DonM Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 This is great……very similar to our situation. Still need to clean up, measure and get metal. Very inspiring! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Great work Mark. I have seen that movie! Onward and careful with that grinder! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_kitten Posted January 6 Author Share Posted January 6 Replacement panel obtained. Now I have to trim to fit and start welding. It will feel good to start putting things on. Since I'm very space limited, I will attack one side at a time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_kitten Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 Trimmed up the bottom half, and completed a ton of prep work prior to welding. Need to trim the upper half next. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Nice. Are you going to weld the top edge along that top 90 degree corner or do you have another plan? I worried about that a lot when I replaced my T24 side....then I was super careful cutting and then derusting the inside of the top edge where I was going to weld. Loads of careful prep. It ended up being much easier to weld than I expected. I believe I MIG tack welded it basically every inch and then went back over the entire side with the TIG doing about an inch at a time, then jumping forward....etc. I left very little to no gap and used plenty of filler and ran the TIG a little hotter than normal to ensure that I was creating plenty of weld to grind "square" and make that edge look factory and straight. Once finished, I think you would be hard pressed to see that the side was welded. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZM29C Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 @darth_kitten Just adding more to @Patrick Tiptoncomments. As you are repairing an M29C hull, the upper joint as discussed can be easily hidden. If you look at the attached drawing, I have highlighted the area in question, where the new sheet metal can be grafted into the hull. The weld joint can then be filled using a mig welder and then once the surface has been cleaned and preserved, the upper flange of the track skirt will cover the joint in its entirety. As pointed out by Patrick, one good thing that comes out of this repair method is you can get in to clean and preserve the inaccessible areas behind the angled hull brace. I have attached a number of photos showing how I repaired this area. Note that the sponson forward of the centre bulkhead had to be completely replaced. Keep up the good work. Cheers. Sponson general assembly - Revision 1.pdf 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_kitten Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 @Patrick Tiptonand @OZM29C I had considered utilizing the area in which the step was so that my weld work would be hidden, but the previous repair went higher than that area, so I had to trim a little higher. Check the following photos. I think I should be able to get it pretty strait, and was going to utilize Patrick's method of mig tacking, and tig filling. We'll see how it goes! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_kitten Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Mark - I replaced one entire side....welded on the top corner of the hull. The other side received a new floor....and because the T24 had no flares, I had no choice but to hide a 10 foot seam. I consider it good practice😂 Looking forward to seeing your progress! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZM29C Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 @darth_kitten Just a thought! With your hull repairs proceeding at a good pace, now would be the time to consider installing a facility to ease the draining of oil from the final drive. The photos below show how I installed the drain system on my M29C hull and a friends T24 hull. Although differing markedly in their design , both ideas have equal merit. Cheers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 @OZM29C is just being lazy! I mean, who doesn't mind draining a gallon or so of nasty gear oil into the bottom of their Weasel and then using kitty litter, degreaser and about 10 rolls of paper towels to clean up the mess? 😂 Seriously, these mods certainly make maintaining the final drive a lot easier. I have had reasonable luck using a small handheld pump to remove the oil. Works pretty well - probably doesn't get every last bit of oil out, but it is an option if you suffer from originalititis mentalis like I do and have trouble sleeping after doing a modification to one of these machines. Regards, Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_kitten Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 @OZM29C I have considered that and have not ruled it out since I'm at the stage of adding this will be really easy. I'm also of @Patrick Tipton's mindset that it will be just as easy to pump any fluids out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_kitten Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 Hot Diggity! I can get back to workin on my weasel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 48 minutes ago, darth_kitten said: Hot Diggity! I can get back to workin on my weasel! Looks like Weasel parts! Woo Hoo! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_kitten Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 Just a few photo updates as the floor progresses. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Looking good Mark! You are making great progress! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_kitten Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 (edited) More progress. I'm glad I don't get paid by the hour. 🙂 Edited March 19 by darth_kitten photos in wrong order 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronny68 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 On 11/16/2023 at 6:56 PM, M29C3284 said: Great work so far. Will be following this thread with great interest. @OZM29C My weasel had one thin and one thick shim on each bogie. ours also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_kitten Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth_kitten Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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