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Heath's M35A2... the beginning

DeucesWild11

Active member
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12
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Location
Putnam County, NY
Two things you shouldn't do in those lighting conditions, take photos and shoot deer.. well maybe the deer.

Good to see you're still making progress, she'll look amazing when you're all done!
 

Heath_h49008

New member
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Location
Kalamazoo/Mich
Thanks guys! I've been trying to get as much done in what little time I have left to work in as possible.

I need to re-stitch the soft top to the plastic at the windshield mount. It started to separate a little when I was trying to get the top back on last night. Seeing as the truck isn't going anywhere anytime soon, I just snapped the corners and tabbed the sides in for now.

The media blasting was the best money I have spent. Invoice says $175... but cash prices are always hard to quantify on paper if you get my drift. The shop was great to deal with, but the booth was barely large enough for the truck. I'm putting a new hood on anyway, but I will have to pull the grill and headlight panels to do them later.

Honestly, knowing what I know now, I will say grinding the bulk of the CARC off saved me MASSIVE amounts of blasting time. Even with the professional blast equipment, the multiple layers of CARC were slow going. Second, pull everything you can first. Turn signals, windshield, troop seats, pioneer rack, mirrors, and exhaust... all of them would have fit in a pick-up bed, and they were all a nightmare to work around in the blast gear while dragging a massive hose, air line, and with squat for visibility.


If you do it yourself, bring two other guys. I had my girlfriend with me, but she had some issues that slowed me down significantly. Two guys blasting and one guy feeding pots with media could make quick work of a deuce in this booth.

More to come.
 

Heath_h49008

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Location
Kalamazoo/Mich
Looking good. The work just never seems to end, does it?
You aren't kidding! I know it's just the base coat... I have one more layer to put on top of this in the spring, and then the camo pattern layers, but it sure felt good to get it done. We have a good chance of snow on Wed. and October in Michigan is already Monsoon season. I got lucky the weather held as long as it did. (Last year fall/cold/wet started mid September and I ran out of time and money to work on her.)

So, as in most things, I'm proud of only being a year behind schedule. :naner::doh:


Work to do that I have the parts for:
Install the EGT
Install the Vanner Voltmaster
Install the new Tach and Speedo and clean up the other gauges
Install the heater set (in-cab, so I have to cut it down first)
Install the new windshield and wiper motors
Rebuild another wheel cylinder (got one weeping)
Install the new Trans I have (water contamination in the current one pitted the gears something fierce I don't trust it for long runs)
Sort out new weatherstripping for the cab.... I'm reluctant to spend $250+ on a dozen chunks of rubber when I'm 99% certain at least half of them can be sourced for less than $1/ft as bulk. I just have to find it by profile. (more time than money)


Parts to buy:

Electric winch for the front, matching gin pole kit... very low priority, modest cost.
395s & tubes... Not cheap and a huge PITA to ship and bust onto the wheels.
M105 with cover or CBC... not cheap or easy to haul home unless I use the deuce to go get it.
Insulation for cab... cheap and easy
Light bar build ala Peashooter for some spots and my Solargizer... not expensive, but time consuming to CNC the brackets.
Stereo and speakers... not a big deal, but I need to do it.
 

mjcdetroit

Member
57
0
6
Location
Detroit
Michigan has four seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Road Construction.

Good thread. Great read. Thanks for the updates Heath.
 

Heath_h49008

New member
1,557
101
0
Location
Kalamazoo/Mich
Michigan has four seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Road Construction.

Good thread. Great read. Thanks for the updates Heath.
Dude, between the weather and school and work I'm going through withdrawal not being able to work on her. I'm already planning on the parts purchases for spring, and I haven't had the time to install all of the stuff I already have.

I have to get out there this week.
 
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