Patrick Tipton

Interesting and nice looking work! I look forward to seeing the build thread! PS - where are you located? Patrick

Look great. How is it driving and steering?

Congrats. One little step at a time! On the wrist pins, it is a little strange that they are different. Wrist pins/pistons/connecting rods are very precise parts.....and there are a whole bunch of related tolerances. On page 300 of TM 9-1772, you will find all of them. I would sort this out before putting the engine back together - easy fixes at this point, not so much once the engine is together. I have sets of NOS pistons if you end up needing them - most are standard, but I think I have a few sets of .20 over etc.

Awesome - thanks Corey!

Sorry - no brush guards at this point. Do you have an M29 or M29C? I don't have plans, but can take pictures.... Also, how did you put the holes in the conveyor belting? Ty!

Looking good! How thick is your belting?

Always impressed my friend! Very nicely done.

That looks fantastic! What are you going to do for the bands?

Great stuff Fred. I think your observation about the center bands being really important is spot on. These tracks need to be very tight to run well. If the center bands aren't doing part of the work, there is a lot of leverage/stress on the center of the grousers. If the grousers have not been too abused, they appear to hold up OK with this stress and the outer bands doing the work...but if the grousers have been weakened by rust....good chance of breaking them.

That is a great solution John! I have a couple of pretty rough main shafts that have out of spec needle bearing ends.....

Congrats on the beautiful machine Rob! That looks like a nice Weasel that you can enjoy almost immediately😍 Enjoy and keep us posted. Glad you are enjoying the videos, I am having a lot of fun making them. Patrick

That is the correct starter Jim and the only starter used on the M29/M29C. I sent you a PM. I don't know of a substitute.

Drive Removal.pdf Second time is a charm.

Nicely done - and you missed all the fun!😂 I have Gary's article, but am not being able to post it Check your email.

The original transmission as you know is a T84J....they are a little hard to find, but you will. The Army replaced the T84 with a side shift T90 and there is an MWO so you might find a T90 too...depending on how original you want the Weasel to be. The bracing rod is a very late modification - your Weasel is a '44 if my memory is correct so no bracing. It is a great idea to slurp up that oil if you have a vacuum pump etc...on my list of tools to acquire. The fan definitely pulls air into the engine and sends it out the back duct by the muffler. The engine is turning counter clockwise. The personnel "heating" system for the Weasel is that air flow...across the engine...through the ducting/small holes behind the driver seat in the bulkhead and under the rear floor. I understand the need to edit audio😅 Good luck!

Oh the fun of the rear drive! I have had three out over the last 6 months. First, if you want to remove the whole unit, you need to take a 3/4 inch box/combination wrench and bend it like a banana. Test and adjust until you can access the rear lower bolt from the top rear down and the one under the rear drive from the front. Generally, the closed side of the wrench will stay on once you start unscrewing...so you can use an impact/socket on the outside and get it right out by yourself. Now, you can absolutely just pull the front half and leave the rear case mounted to the hull. It is an even messier way if that is possible, because you will get 1 gallon or so of oil all over the place, as opposed to pouring some amount out of the sides when you lift it up. Please take pictures....I guess you could just flip the guts and have the pinion gear line up? Very interested to see what they did here. Good luck!

That is a crazy amount of effort ...would love to know what they were thinking....I doubt they did anything to the actual rear drive - bet they just lived with two speeds. If they did, please share! If you are aiming to get it back to original, @David Yamulla has either all or nearly all of the control stick parts. The actual base on the hull is angle iron with one pressed piece - I may be able to come up with one that you could repair. Otherwise, doesn't look like they goofed up too many things....a little welding and grinding and it won't be Wrong Way Corrigan anymore. Congrats!

Greetings Jim. The spacing is 4.5" on center - that tracks with the spacing/timing on the sprockets. There are several varieties of tracks so it depends on which ones you have.....as to the number but 56 grousers are the most common. I know there are also 55 grouser tracks, but I don't have any and have not been able to measure a set. If you have pictures, you might post a few.

@nwarcadeI am waiting for my first set of bands from the vendor. They are continuous band and designed for French style tracks, but assuming everything works as expected, I am planning to make bands available for Type 2 and Type 3 as well. For what its worth, I do have a set of Snake River bands for the Type 3...that I am also going to be installing - will be double checking measurements etc. I hope to have the bands before Thanksgiving and then it will take a bit to put the tracks together and test them.

Glad to see you on this thread @Rob W To clarify, I see that I misspoke comparing LAR tracks to the French tracks that we are discussing with @42rocker I am a little confused as to the origins of the "ambillary" style tracks - I see them referenced as French and also as Consolidated style - assuming refers to Consolidated Industries. Since you were intimately involved with the design of the LAR tracks - perhaps you can shed some light on the origins of the Consolidated style - or is the design more properly attributed to the French? These other "french" style - made with the "T" - are certainly robust and also very heavy. I am in the process of rebanding a set - will report back soon as to whether or not the weight is so significant that it slows the machine down. I think, with the replacement of the original style "bands" with conveyor belt style plus the removal of the road pads will result in a significant weight reduction and should make them run better. I guess I will see shortly. Interestingly, the original WW2 grousers weigh in slightly heavier than the "French T" style - in both cases with track guides - 5 lbs original vs around 4.25 lbs for the French. There is no question that the French tracks feel heavier and are much harder to move around - guessing that is the weight of that chain and all the rubber on the road pads and that it all adds up to something significantly heavier than the original style tracks. Thanks for sharing your experience. Patrick

John - one of the guys who frequents my channel attended this event - he was very impressed with your machine!😃

I just received a new set of sprockets from them too - assuming it is Accu-rite - bought them off of Ebay. I am working on the wheels but should be in a position to get them back on the M29 and test them next week.