always Corowa in 6 months. Never seen one of these in action, and would love to do so. Narrabri to Corowa, thats only one State away.
Keep up the good work.
Rich.

[ozm29c]

Bob,
Many thanks for the compliments. I have attached a couple of before and after photos of Steve's Australian Army weasel ARN 139999 (there were only two) that I recently (well two years ago ) rebuilt as well. We found this weasel in Jindabyne and used a donor hull for repair sections to reconstruct the hull as you see it today. There are lots more photos but I am sure that you can appreciate the work involved in rebuilding vehicles, whatever their make or model.
Richard,
Corowa is on my travel itinerary albeit not this year. Would you believe that give or take a few Kms I am exactly half way between Corowa and Bundy. When I do finally get to Corowa with my M29C, I have challenged my good friend Richard Sanders to a river race; his GPA vs my M29C weasel. I think that a lot of beer and tall stories will be told after the race Somehow a victory at close to 5 knots is really not a big deal.
Cheers
John W.

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Well I'll be there cheering the Weasel on!
Rich.

[Mike Cecil]

Yes, there were only two in the Australian Army, but ANARE also sourced a couple from the French and left them/lost them in Antarctica in the 1950s.

I was reading a document today that has a reference to the date the two Army M29Cs were delivered to Monegeeta for testing. It was around August 1945. They eventually ended up in storage at 1COD Bandiana before disposal.

Mike c

[Mike Kelly]

http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemD...?itemID=215973

http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemD...?itemID=215974