Patrick Tipton

The only way to become experienced is by doing the work. You have started that journey - awesome! Download or purchase a set of manuals and start learning the part names and study how the machine was built and intended to be serviced - that knowledge will make it easier for people to help you. There are great resources on Youtube and otherwise to learn how to fix motors, take out dents and some very experienced folks on this board. Keep us posted!

Looks complete - very nice! What are your plans - full restoration? Get it running?

I am impressed. Good for you! I am heading to the shop to weld hat channels. I am getting my T24 hull painted by winter....and running out of time!

I finished making the new seat belt attachment brackets and got the rear hat channels ready for installation. The tool looks embarrassingly ugly, with the MIG wire etc., but works pretty well. I need to clean that up🤠 I have to do final work on drivers seat and controls - welding on the seat belt brackets and retaining clips, footman loops, seat "posts" and the control cluster bracket, adding joggles to all of these hat channels and then weld the final hat channels in. Other than a little more prep work on the hull, I am getting close to the installation date for the new side - big milestone!

Greetings Bryon and welcome! That looks like a great project - looking forward to following along. Patrick

Thank you for the insights. I am going to use the 3M product in two spots - a line where the upper hull overlaps the lower hull and one up near the top where the coaming hat channel attaches to the side. It is probably overkill and making my life more difficult than it needs to be, but I sorta have it my head that I want to use it. I am going to be plug welding plenty so the product's job is corrosion protection and sealing more than structural. Thanks again. Patrick

I test fit the side again to verify measurements before I weld in the control cluster mounting plate and seat hat channels. I am very happy with the fitment. I spent a good bit of time planning the assembly, which I think needs to be done in an order (to be finalized) in order to get all of the seams and hat channels tight. I am going to write up an assembly checklist because there are so many things to weld and the possibility of welding one area and pulling another one out of place that a checklist will give me peace of mind. I may drill a couple of holes in the lower hull hat channels and use bolts to pull those sections flush, but otherwise I think I have good access and clamping methods. I am still planning to use a 3M panel sealer in a couple of places to try and provide better corrosion protection and additional structural support. I am going to plug weld most of this (MIG and TIG) and then will use my spot welder in order that it look original.

@OZM29C Thank you for the guidance. Very helpful. Sounds like I need to get the heater fired up and get ready for a nice long winter. 😅

The hull tag is on the passenger side of the bulkhead facing the rear. The data tag should be right behind the driver seat on the same bulkhead. TM 9-772 has all of the operating instructions including a description of all the switches with pictures - I would start there. As for the starter, you can usually get them rebuilt and they are good as new. Lots of the parts are available for Weasels, including parts for the starter, although I don't know if anyone is making new ones. Enjoy!

Welcome aboard! A first name and location are also great to make it easier for everyone to keep up with who is doing what to whom. Nice looking M29C. What is the hull tag number and data plate number? That top is post WW2 - lots of Weasel used in various polar expeditions - looks like yours was one of them. As for your starter issues, it may need maintenance, but the better first bet is bad grounds or connections. Take off all of the battery and starter connections and clean them very well. My bet is that will do it. All Weasels were 12 volt too. Some had two 6 volt batteries...some a large 12 volt. Regards, Patrick

I am envious. Mine only took about 6 hours to get apart. Now I have to remake a few pieces too🤣 Looking good - keep it up!

I had a local paint shop mix up the paint I used on my MB to match some NOS parts - it is a PPG enamel presumably very similar but they did not share any formula. We used a lot of flattening agent and the PPG hardener. It sprays beautifully - thinned with xylene... The rims are painted with another product - I think Gillespie - and I repainted after this picture.

Welcome aboard! Great looking project - look forward to seeing more pictures. Where are you located and a first name would be great! Thanks for joining us. Patrick

Thank you for posting and sharing! That is an ingenious solution....filed away for later use!👍

@OZM29C John - absolutely. The only part that makes it a little harder is the loss of access points for measuring, etc., but it is so much easier to control all of the variables and get a great result. For most folks with floor issues, I think the side replacement is a better alternative than patching because there is so much rot under most of these hat channels. I am going out later to work on getting the rear seat hat channels installed and then will tackle the drivers seat & control section over the weekend. Getting pretty exciting and I am just working on the next step and how to make sure I get this new side to fit exactly how I want it. Thanks for the heads up on the tap. I broke one of those bolts already removing it so a good chase will definitely be in order. The one thing I completely miscalculated is how many pieces there are in this suspension. I have a lot of work to do🤣

Lots of progress this week. Longer post soon but here is a little teaser....

Dan - I am running over to my machine shop to pick up an L134 tomorrow. He just rebuilt a Champion 6....I will ask him. Patrick

Great project. That straightening is a little daunting but you appear to be getting after it! Great! @James Di Giovanni can weigh in here on the M29/M29C question. The earliest M29's were painted white at the factory, my guess is yours was painted white by the Norwegians. There are several folks who have the track tensioner - hopefully they will chime in with measurements. I don't have one at this point so I can't help you. Storage of the tools? Toolbag, I would assume behind the seats - about the only "storage" on the machine unless you pull seats and truly make it a cargo carrier! Keep it up. Patrick

The rear end in my T24 has a decent amount of original paint on it. It is a grey blue, but much lighter than some of the restorations I have seen. I am trying to track down the paint codes. PBT

Dan - do you have TM 9-1893A? It should be covered in there...I can look tomorrow.

Yes. I am also thinking that grease gets awfully hard in harshly cold conditions.....

Folks: There is an M29C for sale in Northern California for $5500. It is missing the rear tank, the windshield and maybe some covers. It has one WW2 era 20" track and one later 20" track. Overall, doesn't look too bad. The seller has it listed on FB - I have his number and more pictures if you are interested: PM me and I will put you in touch - I have no affiliation, just an obsession.

@OZM29CI finally won the battle against the spacer. Loads of fun! For those of you following along at home, the big challenge is that the shift lever and the shift plate both block most access to that bugger of a spacer. This makes it really hard to heat up - my favorite persuasion for rusty and stuck parts. I must have heated it 25 times over about 6 days. I put it in the hydraulic press too and eventually got it to move. I bent the shaft slightly in the process, but was able to use the hydraulic press to straighten it out. It is in surprisingly good condition with only a little pitting on the shaft that is hidden by the 2/3 shifter shaft. I spent a couple of hours yesterday just mocking up the control system and making sure that everything is going to line up correctly. I really try to avoid jumping around (like to work on this control cluster), but I don't want to weld all of these hat channels and control cluster mounting plate etc. only to find out that I goofed on a measurement. I am pretty confident at this point that everything will work as it should. I am going to spend a couple of hours repairing the instrument panel and making it correct (removing the capstan winch clutch control) for the T24. Right now, it fits poorly and would be hard to install on a painted hull without making a mess of the paint. I am going to remove the heater door area so I can properly fix it. I also need to finish fabricating all of the seat hat channels - the plan is to mock up everything and maybe even tack them in place, remove the side and do my final welding.

John - looks good my friend. Tipping it back over was a little scary. I used a chain hoist connected to the center bulkhead and just gave it enough slack that I could tip it over past the balance point....then a lowered it. I am planning on reinstalling the springs on the rotisserie, but it needs a little more engineering before it will be up for this task. Patrick

@SWatkins Like a Gama Goat, although some modern diesels are certainly quieter. Since we are way out in left field anyway, I would explore an electric Weasel. Not sure how much a wrecked Tesla costs these days or even a Prius (hybrid), but there would be plenty of power and plenty of range for a Weasel. Charging in the field might be an issue for electric only, but...an EV Weasel could be pretty awesome. Patrick