todays mission is the rebuild of the armor on the windshield frame, so we needed to check on the mounting orientation .
I cant stress enough how valuable the 1500 odd pictures we've taken so far are !
Friday, April 27, 2018
Thursday, April 26, 2018
easier going back on !
lots of what we do is "job planning", that is, re-assemble the M3 in easy steps that will not hinder later fit up, so, while the armor is off and the engine is out, we are adding all the hard to get at assemblies !
here are a couple, from the carb control pivot shaft, to some electrical
here are a couple, from the carb control pivot shaft, to some electrical
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Upper Cowl Armor, and more NOS goodness !
we are getting the first of the armor ready to go back on, as we are starting with the front cowl section that builds off the already installed fire wall
we managed to find a set of NOS window armor shutter stays, from our friends at Garry's half Tracks. As you can see, these are yet another shade of OD Green, and came out of a 1943 marked box.
Also, readers might notice pitting, particularly on the bullet deflector on the top cowl. We have found areas of pitting, and decided that instead of replacing all these parts, that we would do a factory level resto, but, keep her story intact by including the scars and souvenirs of 70 plus years of life.
we managed to find a set of NOS window armor shutter stays, from our friends at Garry's half Tracks. As you can see, these are yet another shade of OD Green, and came out of a 1943 marked box.
Also, readers might notice pitting, particularly on the bullet deflector on the top cowl. We have found areas of pitting, and decided that instead of replacing all these parts, that we would do a factory level resto, but, keep her story intact by including the scars and souvenirs of 70 plus years of life.
Monday, April 23, 2018
front springs and mounts, and a comment on paint
Special Thanks to Malmberg Truck in Ottawa for the great rebuild of the front spring packs!
all mounted now and awaiting the front axel lift in . One can see in most of the posts, the sheer number of parts in the background.
with an 18,000 pound M3 taken apart, she actually occupies about 3 times her normal footprint, although, with the speed its going back onto the frame, we are finding it easier to walk around it now
You may notice the slight colour variation in some of the finished parts. This, as some may find surprising, is intentional.
During the war, vehicles were assembled with parts sourced from all over the US, and the US Army Paint Spec was pretty "generous" to say the least. As we stripped it down, we found at last count, 8 different shades of OD Green.
Once we have finished final assembly, the M3 will have a final topcoat paint applied before markings , but inside components will still exhibit the different OD Green variations , just as she left the factory in '42
all mounted now and awaiting the front axel lift in . One can see in most of the posts, the sheer number of parts in the background.
with an 18,000 pound M3 taken apart, she actually occupies about 3 times her normal footprint, although, with the speed its going back onto the frame, we are finding it easier to walk around it now
You may notice the slight colour variation in some of the finished parts. This, as some may find surprising, is intentional.
During the war, vehicles were assembled with parts sourced from all over the US, and the US Army Paint Spec was pretty "generous" to say the least. As we stripped it down, we found at last count, 8 different shades of OD Green.
Once we have finished final assembly, the M3 will have a final topcoat paint applied before markings , but inside components will still exhibit the different OD Green variations , just as she left the factory in '42
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
progesssive pics!
with parts flowing regularly from our skilled painters at the Star Motors Mercedes Benz of Ottawa Body Shop, we are quickly assembling the frame and have added the firewall today !
A big shout out to Brafasco Fasteners, Ottawa store, for being able to supply with the period correct hardware as it would have been in 1942! Having the right fasteners makes or breaks this kind of resto!
Here is the Brake Master, mount and pedal unit before and after
A big shout out to Brafasco Fasteners, Ottawa store, for being able to supply with the period correct hardware as it would have been in 1942! Having the right fasteners makes or breaks this kind of resto!
Here is the Brake Master, mount and pedal unit before and after
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Monday, April 2, 2018
rear brakes and booster
Every time we do a resto, we of course pay particular attention to the braking systems, knowing that these components, even though they may look perfect, are hovering around the 75 year old mark
We are very fortunate to have at our disposal here in the Ottawa area, some terrific specialist rebuilders, and in the case of brake and suspension work , we deal specifically with Malmberg Truck
www.malmbergtruck.com
They have an Historic Truck branch that can do rebuild and fabrication work on all kinds of vintage and hard to find / repair hydraulic systems
Our very first job that we sent to them 10 years ago, was the complete hydraulic system ( brakes, power steering and two full cross over Hydrovac systems ) for a T-17 Staghound that we were getting into running order for the Royal Canadian Dragoons Historic Troop . In case you were scratching your head on why two full systems.... the Staghound is a twin engine Armoured Car, and you can run both, or left or right !
The Staghound is still running strong today, and importantly, still stopping on a dime when it needs to
Fast forward to our M3 Project, and Malmberg once again rebuilt everything fast, and inexpensively !
Here are some reassy pic and the finished rear brakes
We are very fortunate to have at our disposal here in the Ottawa area, some terrific specialist rebuilders, and in the case of brake and suspension work , we deal specifically with Malmberg Truck
www.malmbergtruck.com
They have an Historic Truck branch that can do rebuild and fabrication work on all kinds of vintage and hard to find / repair hydraulic systems
Our very first job that we sent to them 10 years ago, was the complete hydraulic system ( brakes, power steering and two full cross over Hydrovac systems ) for a T-17 Staghound that we were getting into running order for the Royal Canadian Dragoons Historic Troop . In case you were scratching your head on why two full systems.... the Staghound is a twin engine Armoured Car, and you can run both, or left or right !
The Staghound is still running strong today, and importantly, still stopping on a dime when it needs to
Fast forward to our M3 Project, and Malmberg once again rebuilt everything fast, and inexpensively !
Here are some reassy pic and the finished rear brakes
the last shot is a before and after of the brake cylinder to shoe pivots......
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