Author Topic: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild  (Read 51699 times)

yd328

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #15 on: October 20, 2015, 06:04:03 AM »
Nice work Steve.  Who did you use for your shocks.

Gary

steve1973

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #16 on: October 20, 2015, 07:08:58 AM »
Apple Hydraulics. They were $400 for the pair including shipping.

Steve A.

steve1973

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #17 on: November 05, 2015, 08:38:09 PM »
It was like early Christmas this week. I got all the parts in to rebuild both engines and my wiring harness from Vintage wiring of Main.

Rebuilt shocks.



Engine parts for the second engine. Parts for the first engine are already at the re builders.





Misc. halftrack parts.



Wiring harness from Vintage Wiring of Maine $1500.



Steve A.

spec4don

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #18 on: November 06, 2015, 09:35:41 AM »
Lot's of parts!!! Now the fun starts!

Don G.
1941 M2A1 not restored
1942 M3 Diamond T Mostly restored
1943 M3A1 Under restoration
1967 M51A2 Tractor
1945 WC 63 needs restoration
1967 M36 Long wheel base duece
1951 M135 GMC Fire truck conversion

prestone

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #19 on: November 07, 2015, 03:12:50 AM »
nice parts  :P

I'm jalousy

1941 GMC 353 A1      restored
1943 GMC 352 B1      restored
1943 WILLYS MB        restored
1944 TRAILER MBT     restored
19..   CHECKER 1T      restored
19 . . AUTOCAR M2     under restored

steve1973

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #20 on: November 15, 2015, 07:31:01 PM »
I got some more grunt work done over the past two weeks. I finally was able to get my track pulled out of the shop for pressure washing. I spent a good three hours getting as much grease and dirt off the frame. I got the track back in just before the rain started.







This weekend I spent a few days with Bud going over some halftrack stuff and to deliver my exhaust manifold to get repaired. one of the ends was cracked bad. I found a place in Portland, Oregon that does this kind of repair. They recommended that due to the age of the exhaust manifold that I should have it ceramic coated. This will prevent future cracks and strengthen the manifold. the other big plus is that it will retain 50-60% of the heat. This may help in the vapor lock problems.

I made it back from my trip last night so today I spent cleaning the frame with wire wheels, 3M sanding discs and my grinder with sanding discs on it. What a mess it makes! ;D Here are the results so far.



Steve A.
   

yd328

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #21 on: November 15, 2015, 09:02:55 PM »
A lot of hard work Steve, it will all pay off in the end. keep it up.

Gary

steve1973

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #22 on: January 25, 2016, 06:06:03 PM »
Not much new going on. I've been trying to get over a cold that just wont quit. I did some cleaning today and decided to un-crate my NOS radiator. I'm sure glat I got one of these when they were still available. ;D





Steve A.

steve1973

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #23 on: May 20, 2016, 02:12:35 AM »
Not much new to report. I've been busy with other things lately. Here is what's new with my project. Frame is painted. I still need to get some other small parts painted before the engine can go back in. The engine is looking great. I had a small hang up when I found out I hade the wrong bearings for the rods and crank. I had to order new bearings and a harmonic balancer. I did find out the NOS radiator is French. Here is the brass name tag on the radiator.

 

Here are some engine photos.



The exhaust manifold had a crack that was professionally repaired the ceramic coated. this will reduce heat loss and help prevent any future cracks.

 















That's all I have for now.

Steve A.

steve1973

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #24 on: July 03, 2016, 05:25:37 PM »
I made a lot of progress in the last three weeks. I turned the front half of my shop into a paint booth and am turning out 1 to 2 batches of painted parts a week. I have also taken three truck loads of parts to get sand blasted and now awaiting paint.









I have re installed most of the components back on the frame and touched up painting the bolts. One upgrade I did was install a later brake/clutch peddle assembly that omits all the old brake monkey motion. I had new brake lines made and installed. Lastly, I started to install my new wiring harness from Vintage Wiring of Maine.  This is a must have for any restoration but is a whopping $1400 for the harness. Well worth the price though.











Everything was going great. I got word my engine will be ready soon as my mechanic was finishing up installing all the external stuff. The next day I got some bad news. While installing the intake/exhaust manifold assembly on end broke off while snugging up the bolts. OUCH!!!



Good news, I have a new end on the way thanks to Gary. The other good news is my engine was delivered on Friday and looks great.









I have a few more things to do on the front frame like securing the wiring and install a few more pieces then the engine will be ready to go in. I’m awaiting for another shipment of parts from Kevin and then it will be ready to install. Next Tuesday I get my transmission/transfer case back. I need to mock that up to the engine then do some massaging on the bell housing where the U-joint for the PTO hits to create clearance. Once this is done the assembly can be re installed.

Steve A.
 

Outsider

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #25 on: July 03, 2016, 07:52:27 PM »
Looking great Steve.

Just an FYI...You probably know this but I will mention it anyway. Make sure they re-machine the mounting surfaces on the intake and exhaust manifolds so everything is on the same plane. When I replaced my exhaust manifold the first time (about 5 years ago) I did not do this as they looked "ok". Well it wasn't a perfect match and led to the exhaust manifold cracking. This last time when I had it off and repaired I made sure to have them both machined as a matched pair.

Steve
Lots of green "junk" as my wife likes to call it.
Friends don't let friends buy Trailking Trailers!

emptyhead

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #26 on: July 04, 2016, 05:21:42 AM »
Nice work steve.

V100Commando

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #27 on: July 12, 2016, 11:40:08 PM »
a quick tip I had to learn the hard way, but was able to fix b/c I saw it happening.  When removing the steering wheel, do not fully remove the steering wheel nut.  If you do and you use the tool that is shown in the picture with the correct piece that fits inside the column, the threaded area will be crushed and you'll need to either file out the threads, or re-tap them you catch it in time.  I destroyed one steering column that way many years ago.  When you leave the nut on, it spreads the force out over a much larger area, when the steering wheel starts to come off, just back the nut off a little more, catch up with it, back it off more until everything comes off.




Made a little more progress since I last posted. I removed all three drive lines, removed the PTO, removed most of the front floor boards and the lower cross brace under the transmission. I hope to remove the radiator and transmission tomorrow, I still need to remove the exhaust first. Here are some new photos.

The one smart thing I did this time was to remove the steering wheel for more room. Sure is nice having the right tool for the job. I got the puller from Saturn Surplus.










Steve A.

steve1973

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #28 on: August 30, 2016, 12:51:02 AM »
Lots of work has been done since my last post. First thing is I needed to fix a clearance problem with my PTO driveline. I had someone come out from a driveline shop and it was determined that shaving a little off of the U-joint corners would do the trick.





Next item on the list to complete was the wiring and replace the fuel line from the fuel block to the filter. I ended up taking a shower in gas on that one. Yes, I did drain the gas tank with the help of Don. If I remember correctly it was below the fuel pick up line. A good two gallons came out. What a mess. After that was cleaned up I installed the new line and then moved on to the wiring. I got as much as I could done with in the frame until the cowling gets reinstalled. One thing I can't stress enough is to take lots of photos when dismantling your halftrack. I took many photos of the wiring, brake and fuel line routs in the frame. This made an easier job when reinstalling new stuff.









Next item was to paint the transmission and PTO before installation.



Sunday was a big day. Engine install day!! ;D I had the engine in by 10 am and the rest of the day spent getting ready for the transmission install on Monday.

Installing the clutch was the first order of the day. No problem their or so I thought. Once installed I went to remove the pilot tool, spare input shaft, and I hear a thud. I tried to reinstall the tool and would not go in. the clutch plate dropped due to no pressure on it. I ended up adjusting the clutch by turning the adjustment clockwise until I had pressure on the disc to hold it in place. Once that was done it was time to install the transmission. Well, the tranny was stubborn and did not go in easy. I ended up using a hydraulic jack between both driveline mounting flanges to push it in gently. I did go in and everything seems to be ok. Big thanks to my Dad and another friend for their help in this. Here is the end product of the day.

 





The next step is to adjust the clutch properly and install the radiator.

Steve A.

Outsider

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Re: M2A1 Front End and Engine Rebuild
« Reply #29 on: August 30, 2016, 04:50:22 AM »
Looking good.

The new mfg drive line flanges are slightly larger than the originals. So I had to shave mine down as well.

Steve
Lots of green "junk" as my wife likes to call it.
Friends don't let friends buy Trailking Trailers!