1943 T-24 Restoration Thread

[Patrick Tipton]

I am almost finished with the seemingly endless plug welds.  Plenty of grinding left to do but I am getting there.

I went ahead and started working on the engine cover/instrument panel - mostly because I wanted to ensure that the driver seat brackets go in the right spot.  It is in decent shape but had a couple of holes that needed filling, some poor old repairs and a bunch of dents. Fun to start working on some of these details! I removed the lower panel/cover where the driver heat door is because it was ugly.  It is really thin sheet metal and the spot welds pop right off.  I  need to try and fix this panel too - or I might make a new one.

I was a little concerned about getting the right radius so I only patched the missing sections.  If you look at these pictures, you can see the bend immediately above the hole is quite out of shape.  I should have either worked harder to fix that section before welding in the patch or just bent up a patch and welded the entire length because it has been hard to get the crease/bend line straight.  It is getting there, but I still have more to do.

 

[OZM29C]

@Patrick TiptonMaxwell Smart had the right statement for your Plug welding - And Loving it😀😀 Keep up the good work.

I looked at a photo of my friend Steve's T24 Dash panel/instrument cover and noted that the capstan winch operating handle recess will have to go on your dash panel. Having said that I am more than certain you already know. By patching the rectangular hole in the ash I am also sure that you are not going to retain the accelerator mod kit. This was retrofitted to Steve's T24.

 

[Patrick Tipton]

Thanks @OZM29C - I appreciate you continuing to keep me out of the ditches!  😁 

Cool modification and I really don't love removing the history but...

Regards, Patrick

[Patrick Tipton]

The side is all welded but for the front and back seams.  Pretty happy with everything and the plug welds ended up distorting the side enough that I think it will look factory with paint.  God help the guy in 2120 who attempts to remove the side to restore this bad boy - this side is welded on! 🤣

I got the hull back on my rotisserie.  I don't have the balance right....my adjusting mechanism is a terrible design but I am going to manually get the balance right, finish the hull and then address my balance mechanism at a later point.

[Byron]

Great to see some more pictures Patrick.

good work! Surely these vehicles will be looked after from now on and dry stored so I hope they won’t need to go through this again!

Byron

[Patrick Tipton]

On 12/3/2020 at 7:21 PM, Byron said:

Surely these vehicles will be looked after from now on and dry stored so I hope they won’t need to go through this again!

Byron

I am sure you are right Byron, but man someone would curse me if they every tried to get into the driver side! 😅

 

[Patrick Tipton]

I am making steady progress.  I still have a few seat hat channels to install, but I had a little help so I got the hull on the rotisserie and started working on the last 3 or 4 items on the lower hull. 

A rotisserie really makes a difference.  They are a lot of work to make and I made some "engineering" mistakes in mine, but I have made it work.  If I ever do another Weasel, I will redo the mounting brackets for the hull -otherwise it works wonderfully.  I probably should have put the hull on the rotisserie to mount the side panel - was a little worried about the hull distorting, but it sure makes access anywhere a no brainer.

The biggest work I have left is repairs to the bow and related area.  The inner 45 degree hat channel in the lower hull on the front is rotted on both sides.  Access is terrible (small space) and there is a drain so it is a pain to fix.  Otherwise, there is a little rot on the sides of the lower hull and one "bay" in about 3/4 back on the driver side.  I also have a couple of holes to patch in the floor....I am not going to push too hard, but I am looking to finish this hull by the end of December.

[Byron]

Patric, be careful with those seals you’ve left on the rear stub axle, unless you have replacements you may need to reuse if they are not too bad! I am finding them very difficult to get hold of. 
cheers, Byron

[Patrick Tipton]

Thanks @Byron!  I am not sure how available they are here...but I will take care of these and also see what is around!

 

[Patrick Tipton]

Winding up the repairs on the lower hull.  This front section is no fun to repair because it is very difficult to get on the inside to properly clean the rust off the original sheet metal.  Lots of ugly chasing and burning through - not my idea of a good time but the metal was structurally good.  I need to do a little fussing with the drain pipe and chase the threads...it should clean up but I will regret all that finish welding if it doesn't.

I need to install the big bow patch and then fix one more area of rot near a drain plug on the driver side, patch a hole or two on the floor and then do a QC on the entire lower hull before turning to the details.

[OZM29C]

@Patrick Tipton Great job Patrick👍👍 This area under the radiator is very prone to corrosion. My weasel being no different to yours. That double layered sheet metal skin is a rust trap. I rotary wire brushed the area and then treated it with a anti corrosive rust killing compound before replacing the outer skin. The repair will well and truly see my lifetime out. This is a good time to check the condition of the threads that secure the idler spring adjusting brackets in place. Attached are some happy snaps showing the repair I carried out on my friends T24 hull

[Patrick Tipton]

Appreciate the pictures @OZM29C...indeed that is the worst place on my hull...low and doubled up steel.  I treated the area and may do a little more before I button up the bottom.  I will chase all of those threads out and make sure that we are good.  I have a couple of broken bolts to remove as well.

Cheers!

Patrick

[Byron]

Well done Patric! I’m keen to watch your welding video that popped up on face book.

that’s a job I’m dreading too! Chasing those hundreds of threads under the weasel. That’s going to be fun.

[Patrick Tipton]

Getting real close now.  I got most of the bow patch finished last night.  I need to do a little more welding, but it came out just fine.  I will also need to weld the top seam after I take the hull off of the rotisserie - too much stuff in the way and the weight of the hull is distorting the front panel a little so I think it will come out better if I do that seam later.

[Patrick Tipton]

Making progress.  I ran out of welding gas and could not finish the last hull patch.  I have a thousand details, add drain plugs back in, finish grinding various repairs on the inside of the hull (including mouse hole for drain, clean up a few welds that just look horrible, chase all of the threads on the suspension mounting points, drill a few holes that I did not make when adding new sheet metal etc.  But we are getting close with the hull!

 

[Byron]

Isn’t it funny that they all go in the same places! Mine has gone on those bottom corners and under most of the hat sections. 
 

looking good Patric!

cheers, Byron 

[Patrick Tipton]

Thank you Byron - Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[Patrick Tipton]

On 12/23/2020 at 2:36 PM, Byron said:

Isn’t it funny that they all go in the same places! Mine has gone on those bottom corners and under most of the hat sections. 
 

looking good Patric!

cheers, Byron 

Indeed.  Given that they were only supposed to originally last for 1,000 miles.....not bad Studebaker!😁

[Patrick Tipton]

Getting pretty close with the lower hull.  A friend and I chased all of the holes on the driver side, including having to locate the ones that were hidden when I replaced the side.  Pretty uneventful.  I also patched a little more rot in one corner section, patched two holes in the floor and found another section of rot near the bow that I patched.  I am heading out in a bit to do more quality control (filling voids and grinding) and get everything looking nice.  I need to chase threads on the passenger side, weld the replaced bow and rear corner and just look over the lower hull carefully before starting the final work on the topside prior to paint.

[Patrick Tipton]

A few more surprises, but bit of progress and the lower hull is almost finished.

[OZM29C]

@Patrick TiptonWell done👍👍 Time to get it into a primer coat now.

[Patrick Tipton]

15 hours ago, OZM29C said:

@Patrick TiptonWell done👍👍 Time to get it into a primer coat now.

Thanks John!  I should have things ready for primer in another week or so.  I have a friend who had a spray booth and we are going to spray it with a good epoxy primer - should be good for another 100 years!  Then I have lots of little parts to fix, an engine to rebuild etc. etc. etc.....😀

Patrick

[Patrick Tipton]

Fixing details topside now.  I find this work very enjoyable but you do have to take your time to get the details right.

[OZM29C]

@Patrick TiptonGreat work👍. Before you know it, the hull will be done. I am looking forward to the next instalment on this T24 restoration journey.

[Patrick Tipton]

Really appreciate it John.  I am looking forward to this next chapter as well.

Regards, Patrick