1966 Ford M151A1 - A Beverly Hillbillies odyssey

[m3a1]

OH!

You did NOT say THAT!!

[rickf]

Yea ah did.

[m3a1]

Now that my sporty little A1 has been all spiffed up with a tall can of Armor All on the tires, I was ready to go out in public with it. So, Señor Beel and I loaded it up onto the tow dolly, strapped it down, adjusted the safety chains to the correct length (because, despite our rather dog-eared personal appearance, we are responsible adults) and took the whole shebang out into the great, wide world...which is to say, we slow rolled over to Xloflyr's place to drop the MUTT off. About an eight mile jaunt.

Armor All, if you're reading this, I am giving thoughtful consideration to taking on a few new sponsors this year.

If circumstances had been different, we might have actually charged admission for this mobile peep show. People kept driving up alongside the A1 with their smart phones up, drawn like moths to a flame, and to the high shine of those tires.

Armor All will probably be calling me any minute now. All aboard the tire-shine train. Whoot WHOOooOOT!

Xloflyr, who had been away, came home to another MUTT in his yard. Surprise! And no one had called the HOA because of those really GOOD-looking tires. Mmm-hmm!

The following day, he drove his command car out of the shop and we pushed, shoved, and barged the A1 into place and got her up on the lift. I could hardly wait. All the really terrible, awful stuff was going to be underneath. You could bet your life on it.

Up she went.

IMG_2069.jpeg

Truth be told, there was actual balance between good and bad. Some rot in usual places and NO rot in other usual places. There were some modifications (such as the torch-relaxed rear springs) but nothing that couldn't be UNdone. And with the lower control arms hanging down against the home made travel limiters, those rear springs rattled around like a ping-pong ball in a boxcar.

IMG_2071.jpeg

The body had been cut and someone might have done a better job stitching it back together but what had been done wasn't horrible and the work had managed to keep the two halves of the body straight and solid and the rear drive shaft wasn't jammed up against anything. The wheel hub centers measured out pretty much the same on both sides; an allowable margin of error giving consideration to all the ancient control arm bushings.

IMG_2082.jpeg

Insofar as general maintenance was concerned, it was in need of a 4-wheel bearing pack, the prop shafts needed some attention (most of the equalizing valves were caked in old grease) at least one control arm bushing was completely roached and I would imagine that the usual seals would need to be replaced because NOTHING this old could actually be this leak-free. The trans brake needed to be adjusted and all the usual caked grease was present everywhere. But at least they had been greasing it.

IMG_2074.jpeg

The most glaring thing was the left front wheel which had a double-darned dent on the outside rim and a one BIG damned-dent on the inside rim. Add that to the list of things needed.

IMG_2076.jpeg

Phooey!

But the tires looked stellar, because... Armor All.

Cheers,
TJ

[rickf]

Shoot some RTV in that bushing and it will be fine. Yea, the springs are a bit flat, to the point the snubber have been the springs. What is that perforated mess behind that bushing in the picture? Ned pics of the whole underneath, isn't it you that says we need pics! I want to see the weld job. Hey, it is what I do.

[m3a1]

Perforated mess? Sir, this is an experimental rig. Weight reduction and reduced wind resistance. Good for an extra 15 miles per tank of gas. And none of us have to look at it when it's on the ground.

IMG_1968.jpeg

[m3a1]

IMG_2077.jpeg

IMG_2086.jpeg

IMG_2075.jpeg

IMG_2087.jpeg

IMG_2070.jpeg

[Hambone]

Looks like a nice mutt, you're ahead of the game.

[Horst]

You really must like that thing.

[rickf]

Are you sure the driveshafts have not been modified? I see the section of weld without rust was overlapped. Other side is questionable but doe not look overlapped. If it is overlapped then it will be shorter. You will not be able to tell by measuring wheel centers just due to the front tires could be turned a fraction of a turn and that would skew that measurement. You need to find points that are exactly the same on both sides and cross measure. And the front upper control arms are cut? I wonder what the story is there? That was never part of a demill order.

I have seen much worse welding. I always wondered why after welding they did not paint?

[m3a1]

That isn't an overlap, Rick. Observe the cut hat channel where it meets the floor on both sides. It's butted up fairly well on both sides without overlapping.

There is a lot we don't know about the back story. I don't know if the guy I bought it from was involved in the initial acquisition from the Gov't (not likely) but I do know this was a regularly driven truck until the untimely demise of the engine. With that in mind, I'm going to assume that everything was going along tolerably well until that fateful day.

The fly in the ointment is the rot, which I will address at some point but I'm not going whole hog on this rig. It's just meant for mutting around in. As long as it can pull its own weight and isn't on the cusp of breaking in half, I'm gonna be real content with what I've got. So, we will begin with sourcing an engine (or at least a short block).

And if anyone in my area knows where I might acquire one, please reach out to me.

When I pull the power pack I may feel compelled to take that opportunity to get in/under/around and deal with the worst rot issues but again, no superhuman effort will be made on this. I have too many projects on back burners to get too deeply involved in it.

That's really were we are at the moment.

By some strange coincidence, I find that I am working on ANOTHER vehicle with a split chassis; the toy WWI tank. Today I found some correct diameter wire stock for the wheels which I cut from a shower caddy that I bought at the rummage store for $1. Results are excellent and the wheels don't wobble which is a major improvement. So, one might conclude that successfully dealing with this sort of stuff is really just a matter of scale, and patience.

IMG_2101.jpeg

Next steps, chemically removing the rust from the hull and tracks and remaking a few faux guns from fuel line.

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

You really must like that thing.

What's not to like? I liked it even more when I paid what I paid for it.