due for an "adjustment" !

so, with the M3 reduced to a roller chassis ( we know this , as we had to move it today to take delivery of a BFAC (Big F...Air Compressor! which will be a great help in the next stages ), so it does indeed roll on her tracks

Many thanks to Star Motors Mercedes Benz of Ottawa for the donation of this pre-loved piece of gear, by the way !

We are now preparing to get the old track off, and have found some great old films of this being done in the field, so are at least positive about how to do it...we just don't think the adjusters are quite ready as they have a few years of accumulated...well...everything on em....so, we shall pray to the gods of WD-40, heat and BIG wrenches

In theory, its easy, block the bogie wheels from descending while jacking the M3 up ( metal wedge or cable strap , put on jack stands, back off track tension and then unbolt the outer half of the rear idler....then just roll the track off the front drive sprocket.....yep...easy

we will keep you posted as we prepare this next adventure in half track life !

idler support and tracking stay, at rear of hull

this adjuster works on the other side of the track spring. this must be loosened off to slack the track

Horizontal track tensioning spring and adjuster shaft

rear idler wheel pivot shaft and retaining nut, inside rear frame rail

thems the brakes .part 2 !

All the brake lines are off the hull, and we have left the flex lines on the front axel, as we will be doing that as a separate system resto.

the first picture is all of the hard lines in an M3 ! the two on the right is from the master, back, and the left is all of the front . Most are in perfect shape with zero rust, so we may reuse the bulk of the lines

the other shots are detail of routing in the front under the rad, with biggest line, being the one from the drivers side, to the passenger side front in a big "C" shape. Unfortunately, this is the only line with surface rust, and therefore will be replicated to ensure a safe hydraulic system

making the big bits, into small bits...

The strategy the Society uses when performing major restorations is to strip a hull, or take it down to a frame, removing major components or systems as larger units. Once that is done,  then, we take those units down into smaller parts for sorting, cataloguing and evaluation

this way, we can get down into the project "quickly"..and evaluate cost estimates if we come across something major. An example of this is the Societies Mk 6 Alvis Saracen, which we discovered , had major corrosion issues between the original hull plates, and the add on armour that was an upgrade against AP rounds. This added much to the cost of the restoration, as we needed to remove and later re-weld, large sections of the outer hull! By doing a fast strip down, we spotted this early in the process, and could make allowances for time ....and of course $$$!

With the M3 , things are moving in the same fashion, and we are now taking the larger sections, stripping them down, and boxing them by system for later resto as we move along . some areas are still stubborn...see drilling !, others yield great discoveries that just are not found any longer, such as the Hull Plate Hardness Testing and armour batch lot numbers. This set of numbers is located under the Cowl armour, where the windshield frame attaches to the cab, the instrument cluster and wires box hid this from view until it was removed !

We love the fact that although she's almost 100% stripped, we still find surprizes like this !

Friday Art Shot

Our V-100 enjoying the sunshine

slow going !

the cab and panel is built much the same was as the rest of the hull, basically sandwich layers of steel bolted together. I'm sure it was easy to fix in the field , 70 years ago, but with corrosion in much of the upper cab section under the windshield, its tough, as we need ( well..want) to preserve as much  of the delicate sheet metal dash and instrument boxes as we can, so its heat, oil, tap repeat !

the cab...how ive missed it....

now that we have the M3 down to a "roller", we are back on the cab we placed aside earlier in the fall. The cold weather seems to have us into more "detailed" work....code for a "kazillion" small rusty bolts and a wire harness that would be at home as spaghetti !

A big shout out to our friends at Vintage Wiring (  vintagewiring.com ) for their awesomeness for being able to supply a full replica wire harness for this early M3! We've used these guys before, and have always had the best in service and quality

Monday (Friday) Art shot

Trailer hitch spring compensator,