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1941 K18-C GMC Recovered today

bigugh20

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So just to put this into perspective, this is what you started with
and where you are at now(in no particular order since I can't seem to get them to post in order). All that in just a few short months of work time (don't forget that you had a forced time out for household chores leading up to the pickanick). You do very impresive work Mr. Warp Sir.
 

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zout

In Memorial
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March 26th THIS YEAR - PB and BB dropped it off at the DZ.
On the weekends I get about 6 hrs a day to work on it (when PB allows with the electric collar thingy)

Weekdays I get about 2 1/2 and pushing it 3 hours before all 4 squirrels show up - I am in bed by at least 20:30.
Real work not done with the compressor down for that time - real work not done getting my chores done and getting ready for the cookout.

All in all I would guess I have a solid 22 days actually working on it. But I'll have to count my beer cans to be sure.

Roof gets sprayed tonight.
 

rickf

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Excellent work Sir. Not knocking your glass painting at all, I figure it takes the same amount of time to remove the paint with a blade as it does to mask it so it is a matter of preference. I was taught by a custom painter who was a perfectionist of the highest order so everything was masked to perfection. Then again, his paint jobs were fetching 5-6 grand in the late 60's! I am sure you remember the lacquer and flake days. Wore out a tip on every job. I still have my Binks #7 from those days, cleaning is everything!
 

papabear

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I'm glad Commander Zout painted over the windows because all the frames and surrounding areas will be painted uniformly![thumbzup] In my experience masking always leaves a tiny spot either unpainted or smudged when masking is removed.

Doc always paints around the edges of his windows, headlights and tail lights when he paints his vehicles. The difference is...Doc never scrapes the paint off!!:lol:

My name is Papabear and I approve of Zout's methods!!:papabear:
 

zout

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Trust me - I have 3M fine line tape if ya wanna see perfection - just look out my back porch at a now disgusting 1972 Chevelle I painted sitting getting scractched to death sitting in my neighbors garage since the day I finished and kicked the dang car out of my garage. Not to mention the 1964 Mustang total repaint not long ago as well with new floorboards.

I started painting in 1967 at a place called the Chopper Shop run by Marv Johnson who and his companion Nick Lake.

I did not mention I have a coating on the glass as well to make it easier and I surely wanted the areas of the window seals painted like PB mentioned (he does not miss anything).

I have two sticks of 5/8ths window run channel coming down from SC I ordered to get the cab doors back together - should be here before the end of the week.

Remember those Red - White - Blue spray cans I had sitting there - keep watching.
 

zout

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YUP - wait till ya see them babies POP on the 3 sides of the box - the whole perspective will change immediately - fellas are working on the hood # stenciles and should have them by this weekend. Then it will all change again.
 

zout

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The trans driven PTO & Generator were probably MIA years ago. PB does still have the driveshaft which is a good thing and in great condition.

Now that the compressor is back on duty I'll be getting the upper framework - differential areas blasted so I can get paint on them so the flooring is not far off in the near future. Things are starting to Rock & Roll now.
 

hndrsonj

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Do you guys have any pics of what the inside is supposed to look like? Or are you just making a best guess?
 

zout

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Jim - all the back interior walls and ceiling were in thin paneling - just like semi trailer wall panels. Only problem was it was so dried out it just fell apart (probably enhanced by cooking BBQ in it as the old sign said on the side of the truck - Lee's Real Time BBQ).

All the screws holding it were date period correct so I would guess the panels were correct. Flooring has to be in first of course so the panels lay flush onto these.
The only interior pictures are extremely hard to locate - probably from what I can tell is because of the Top Secret equipment at that time. I sent PB a piece of document discussing Patton when he found out the importance of the communications equipment and also what appeared to be radio's but were something else inside of them - he never talked about them again.

The radio set up appears to be against the very back wall from side to side.

On each box swing door there were two square railings - my guess is when the doors closed boards could be placed across and either a shelving set up was used or ????? anyones guess. The two wheel wells in side do not appear to have ever had anything mounted to them - but also would be great for sitting - what pic we do have shows two personnel in chairs at the back end with the radio's there.

I'll discuss with PB once the flooring is in about getting whatever panels he wants back into the rear. its the same stuff I used in my M909 and has awesome grain work to the wood (but I still hate working with wood - yuck)(poopo).
 

steelypip

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This document (NSA history of the SIGABA) suggests that the tactical encryption hardware would probably have been some variant of the Hagelin M-209, which is a mechanical rotor system similar to the more-famous Enigma machine. It also had similar weaknesses, which is why it was replaced by the SIGABA right after WWII. The typewriter keyboard variant was the BC-38. Both used the same cipher system, and I can postulate any or both being in the van depending on hardware availability at the moment, desired redundancy and fault tolerance, and expected encrypted message volume.

There might well have been a SIGABA or two in there as well for upper echelon/strategic importance encryption, similar to the German division of labor to the Lorenz machine. - NSA official history says SIGABAs weren't deployed until 1944 or so, but other sources claim 10,000 were in use by 1943, and that the design dates back to the late 1930s.
 

whiskey357

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Location
chicago,ill
looks like the same set up for the comm shacks we used in the early 70s during the nam war......work comms for 20 years in USNAVY.....comm shacks fit into the back of a deuce and half...had gear from the 50's to work with ...you can get that stuff at pawn shops or connect the DOD MARS operation they still lots of that stuff....One side had the comm gear back have spares and some tools and typewriters....other side had the cypro gear and other radios and couplers to work with.....electrical panels on all walls...overhead lights are Flourance lights...old time had regular light bluds with black out curtins and lights...red lights for us......3 to 2 people worked the gear..lots of coffee and cigs at the time ...AHHHHHHHHHH brings back the memories...heheheh best of luck looking good......still have that gear on display at Great Lakes ET School////stuff works...
 

nattieleather

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Location
Cleveland, OH
Nice radio you picked up. Keep your eye out for an EE8 field phone in a leather case. Even if the case is in poor condition let me know I own a leather shop where we do repair and restoration. Also look for a brass morse code key and one of them lolly pop microphones. Maybe even a field phone switchboard to put in there. Just fill it up with radio brick brack and everyone will go ooohhhh aaaaahhh. :)
 
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