M2A1 Halftrack restoration-- dialup beware

[NRA]

Damn that is cool as hell

[alpaca andy]

So today got the rear pivots attached and painted, rear trailer hitch and mounts for the rear steps. Started to play with wiring, not going to be fun. Next week its the front and rear sprockets to be blasted and painted and mounted. Finished up the brakes, had a few small leaks but i hope no more. Lotsa lil stuff i need to blast and paint to mount. Next week also is rad install.

[alpaca andy]

Things have been progressing. Started to strip the rear bogie wheels. I have 3 differant part numbers of bearings and all come up empty. At this point i was hoping to replace all the bearings in bogies and upper rollers, need 20. Got Rad dropped in, boy you would think there would be alot of clearance but no. Lucky I have a great wife who will help.

[WarPig1976]

Your going to have the BEST toy on the block!! Oh, you'll definitely be on a watch list too..

[Brit plumber]

Things have been progressing. Started to strip the rear bogie wheels. I have 3 differant part numbers of bearings and all come up empty. At this point i was hoping to replace all the bearings in bogies and upper rollers, need 20. Got Rad dropped in, boy you would think there would be alot of clearance but no. Lucky I have a great wife who will help.

Are you saying you can't find the correct new bearings? have you got the dimensions you need? I wouldn't be surprised if they are off the shelf parts (At least in the 40s) and can still be bought all be it with a modern part number.

[Peter Laidler]

And don't forget Andy that you dont always NEED new bearings, especially for things like rollers where the only real mechanical 'load' as such is the weight of the track. Without telling you or anyone how to suck eggs of course, but wired together as matched sets sloshed in a good wash/degrease tank followed by a close inspection on a light glass and a magnifier should identify those that have broken down/spalled. I wish I was there doing that half track with you.........

[Claven2]

I only live a few hours away in Ottawa - I really must get down to see first hand at some point

[alpaca andy]

I have found a few sources for bearings, but at 80+ from napa etc each ebay is looking pretty good. Have found them there that are same manufacture as ones that came out. So far 15-20 each. I got 4 of the hubs blasted, por 15'd and painted. Also started painting and installing armor. Long and tedious screwing all those bolts.




Working on getting more armor installed. Aligning is a huge pain, and at this point most of the armor has to be lifted in place with a hoist

[alpaca andy]

Spending alot of time on armor. Got the rear armor on, also the track armor. Im going to start on painting the rest of the armor and install. Im still abit worried about 70 years of bent/sagging armor/brackets but so far have been able to align with not to much effort

[Bill Hollinger]

Coming along quite nicely. I really enjoy your updates.