M151A2 in its new home

[maple_leaf_eh]

And you didn't call me?

(Actually I would have had to beg off a road move on Monday. My son asked to go to the range and shoot a little. He had better luck on paper with the 10/22 than the Zombie rifle. And, we had some father son puberty talks. A bunch of rusty old trucks just wouldn't measure up to these moments of family investment.)

[Scott Bentley]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

And you didn't call me?

(Actually I would have had to beg off a road move on Monday. My son asked to go to the range and shoot a little. He had better luck on paper with the 10/22 than the Zombie rifle. And, we had some father son puberty talks. A bunch of rusty old trucks just wouldn't measure up to these moments of family investment.)

This was a case of getting Steve's from storage to his house for some further maintenance. Still a little bit yet before a full scale convoy is in order.

Did you get a clean bill of health on yours?

[maple_leaf_eh]

YES! Plated with a veteran's plate too.

Eric left a binder of CFTOs which includes one on licence plate holders. Time to start bending sheet metal.

[maple_leaf_eh]

The titles of the jpegs are the stages. The shots are all at the discovery and destruction stages.

The inner battery box bottom has a big diagonal repair through it from the re-militarization. The outer battery box bottom is half eaten away by rust. This is where the safety inspection poked into rubber matting.

The tray itself is loose, and in really good condition. However, it has 2 dimples to drain the expected spilled battery acid. These dimples get in the way of any repair panel I was prepared to build in a week's time with my limited welding skills.

[maple_leaf_eh]

So the first sequence took the loyal MLU viewer from discovery to 'now what have I gotten myself into?'.

The next sequence doesn't quite capture the thought processes. Should I replicate the good battery box? Could I make origami with sheet metal? What gauge of steel, the 22 gauge panel I bought or the salvaged pieces of 12-ish gauge from some long-forgotten trailer?

In the end I decided I had neither the time or inclination to make a fancy cake pan-like piece. Time was pressing to get the vehicle back in for inspection before the long weekend. Make it flat. Make it simple.

I convinced my brother to come over and weld for me. The heavy gauge steel was free and strong enough to support the batteries without reinforcements. The resulting welding had a fair amount of spatter, but there are no voids of pinholes. The bumps and zigzags were ground off, and looked nice and shiney.

I painted the fresh ground metal with Rust Killer spray paint. Which is not Rustoleam spray paint. The outer layer on the bottom is asphalt rustproofing spray.

The inner battery box depression, the intact one, is now concealed under a loose piece of heavy gauge steel.

[maple_leaf_eh]

If the battery box was heavy construction, repairing the two front floors was a casual jog around the block.

A previous owner had invested in diamond plate for each floor, bent to conform with the existing panels and firmly secured with self-tapping screws. No arguments from me on methodology. After he-man cutting, grinding and welding, I was ready for 'fast and loose'.

I unfastened the diamond plate and had a look. Hmm? He must have been thinking the same way I was. It is aluminum diamond plate not steel. Measure twice, cut once. Hand operated tin snips are slow, but effective. I had to unbolt some of the Roll Over Protection System base bolts to slide the fresh panel into place over an emerging rust hole. Who knew old bolts could be so ornery? But I realized the logic of working on a small vehicle when I had one hand on a wrench underneath and the other hand on a wrench inside. You Carrier owners have my sympathies.

At some point in the story 3 other local M151A2 owners appeared in the driveway, led by Eric driving a nice company car. Scott and Steve actually lent a hand to change tires after the hard work was done. Scott had his "MUTT" on the street, which made my wife question my judgement as she drove up. "What the hell has he done now?"

Reverse the steps to put the 22 gauge panels under the diamond plate with the same screws. Spritz on the Rust Killer spray and a top coat of Rustoleum. Then off to the inspection station.

The original document was dated Sunday by mistake. The owner apologized for the mistake, but agreed the M+S tires looked better than the Non Directional Cross Countries. But on the bright side, I have enough accumulated NOS 17" tires, that I think I can put the M151A2 on decent but old rubber when the occassion demands.

[Scott Bentley]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

Scott and Steve actually lent a hand to change tires after the hard work was done.

Photographic evidence of two Commissioned Officers doing vehicle maintenance. True story folks