F-D Zernia

In response to the ground strap location on the hull. There is a hole on the motor mount strut. Right or left side have holes. On mine the strap fastens on the drivers side motor mount. Also the battery ground went to the right rear bolt on the transmission cover. Fred

Happy New Year Byron, We live across the road from a lake and in winter it freezes over for a few Months and I will have access to freely drive as much as we like. That should be great fun. Ice fishing is popular here too. In the spring and fall we also have access to some private property with fire lane roads to drive on. Just to explore. My son calls this one the beater with a heater. After we figure out the mechanicals it will be time to do hull repairs on the second Weasel. We’re sticking to the 10 year plan to eventually have 2 real nice machines. Thank you for the questions. I enjoy the forum. It is a wealth of knowledge. The sharing of information is so helpful and encouraging. cheers Fred

Another recent project was to fabricate a new shift lever support bracket. The original brake and shift assembly was too nice for how we will use this machine. I had a spare that was in rough shape and spent time on it. The brake levers were split from water freezing in the tubes and I split steel gas pipe and used them as sleeves to weld over the weak spots. Copper pipe fittings for 2 missing bushings in the housing. I noticed most of the steel shafts for the pedals, shifters and some brake shafts had some degree of wear. Some I welded the groves and filed to fit the hole in the bracket. This shift assembly had no bracket so I made one that will be field serviceable and added grease fittings as well. The hat channel is not very strong at that point so I will bolt this to the floor. The picture shows how I cut a door in the top of the had channel because the nut spun. This Weasel was modified with steel plate under the floor I think to protect from a worn track rubbing the skin. This steel plate seems to be very solid and should support my bracket and then some. We have not given up on a restoration but that will be the next hull. For now I’m trying to figure out how these work and have some fun driving as soon as possible.

I did stop drill the crack on the final drive housing by the axle tube companion flange. I will try this and keep an eye on it after we begin to drive the machine. It will get a work out as I intend to drive this for recreation and put as many miles on as we can.

Thanks for letting us follow the progress. I was curious how well the LAR tracks would do. We are years behind your progress so this is good information for me to plan. Your posts are a good how to. Thanks. Merry Christmas Fred

Stop drill I like that idea. Thanks. I will do that and watch how well it works. Merry Christmas Fred

I’m looking for a little insight on the final drive housing. I had the unit sand blasted and primed. I was made aware of a crack in the web behind the right flange. There is a line around the entire tube from what seems like part of the pattern to make the sand mold. My question is was there a problem or weakness at this point. My M29C is a later model with a brace part 7016578 to support the outer axle tube. It looks to me like a crack that always existed from the day it was cast. I am soaking the inside with diesel fuel now to see if it seeps through. So far all is dry. There are similar marks on nearly every rib on the housing without a crack. I’m not opposed to welding the rib but this process requires very much preheat and post heat to be successful. And could create a serious crack somewhere else if we get careless. It will most likely cause enough distortion to the machined surfaces to create problems making gaskets and seals proper. I could braze in stead that eliminates the excess heat problems or leave it be. There was a build up of oil around the flanges but I always thought it was the felt seal inside the housing where the axle tube is pressed in. So is this a common knowledge weakness because in 1945 there was a design change and the brace was added. Thank You for any and all input. Fred

John, Thanks for the dimensions on the felt. I will try something unconventional but if it works it’s worth it. My final drive housing will be back from sand blasting and I want to install it so things will move along again. Funny you took a break when it was 40C and too hot to work. Today we are 0C and I was dressed and ready for the worst. I had grinding for another project outside and wasn’t worth turning on heat in the shop for anything else. I wanted to mention I have a Sister that moved to Australia in 1974 and just retired from teaching last year. They live in Bundoora, Victoria. I know it’s your summer but in Wisconsin, USA winter is just kicking in. Good time for Weasel projects. Thanks for the pictures. Fred

Hi Jesse, I’m curious what you may have left in the way of floater parts. We will not be working on this for some time but any time is good to accumulate parts. It seems most of what you manufactured I could use. Also when you parted out the other machines might you have a rear return roller assembly? I really only need the shaft and hardware as best I can tell. I’m probably only 2-3 hours drive from you. We live just southwest of Milwaukee. I am interested to correspond about this when you are able. Thanks Fred

John, It’s looking great. I like how you describe bolting up the rear float tank like a circus performer. I wondered how that was done. Maybe a grandchild should be recruited for that task. Don’t tell grandma until it’s done. I do have a question on the felt gaskets for the axle tubes. I do not see much instruction on how to change that seal. Again with a felt plumbing seal I will try to manufacture the new part. I saw what seemed like a retainer for the seal. If so how would I remove without damaging it. Or is it as obvious as hooking the old felt to remove it and slip the new one in. I have some ideas but would like to not damage anything so it may be measured to duplicate. Thank you. Fred

Hi Byron, Wish I sent the post earlier on the copper fitting idea. I do think if it is made of brass or bronze it may be more durable though. Although I have found broken bronze parts before on the weasel. It’s possible the bronze was too brittle in some applications or was of an inferior quality at the time. Our weasel is on the bogie wheels again mostly greased and cleaned of mud. I have been in touch with our local Studebaker collectors club for advice on engine and transmission questions. I will take the engine in for a rebuild soon. The Covid issues are slowing that time frame for me. I will restore this one to running condition but not original. There are parts I want to move to another machine to get that one close to right. My son calls this machine the beater with a heater. It will be to learn how to drive in and just explore. I hope to be up and running by summer. Fred

Hi Byron, I just checked in and saw you are working on the shift bushings. I just worked through the same thing a few months back. I made my bushings from copper water pipe fittings. The outside diameters were the right fit for pressing in the casting hole. The inside diameter was a bit tight so I took a rat tail file to that to increase the inside diameter. They take oil and felt smooth. It’s not as hard as brass but easy to replace. I happen to be a plumber by trade and have a habit of looking for things that are common to me to make a repair. I have noticed that diameters in the trades are common to other industries as well. Fred

Hello, I have some numbers for another weasel we have. We will not start on this for a while so I can pass on what I can for now. ser number 12965 on a brass plate USA 40197361 S is clearly printed on the rear corner. I have not gotten into this one yet for any other numbers. Maybe later this year. thanks Fred

Jim, I did find a picture with the US number on the weasel data I recently sent. ser no 12965 US 49197361 In the photo I’m looking at the first number looks like a 1 but there is a shadow of paint that would make it a 4. That would make more sense I hope this is of use with your listings. This machine is mostly in the original factory configuration as best I can tell. Thanks Fred

Hi Jim. I have a serial number to pass on. I will send the photo of it. Right now the weasel is stored pretty far from my home, I will get more numbers later. This is a brass plate rather that steel. Also it is fastened with screws in stead of rivets. I was curious if there may be a reason for that. A question I also have, is there a safe way to clean a steel plate to read the stamped number. I wish not to do something that may destroy the information on a different machine. Thank you. Fred

A while back we built a tool to straighten the bottom of the hull between the tracks. This machine was extremely abused on the bottom. It worked so good that I broke a few solid spot welds. I used some bar stock left over from a project years ago and 1/2” threaded rod couplings. The rods on the outside support the brace, push the outside edge straight and the inside rods push the dent. I also used a 6” square piece of steel plate in the middle to transition the dent to flat.

Welcome. I’m also new to the group. We have a similar plan for our first machine. Actually ours looks like a sister to your machine. I asked a similar question of one of my Ford friends that does plenty of engine swaps. His idea for the weasel is a straight 4 cylinder with trans from a newer Ford Ranger. Keep in mind the original engine is 70 hp. You need to use the computer ignition. You get modern technology, fuel injection, good starters and available parts. Some or all of the new automatics run electronically off the computer. I know my scan tool picks up tranny sensors. Around the 60’s to 70’s a trans needed vacuum. Now I drive a 2000 diesel truck and that engine does not make vacuum. To operate accessories that need vacuum there is a small pump under the hood for that purpose. I was told that a diesel or some don’t produce vacuum. My sister has a Kubota Diesel tractor and I believe everything is run on the hydraulic pump. If you have a relationship with a good transmission shop they could verify how a new modern trans is driven. For a driver an auto makes sense to me too. I plan to drive one along the logging roads and lake ice I can access in Wisconsin. Eventually an automatic would be nice to have. For now we intend to rebuild the original drivetrain. If our other weasel drivetrains cannot be saved then I will mix and match to build at least one very original machine. Fred

John. You sure are inspirational. I will use this and Patrick’s posts as a template when the time is right. I really appreciate everyone sharing the knowledge as this is all new to me. I’m thinking I’m going to need a bigger shop! Fred

Hi all, It’s been busy around here but we are back at it. Sorry to disappoint OZ but for now the scrap steel stays part of this machine. It seems it’s past life was mountain search and rescue and for now we intend to keep it that way. It will eventually be done but later. Where we will drive there are more trees than road and it shows that this one bounced off a few to many trees already. Our intention is to learn on this one and do a proper job on the next. It’s been a real treat to work on this machine so far and I so look forward to when I don’t need to push it on dollies. Following are some pictures of the inside as we took ownership.

Thanks Pat for the reply on posting pictures. I will attempt to share some. I have a picture of the machine the day we made the deal to purchase. My son Derrick is sitting at the controls. The other photo is as it arrived home. Now it is tore down about as far as we are going for now. The object is to get it running and learn how it works. There is a machine 2 and 3 to restore. I figure we have enough parts to mix and match to build an original machine down to the bolts and washers. That is the goal for now, all the best parts on one machine. Fred

Good day all. I’m interested in some tips and tricks on using the forum. Particularly posting pictures. I’ve been searching by pushing different icons to find how to send pictures and couldn’t figure it out. I use my Apple smarter than me phone for all of this. I know how to take a picture and build a text or email around it. I’ve yet to learn how to add to an existing message. I always start with the picture and have not figured out how to do this in your format. I hope to learn a few tips and hopefully others have questions or shortcuts to share as well. I enjoy the ideas and method shared on the site and can see it will be extremely helpful as we navigate our project. Thanks Fred

Hello, We just joined today. We have a M29C with a build year 1945. Following is the information I have if you can help me with a little history. All I know is it is from California and last ran approximately 20 years ago. Ser#14893 Hull# M-29C-10629 engine# T2417140 trans# E1545 We look forward to participate in discussions when we get accustomed to these machines. thanks Fred