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

[Big D]

Hi all,

A few pictures added just to show the completed floor pieces.

The centre floor piece has an interesting shape to it and I figure the original manufacturing would have involved some complicated pressing. I had to get my compass out to get the folds right for some of the angles, but it is not looking bad. The fit is pretty good. Thanks for the measurements David.

I had to improvise a little at the front where the centre floor piece meets the front cross member. The front of the original centre floor piece was pressed such that it has a step at the front and I wasn’t easily able to recreate that. Also, because there was nothing useable left of the old sheet metal front floor that the centre floor piece would normally bolt down on top of, I had to make up some packers to lift the centre floor piece to the right height up off the cross member. I also had to make a small false floor for the gearstick housing mounting. I think it all looks pretty good though.

I’ve made the floor so that I can take out the centre section relatively easily. That is, the fixing points between the centre floor and rear floor pieces are on the rear floor, rather than the other way around. I’m not sure when and if removing the centre floor will be required but I figure it could be handy. With that centre floor piece coming out first, I figure the rear floor could be taken out underneath if required.

I’ve extended the front armoured floor back to the area over the front cross member, where it originally would have been. I’ve also made up a small surround around the area where the gearstick housing is. I’ve followed the original shape of the armoured floor in doing this. Most of the pictures I’ve seen of armoured front floors have a circular cut-out around the gearstick housing, but I have seen one other photograph of an armoured floor with an angled cut-out like my one has.

I don’t have the correct fixed driver seat, nor do I have the correct mount for the co-driver seat. In the end I fabricated two mounts from photographs of the originals to mount the two seats I did have. I need to get some torsion springs of the right size though for the locking plate that holds the seat back up. I don’t figure the driver’s seat will be folded back too often, and I guess you have to work with what you’ve got. I’ll keep an eye out for the correct driver’s seat and hopefully one will turn up one day.

The pictures show the seats and extinguisher mount just sitting in place for the moment. I still need to finish the drilling and tapping for the seat bases as well as drilling the holes around the sides of the floor pieces for the securing bolts.

In between time on the floor, I’ve done a few repairs on the inner and outer front guards. The inner ones are just about done now but there is some work in the outer front guards. There are some tricky folds in these and the rust appears to have developed in the hardest folds to create.

I think I’m getting there…..

[Big D]

More photos.

[super dave]

Looking good, You have come along ways

[Big D]

Hi Dave

Thanks for that. It feels like quite a journey so far. I feel like I'll be able to breathe a sigh of relief when the hull is done and off to the sandblasters.

[Big D]

Hi all,

Things have been a bit quiet with the restoration lately due to commitments with other projects, but I haven’t been completely idle and it is still progressing.

The work on the hull is continuing. I have a few parts arriving next month so will have bit of welding to do along with a few other things I am doing. I have the second headlight guard and the first aid kit bracket to be welded on, as well as some new exhaust mount brackets.

The rear engine support hull cross member had been removed at some point so I had a new piece of steel folded up into a channel type profile, which we will weld into place.

Unless I am lucky and find a front engine mount cross member (shown in the pictures) somewhere, I will need to get another piece of steel folded into a channel type profile, which I will cut and shape to form the cross member for the front engine supports.

I was a bit lucky with the oil can brackets for the engine bay. I acquired a good one (thanks Bill) and had another one (thanks Mathijs) for which I have fabricated the clip.

The tool lockers are nearly done. I had two in reasonable condition along with three that were really only good as donors. The reasonable ones looked like the moths had got to them though with lots of small holes in them, so I had to splice good bits of material from the other beaten up ones into these two. I found though that the pressed pattern in the donor tool lockers had a different spacing to the other ones, presumably from a manufacturing change, so I didn’t have as much good donor material as I thought. They don’t look too bad now though and they shouldn’t need much if any fibreglass.

I resurrected from the dead the two tool locker lids I had. One looked like it had been run over by a Sherman tank and the other was heavily corroded in places. Even after lots of straightening, the mangled one is pretty marginal really, but I’ll see how it looks with a blast and paint. I have sourced two nice looking repro lids from Belgium and they are on the way here, so that will complete the set.

While these wee jobs are going on in the background, I have started work on the turret. The turret was obviously a range target at some point and has a number of bullet holes in it which need to be filled.

The skirt around the base of the turret is also damaged in places but I have some replacement pieces which I have already cleaned up which I will cut to the right size and weld on.

I will also need to fabricate the steel rack around the exterior of the turret. Can anyone confirm the width of this steel strap? From what is left on the turret, it looks like 1 1/4" strap of about 1/4' thickness.

I also need to know how far it sits proud of the turret surface if someone can confirm please. It appears from photos that it is about 1 1/2” out from the turret but if someone can confirm, I'll get this fabricated as well.

Apart from that, the turret appears to be in reasonable shape.

[Big D]

More turret photos.

[James P]

That is pretty amazing work and fabrication you are doing on that M8, I salute your efforts and skills Did you weld in all the holes in the turret or save a couple as "battle damage" and its history ?