Waking up a Texas M151A2

A place to post pics and descriptions of ongoing restoration projects

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m3a1
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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » June 12th, 2018, 12:37 pm

Well, it started right up so I'll just run it a little bit and give it a chance to fail again and then dig into it and we'll see what's what. A little shot of starting fluid will determine if it's fuel or not. My fuel filter is a little dirty but no so much that it would starve the engine of fuel.

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by rickf » June 12th, 2018, 3:40 pm

But how is the filter in the tank? And what is the condition of the fuel pump?
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » June 12th, 2018, 4:12 pm

Hmmm. Hadn't considered the in-tank filter because I'm getting a normal amount of volume up in the clear fuel filter. Next time I run it around I'll terminate the trip at home and see if it will refuse to restart. If it does, I'll go look at the in-line filter first and see if it's dry.

When it runs, it runs like a champ. It never craps out or acts like it's starved for fuel (unless I don't put gas in it... :lol: ). It just won't restart after I have been driving around for a bit and then finally shut it off. That doesn't seem like a fuel issue to me at all.

I did take the cap nut off my capacitor connector today as a small bit of wire was showing where the insulation had started to come off. I doped that up with black RTV and screwed the cap nut back on. That solved that but I didn't see any indication that it might have been grounding out so that's a dead end.

Cheers,
TJ

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » June 17th, 2018, 11:24 am

Yesterday I gave myself an early Father's Day present and began pulling out all the radio kit I have amassed over the years. The key bit was the installation kit for the RT-246 which was supposed to be complete (dealing with Delaware Lister is like dealing with the Devil) but as it turned out, the sponson mount (SC-DL-48677 and its associated bits) was missing. :roll: So, my wife plucked a used one (minus the little strap steel parts) off of eBay.

My truck once had radios so it was a pleasure putting the antenna support bracket on and filling up all those old holes. Wow, that antenna is tall! I hadn't really considered what it was going to be like, having to have that tied down but it does lend a certain something to the truck's character. The RT-246 I have is rather decrepit and will require a little tidying up. That'll be a fun project. It's been gutted so the kids will be able to play with it without any dramas.

Happy Father's Day!

Cheers,
TJ

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » June 20th, 2018, 11:37 am

My used sponson mount came in yesterday. It's as ugly as the rest of my truck and looks like it was there all along which I think is VERY cool and is a huge bonus. You all know how I hate clean spots. :lol:

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So, I'm tracking down all the original holes which have all been doped up with some rather curious filler the military used. Judging by what can be seen on the inside of the holes, it probably come in a tube because it looks like a shot of old toothpaste squirted through each hole. I should have the sponson mount in by day's end. It has been raining intermittently around here (which Texas always needs) so I may just wait on mounting the rest of the kit, rather than dodging the weather.

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Meanwhile, the Alley Cat watches, and waits.... Just like Rick.... :wink:
Last edited by m3a1 on June 25th, 2018, 8:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » June 25th, 2018, 6:38 pm

After giving some thought to Rick's estimation that my intermittent fail-to-restart problem was fuel related, I decided to replace the fuel intake filter. Nice easy job and if you're making your own cork gasket, it is 8" in diameter.. A regular paper punch will make the bolt holes with no trouble.

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Ummmm... That's some Fllght of the Phoenix stuff, right there! Impressive, no?

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You have to admire the creativity of the American farmer!

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Believe it or not, this worked for a very long time just mutting around on a ranch. Only when the material began to degrade (and get caught up in my fuel filter) did this really become an issue!

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by Fil Bonica » June 25th, 2018, 7:04 pm

Give me your address and I will send you the correct filter if you want.

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » June 25th, 2018, 7:59 pm

Thanks Fil, but I already got one from the Great Big Box of Everything and installed it. She runs like a champ now.

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by rickf » June 25th, 2018, 8:26 pm

Did you measure the caliper of the holes in the Arizona can?
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » June 26th, 2018, 12:31 am

Yup. Bic Ball Point Pen sized. (That's an official size, by the way!)

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » July 29th, 2018, 1:32 am

Well, today was something of a day of days.

In the morning, I backed the MUTT up into the driveway and put it in an advantageous spot and spent most of the day outside in 100 degree heat sorting it out in preparation for tonight's local Hot Rod Nite. Most of my work was cleaning and as the day progressed I decided to leave that big 50 cal at home and just go with the top up.

I make an effort to show the MUTT in a variety of configurations just to keep things fresh for the public, so today I tried to figure out how soldiers might have rigged the top with the rear panel up, rather than down. It really doesn't do well when hung on the inside (chiefly because it's not cut to clear the ROPS and it just looks sloppy. Not knowing the 'right' way I simply folded it loosely back upon itself and laid it up over the top and then placed a small bundle of camo net on top of it and ran a long strap around the whole thing. I can't say that it was right but it looked right. Then I took two other long straps and cinched the aft bow downward on the right and on the left and in doing so, kept the whole roof assembly taught. Sometimes you learn a lot just by playing with the kit and I'm sure soldiers in the field simply made do with what they had and may even have used my method.

At long last, I loaded up my usual complement of stuff for the show....chairs, marmite can, drinks, ice, assorted giveaways for the kids, helmets for photo ops, a freshly restored rubber duck for the gun mount....basically everything, plus the kitchen sink. And finally....a well-deserved and much-needed shower!

With that done, I came out, hopped in the MUTT and ......nothing. Whaaaaaaaat? Well, let me tell you, I was pretty p***ed off which has got to be the understatement of the year!

Out came the tools...and the extension cord and the big freakin' fan. No spark. Grrrrrr! And so, I transferred the ignition components from the Alley Cat (because I KNEW they worked) to the A2 one by one with no improvement in my circumstances. Finally, I swapped out the solid state ignitions and the A2 fired right up.

I must say, I have been through the mill with this truck for some time now. Learned a heckuva lot and even found some other legitimate problems while running this elusive gremlin to ground. But this on-again off-again failure to start has always been associated with one common theme. Heat. And it gets so very very hot here in Texas. I'm sure there will be other troubles that will need to be sorted out along the way but for today, I'm claiming total victory. Unfortunately, I'm also having to claim the need for a new solid state ignition module. Cha-ching!

After all the frustration, the car show was a lot of fun. The A2 may be an ugly duckling but people just love to see this old unrestored MUTT still soldiering on.

As an aside, my wife, who is a Nurse Practitioner, got yanked aside at the car show by a friend of hers and she was ushered over to a guy who had collapsed and who was trying his darnedest to be DRT. DRT stands for Dead, Right THERE. The guy had no vitals, but with a lot of work, she got him back. The issue was still in doubt even after EMS got him packaged and with a glance at his 5-line stats, she recommended he be sent out on a helicopter. He was going to have to get real lucky to get out of this with his life.

This is all in a day's work for my wife, but the point I'm making here is this - Take care of yourselves. We're in the middle of nice, hot summer. If you're working outside, take plenty of breaks, drink a lot of water and (need I say it again?) just take care of yourselves.

Cheers,
TJ

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by Mr. Recovery » July 29th, 2018, 6:15 pm

Thanks for the story T.J I always enjoy your trips to the car shows 8) :D

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1960 M151 Run 1
1963 M151 Willys DoD 10-63 in Baltimore
1989 Alley Cat. "work in Progress"
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US Army 6 years 2nd Armored Cavalry Bindlach Germany
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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » July 29th, 2018, 11:13 pm

The car shows are good fun. Poor little kids getting dragged around by their parents in 100 degree heat and told not to touch anything! They sure brighten up when I invite them to climb in, put a helmet on for pics and then get rewarded with either a couple of little green army men or maybe a little American flag for the kids who are a bit older.

Had a family of five come by, all of whom were rather Nordic looking and sure enough, they were a family from Germany who were here on holiday. I supposed the parents had seen the M151s before but they were clearly astounded to see one in private hands and so accessible to them. I doubled down on all those kids and they came away with little green Army men and flags. They were very appreciative. Sometimes we get the chance to be the unofficial emissaries of our community or our country.

A little update on my A2. It is starting right up now and is the best it has ever been. I don't know if you fellows have been following all the threads but there have been a LOT of troubles with solid state ignition modules of late so, for the benefit of the readership I am going to detail what my experiences have been with a faulty module all in one post. Maybe it will be of some help to someone.

My A2 was equipped with a faulty Prestolite module. The bottom side of the module has a type of resin which seals the electronics. My faulty module's resin was quite solid whereas the good one I plucked out of the Alley Cat has a rather soft, squishy resin. I doubt it started that way but that is what it is like now. What I want you to take away from this is - the quality of the resin, hard, soft, or in-between, really appears to have very little to do with whether the module works, or not.

What I was experiencing with the faulty module was an on-again, off-again absolute refusal to start and when it did decide to work it produced a rather weak spark.

This refusal to start might be in the cool of the morning but it was much more common was when it was hot or when the truck had been run for some time (hotter still). I never experienced a situation where mine simply stopped running while I was driving, but I believe this is also possible.

In short, just be aware there can be many degrees of failure in these modules, from absolute failure to occasional failure and everything in-between. As we know, these symptoms can also be associated with fuel delivery issues but I am convinced many of us are having problems with marginal solid state ignition modules, particularly since we are in the hotter months.

Several of our contributors have even occasionally been talking about vapor lock but there is never any follow up on those claims, or how they got solved. I'm not a moderator on this site but I would like to point out it is important to close the loop on your issues, if only for the benefit of the readership. Please, if you come here for help, pay it forward by telling us how your problems were resolved.

But, back to the issue of modules. Rick has made some very valid arguments about the undeniable benefits of having points-style ignition rather than solid state ignition even if it is only being carried as a back-up. I think it is also a very good idea to have a solid state ignition module on hand as a back up.

In any case, when my new module comes in, I'll post again so some of our readers can see how it goes in. I'm also going to open that bad module and we'll all get to see what's inside. Should be fun!

Cheers,
TJ

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by rickf » July 30th, 2018, 9:29 am

I would be curious to see a dwell reading on that module with the weak spark. Consider what makes the spark, not the module, it is the coil.BUT, The coil need saturation time to create the good spark which is measured in dwell. It is possible that the module is failing to provide enough open circuit time before grounding the negative side of the coil to collapse the field and hence a weak spark. Just something to make you head hurt on a Monday morning. :lol: :lol: :twisted:
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » July 30th, 2018, 10:15 pm

I see your points (pun intended). In other words, it acts like a switch. Which brings up another point (no pun intended) and that is, the solid state ignition can fail by degrees. This faulty ignition module that I'm replacing now, I had used with several different coils, while trouble-shooting this problem.... USGI -and- Chinese coils.... and always with similar results which leads me to believe that the fault lies chiefly within the module rather than the coil.

Of course it could be those pesky solar flares, too.. :lol:

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