Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

A place to post pics and descriptions of ongoing restoration projects

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rickf
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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by rickf » January 17th, 2017, 2:31 pm

For the life of me I cannot understand how using the bottom of an old tank will give a serviceable floor. The tank bottom is nowhere even close to the proper radius of the original floor and it is the same dimension as the the tank so you will have a spoon fit. The original had airspace between the two and different dimensions. Fiberglass under (or over for that matter) steel is a recipe for rust since it will hold the water which will get in no matter how well you think it is bonded.
1964 M151A1
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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by Vzike » January 18th, 2017, 9:30 am

Using the old tank approximates the original floor. It really does look right. Dropping it down to the original depth keeps the floor about a half inch from the installed tank all the way around it. That leaves a good gap to drain off water.

I used the same technique for the tool box floor, cutting the old tank in half and fabricating in a new center web over the frame. This came out looking very close to the original tool box floor. It would be nice to have a replacement floor for either, but I have no idea where to get one, and a square fabricated box like floor just looks odd. I think these parts will be difficult and very expensive for anyone to replicate. That would take a pretty serious investment in machinery and tooling. I would be surprised if CMD has a big enough press for that.

I like the way Guy Loomis fabricated his tool box floor. I thought about doing something like that for the fuel tank and the tool box on this one, but opted to take a different approach.

After cutting off the back deck/floor on this yesterday, I decided to coat the inside of the exposed frame with POR15. I'm also going to do that with the fuel tank floor and the tool box floor.

I guess only time will tell!
Vin Zike

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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by lpcoating » January 18th, 2017, 4:18 pm

When we make gas tank and tool box floors they will be several pieces welded together. As Vin said, we do not have a big enough press to make that in one piece. With fixtures and the skills of our guys I think we can make them look very close to the original but I'm guessing they will not be cheap. It's on the list guys...

Guy
M151 Body Panels - http://www.m151bodypanels.com/

'68 A1 - Under full resto

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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by fergrn37 » January 18th, 2017, 4:57 pm

Isn't every panel 'on the list'?
Some people are too busy knowing it all to ever learn anything

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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by Eddie Holland » January 19th, 2017, 8:51 pm

I got lucky a few months ago.. some soldiers from Ft. Campbell cut the complete floor out of an A2 on the firing range and brought me :)

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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by lpcoating » January 19th, 2017, 9:34 pm

fergrn37 wrote:Isn't every panel 'on the list'?
Not every panel. But most.

Guy
M151 Body Panels - http://www.m151bodypanels.com/

'68 A1 - Under full resto

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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by UpstateSC » June 23rd, 2017, 10:52 am

Pulled the power unit last weekend and making a rotissarie ,

I think I'm going to replace main bearings while its out, anyone have any pointers?

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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by m3a1 » June 23rd, 2017, 11:22 am

It's good to see you're at it again!

Cheers,
TJ

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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by rickf » June 23rd, 2017, 11:39 am

One pointer, get bigger blocks! Those little blocks stacked like that are going to roll right over and dump your engine on it's side. Was your oil pressure low? If not then why worry about the bearings? If you are replacing the mains you might as well do the rods. And if they are all bad then the cam bearings will also be bad. The bottom ends on these are pretty stout and don't usually go bad unless the oil was never changed. If it is clean under the valve cover and the pressure is good I would leave well enough alone.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by Hambone » June 23rd, 2017, 12:06 pm

If you want to do a quick check of the bearings, you can use PlastiGauge, but as Rick said, these bottom ends are worthy.

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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by Vzike » June 23rd, 2017, 12:16 pm

I'm rebuilding six engines right now. Two are being bored to .020 over. You can easily drop $600 0 $1200 on a rebuild if you replace bearings, gaskets, rings, freeze plugs, fly wheel over haul, and head over haul or replacement. You end up with an engine you can count on.

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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by UpstateSC » June 29th, 2017, 3:10 pm

If I go overhaul route, what is a source for bearings, pistons, rings?

are these common to other civilian vehicles?

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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by UpstateSC » July 10th, 2017, 2:13 pm

Progress this weekend. Rented a sand blaster and went after the underside. The paint and rust came off easily, but man O man, that rubbery undercoating was wicked hard to get off. Used 3x as much blasting media as you would expect and still didn't clean it all off.

Question- for a '71 AMG, what would be the correct color for underneath?



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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by UpstateSC » November 8th, 2018, 12:00 am

Well, it's a wrap. http://WartimeTrucks.com

If you're interested, you can see a bunch of before and after shots on the website, click on the tab that says "before and after"

I took it on a maiden run last night about 20 miles. Drives well. Got a braking problem pulls right. Shouldnt be too hard to fix.

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Re: Restoration of an A2 now underway 7/15

Unread post by rickf » November 8th, 2018, 8:43 am

Looks good, replace the rubber brake lines if you have not already. That is usually the pull problem.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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