1964 M151 Kaiser

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Vzike
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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by Vzike » September 21st, 2016, 11:59 am

Indeed!
Vin Zike

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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by lpcoating » September 21st, 2016, 12:29 pm

Vin,

This is how I do these types of repairs. This is the patch for my inner rear fender from the "X" cut. I use .023" wire, about a .030" gap with an aluminum backing strip. I "push" the weld puddle and it's a very small bead. Grind and DA sand with 80 grit.

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

'68 A1 - Under full resto

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Vzike
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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by Vzike » September 21st, 2016, 2:08 pm

Guy, I'm using .035 wire. I'll try the .023. I really have struggled with this M151 Kaiser. A lot of the skin is pitted. Makes for a lot of popping and sputtering. They say it is like riding a bike, but I'm having to relearn how to weld again.

This truck was badly compromised by someone in the past. The skin was pretty bad. I've had to replace both side panels, both front floors, the battery tray, the back floor, the back panel, one fender, the front of the other fender, and the dashboard. I think the only thing that saved the frame was 1) it was undercoated inside, and 2) the entire frame was packed sold with dry red clay/mud. The electrical was 3/4 converted to 12VDC. The front frame horns were cut off and replaced with angle iron, and the engine was abused by someone who like to break bolts off. It should look great when it's done.
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Vzike
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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by Vzike » September 25th, 2016, 10:25 am

Wrapped up the main welding this week and got the body primed.

Yes, I used body filler and fiber glass in some areas. There was just way too much work to get this body right. I would have to replace most of the metal, and I have not intention of putting that much into it. All the panels were welded, ground smooth, and some filler. The front fenders had a number of ripples. I tried to hammer out the damage, but could not get it all. filler helped smooth this out.

When I do the 1970 Ford M151A2 body I got from Jason, I'm going to use weld only and try to follow Guy's techniques. I'm not sure I have the skills for that, but I'll give it a try. I am improving, just not enough to meet that standard.

The following pics show the body just prior to prepping it for primer.

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Next pics will be after primer and then to green.
Vin Zike

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Vzike
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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by Vzike » September 25th, 2016, 10:32 am

Also, in the last pic in the above post, you'll notice a tan material in the seam where the fender attaches to the front frame horns. When I got the vehicle, the front frame horns were cut off and replaced with angle iron. The fenders had been replaces and badly welded in. I cut off the angle and the fender welds and replaced the horns with ones from a front clip I had, and replaced the drivers fender and the lower part and front curve of the pass fender. The tan material is a 3M auto body caulking I used to seal that seam that catches water and rots out the lower part of the fender. It's paintable and keeps some flexibility.

Any thoughts on that?
Vin Zike

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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by m3a1 » September 25th, 2016, 11:55 am

When I had my grille off recently, I got a better look in my engine bay. I noticed that same seam (fender to subframe) and mine had some dirt in it, but no rot whatsoever. When I cleaned it out, I found the seam was still tight and the paint was still there so, no troubles on mine despite all the other abuses it has endured.

I think your 3M body caulk solution, kept to a minimum and properly applied, would be just fine but it took a long time (and a lot of neglect) for the problems you are undoing to occur so the decision to caulk, or not, is largely a matter of taste. If it were me, I'd paint that seam first, then caulk, then paint over it....just in case.

Had the manufacturers used a bit more of that sort of thing during production (like sealing up those gaps in seams where panels were spot welded together) we'd all be doing a lot less metal work now. I look at the underside of my truck and see the results of that terribly lousy forward transverse member design and I ask myself, why -and- what the hell were they thinking'? then I remind myself that the answer is - it was good enough for the manufacturer and for the military. They would have benefitted from having guys that think like you on the design team.

Sadly, what was to become of the vehicle once it left service wasn't even an issue for them. Post service valuation has never seemed to be an issue for the government but that is chiefly what separates us from the civilian vehicle fans. Civilian and military vehicle aficionados often have different mountains to climb but I'm getting way off topic.

I think the decision to caulk or not, has a lot to do with where your truck resides and who is going to be maintaining it from now on. I live where it's hot and dry most of the time so the progression of rust, once it gets a foothold, is slow, so no immediate heartburn over that for me. For others, it may be a huge problem but only if we neglect our trucks.

The fact is, we're all dealing with a good design that had huge compromises; a design for a vehicle that had an expiration date and like the good Dr. Frankenstein, we're bringing life back to things that otherwise would have been dead long ago. I think you've honestly weighed the pros and cons of how much work should be done based upon the return value and to me, it looks like you've made some very good decisions. More pics, please!

Cheers,
TJ

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Vzike
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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by Vzike » September 27th, 2016, 8:23 am

Primed it over the weekend.

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Vzike
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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by Vzike » September 27th, 2016, 8:27 am

And painted it yesterday.... and into the night.... color is OD 24087

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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by rickf » September 27th, 2016, 1:31 pm

Looks good.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by Fil Bonica » September 27th, 2016, 2:05 pm

Vin,
You really are making " a silk purse out of a sows ear"!
Know its an old fashioned expression but it was the only thing I could think of.
Keep up the great work!
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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by Hambone » September 27th, 2016, 2:08 pm

Another one back from the dead, great job Vin. :D

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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by lpcoating » September 27th, 2016, 4:58 pm

Looks good Vin.

Guy

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

'68 A1 - Under full resto

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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by muttguru » September 27th, 2016, 5:05 pm

A great-looking job, Vin.
ken
Kind regards....
Ken

Always wanted - Details and pictures of M416 Trailer data plates & M151 data plates & body-tags for my research. Thanks!

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Note for 2023..... Ken..."Less Stress - More Exercise!"

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Vzike
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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by Vzike » September 28th, 2016, 8:21 am

Thank ya'll! I have to say I have very mixed feelings about this one. It really was, as Fil put it, a sows ear. I literally pulled the tail light mounts off by hand. The back was so rusty, I could not find a place to re-weld them.
The overall condition of the truck was below poor. The only salvation was that the frame members were reasonably intact. I think that was because they were packed solid with hardened mud. We were amazed at how much we dug, pressure washed, and scraped out of the frame members.

The rear panel from Cameron Mfg & Design fit like a glove. The rear floor was spot on. The biggest issue was removing the old metal. I spent hours drilling out the spot welds, until I learned how to use the pneumatic chisel. I found a thin and very sharp 1" wide chisel bit could cut the welds and leave it smoother than drilling. It took me less than an hour to cut out the back floor, and only about two hours to clean it up and prep it for the new floor.

I'm not very happy with my welding, but it's improving. I've been using wire that is too heavy, and too much power. I also need to adjust my mask to allow more light so I can better watch that wire and puddle.
Last edited by Vzike on September 28th, 2016, 8:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 1964 M151 Kaiser

Unread post by Vzike » September 28th, 2016, 8:30 am

Wheel bearings:

A month ago, I drove this down the road. It had a lot of noise coming from every where. I put it up on the lift to tear it down for the resto, and checked the wheel play before removing them. Each wheel had about 1/32" - 1/16" play. I tried tightening the axle nuts, but it made no difference.

I don't want to mess much with the body or newly painted parts until the paint has time to cure, so I figured I'd tackle the wheel bearing issue.

Monday I pulled the left rear Axle to inspect the bearings. WOW!!! The bearings and races, after cleaning them in the parts washer, looked like they had been soaked in a strong acid. The metal was pitted showing the metal grain.

I cut them off, and started looking. Jeff at Front line had them in stock for under $20/wheel. I'm replacing all of them.
Vin Zike

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