Work on the baby HEMTT grinds to a start.

[Jones]

Out of the body cast now Bjorn but I don't think I'll be entering any break-dancing competitions anytime soon.

 

[m35michael]

I am interested in your baby hemmit project. I just got an old frame and rear axles, with the "bogies" as I call them from an M35A2. I am looking into how to install a rear assembly to the front of the frame and use two front steering axles in order to make it 8 wheel drive. Any ideas?

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Any updates
Sorry to hear of your Body Blocking incident. Has work come to a standstill
Inquiring minds want to know......

 

[Jones]

ColdWarrior; Well, it slowed me down but I didn't stall out. Am just making smaller, lighter parts like brackets, clamps and stuff to route and hold down hoses, lines and wiring harnesses right now. Hard to climb around when one's in a plaster-of-paris T-shirt.
Plus, I've just graduated out of my no lifting restriction to a whopping 20# max... heck, my work boots weight that much.
Got a couple of antennas ( AS3900 for a SINCGARS set-up and an AN/VLQ-14 ) assembled and mounted as well as a little MAXRAD set-up that goes on the driver's side mirror bracket.
Got the new and improved steering box ready to go on but I may need an extra hand as the box alone weighs somewhere around 80# to 100#.
I've got to get three Morse cables made for throttle, shift control and t-case and everything should be operational from the cab. All the mounting brakets for the cables are already done.

M35michael; You didn't mention cab. If you're thinking conventional deuce cab it might take some hefty sheetmetal work to get the second steer axle in. I'd probably string line down the tops of the tires and down the underside of the bed to the underside of the front fenders to see how much tire to cab interference you're talking here. Once you get an idea then make a thin plywood or masonite cut-out that carries the spacing and general layout of the complete rear suspension from the mounting plates down. This isn't as hokey an idea as you might think. It'll give you a silhouette that you can hold up to the truck or frame that'll give you a real good visual of how the thing will look, lay-out, interfere. without doing any major chopping and wrestling of heavy parts.
.
COE cab is a different matter; that may be a consideration as the front axle sits under the cab while the second steer would line up in the open area behind the cab.
Since deuce frames are straight you could certainly put the complete bogie set-up anywhere you decided you wanted it once you work out all the details.
I preach 'Do your homework first!!'. It's not going to be something major that most often shoots a project down. It's the little stuff like "Oh cr*p-- I can't grind off those rivet heads... they're what's holding on my cross-member... or fuel tanks... or some other pretty necessary component".
Or, perish the thought, you decide it just ain't gonna work then you've saved yourself loads of headaches and the possibility of turning a working deuce into a pile of parts.

 

[PorscheTech911]

This is the most amazing project I've ever seen. Keep up the good work! It's so impressive

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Thanks for the update Enquring minds have found fulfillment

Wishing you a speedy recovery - I'm sure that bodycast and the related torso confinement "are a negative pressure region" (it SUX)

At lease you're able to keep fabbing the small stuff - and from the looks of things - You're not one to overlook the "small stuff" or take shortcuts.

The Baby HEMTT is a beautiful little beast. Keep up the good work

 

[Jones]

Here are a few little projects I've cranked out so far.
New dash mount bracket for the first aid kit.
Went with LEDs for the front and rear lights as well as markers. The neat thing about the LED set-up is that everything is in the face plate making the light bucket(s) a convienence rather than a necessity.
The front lights don't stand out so far with the MWO revision brackets and the rears are on the same style to keep everything looking like it all 'belongs'.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Lordy, Lordy That is all so sweet Once again, your attention to detail is outstanding

 

[maddawg308]

Those are interesting light mounts, Jones! Are the real HEMTT ones like that? I thought the whole light bucket mounts, not just the faceplate....

I hope you'll consider making more of those first aid box brackets. I could sure use one or two on my trucks.

 

[BillIdaho]

I must admit I haven't checked this thread for awhile. I am more amazed than before. I built a "funny-bike" ( a drag racing funny-car, only it's a motorcycle) all by myself, from the ground up. Frame, body,brakets, etc. That was an undertaking I didn't realize until I got about half way through. This appears to be much the same, only a hundred times bigger.
I keep threatening to stop by and look at it on the way through when we go to Tower Park.

Keep up the good (what an understatement!!!) work and keep us posted.
Any idea of total hours invested to this point? And probable hours left? Have you stood back and said to yourself "Boy, I wished I would have done THAT different?"

 

[Jones]

More stuff.
Small bracket for the B/O drive light.
A modified switch panel relocates the trailer brake controller and opens up space for more switches. The sheet metal 'eyebrows' hold LED strip lights for illumination. Reostat dimmer controls brightness.
With the aid of three friends and a six-pack, we got the PLS hitch ("self-guiding coupler") installed. A 5 ton pintle is no small piece but this makes them look pretty wimpy.

 

[Jones]

Hello Maddawg.
The buckets allow the LED lights to be mounted in place of the stock set-up with no changes. The faceplates are self-contained and so water proof that the wiring comes out of the bucket through a 1" hole with no sealing plug or gasket. The TruckLite LEDs will even mount directly to the bulb type bucket once you remove the sockets and light baffles.
My problem has been that the front lights stick so far out that they look pretty vulnerable. These brackets set the light back into the skid plate farther. The rears are on the same style brackets just to carry ' the look'.
This is a Jones MWO, the stock HEMTTs still use the buckets.

 

[Jones]

Antenna mounts...
The MAXRADs are mounted on the mirror bracket. I made a different base bracket so I could put the GPS antenna there too.
Sugar scoop bases mount the AS 3900 and the VLQ-14 antennas. the adapter bracket at the bed headboard location spaces the set-up out for clearance.

 

[Jones]

Have you stood back and said to yourself "Boy, I wished I would have done THAT different?"

Each and every day Bill, each and every day.
I cranked out four different t-case mount configurations before I got a set that I trusted to support the weight and that didn't need to ba assembled like a chinese puzzle.
Lots of stuff has ended up in the scrap heap; but I'd much rather iron out the design flaws in the shop, than out on the trail.

 

[73m819]

Mr J, how about some info on that self aligning hitch please, i see 3 levers, id guess one is the opening latch, one is the opening latch lock, the other one on the upper right is ??. does it just bolt on with those 4 bolts (looks like a lot of weight and leverage for just 4 bolts), thanks

 

[Jones]

Ron,
The hitch is a SAF/Holland item. It's held to the rear cross member by four 7/8" countersunk allen bolts. Plenty stout, I'm thinking.
The lever closest to the crossmember on the left is the latch, the other one, same side is the hook lock that swings the jaw open. The little "H" shaped piece on the top flips over to keep the lock from moving. The latch is spring loaded and has to be pulled out and held while the thrower is pulled to the rear.
The small pin on the right slides into a hole on the mount plate and locks the pintle from rotating. Un-pinned, the hitch will rotate for travel over rough terrain.

 

[Ferroequinologist]

Yes, that auto coupler looks very desirable. My wife would probably buy one for me, as she HATES trying to guide me to the hookup.

So it is commercial? like off a pup trailer? Where could I get one?

 

[Jones]

Ferro, The hitch is a SAF/Holland CP-740. They go for around $1,600.00 from the mfr.
beltfed34 (Austin Aviation) on ebay has them for a much better price.

 

[cranetruck]

Interesting details, Leonard. How did you do these reinforcements, is there a crease through them or is it just the image?

 

[Jones]

Bjorn,
I fold the bracket to it's 90 degree shape first then come back with my dimpling die.
If I ground in the top and bottom dies the crease would get ironed out but I haven't bothered since the fold is so much stronger with the dimples that the bracket would bend somewhere else before the 90 degree fold failed.

A factory die to form a similur bracket is an elaborate affair that forms the 90 degree bend and the dimples at the same time.
I'd need a different die set for each individual bracket I make.
This way I can make any bracket I need and set in any number of dimples; from none to one every 1 1/4 inches. And since all have the same crease, they all look uniform.

However, if the crease is too aesthetically offensive to overlook, I can always call them "pre-crumple safety creases"-- like the newer car bodies have.
We could insist that the creases are there in case of a head-on collision so that an impact to the black out light isn't transmitted to the vehicle's interior-- thereby causing grievious bodily injury to the occupants.