The hole cut in the floor reminds me of a similar and common, albeit unnoficial, procedure in the M151A2 Jeep. The guys used to cut two slots about 3" back on either side of the transmission/transfer case assembly and bend the floor back. Otherwise, the correct way was to remove the whole powerpack (which only took about 45 minutes, mind you). After the job was done, the guys would just bend the floor plate kind of back into place. I even saw one jeep with hinges added to the bent back piece for next time.
I personally never did this. I liked working on the old M38a1s and M151A2s, and found that sometimes these shortcuts actually ended up taking more time than to do the job right.
I did do a similar modification on the Clark aircraft mules to allow removal of the oilpan. Ottawa approved the modification so it was OK. It made the replacement of the oil pump relief spring into a 1.5 hour job instead of the 18 hour job it used to be when you had to remove the engine.
Along the same line, I saw many Ford CMPs out of the Saskatchewan area had the cowls angle iron over the radiator radiator cut so the engine could be taken out without removing the cowl. Whatever works, I guess.
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26-01-05, 23:56
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