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

[Big D]

Hi all,

Here a few progress photos along with a quick update.

The hatches are on now but I am still working on the hatch locking levers. The one that was still on the hull is being as stubborn as the other, and is seized. I did the same as the other side and cut a piece out of the top so I could access the workings, without removing it from the hull. I freed up the latch itself but the actuating rod (the one you pull to release the hatch) is seized into the sleeve in the side of the hull so I am still working on that. The hatch locking lever on the driver side is now fitted, although I haven’t yet finalised the actuating rod on that either.

The mine racks are now fitted to the hull and I’ve fitted a strip of folded steel on the left side of the hull for the tool locker mounts. I’ve also fabricated some new mounts for the protectoscope boxes and drilled out a lot of the broken bolts around the hull and tapped new threads where necessary. A lot of the captive nuts around the hull are history, so I need to work out what to do with those.

I removed what was left of the rear of the original floor. The cross member below that looks to be in pretty good shape. As you can see, there are still some remnants of the original front floor under the armoured floor. The sheet front floor I have coming arrives in 3 weeks so I will look at that piece before deciding what I do with the front floor.

Can anyone give me some dimensions and close-up photos of the mounts for the engine cover support rods? These have been removed at some point. I get the impression that the mount has an angle greater than 90 degrees, but it is hard to determine. I thought with a 90 degree bracket, the angle of the hull mightn’t set the support rods up high enough. Can anyone confirm this for me please?

There are the remnants of a bracket near the floor on the co-driver side, as per the photo. Does anyone know what this bracket was for? Am I right in saying this was for a Signal Projector? What is that, exactly?

[Big D]

A few more photos.....

[Big D]

Hi all,

I was asked about progress on the M8 so this is just a quick update.

For the last week or so I’ve been working my way through a pile of parts that I have had arrive from Europe for the project, cleaning them up and priming etc. I have the fuel line covers, rear engine mounts, fan shrouds and tunnels, some piping for the engine bay, oil breather, gaskets, clutch disc, protectoscopes and boxes, gearstick housing, shock absorbers, etc.

I got the front floor piece I was waiting on. While it is heavily corroded in some places, the diff bulge and stampings and steering box hole are all in one piece. I figure we can cut out these good pieces and weld them into a new piece of folded sheet metal. There should be enough left of the rear piece of the floor I previously removed to shape the rear of this front floor piece. I could have got away with the front armoured floor but it had to be repaired in places and a new diff bulge fabricated anyway, so this will give it more of an original look.

I received two gearshift housings, levers and pins etc and noted some differences. One of the pins is a nice fabrication and just needs the two holes drilled for the couplings. I see there is a difference in the angles of the gearsticks though. At first I thought the one in red primer was a fabrication, but there are some numbers stamped on the small plate at the bottom, so I’m presuming it is an original piece. The other gear stick with the gear knob on it is an original piece – it has its number stamped into the metalwork.

As you can see, there is a substantial difference in the angle of the gearsticks. I’ve tried both in place in the housings and the one that isn’t primed (the original?) is angled very sharply to the rear when the gearstick is to the rear in second or fourth gear.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

[Big D]

Some more photos.

[David Herbert]

Gear shift: It looks to me like the unpainted one had been modified by someone with short arms that wanted the gear knob further back. That prevented the latch working as designed and it fouled the fingers of the gate so both were removed. I just see it as a bodge but you are fortunate to have the good ones (the ones in primer).

As for the front floor I think that you will be making a new one and just sectioning the diff bulge from the one in the photos into it. It wouldn't be too difficult to press the ribs into the new one but to section new metal into the rusty one would need huge amounts of welding that would make it very hard to avoid warping and general distortion, quite apart from the work involved.

I must say that it is great to see someone doing such a thorough and profesional job on an M8. You will be amply rewarded when you drive it - great fun.

David

[Big D]

Hi David,

Thanks for the post and sorry about the delay in replying.

You could be right about the gear stick. I think it will be a case of trial and error, and I'll see which one works best. The one in primer does seem to feel right but we will see.

As for the floor...well, we sort of did what you suggested, as you will see below.

Thanks for the compliment. I think we are getting there!

[Big D]

Hi all,

Just a short update on progress on the M8.

I had some OD paint mixed up by a local vehicle paint specialist, using a Lustreless OD sample provided by Midwest Military. The paint supplied by the local company was a two pack with paint and hardener, with a matting agent in the paint to give it a flat look.

I got some of the painted parts back and the painter and I learnt an interesting lesson in the application of paint with matting agents in it. As you can see, some of the parts have a semi-gloss look to it, while others have the correct flat look. The painter worked out that the best way to apply the paint was by way of a ‘dusting’. When he painted some of the parts like he would have painted a car, layering the paint on a bit heavier, then it came out shinier. I’ve also since heard that too much hardener can have this effect. The finish on the brake backing plate as pictured is bang-on compared to the paint sample I had, so I am happy with the mix. We’ll just have to monitor the application and finish.

We started working on the front floor yesterday. As you will recall, I had two options; one was to tear the armoured floor out and fabricate a new sheet metal floor using the bulge and a couple of other parts from the old floor piece I bought in Europe. Option 2 was to leave the armoured floor in place and build it up again to what it would have looked like.

In the end, I have gone with a combination of both. I had already taken out the rear part of the armoured floor as the welds had fractured and needed cleaning up and re-welding. We have used what we could off the old part of the floor which was the diff bulge and spigot for the steering box shaft and the mount for the foot accelerator pedal. We have aligned everything as it should be and are in the process of stitch welding the remnants of the old floor onto the underside of the armoured floor.

We have also created a flange to go around the top of the floor around the join between the bulge and the armoured floor. We will mig weld around this to create a seam and then use a sealer to seal it off underneath. It should look nice and tidy once I clean the welding up with a flap disc.

I figured there was just too much time and cost involved in gouging out the armoured floor, cleaning up the hull and then recreating almost from scratch a new sheet metal floor with the bulge placed into it.

I'll post some more pictures next week after we've finished the welding.