Been a busy.....most of a year. Doesn't feel like that long.
Was able to determine with some certainty that this trailer came over here the same way the other 3-4 i know of did - captured from the Iraqi's in Desert Storm, they were used behind M151s and Humvees and when those units came back, someone threw these in with the M416s and other small ancillary trailers. Once stateside they got surplussed. There is a photo of one with US Army markings, guess that motor pool sgt was a stickler for unit SOP. The Iraqis bought a bunch of stuff from the Germans in 1990, as they started liquidating the former East German military's stockpiles. East Germany themselves bought these from the Soviets, as they never produced them themselves.
So onto mine, initially the trailer just sat and got dusty as I slowly pieced my shop back together after moving at the tail end of last year. Wound up finally getting torn into this thing in late spring starting with a good cleaning and then using it as is for firewood and various ancillary tasks behind it's vehicle, the Gaz69.
Eventually began to tackle paint removal, which I was leery about due to the really....sketchy....nature of this thing's service. As you peel back the layers, you see a silver paint over top, then a pink-tan paint which appears to be Iraqi, a light green which looks East German, and then a darker Green color that should be Soviet. I trust none of those nations to not have weird shit in their paint now, let alone in the 70s/80s when put on here.
So I did the sandblasting well away from my wellhead, on a tarp, wearing N95 and eyepro, and did a thorough washdown of equipment afterward. I then shot the primer, which I didn't photo, and the first coat of Gillespie Green (383 is close to the East German Green).
(ignore the work truck in the background)
While there were some mods made by the farmer I bought this from, most were bolted on rather than welded and the owners didn't cut off any of the original, hard to source or replicate Russian features, just added what they wanted. I detached all that as well as the reflectors, which I hit with a headlight restoration kit to get reflective again.
Turns out, the Russians never switched their reflector standard from the 3 inch ones used by the Jeeps and Dodges we gave them in WW2, so US Amber 3 inch reflector lenses fit in the Russian mounts. They're a little bright, and much more reflective than the original orange being modern reflectors, but they'll settle down, or I'll tone them down with some darker orange lens paint if i really hate it when it's all done.
Restored on left, original on right. Using Gillespie Semi-Gloss OD for reflectors.
Currently, I am looking at the best way to rebuild the original style landing leg since the mounts for it are still present. Also hunting for the proper races and bearings since I am sure these haven't been serviced since the first Gulf War. Finally, trying to decide the best way to repair the Tail light housings to bolt the new lenses on, all the mounting holes have cracked out from either age or impact. Might drill through and run a bolt and nut.
More to follow.
