Beverly Hillbillies

Vehicles and items that do not fall into the general M151 categories

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m3a1
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by m3a1 » August 30th, 2019, 3:33 am

Front wheels are finally off the half track in preparation for new tires. It turned out the suddenly-leaking tire was simply a misbehaving valve but I am getting ready to replace tires, tubes and flaps, so no matter. I will be glad to finally be rid of the 9x20s and get the 8.25x20s on. Temps have been way up there but I've had the fans on and those moving air, plus very frequent breaks, do make things very bearable.

These wheels are the 'combat wheels' and I picked the worst one to do first (by my own bad luck). I thought I had been into both of these years back but as it turns out, I had done only one. The mind plays tricks, eh? So the first wheel was a real struggle. Oh Lord, that was a fun time separating the outer rim from the inner! Even worse was breaking the beads which required a little creativity and a lot of patience (pics will follow, I promise) but the madness worked out nicely. Now, both wheels have had their tires removed and are now sitting over at the sandblast shop, waiting their turn, along with a jeep combat rim (or rather the surviving half) which is slated to become a very cool WWII-themed wall clock.

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Cheers,
TJ

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by m3a1 » September 5th, 2019, 10:44 pm

So, when I posted last I had one REALLY obstinate tire that refused to separate from the rim but not nearly as bad as this one! As you can see here, it's really hanging in there. I picked up this particular rim and tire in Missouri which is a place that gets far more rain than Texas and in the case of these types of rims, rust is not our friend. My best guess is that this old bias ply tire is from the 50's. Do the math. This tire has been on this wheel for a VERY long time and, yes, this tire IS deflated.

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No matter how hard the job is, or how hot it is, it is sometimes beneficial to remember that it could always be worse... Triple digits on the thermometer on this day but thankfully, no land mines. How do we make progress without spending a ton of money? Because every penny saved is a penny that can be used elsewhere. The answer - Patience. Patience can level mountains.

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First I need to get access to the inside of the tire in order to attack the bead. I use the tools I have, without destroying them which would only add to the cost. First, I set up my shop fans. It's hovering around 100 degrees outside....in the shade. I drill 3/8 holes through the sidewall at the 12-3-6-9 o'clock positions, quartering the tire. Then I drill between those spots dividing the tire into 8ths. I do this because I have a very bad habit of trying to do everything at once. I drill a sequence of holes, side-by-side and I limit each iteration to 1/8th the circumference. I set the drill aside, giving it a chance to cool down and use a shop vac to clean up the mess...

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...and then connect the dots on that section with a jig saw. Two comments about drilling and cutting. First, I keep the tools cool by limiting their use rather than just trying to power right through the operation. Second, both the drill and the jig saw work far better with your shoulders directly over them. The drill is more efficient and the saw does a far better job with one's weight over it. Occasionally the saw wants to grab the tube which impedes its forward momentum. Simply pull the blade out and reinsert and move on with the cut.

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I make an exploratory line down toward the bead. As most of you know there are some very strong bands of steel in that bead and that drill cannot defeat them.

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Observe my new collection of holes!

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The tire is yielding and the process is repeated on the other side.

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Success. With the tire, tube and flap removed, the interior of this wheel sees the light of day for the first time in many years. Two piece rims (we call them battle rims or combat rims around here) are far from water tight. As a result, when they rust they rust everywhere on the inside and the rust grows between the bead and rim which would otherwise be a rather loose mating under the best conditions but, with rust growing between the bead and the rim, the bead is essentially nailed to the rim at this stage of the game.

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And so, I pull up a stool, prop up the wheel and attack the bead with an angle grinder. Made a lot of smoke and threw a lot of rubber around but I felt I had better control with the grinder than if I had tried to use a cut-off wheel. I worked my way down to (and through) the bands of steel in the bead. It was not necessary to go all the way through. Once the bands were cut it gave up and I removed it by hand. With the bead removed the final step is to separate the outer flange from the wheel hub. The wheel is also rusted between those two pieces but some judicious strikes with a maul around the circumference slowly works it off.

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After sand blasting the amount of rust was very evident. The rim is still structurally sound but the pits need to be filled. If they are not filled, they will gather and trap water again and the rust process will continue.

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My solution is to fill the holes with JB Weld and sand it down until a satisfactory surface has been achieved. This is done chiefly where the beads are going to rest. Yes, it is possible to weld up each of these divots and grind it off but really unnecessary because this is a tube tire and the bead does not hold air...it only holds the tire. Filling the divots created by rust will be sufficient to ensure this wheel lasts for a long time to come.

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Another use for secondhand exercise equipment. They make dandy work tables for big stuff. When not in use they stand up and out of the way and give people the mistaken impression that I may actually be Superman under all those extra pounds I'm carrying around. Every superhero has a means of remaining incognito. Mine is blubber. :wink:

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And here is little bon mot for guys like Ken who really enjoy getting into the minutiae of MV wartime production. All these wheel's hub sections were produced by Budd Mfg. Co in 1943 and are so marked. All the outer flanges (the removable bit) were manufactured by Firestone which history records as having had some very diverse wartime contracts. Oddly, these flanges do not seem to mentioned in those histories and yet, Firestone's unmistakable script F can be found on the flanges of all three wheels!

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Cheers,
TJ
Last edited by m3a1 on April 21st, 2020, 12:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

acudanut

Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by acudanut » September 6th, 2019, 3:25 pm

Option #2 Burn the tire off the rims. Option 3, pay someone to bust their arshe.

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by m3a1 » September 7th, 2019, 12:55 pm

Actually, you missed the most obvious second option which is to deflate the tire, if not already deflated, mount the wheel on the vehicle and drive it flat, making turns until the bead breaks loose. This is predicated on the idea that one has a vehicle that actually runs and the space to run it in (not something you'd want to do on a public street). Unfortunately, I have not awakened the half track from its long slumber and don't care to do that with the thing still up on blocks. Safety first. Also, my 6x6 is also down at the moment, waiting on a replacement fuel tank and pump. Happy to report I found a good used tank with pump for VERY little money.

Anyway, I think I may be mounting the new tires today and getting these rims back together. I have all new fasteners, including the single cap nuts (6 right and 6 left lug nuts) which I elected to open my wallet for. The old fasteners, while still good, no longer have any plating on them and I'm really tired of rusted wheels at this point so nice new fasteners sounded like the way to go. I'll be taking some pictures along the way..

Cheers,
TJ

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by Surveyor » September 7th, 2019, 5:43 pm

I've used the angle grinder with wire snips. Cut out rectangular section across the width down almost to the rim large enough to work in with the snips to get down to the rim. I like the drill/jigsaw idea. Less rubber particles and smoke in the air I would think.

Enjoying the thread. Thanks for sharing TJ.
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by m3a1 » September 8th, 2019, 1:27 am

Ok, lads, this next bit is going to be rather long-winded and for those of you who have earned your stripes, it will probably be rather boring (you have been warned). While the topic of discussion appears to be something other than our beloved M151s, the fact is I am writing about technique. So for some of you fellows with loads of experience, please sit back and enjoy the photos. For other's who might be new to wrenching and may be looking at this site because you just brought home your first project please take a few minutes and follow along. This is chiefly going to be about checking your work and taking the time to do a good job while resisting the temptation to hurry and get the work done and off the to-do list.

My personal goals are to perform work that will stand the test of time. Work that is correct in every important detail and work that will have the next guy glad that I sweated over those details. The work you do on your vehicle has your name on it.

Here, we have a brand new 8.25x20 NDT (non directional tire) which is the correct tire for the White M2 Half Track Car. There is plenty on the internet about NDT tires vs. NDCC tires if you are interested, so I'm not going into it here. This tire and its mate have been stored in my garage for some time now. In preparation for mounting I inspect the tire for foreign objects within and give it a general clean up including a go-'round with the shop vac inside and out. Imagine simply forging ahead and finding out that a mud dauber had built a nest in there or maybe a stray nut or bolt had found its way inside. The result would not be good and then there would be a lot more work to do down the line.

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Next is confirming that you have the correct parts. Here we have the old tubes. Note the location and style of the filler tube and the inner tube's size. These tubes are marked as being for 9x20 tires which is the incorrect size of tire that was on the half track. One can run 9x20 tires on the half track but what one cannot do is drive with the front axle engaged when running the oversized tires. Imagine the strain on the drive-line with the front axle trying to turn at a different speed than the rear axle! In preparation for doing this job, I purchased new tubes and flaps, along with these new tires several years ago.

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Here is the new inner tube with the same filler tube (meaning where it is located on the inner tube and how it is shaped) and same tube size. I know you must be thinking, "Ah HAH! Wrong parts already" but in actuality, 9x20 inner tubes are used for 8.25x20 tires, so we're good.

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But as it turns out, there IS a problem. Here is the correct flap. I will clean it and reuse it as it is in excellent condition. It is not that old because about 10-12 years ago I installed it new and it was (and still is) a top quality flap and one of the things that characterizes a top quality flap of this size is that the center section is surprisingly spongy, considering it's thickness. More about the why of that in a moment.

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...and here is one of the new flaps which, as it turns out, is not correct. It is far narrower than the flap in the first photo and so, hopefully I am going to be getting a new flap of the correct size on Monday.

A quick word about flaps. It has been stated on this site that running tube tires without flaps is OK and, with some types of wheels you may get away with it. You may also get away with it on your MUTT but here, we are talking about a vehicle that weighs in around 17,000 lbs and a goodly portion of that is borne by the front wheels/tires. In the case of the half track, our rim is comprised of two pieces, now rather old and somewhat rough in texture and so the tube also will benefit from extra protection.

One of the useful things flaps do is serve to isolate the inner tube from contact with the rim and, if you expect to get full use out of your wheels and tires, at some point you may be airing them down and running at extremely low pressures. Flaps serve to effectively build a tire that surrounds every inch of the inner tube ensuring it doesn't chafe, scrape or get pinched.

Chiefly, flaps in tube-type tires serve to assist in locking those beads against the rim. In tube tires of this size, if everything is fresh and unfettered, you should be able to deflate the tire and take it off the rim without so much as a single tool. You can just stand on the bead and it will come free. So the beads of the tube-type tire (particularly large truck tires) do not engage the rim in the same manner such as you would expect to find on a tubeless tire because they are not required to hold air to keep the tire inflated. The tube does that.

Now, if you visualize a tube tire on a rim in cross section the tube doesn't push the beads outward with the same energy it pushes the tire's sidewalls outward because it doesn't have the mechanical advantage to do so. Without a flap, the tube is pushing the beads at an angle because the beads can only move outward laterally at right angle to the long axis of the wheel. With a flap, the tube compresses the center of the flap downward which also compresses it into the area between the beads, effectively locking them into place. THAT is why having flaps is advantageous on smaller tires and absolutely necessary on large tires.

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The new tube is given a wipe down with a damp rag and in the doing, here is an excellent opportunity to look over the tube. Remember, even a new tube is subject to damage while in storage. Do not blindly move forward with your work.

Here we see the tube laid in the tire in an orderly manner.

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Time to lay in the flap. First, the filler tube is pushed through the hole in the flap and the flap well-seated against the filler tube base.

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Full disclosure - This next bit is easier said, than done. New bias ply tires that are stored flat have a tendency to come with their beads rather close together. If you are working this bit while you are alone or without a spreader this can be a difficult job. This is time for patience and care and the determination to ensure the tube remains exactly where you want it to be. Fold the flap over inner tube, kind of like how a bun surrounds a hot dog. Starting at the filler tube, the upper and lower edges of the flap are tucked into the tire. This first assembly of tire, tube and flap is the anchor point and from here we work around the circumference. Bottom sides of the flap get tucked in first and then the top side so you can see the tube is in the right place as you tuck everything in. Do this with care and patience, ensuring the tube is remaining generally as you laid it in the first place.

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With everything tucked in, work around the circumference bumping the high points down (thereby bringing the low points up) so that the assembly of tire, flap and tube is generally even in relation to the bead, all the way around.

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Add a little air and check your work. Here is everything at 10 PSI, looking mighty even all the way around. If it's necessary to do more adjusting it can be accomplished far easier if the tube is again deflated. Even-ness in the flap in relation to the tire is what we are looking for. It indicates the inner tube was laid in well and is occupying space inside the tire evenly. You can see how well protected that inner tube is now but more importantly, you can see how that thick, strong flap fills the space between the beads. Far better than relying solely on a thin little tube filled with air to do that job.

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Ok, while those rubber bits are getting to know each other we turn our attention to the wheel. There are 18 bolts used to attach the outer flange to the hub. Those bolt holes have been subjected to the ravages of time. Rust, sandblasting and now several coats of paint mean the threads in those bolt holes need to be chased out and trued up with a tap. This is a long, sometimes strenuous process. If you find yourself doing such work, first, get used to the idea that it's just going to be a long, protracted job. Allow yourself plenty of time to do the work and commit to accepting nothing less than a good result.

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New fasteners in old bolt holes do not mix. Look closely at the lands and grooves in the threads of these two bolts. They are similar in that they are both 3/4-10 but in reality, they are far different. The new one has threads that are in far better condition in the lands and the grooves. The three turns of thread in the center of the old bolt are no longer even at full height!

My decision to use new fasteners began with the fact that the new stuff is plated making them far more resistant to corrosion and again, this is a job the results of which I want to last well into the future. Now imagine running your pretty new fastener into a misshapen hole. What becomes of the coating on it? What damage will be done to your nice tall threads? Also, can you expect your fastener to torque down properly without it being in a trued up hole? Go for the gold with your work.

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The head of the bolts are different but this work is about utility, not fashion. I have an original Budd wrench for dealing with these wheels that is set up for not only the 1 1/2" cap nuts but also for the flange bolts. So, with the new bolts I have lost partial use of that tool but newer, better tools are available so it's not much of a loss. The new fasteners present far more surface area to the flange, doing a far superior job of holding things together. Eventually, I will clean up the old fasteners, run them through a die and sent them aside. Somebody else may want them. IMHO, they're too good to throw away, but too bad to use. These new bolts cost $1.04 a piece and that's 18 per wheel so the expense adds up quickly. One can get away with staying with the old hardware but in this case, my goal is putting these back together not just for me but also, for the next guy.

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Now, with the bolt holes all tapped out, I place the new rubber on the wheel, still partially inflated. This keeps everything where I left it while I handle it and even at 10 PSI it settles down nicely on the wheel. After removing the valve stem, the assembly settles down even further.

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A careful visual check indicates the filler tube is properly oriented in the slot in the wheel hub.

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The flanges are aligned with two large pins, seen here at about the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. Because of the close tolerances of these pins it was necessary to hammer them down in order to seat the flange against the hub. This is not at all uncommon and there is nothing wrong with their being tight. The flanges and center hubs always show evidence of some earlier hammering right there on the pins. I dislike hammering on things but it's just part of the process with these wheels. I started with a wood block and followed up with copper mallet laid against the pin and then struck with a maul. I drew the flange down the rest of the way with the new fasteners, each of which received a generous amount of thread locker. Once everything was well seated, I followed up with a torque wrench after looking up the specs. This is slow, methodical work and everything receives my full attention; each of the 18 fasteners all torqued the same and working together.

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As the tire is still deflated, I set up the wheel for a repaint as some spots got marred during assembly and there is also the matter of those glaringly new fasteners. I have said before, I prefer my vehicles a little smutty and so I have no druthers about dinging my new paint. My only recommendation to other is, never put the quality of your paint job over the quality of your work. These will get knocked around in general use so I don't really care if they look brand new or not when they finally get put on the half track.

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Finally, the tire is inflated to 90 PSI and tomorrow, I will return to check to ensure it is holding pressure (and it was holding nicely 16 hours later). If I had any reason to doubt that the tire wouldn't hold pressure, I would have skipped the repaint today. This is Rustoleum paint, by the way. I will color coat this later with the correct paint but for now, this will do fine and the paint is readily available without having to pay the ridiculously high hazmat fees.

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So, in closing, we have talked about concerning ourselves with the quality of our work, keeping ourselves from hurrying through a job, checking our new parts to ensure they are correct and in good condition. We talked about the method of performing our work, accepting the fact that some jobs are just going to be long, arduous affairs, utility vs. fashion and what that means when choosing replacement parts, balancing the quality of our work against other factors (such as preserving pretty paint jobs) and finally, checking our work one final time. Hope someone has found this at least a little bit informative.

Cheers,
TJ
Last edited by m3a1 on September 10th, 2019, 9:35 am, edited 3 times in total.

acudanut

Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by acudanut » September 9th, 2019, 10:08 pm

Very nice detailed work !!

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by rickf » September 10th, 2019, 9:56 am

Lawson bolts, you went for the good stuff! I used to use them in my shop, I had the best salesman they had. If I had time to talk we talked and went over my supplies, If I was busy he just went in and went over my inventory himself. He knew exactly how much of each item I wanted to keep and he never pushed me for more. He wrote down what he thought I would want and handed me the list to check and I would glance at it and approve it. You know what is in your bins so you knew he was not trying to screw you.On those days when I was busy he would be there for 30-45 minutes and use a total of maybe 5 minutes of my time. If he had a new item he thought I would be interested in he would only tell me about it on a trip where he could see I had the time to hear about it. If I said it wasn't something I would want that was the end of the discussion. He died putting in a light at his daughters house in the kitchen, fell of a footstool and broke his neck!
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by m3a1 » September 16th, 2019, 1:17 pm

Well, last week was really something. Started the week by picking up my latest purchase for the GTB which is a bed from an M105 trailer and a used fuel tank and working fuel pump for the 6x6. One stop shopping in a sleepy little town called China Grove. Yup....THAT China Grove. We came prepared with a proper trailer and dunnage and plenty of tie-down straps. The little straps you see on the sides are holding the 4x4s up tight against some mounting tabs under the bed so they don't walk around while we're traveling. Very substantial cross ties front and rear keep everything right and tight. The seller loaded us with a fork lift so it was about as easy as it could be.

Knowing there would be an UNLOADing process, I took my buddies over to the nearby truck stop where we hit the buffet, BIG TIME....my treat, of course! Gotta keep everybody happy.

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Off loaded and up on stands until I can get the truck under it.

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On the way home I took my buddies over to a place where some strange treasures often turn up unexpectedly and I hit the jackpot! Below, a one ton Yale & Towne differential hoist (aka, a chain fall hoist) for.....

Wait for it.....

$25!!

...and yeah, it works perfectly!

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And not to be outdone, I also grabbed this treasure, a McKissick 6 ton sheave with a 14" wheel for 5/16" wire rope which is exactly the size I use at my place. Another $25!! This one works perfectly as well.

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On the way back I got a call from my usual tire supplier informing me that the flaps for the half track wheels had come in and they had quoted me the wrong price (it turned out to be half what they had quoted me). It was quite a day and so after unloading, I whipped up a hearty victory dinner. Enjoy the little things.

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On the following day it was time to assemble the Harbor Freight One Ton Telescoping Gantry Crane. Now, I realize I'm inviting a debate about the quality of cheap Chinese Harbor Freight products so I will start with this. First, this monster is good for only 2000# but it is going to be my best friend for a while because my back and my tolerance for this kind of work is not getting better. I got it with the 20% off coupon and ultimately, this is far cheaper and far more convenient than ruining what is left of my back and having to go under the knife.

Item comes in two boxes and Harbor Freight will load you up with their fork lift.

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I have a more modern chain hoist which I will use with the gantry but instead, I decided to put the Yale & Towne straight to work.

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My son and his buddy were pondering over the mysterious workings of this old hoist which may have been made anytime between 1875 and the late 1920s. Kids these days...spend all their time playing on the X-Box, learning.....absolutely nothing. Big wheel and a little wheel! That's all there is to it...but isn't it nice to know that during the zombie apocalypse some of these people might see the benefit that comes from saving the old man from certain death, eh? Because we know things about how the world works that other people don't know...

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The mounting plates that are attached to the I-beam were slightly deformed, probably from the heat of the welding process. I was not happy about that. This is a critical area with the potential for there to be lateral stresses placed upon it so the first thing I did was to discard the Chinese fasteners. I began by using improved fasteners of the size the directions called for and then I realized what was actually going on.

I upped my game by chasing out 8 holes with a 1/2" drill. These holes had been punched to 1/2" and were just a tiny bit off in relation to one another. The manufacturer's solution to this was to provide 3/8" fasteners which speaks volumes about how these folks solve problems. It required very little effort to true up those 8 holes; basically I just scoured them out with the bit. That done, it was grade 8, 1/2" fasteners throughout the top plate. I feel much better about that.

Lower left you can see the big pin that holds the vertical shaft in place once you've reached the desired height. I think it's about 1" in diameter. the smaller bolts are holding shim pads to keep the interior vertical shaft aligned.

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Here is the cup for the crank handle that is used to lift the vertical support for the I-beam, as it came out of the crate. Some nitwit in China bent it (what is the Chinese word for nitwit?) and this blockhead shrugged his shoulders and packed it for shipment. So much for quality control. I sorted it out and elected to leave the crank handles in place since there is no provision for storing them elsewhere. I know Rick is going to comment on the quality of Chinese welds and I will say that I'm feeling like I had better make a routine inspection of these welds before each use. The ones you see in this photo are for a little plate that gives some general support to the pulley behind it. Nothing of any real consequence.

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And below, we have photos of the process of getting the bed up in the air so as to be able to roll the GTB under it. Why not use the gantry? Well, it would have been nice but the gantry is for use on hard, even surfaces.....and it is up front in the driveway while this soft, UNeven surface is in the back where the work is to be done. Logistics always seem to get in the way of a good plan.

While it looks dicey, the ascent was made in a series of small lifts using high lift jacks. It ended up being very stable. If it had not been, I would have hired a wrecker to come lift it. So my only comment here is, if you find yourself doing similar work, always err on the side of caution and make sure your blocking is stable. Safety first.

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I stopped to snap this picture. No the frame is not bent. The frame is shaped like a wine glass! The right frame rail is a mirror image of the left. I have never seen this before and because of the plywood that had been laid on it, I had not detected it earlier. Boy oh boy, these GTBs are strange and unusual trucks.

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And here we have the bed just sitting on the frame and as you can see, it's a little off which is of no consequence because the only reason it is on there at this stage of the game is so that it can be stored out of the way, and to get a sense of what will have to happen to mount this permanently to the GTB later on. There is so much yet to do on this truck and it will have to come off again, but no matter. I'll use the gantry next time! One thing is undeniable. I selected the correct bed for this low-budget build!

Since you're going to ask what will occupy the space between the front of the bed and the driver, that is where the spare tire will go, as can be found on some CCKWs.

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by rickf » September 16th, 2019, 7:03 pm

AND, That extra space behind the front seat will also allow you to move the front seat bock to accommodate the bane of all older men, lack of flexibility!!!! I have a hell of a time with the clutch and brake on my M37 because you need to splay you leg out to the left to clear the steering wheel. I KNOW they had to have drivers in the service that were 6'3" or taller?
I have eyeballed that gantry several times but I have a dirt drive in front of the garage and not enough room inside the garage for it so I would have to put I beams in the ground for it to ride on.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by rickf » September 16th, 2019, 7:11 pm

The trailer that you brought the bed back on, Is that yours? Looks exactly mine.

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

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by Surveyor » September 16th, 2019, 10:13 pm

Sheave story - Worked for an offshore service company in the late 90's. We were surveying well bores for directional drilling. North seeking rate gyro ran off wireline through a huge sheave pulled up into the derrick then downhole. After every job the equipment would return to the shop and the maintenance crews would power wash the sheaves down and repaint to make them look nice and new for the next job. Fortunately, I was not on this particular rig when one of our sheaves broke loose and the wireline went whipping around on the derrick floor. Imaging the force in that line with approximately 5000 ft already downhole. Could cut a man in two. Miraculously, no one was injured. Safety investigation determined that the sheave had developed a stress fracture after repeated use. The crack was not discovered because the fresh paint would always cover it up. In fact, pictures showed that the crack had been there for some time since the paint had migrated down into it when looked at in cross section. Not sure if it is the same today but I believe MMS outlawed painting wireline sheaves for offshore work due to that incident. Only worked for that company for a year, got laid off in the downturn, and swore I'd never work out there again.
1960 M151 Run #1
"There is one nut on a M151 that is very difficult to remove....." - K8icu
"She ain't a Cadillac and she ain't a Rolls, But there ain't nothin' wrong with the radio" - Aaron Tippin
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m3a1
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by m3a1 » September 16th, 2019, 10:51 pm

Nope, I borrowed that one from a fellow LEO. I always return the trailer better than I got it. Wiring, a reflector (or two) a repair weld, a bearing pack, or what-have-you always makes him happy to have loaned it to me.

Glad you mentioned that crack issue. The rating tag says 2015. I'll look it over very carefully. All I'm really using it for is a double-over so that I can pull a vehicle back into a space when there is no room behind it. No heavy lifting. I've been in the market for a military sheave but the darned things are always torn up when I find them. This guy paid for itself on its first use. I put the GTB back into its slot without even breaking a sweat. Finally, things are getting easier around here. It's about time.

Cheers,
TJ

acudanut

Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by acudanut » September 17th, 2019, 3:02 pm

Keep up the hard work. I enjoy seeing the progress. Cheers

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies

Unread post by m3a1 » September 20th, 2019, 11:22 am

A pleasant interlude between endless labor, yesterday we made the MUTT available for a U.S. Grunt Gear photo shoot. As per usual, I cannot say with any certainty that it will actually make it into print but that's their business, not mine. We hauled everything over (thank you, Xloflyr for the use of your trailer) and then sat around for hours and hours waiting for everyone to get their collective s--- together.

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As usual, everyone was really diggin' the MUTT in all its war-weary glory.

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My son made some new friends. Note that his hands are, ummm, ....'hovering' He's such a gentleman! :lol:

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The tall gal to his left is a former Marine, by the way.

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Cheers,
TJ
Last edited by m3a1 on April 24th, 2020, 11:26 am, edited 2 times in total.

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