How To: Restoration of Ford M8 armoured car US Ordnance number 7373

[Big D]

More photos.

[motto]

Hi Darryl
My inclination would be to go along with the guys who will be doing the job.
Maybe start with the side with the large gap and see how it turns out before tackling the other side so long as there is no problem with distortion.
So long as they can replicate the plates and welds it would have to be a better result than patching up.

Dave

[David Dunlop]

Darryl.

Just tossing this out there.

Can you remove the sponson from one side as two pieces (fore and aft), make the necessary interior repairs, then repair the sponson while detached from the vehicle and reattach it when done? You could perhaps tack the two sponson pieces together to maintain their relationship to each other before removal.

Like I say, I am no expert, but it would have the potential of preserving all original plating?

Am enjoying the thread! Keep it up!

Cheers,


David

[maple_leaf_eh]

If you were repairing an old house and you had to move an interior wall, the most workmanlike approach would be to remove all of the last guy's work and start from a known-good surface. The men who will have to make the welds know their own limits, and how much effort is required to achieve the result. Take heed of their counsel

There is a risk that came to mind when you mentioned having two halves. Years ago there was an American firearms magazine called, Firepower. Their specialization was legal fully automatic weapons. In one issue the editor and his writers made a BAR receiver from three demilitarized sections. After welding it was set aside for tempering. With bang, one of the welds exploded. After very close physical examination and some metallurgical tests, they discovered they had WW1, WW2 and Korean War pieces. Three contracts, three factories, and three steels. As I recall, they broke the remaining welds, retempered the three pieces, redid the welds and retempered the receiver. Of course at the right percentage of assembled, it was reported to the authorities for registration.

The question therefore is, have you tested to see if the steel in both halves is the same? If yes, have at it! If no, you may need to use different rods or wires and different settings.

[Andrew Rowe]

Hi Big D, I would normally look to take repairing back to original weld lines, if it looks more practical to replace the whole panel in one plate, other wise if cut lines are suitable to weld up, just weld them up. Use the mild steel core mig wire, 0.9mm dia, good for 1/2" thick plate and CO2 shielding gas, and you won't go wrong on that US armor. Cheers Andrew.

[Big D]

Hi Dave, David and Terry,

Thanks for the replies.

Dave - yes, my initial impression on seeing it was to go with their recommendation. New plates in there seem logical to me and 'cleaner' than patch jobs as you say. Overall, I think this will be the most efficient and doing one at a time to, does have merit - a good point thanks.

David - that's a good question. I'm betting it could be done, albeit with a bit of extra time involved I'd say. Like you say, it does mean the original plating can be retained. Thanks for the comment on the thread. Good to hear you are finding it interesting. It is proving to be fun so far!

Terry - a good point. To be honest, testing the steel is not something I had even considered. I will have to ask the guys in the workshop about that. I don't know how much of a problem it could be. I know there are a number of 'stitched up' M8's out there, but that doesn't mean there wouldn't be problems with this one.

Chaps - as an aside, it has also been mentioned to me (thanks Doug) that another option would be to cut slightly smaller plates to match the sponson plates, and weld them on the inside of the sponsons. The exterior plates would then be preserved as much as possible and it would just require filling in the gaps from the outside using filler plates.

The disadvantage is that getting access to the innards of the hull would still be very difficult. Another viable option though.

Thanks for the ideas. I still like the idea of keeping it as original as possible, but also accept that one has to be a little practical about it, especially when 'the meter is running'! I need to get my head around the options now and work out what we are going to do!

[colin jones]

Hey Darryl, if I had the option I'd weld it back as it is as the cuts don't look that bad and it would be easy to add a few filler pieces where it's a bit wide.
That is just my opinion only of course Great project by the way.
Colin.

[Big D]

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the reply. I'm keen to hear all opinions. Do you mean using packing pieces to bridge the gaps and just joining it that way?

Thanks.

[Stew Robertson]

Great Job Darryl
You are building a real fun machine
goes anywhere climbs mountains and is really stable
on the highways and byways
You are doing a more extensive rebuild than I had to but it will be worth it
Just make sure the JXD is a rebuilt and up to snuff
because you will need the rpm and power for a good road trip
I had to redo the engine in the one I doneand it made all the difference between fun and being P*****
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