NATO continues to focus on getting more smaller trucks and has continued the charge picking up yet more M151 family vehicles.
6001 continues it’s rehab and is now fully licensed for use on the roads giving us a little military truck to make the run down to D-Day with AND run around and do map updates with. We are just finishing up the rebuilding of the steering gear on this one and installing all the vacuum gear needed to run the windshield wiper system.
You can read about the entire refurb of 6001 here: http://www.operationeastwind.com/forum/index.php?topic=2236.0
L20606 (Dewaynes Mutt) finally received some much needed body repairs and a MERDC paint job about late spring. HUGE leaps forward on this one, it used to be a pretty rough looking little critter.
You can read about the painting of L20606 here:
http://www.operationeastwind.com/forum/index.php?topic=3180.0
M151A1 6008 has now joined the family. It is remarkably intact and just needs about a weekends worth of welding and a wiring harness installed before polishing up the usual maintenance tasks and donning it’s paint job.
You can watch the progress of 6008 here:
http://www.operationeastwind.com/forum/index.php?topic=3186.15
M718 (M151 series front line ambulance) number 6037 joins the family as well.
This one was a cut and reweld that ended up coming unwelded on the previous owner. No surprise since it was VERY badly welded together utilizing no less than a used lawn mower blade to provide the needed structure to hold it together. It is now welded back together straight, solid and true but still needs a good bit of welding to get it back where it’s ready to go as well as a LOT more of the ambulance stuff. Let us know if you know of any secret M718 ambulance parts stashes!
You can follow the progress of 6037 here:
http://www.operationeastwind.com/forum/index.php?topic=3056.0
Mutt 6021, here seen at East Wind 6 is basically as done as it is going to get for now. It’s owner is now off being a Lt. in the Marines and is unable to make serious progress on it. That said, he is going to try to get all the gauges and lights running on it on one of his trips back to KC so that he can get plates for it and drive it around on post to show people who are excited about the Marines “new” Growler.
You can read about the refurb of 6021 from a crushed hulk last winter here:
http://www.operationeastwind.com/forum/index.php?topic=3046.0
Mutt 6007 originally came to us as a parts vehicle but was determined to be too nice to part out and has instead been slated for rehab. We made some progress on it prior to East Wind 6 but did not finish it in time to deploy it. It now has a new owner (Gallion) and should begin rehab soon. This one will be fast and easy, we look forward to getting it knocked out!
You can follow 6008s progress here:
http://www.operationeastwind.com/forum/index.php?topic=3048.0
M151A2 6033 is nearing completion. Here you can see it after getting it’s MERDC Temperate Europe pattern painted on. After that, we just need to do some maintenance work and it is off to live at Ft. Riley where Stagg can roar around being the terror of the tank trails in it.
You can read about the work we are doing to 6033 here:
http://www.operationeastwind.com/forum/index.php?topic=3069.0
M151A2 6029 has been on the back burner since last year but recent purchases of parts and the sudden availability of replacement cowl panels make it’s return to service imminent. Once 6033 leaves the shop, that should open up the space we need to get 6033 moved into place so work can resume. Like 6021, 6029 is a crushed Mutt so refurbing this one will require a good bit of jacking, prying, stretching and banging but it will get done and it will be a good machine once we are done.
Each side now has an M3A4 pulse jet smoke generator giving us an unheard of smoke generating capacity. We have yet to employ one AT East Wind but have been working on getting them refurbed and gathering the needed resources to operate them at other events until we have the entire system down and crews properly trained. Operated correctly in ideal conditions these can lay a smoke streamer 3-5 kilometers long. This is some SERIOUS gear.
Originally purchased as a parts truck. M37 number 5804 is now being refurbed and returned to service. It’s engine is now out, stripped and will be off to the machine shop soon. Once that’s done, it’ll be back together and driving and will just need paint, some electrical work and a few parts before it too is tearing up the trails.
Lest you think that the Warsaw Pact is being left out…
The BTR-152 finally has an engine stuffed under the hood. This coming weekend, Curfman and Dave are going to work on getting it all integrated and see what all is needed to get it back on the road again. We managed to determine that we can substitute radial tires off of a 5 ton truck mounted on Deuce rims for the hard to find and wildly expensive original tires so we are on a good path with this one!
The BTR-40 suffered from a spun connecting rod at the last East Wind but is now transported back to the shop where it will be getting it’s engine refurbed as soon as Trucker gets 5804s engine done and off the engine stand.
From this
To this
The Warsaw Pact guys now have their very own commo shelter which should really take a bite out of set up time and provide much better commo for everyone in the field.
You can read the blow by blow of the entire process from forklift damaged scrap container to what we have now here: http://www.operationeastwind.com/forum/index.php?topic=2997.0
The East German guys finally have their very own Robur truck. Not a common truck by any account, this one was a real coup to find particularly in the shape it is in (actually pretty good). It’s a really weird machine with a air cooled engine and lots of neato Germanic gadgetry, it should be a really cool project to do!
You can track the progress of this very interesting and unusual vehicle here:
http://www.operationeastwind.com/forum/index.php?topic=3276.0
Another very nice Gaz-69M has been scooped up. This one is in really decent shape and has been repowered with a peppy little Zuk delivery truck engine making it a real good performer off road. The Gaz trucks have long been a staple of East Wind and this one is sure to add to the mobility of the Warsaw Pact troops at East Winds to come.
Hoober is working on the AO map updates. Need to do another weekend worth of scouting down there to gather some more data points and we'll start piecing it together. This go around, we'll be making specific maps for external use as well so that those of you who use D-Day will be able to download and print maps that do not have East Wind specific information on them.
we spend so much time on the trucks and equipment that we don't even get to play games. Still have fun working though.
