D.R.H.

I HAVE JUST COME INTO FULL UNDERSTANDING WHY CERTAIN PEOPLE WILL MAKE A "RUN" OF CERTAIN REPRO PARTS AND THEN FALL OFF INTO OBLIVION.

WOWEE, those tracks are fantastic!! Thanks for showing this process, it is very informative. THIS IS a great solution, I think, for an alternate track source.

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Dan, send me a P.M. with your phone number and a good time to reach you. I'll call you and we can talk, and with all due respect, if you're serious.

Good suggestion Will. I am very experienced in mold making and decided to put my knowledge toward reproducing the rubber on Bogie Wheels. I have found a rock solid method that is successful. Here are some photos of the results of my efforts. I was able to pigment the rubber in both white and black. I even did a combo where the steel was painted green and the rubber was pigmented white. The material I used cured to Durometer hardness of 90 which is just as hard as natural latex rubber. I was guided to some documented research where an independent company was hired in the late 1960's to find an effective procedure to repair worn road wheels used on the M-113 A.P.C. I adopted several steps taken the by firm that lead to an extremely successful adhesion of the rubber to the steel while the process remained cold. The photo marked (5) shows the backs of two wheels, left is the repro and right is an N.O.S. Photo marked (4) in green and black shows that the rivets were drilled out and the wheel halves are about to be re-assembled with mechanical fasteners. Photo marked (4) in white shows a view of the wheel as it would roll on the track band. They are for all intents and purposes perfect reproductions except for the fact that they are bolted back together and not rivetted. This just means that if the rubber does separate from the steel, it will be easy to repro them again.

Prc148, Rob W. here on the forum makes the hat channel kits, perhaps He'd be willing to send you measurements of the ones you need. If not, contact me and we'll get you squared away. Dave.

I haven't been on this site for a while. I was just looking through THIS section and forgot to end this request. THANKS JESSE BROWNING FOR THE VERY NICE MUFFLER GUARD, I APPRECIATE YOU !!

K, a few questions for you. Are the nuts interfering with the drive sprocket and front idler wheels? What thickness conveyor belt did you use on the inside? When I rebuilt one of my tracks last year, I could see that there would be a potential problem the the heads of the bolts I was going to use interfering with the Drive and Idler wheels. I used "T-Nuts" for my inner fasteners and 7/8" thickness conveyor belt. I measured the original inner belt thickness to be 1". Fixing you problem may be just as easy as doing what I did. See my photo below. Dave.

I don't participate much on this wonderful forum just yet, I'm still working on my 1942 G-506 truck. I have to stay focused on one thing at a time. If I don't and have too irons in my fire, it tends to go out. It has been just shy of 1 year since I rebuilt my Type 3 Track. My area of the Pacific North-West has received a decent amount of snow. I had to go out and take a few photos of my Weasel resting in it. I can't believe just how much the snow increases visibility at night. I want to encourage everyone to keep working on their Weasels and posting great content. Thanks again to Patrick for stoking the "Weasel Fire" and getting things happening with them again!!

You asked for feed back, so here goes. I remember reading about new tracks for the HalfTracks more than 5 years ago on the "G". One man spent a whole lot of time here in the U.S. and in China when he was there, actually DOING THE FOOTWORK to find a solution. The thread ran into multiples of pages in length, EVERYONE had an opinion but only this 1 guy put forth the effort. All the other guys were cheering him on from behind their keyboards, ready to pony up the cash when the time was right. When it came time to separate the men from the boys, the man who spearheaded the entire effort was left with his trouser flap blowing in the breeze. No one put their money where their mouths were and HIS efforts fell by the wayside.The same thing has been happening with Weasel Track since I rebuilt my 1st. pair back in 2005, that's 15 years ago. Oh sure, there have been guys in Poland, Switzerland and even here in the U.S. who have built replacement track bands. But the pain and simple truth behind the effort is that there is NEVER enough demand to meet the overwhelming cost of manufacturing. This is the truth of the matter, but hardly anyone I have read about wants to or even can afford to shell out the big bucks for 100% accurate and functioning reproduction bands. The L.A.R. tracks resemble the originals and function well but at $14K, most folks have better things to spend THAT MUCH money on than some rusty W.W. 2 implement.So 04mustang, You called me only to waste my time and ask questions about my solution, which by the way is finished and ready to install, when you already had something else in mind. I find it to be rude to say that, "that there really aren't options for how to handle track repairs/restoration" when several guys actually have found options. Did you think that I would not see this post of yours and not comment. As I told you over the phone, I had several guys cheering me on from the jeering section, wanting more and more pictures of my hard work FOR FREE. Perhaps I am just wasting my time again, perhaps I have just infuriated many readers with my neigh-saying and opinion. Good luck with your adventure, perhaps you can read through this mess, viewtopic.php?t=303806, by the time you're finished I'll be driving my Weasel in the snow.

Hi guys, I am looking for a Muffler Guard. Does anyone happen to have one you'd like to sell? Thanks.

I for one really appreciate this bit of education. It makes perfect sense regarding which way to properly install the seals. Thanks Oz! I also did a bit of poking around online and found this; https://www.motionindustries.com/shoppingCart.jsp?BUS_ACTION=review. While the Aussie Dollar differs from the U.S. Dollar, I think this price of $336.00 is fairly reasonable for 32 seals.

WOWEE OZ!! Every time I look at this site, you have posted some really nice pictures of what you have worked on. I admire your work and attention to detail. You are going to make "The Land Down Under" very proud of one of Her Son's for doing such fine work, especially that there are only 2 Weasels in the entire country!! GOOD ON YA' MATE!!

PlasticWelding, I guess that you are the only guy who might be interested in my track rebuild kit. I have been extremely busy and unable to post here in a few weeks. One of the most important things in rebuilding your tracks is that you must still have all of the "hat channel" hold downs that are in the outer bands, see photo below. Another I would need to know is the grouser count of your tracks. 55 or 56?

I absolutely love this story!! How fortuitous OZ for you to have been the lucky recipient of such a rare machine in your part of the world!!

I had noticed Jim, that the Weasel with 12 bogey wheels per side mimicked what I described as the 'see-saw' effect due to how centered the middle leaf spring was. One would get rather Sea-Sick from that constant up and down motion, I would think.

Would the guys who were interested in my track band replacement kit please send me a private message with your Email addresses. This way I can contact you ALL OF YOU in one fell swoop and provide more information.. Thanks. Dave.

You are awesome Jim!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your help on this portion of "discovery" with my Weasel. I would be happy to look for the engine serial number and let you know what it is. I will venture to guess that the engine was changed out when it was in Norway. As for the "ribbon" data plate on the bulkhead of the cargo compartment, mine is gone. Are the Ord. number and hull number the same?

Frank, on the 1st. list in space #6, my Weasel is an M-29 C, ORD. #7699 with a delivery date of 1944. It doesn't have the "ribbon" body tag. I haven't started looking for the Registration Numbers under the paint yet. Hopefully they will be there.

Well Men, I contacted Robert at the website OZM29 suggested. I don't want to be a wet blanket with bad news, but Robert told me via email that he doesn't make the "hull data plates" any more. Just like the Weasel track bands, another avenue of approach will have to be found.

OZ, My Man!!! Thank you very much for posting the Data Plate guy. Do you know how to tell what my "Hull Tag" number would be, if my Mfsr. and. Ord. serial number is 7399? Your "Hull Tag' is M-29-C 7333.

Hey Jesse, click on the blue highlighted link that OZ included in his original post. I bought a kit from them a few days ago.

This is the same fuel pump used on the C.C.K.W., different cam arm though. Thanks OZ for posting the rebuild kit supplier here. I have the rebuild kit and an N.O.S. pump inbound for my location.

Hi Dan. You're not the Dan I'll be receiving bogey wheels from. It's okay.

Hi Jesse, I do not have that particular data plate. What does that plate indicate? Even though I have had a Weasel in the past, it was just a toy back then and not a serious restoration piece to me. So, now I am learning more about them.