Jesse Browning Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 If everything is adjusted right, and the linkage well oiled, it steers with very little pressure. On grass it steers harder. Asphalt is pretty good. Steering is unbelievably sensitive on snow, and quite a thrill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 10 hours ago, Byron said: This weasel I have nearly finnished does not. To be honest, I have to apply very little pressure to make the weasel turn nicely. Thanks Byron - that was my suspicion. I may goof around and try and bend a new tiller to replace the right side with the poor braze repair...otherwise...will try and get it a little straighter just because, well.... I have a problem with things on my vehicles not being in order....dirty shop?? no problem....quarter inch dent in the corner of the hull.... 😂 I do have a correct radiator with a hole for the starter crank (shaft for winch)....but it needs to be rebuilt and I am expecting all kinds of grief when I tell the guy he has to cut a hole in a perfectly good new core 🙂 Your machine looks great - has to be a good feeling to be driving it around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-D Zernia Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Hi Patrick, I’ve gotten back to following your March Madness YouTube’s lately and see the new machine in the stable. I do not know if this pertains to driving on the worn tracks. I have a set of tracks with the metal weasel lugs replacing the outer bands. This set has groups of grousers that are ripping and cracked severely in the center. Others have angle iron to reinforce the center rib. I think what happened was someone tried to keep driving after the inner bands failed. Many of these grousers were bound together with barb wire fence strands. It caused severe damage to otherwise seemingly solid parts. I thought of this when you mentioned the track sounded like it was slipping. This could be a precursor to damage. I’m passing on my observation of what I have found. Maybe with all rubber belts they will rip all at one time and cause minimal damage, just leave you stranded. Good luck. Have fun. Fred 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M29C3284 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 @Patrick TiptonJust watched your latest video and it looks like your motor is missing the drain tube on the rear main bearing cap. Also, have you checked the assembly date of you motor? It should be stamped next to cylinder no. 1 exhaust port. This is my motor, it was assembled 12. March 1945 and the block was cast 6. November 1944 as you can see from the date code. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 7 hours ago, M29C3284 said: @Patrick TiptonJust watched your latest video and it looks like your motor is missing the drain tube on the rear main bearing cap. Also, have you checked the assembly date of you motor? It should be stamped next to cylinder no. 1 exhaust port. This is my motor, it was assembled 12. March 1945 and the block was cast 6. November 1944 as you can see from the date code. Greetings Alexander. Good eye! Yes, missing the drain tube. I have another cracked engine and am going to pull the oil pan and hope it is there. I also need the oil pickup and screen - the one on this motor is pretty beat up - I think from freezing... The casting date on the block is 4/17/45 and the build date is 4/27/45 - they were cranking! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZM29C Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 @Patrick Tipton Re the steering, I have found in my short runs that to make the weasel turn at very slow speed I need to exert a firm pressure on the tillers however at speed, to quote you guys ‘it turns on a dime’. The extra weight of the flotation gear might have something to do with the steering. The steering bands will need to bed in as well. Would a drain tube and oil pick up screen be available from Studebaker parts? If it’s any conciliation, the oil pick up screen on my engine had all but corroded away when I dropped the sump. Keep up the March madness👍👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 5 hours ago, OZM29C said: @Patrick Tipton Re the steering, I have found in my short runs that to make the weasel turn at very slow speed I need to exert a firm pressure on the tillers however at speed, to quote you guys ‘it turns on a dime’. The extra weight of the flotation gear might have something to do with the steering. The steering bands will need to bed in as well. Would a drain tube and oil pick up screen be available from Studebaker parts? If it’s any conciliation, the oil pick up screen on my engine had all but corroded away when I dropped the sump. Keep up the March madness👍👍 Thanks John. I have only driven a floater briefly but I do feel like they steer a little harder than the earlier machines.... I think that part of the pickup and screen is still available but me thinks from the pictures that I would have to solder the tube on.. I have another motor that has freeze damage - am going to pull the oil pan and see if I have good parts there to scavenge. If not...I might be able to fix the original...just need to inspect it further and see if you can take it apart. It is out of shape but could be pretty easily straightened if I can get it apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 On 3/17/2021 at 12:33 PM, F-D Zernia said: Hi Patrick, I’ve gotten back to following your March Madness YouTube’s lately and see the new machine in the stable. I do not know if this pertains to driving on the worn tracks. I have a set of tracks with the metal weasel lugs replacing the outer bands. This set has groups of grousers that are ripping and cracked severely in the center. Others have angle iron to reinforce the center rib. I think what happened was someone tried to keep driving after the inner bands failed. Many of these grousers were bound together with barb wire fence strands. It caused severe damage to otherwise seemingly solid parts. I thought of this when you mentioned the track sounded like it was slipping. This could be a precursor to damage. I’m passing on my observation of what I have found. Maybe with all rubber belts they will rip all at one time and cause minimal damage, just leave you stranded. Good luck. Have fun. Fred I appreciate it Fred. I think you are right about the tracks slipping....I think they are very loose, but the bands are in such bad shape that I think they would break if I tightened them properly. I have a set of tracks that were banded with conveyor belting....am going to swap these out after I get the motor situation straightened out and hopefully this M29 will be a driver! Thanks again Fred! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-D Zernia Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Patrick, I saw the latest March Madness installment with the tight fitting radiator. It reminded me how difficult ours was to remove. I created a spreader to push the side walls apart to wiggle the radiator free. It was difficult to say the least. At the time I decided when it’s time to reinstall I will clip an angle iron piece to the flanges of the radiator as a guide and grind some off to get a looser fit. I just pulled out those parts today to dry fit mine as well. I need everything in place to take some measurements. If all goes well I will grind the flanges tomorrow and see if I can install the radiator without help. I will report back if I get that far. Fred 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 Appreciate it Fred. I am still fussing with the panels. The holes on the driver side cover panel/rad support don't quite line up either so I need to fiddle a little more (mostly with the hammer) until I get it lined up correctly. The panel is in very nice shape overall, just has a few tweaks that are making it a bear to get installed. I have now removed three radiators and all three have been tight! The last one had spacers to push the radiator forward and away from the fan. That being said, the engineers were relying on a tight fit and felt to ensure that there was enough flow through that radiator to keep the motor cool - like an airplane cowl. Keep me posted on how you make out! Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-D Zernia Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Patrick, I spent time on the radiator mount panels this morning. The panels are straight with no dents or bows. Like getting the radiator out everything was tight again and I did a little head scratching. First I removed the bottom drain valve and plugged the hole. The bottom of the radiator compartment I filled with folded cardboard so I could rest the radiator between attempts, that helped. With the fan shroud in place the opening at the mounting tabs was too narrow for the width of the radiator so I elongated those holes to get the tabs to spread farther. Then set the radiator in the opening on an angle and try to turn it in place. What needed to be done: pull the radiator to the middle of the opening and slide it straight in with both sides hitting the studs all at one time. Going in evenly everything slipped into place. So when I start on an angle with the fuel filter side closest to the mounting flanges, center the radiator parallel to the mount and slide it in place, it fit. Everything for me was too tight when hanging one side first. The diagonal dimension of the radiator would not slip into the opening past the flanges. The shroud problem was just an added inconvenience. good luck Fred 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 Thank you @F-D Zernia Fred. Appreciate it. Congrats on getting it worked out - not an easy one. As you saw in the video, I spent a couple of hours and made progress but could not get everything to line up. Last night...another 2.5 hours messing with the instrument panel/engine cover and the radiator panels. Other than a bunch of little small bends and some hammer and dolly work, I had to grind the driver side rad support channel about 1/16 in one spot (in the front right by the throttle linkage mounting plate) and finally got everything to line up. I am going to strip all of the panels today, clean them up a little more and go in one more time before I weld in the lower hat channels with the captive nuts that support the lower end of the panels. I think I replaced the whole driver side in about the same amount of time!😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 Sorry for the lack of posts - lots of progress, but I was spending all of my free time doing videos in March. I am just working thru little fixes on the hull and the various body panels to make sure this T24 goes together easily once it is painted. This is that part of the project where you are 90% done with 90% to go. The land of 1000 details. Here are a couple of photos...but all in all it is coming together. I did pick up a second set of 15" tracks - they are unmolested and in pretty good condition for their age. They will go on the T24 as is....to be handled very gently! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Browning Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Patrick. I boil parts in a barrel of water, dish soap, and sodium hydroxide solution. One gallon costs less than the stripper your using, and will do everything on a weasel that will fit in the barrel. For large parts I build a fire under the barrel. For small parts I use a GI immersion burner to boil the water. Takes about an hour. In the summer, parts left in the solution for a couple of days have the same results. Just hose them off afterwards and they’re spotless. Works on grease and paint. I used to spend thousands on paint stripper. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Browning Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 (edited) The barrels. Edited April 8, 2021 by Jesse Browning Correct picture. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Browning Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 5 layers of paint removed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Browning Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Halftrack front brake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Browning Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 After one hour in the barrel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5280Beltfed Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Interesting about the tight fit with radiator. I thought I was being a bit aggressive using a porta-power to spread the side panels just a hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted April 12, 2021 Author Share Posted April 12, 2021 @Jesse Browning That looks slick and a lot less work and mess than paint stripper. Now to get the stripper tank..... Thank you sir! Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted April 12, 2021 Author Share Posted April 12, 2021 @5280Beltfed Makes sense! - I have been planning to make small screw spreader to help assemble this Weasel....the radiator fits, but it is really tight and the last thing I feel like doing is scratching it all up after hours of paint work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted April 19, 2021 Author Share Posted April 19, 2021 I finally finished flattening the rear panel although I still have a little "leading" to do. Lots of hours but I think it came out pretty well. The good news is that with a shovel and axe mounted, no one will be able to see it anyway! The tabs for the mounting brackets were all left in place so I have been fabricating new brackets, cutting off my handmade mounting tabs and TIGing the new brackets in place. Very fiddly work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZM29C Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 @Patrick Tipton Patrick, again brilliant work. Your attention to detail raises the bar on weasel restoration. Why would someone go to the trouble of cutting the brackets off???? I have seen them crushed and torn off but to cut them off???? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted April 20, 2021 Author Share Posted April 20, 2021 Many thanks John. As you know all too well - labor of love. It is truly strange that they were cut off like this....a restorer would presumably have cut the tabs too....who knows! 😀 I got the axe brackets almost finished last night...couple more welds and the footman's and it will be finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted April 22, 2021 Author Share Posted April 22, 2021 I need to do a little bracket adjusting and then a little leading to repair a couple of prior repairs, but...the back panel is very close to finished. I am going to run out of things to repair pretty soon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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