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

[Big D]

Hi all,

Just a quick update to let you know that I am still alive and that I have started work on the M8 again after my hand surgery.

With the help of a local mechanic, we got the problem flange off the pinion shaft on one of the axles. As you can see, the pinion shaft needs a clean-up and the bearing cups and cones need replacing. The pinion shaft on the remaining axle looks good so I have left that in place, although it does need a new oil seal in the pinion shaft cover.

The axles are at the sandblasters now for priming and painting and then I will drop them off to the truck mechanic and get him to reassemble them. I have new bearing cups and cones for the differential assembly for both axles, new inner axle seals and new bearing cups and cones for the pinion shaft for that one axle, so will get them to reassemble everything with the new parts, and set up the preload and sideload etc.

I did some more work on the front axle and got that into place on the springs. It seemed to take a hell of a long time as my right hand is still not right after surgery. I had to battle away with jacks and cranes to get the axle in place and located on the pin on the springs. I struggle to hold a beer bottle tight enough in my right hand to unscrew the cap, which is a worry. I guess it will come right given some time. Anyway, the front axle is now in place and located on the front springs. The nuts and bolts need some touch up paint now to tidy everything up now that everything is locked down.

I’ve attached some pictures of the 37mm breech block I picked up (thanks DG). It should clean up nicely.

Does anyone have any pictures of the taillight wiring connections? I note there is one plug off the wiring harness in the rear of the hull which goes into the conduit fixed into the hull for the taillights. From what can see, this then splits into two connectors within the taillight mount for the taillight bulbs but I’m not sure what sort of connectors should be here to join the cables up. The manuals are unclear on this. Any help would be appreciated.

That is all.……

[Big D]

More photos.

[James P]

Great new pics, it is always a treat to see the work invested in a restoration and this one is right up there for doing it right and accurate.

[Big D]

Thanks James P.

Just a quick update this time. I have been tied up with a few other projects so I haven’t had a chance to do a lot on the M8. I’ve still progressed a few things though and the search and finding of parts I need goes on.

I dropped the freshly painted axles at the truck service centre along with the diffs, bearings and seals etc. I had completely disassembled one of the differentials and once I had cleaned everything up, it all looked not too bad. The crown wheel has a bit of pitting on it but it will be fine for this old girl.

I did note that the differential carrier housing had a very fine crack in the casting. I don’t think it would have happened during the disassembly and I suspect it has been there for a number of years. I will get the lads at Action Engineering to repair the crack before we reassemble that diff.

In the meantime, I picked up a few bits and pieces: M1A1 A/T mine, TL-122A flashlights, gear shift rod bronze bearing, DM-34D dynamotor, tow shackle, and D40733 Cradle and Pintle assembly for the gun ring. The pintle for this cradle though, should have the long pin so I am now on the lookout for that.

[Big D]

More photos.

[Big D]

Hi all,

I’ve been chipping away on various little jobs on the M8 in between work and life.

I’ve been slowly making up the hydraulic lines. It is quite a time consuming process when you don’t have any original lines to work from. I found after I made the first two lines, that it was easier to get a length of Number 8 wire and shape that to what I wanted and use that as a template. I ended up using steel bundy tube and I’ve found that even 5/16” line is quite hard to bend. The copper alloy tube I'd seen was just too expensive and I’ll need a better tube bender than what I’ve got to finish the 3/8” and ½” lines.

My intention is still to get a commercial brake line specialist to do the flaring on the ends of the lines. I want to be pretty darned confident that I’ll fit these lines and they won’t leak, and while I can do the flaring myself, I think it is a wise move to get them done right, especially with steel lines.

I’ve seen a couple of versions of the layout of the hydraulic lines to the throttle master cylinder. I’ve noticed that most (I figure the original layout) have the line from the outlet on the master cylinder coming out horizontally and then being bent upwards vertically (see the pictures I borrowed off the net). From what I’ve seen this can be a problem as the co-driver can damage the connection by just putting their foot on it. I plan to fit a 90 degree connector to the outlet so the line can go vertically upwards and behind the reservoir, which should hopefully prevent those problems. I'd be interested to hear what other M8/M20 owners have found with this.

Has anyone reconditioned the primer pump? Mine is missing the washer/seal in the end of the pump and I am looking for the correct replacement. A local seal supplier said they can make me one out of a rubber product which will handle the fuel but I’m thinking there must be something commercially available now that will do the job. Is this a cup type washer or something similar? What is the purpose of the two nuts?

I noticed there are several variants of the rubber bushing for the shock absorbers. I was told that the one in the centre of Photo 10 (the bottom photo) was what ‘everyone is using’, but they are certainly too thick in their present state. The one on the left is the correct one but I only have a few of these. Has anyone got a source for these?

What about the spacer for the top mounting bolt on the shock absorbers? Does anyone have any of these?

[Big D]

More photos.