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

[Big D]

Hi all,

Here are a few photos showing progress with the hull. It’s a nice feeling actually putting it together rather than the constant disassembly of the last couple of years.

I’ve had to spend a lot of time cleaning out the threads of all the fixing points on the hull. I ran a tap through each one of these before blasting but I’ve found now that I’m having to do them all again, due to the paint. I guess I can’t really complain about a good paint job!

I will need to do a bit of touching up of the paint on the nuts and bolts once I’m happy with everything.

I haven’t bolted the FT-237 radio tray down yet but I needed to make sure it was positioned right on the shelf. I cleaned up the paint on the shelf mounts so I should get a good earth on the FT-237. I’ll start routing the radio cable through the hull so I can cut it to the correct length.

I still haven’t sourced all the hydraulic lines so I won’t fit too much more in the hull until I have those laid out.

The decals I had made up worked a treat, although you do have to get them lined up first time as they stick like hell.

[Big D]

More photos.

[colin jones]

You're doing a beautiful job Darryl and It's a really nice feeling when you get to bolt things back on. Keep the photos coming.
Colin.

[Big D]

Hi Colin,

Thanks for that. It is certainly a nice feeling seeing it all go back together.

[Big D]

Hi all,

I am at the stage where I am fitting and wiring the BC606 interphone boxes and the wiring to the FT237 radio tray and I’m hoping to get some advice from the M8 gurus out there.

I have the TM 11-2702 manual for installation of the radio and interphone equipment. I also have all the other drawings and plans for the wiring of the interphone and radios, as per the photos.

What isn’t clear to me is how the BC606s for the commander and loader are connected.

The plans would suggest that the BC606s for the commander and loader each terminate at the terminal boxes in the sponsons, which I have fitted. It is not clear though how those two terminal boxes are connected. The BC606 for the commander is not the problem, as it has a direct connection to the FT237 through the terminal box in the sponson on that side. How does the BC606 for the loader connect to the commander's side though?

I’ve seen many photos of M8s (like the photo attached) that have the BC606 for the commander and loader connected by way of CO213 cable that is strung along the back wall of the interior of the hull. There is no indication of that method of connecting them in the manuals that I have found. I can see the ease in doing it that way, but is it correct?

I know there is conduit that runs along the side of the hull for each terminal box through into the engine bay. I figured this conduit just carried the 12 volt supply from the engine bay to each of the terminal boxes, for the power supply to radios on each sponson. Does that conduit also carry the CO213 cordage that connects these BC606s?

I don’t have the original conduit that goes through the channel from the engine bay along the side of the engine hull to the terminal boxes (as pictured). I also don’t have the conduit/pipe that runs behind the hull interior back wall in front of the fuel tank, so I am running a little blind on both fronts.

If you have any ideas, I’d be keen to hear them please.

[Big D]

Hi all,

I have now learnt (thanks to Willy) that the conduit that runs around the hull actually carries the 12 volt power supply for the terminal box on each sponson, as well as the CO213 cordage that links the BC606's for the commander and the loader. The conduit terminates at the terminal boxes and then there is a short length of cordage to each BC606. This fits with what I was seeing in the plans.

What I was confused about were photos of some restored M8’s that had the cordage on the firewall inside the hull connecting the commander’s and loaders BC606’s. I understand now that this is a post-war change. I’m going the wartime route with the conduit around the hull, providing I can get my hands on enough of the conduit!

I’ve now connected up the four BC606’s and the FT237 radio tray using the CO213 cordage. Preparing the cordage was a bit of a tedious job. Seperating the shield on the outside is time-consuming as it is very tightly wound around the internal wires.

I wired in the cordage for the driver and co-driver BC606’s in situ, only because I wanted to be sure of the lengths of the cable required. I wired the BC606’s for the commander and loader out of the vehicle and that was a darned sight easier. I’d have to say, that despite all the drawings and plans, without knowing exactly how it was all laid out, I still needed to do lots of research and have a good think about the layout and how it was connected both before and during the installation.

I was (and still am) a bit confused by the layout of the BC606’s. The plans show that the BC606’s for the driver, co-driver and commander should be positioned with the INT/RADIO switch and Volume Control side of the unit down. I setup the BC606’s for the driver and co-driver in this way as per the drawings.

I placed the loader’s BC606 as per the drawings with the INT/RADIO switch and Volume Control up. As I say, the drawings say that the Commander’s BC606 should be positioned with the INT/RADIO switch and Volume Control side down though, which didn’t make much sense to me.

What was the logic to how these BC606’s were fitted? I have seen numerous variations in the setups in restored M8’s, and a number of pictures of M8’s during wartime also showed variations. Why not keep them all in the same layout with the INT/RADIO switch and Volume Control upwards where the crewman can see it and change it if required?

In the end, I positioned the Commander’s unit with the INT/RADIO switch and Volume Control up, as per the Loader’s unit. I guess someone will correct me if it is wrong.

Along with the radio stuff, I’ve been trying to progress the gun. We haven’t been able to remove the two screws holding the recoil system in place. These screws have an allen type head on them but they were pretty knackered and corroded. I had been soaking the screws with penetrating oil for several months but the heads weren’t good enough to get a decent bite on them with the allen screw bit. We tried welding a bolt onto one screw but even then we couldn’t get the thing to budge. As a result, I will be taking it into a metal specialist next week to get the screws removed by spark erosion.

I got the boys in the engineering shop to profile cut a tool for removing the big nut on the barrel. This will allow me to remove the sleigh. Again, this nut is stuck and I’m better off having a tool that fits it properly before trying to lever it much more. l will give this tool a try next week and see if that will shift the nut.

[Big D]

More photos.