"LUCKY 13" Restoration Process

[Selliott]

OK Gang, This will be the official thread for "Lucky 13" (M2-13) the 13th M2 delivered by Autocar in July 1941 and as far as we know, it is the oldest known surviving Autocar halftrack.  It was found in the upper Texas Panhandle near Canadian, Texas and with the help of a good friend with a dually pickup and another good friend who let us borrow his Gooseneck trailer, we hauled it back to Lubbock, Texas.  And So…….. after several months of sitting beside my shop, we have moved “Lucky 13” inside and officially begun the restoration process, and we learn something every day!  So far we are really enjoying "the Hunt" if you know what I mean.  We have lots of feelers out and we even found some parts this last weekend from a guy who had a halftrack years ago.  So we are off and running and I am sure we will have lots of questions.......

[8683jb]

Good luck with it all Shon. There are tons of good info and advice on this site. Post lots of pictures as you go along!
Jon

[Selliott]

Will do Jon!  Here are the links to a few pics to bring everybody up to speed....

<img src="http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/4410/medium/image4354.jpeg" />
<img src="http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/4410/medium/image4353.jpeg" />
<img src="http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/4410/medium/image4359.jpeg" />
<img src="http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/4410/10137.jpg" />
<img src="http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/4410/933.jpg" />
<img src="http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/4410/1a2.jpg" />
<img src="http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/4410/IMG_5895_edited_smaller.jpg" />
<img src="http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/4410/IMG_5896_edited.jpg" />
<img src="http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/4410/IMG_5897_edited.jpg" />
<img src="http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/4410/IMG_5898_edited.jpg" />
<img src="http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/4410/IMG_5900_edited.jpg" />

[spec4don]

Bravo! Keep the pictures coming!

Don G.

[WayOffTrack]

Really glad you came along and saved it.

[67tank]

Awesome.  Looking forward to the restoration photos.  Good luck.

[coreyelliott]

Hey bro, let me fix those images for you!   

























Corey

[coreyelliott]

The actual vehicle is over at my brother's house, since he has the shop.  We do all of the major work there (I'll let him post updates on that progress), but I bring back smaller projects to my house and work on them in the garage.  I finished rebuilding the fuel pump and thought I'd post some pictures.  I bought the rebuild kit from Then & Now Automotive, as suggested by people here and elsewhere.  The kit number is FPA70 and the quality is great.  They also sent me a fuel casting since mine was corroded beyond repair.  I know that the color isn't right, but it'll be covered in dirt and grime before too long anyway.


Obligatory before shot.







This is the kit.







The fuel casting they sent me.  This was in much better condition than I expected.  It might even be NOS.







The major components laid out after painting and waiting for reassembly.







Final product.




Corey

[steve1973]

That looks fantastic!! Keep up the great work.

Steve A.

[8683jb]

That looks great Corey. Nice job!

[WayOffTrack]

Very very nice looking forward to this thread.

[coreyelliott]

Thanks everyone.  These parts tend to be very photogenic.  They don't look quite as good in real person. 

Corey

[emptyhead]

Nice start

[Selliott]

While my Brother has been busy with the smaller stuff I am working on Lucky 13 itself.  We have removed all the front armor and part of the cab armor.  Built a tool similar to the ones I have seen on here for holding the screw heads and boy did it make a difference.  Ready to start cab removal.  Pics to follow.....

[yd328]

Great job on the fuel pump, I will be looking forward to the updates

Gary