M100 resto finally started

[wilfreeman]

I bought my M100 a little over 5 yrs ago - on Easter day actually - for $200! I brought it home and cleaned it up. I did a little bit of light sanding to see what numbers I could dig up. I found a USA number that started with a W - not consistent with what others have (with known "correct" tub numbers). The second coat of paint was strata blue and had a different USAF #. The base coat of OD had the same USA# as the 3rd layer - starting with a W. On the sides were 8" white star decals on the top layer of OD and TP25 on the fenders. The strata blue layer had some stenciling commemorating someone's service in the same area as the star on the left side. The base layer of OD had a 6" painted star. The rear frame crossmember had some stenciling about Rngr (I'll have to post pictures). The data plates are aluminum and have a serial # of 500 (the plates are incorrect - should be brass for an early trailer, and 500 wouldn't be the serial #). It had the intervehicular cable plug in the front crossmember and douglas connector wiring harness.

Now, I started blasting it today. There were 5 coats of paint (top to bottom): OD - red oxide - strata blue - red oxide - light green etching primer. I don't know if this is correct or not - I thought the first coat should be red oxide. So as I was blasting, more and more rust became evident. I waited too long to get this thing blasted and primed - or should have kept it out of the weather! The small rust spot at the front seam had doubled in size and it had grown new holes on each front corner . Also the front panel seam has some rust behind it. The front 18" or so has heavy pitting in the floor. But still it is a pretty solid tub that is not too beat up.

I am going to post a few pics today and will post some earlier ones tomorrow. Unfortunately, I will be going back to work, so it will be next week before I can do any more blasting and priming. I think I will move to the underside next.

​

​

​

 

[max bowtie]

Nice grab for $200!!

 

[wilfreeman]

Yeah, I can't complain about the price - they are going for over $1,000 in that condition (or worse) now!

Here are a few pics from when I brought it home, cleaned it up and uncovered some tub markings. I don't think the tub number is original because it doesn't conform to the known type of numbers, but it IS on the first OD layer also, so who knows. The 8" star decal is not original of course.

 

[NDT]

I think the USA W212... is something a previous MV collector stenciled on there. That is a WWII format.

 

[wilfreeman]

Good to know - now I can rule out using that one! Wes, over at willymjeeps, confirmed that the K 322_9 (I think I was reading a 1 after the K) was a USAF tub number from between 1950 and 1955. He said there were 4 numbers, then went to 5 (k xxxx and K xxxxx). That is the reason I was asking about the W number on the first layer of paint - because the second layer has a real USAF number on it.

Ok, with the new information, I can deduce that the tub might have been taken down to bare metal and repainted with a nonsense number. Then, the next owner painted it strata blue with some numbers from a picture he found or remembers from his service. Lastly, the trailer was repainted with the original nonsense numbers. Maybe it was the same owner painting it to match his Jeep of the time?

One question. Is the serial number stamped on the frame or tongue somewhere? Seems like I remember reading that a while back.

 

[CGarbee]

Looks better than the M100 in my yard... You are making me want to get out and start to work on mine (it has been neglected ever since I purchased it).

Mine is currently a mix of sea foam green and surface rust, with a truly nice tailgate modification that I am undecided about removing...
I got it from a fellow collector in TN a dozen years ago in order to mate it to my M38, both are from 1951.

Hopefully, we'll be able to compare them at Denton.

 

[wilfreeman]

You are making me want to get out and start to work on mine (it has been neglected ever since I purchased it).

Mine is currently a mix of sea foam green and surface rust, with a truly nice tailgate modification that I am undecided about removing...
I got it from a fellow collector in TN a dozen years ago in order to mate it to my M38, both are from 1951.

Hopefully, we'll be able to compare them at Denton.

Same here Cabell - mine has sat for over 5 yrs, and even though it had a domed tarp over it at the edge of the woodline, the rust spread. Now I have a lot more work to do than if I would've done it when I bought it!

I can see where a tailgate would make these trailers sooo much more useful. So if you aren't looking for a show winner, I would just paint it up and use it! I am undecided about fixing the hard to fix rusty areas - maybe I will talk to my brother and see if he is interested in doing it (he owns a body shop). For now, I am just going to get it blasted and primed and go from there.

Are you going to bring them to Denton next year? I'm sure I'll have mine done by then - and the motor rebuilt in the 'a1. I'll have to figure out how to fit the trailer on the car hauler with the Jeep though. Or I can throw it in the back of the bobber if need be.

I hate I missed your rally, but I HATE driving (especially pulling a trailer) - 500 miles would kill me! Looking at the pictures, it is a beautiful place and I hope I can get it together enough to make it there in the next couple of years!

 

[wilfreeman]

M100 resto - Day 2

I finally got a day without a good chance of rain, so I decided to go back to work on the M100. I disassembled it almost completely. The only thing I didn't tear apart was the casting and landing leg (don't know why - just didn't). I pulled the tub/frame off of the running gear and flipped it over to assess the rust problem - worse than I thought! The crossmembers were pretty rusty on the bottom, and there was more rust than I thought at the front and rear floor to end panel seam. I decided to separate the tub and frame. I cut all of the exterior tack welds and found A LOT more of them on the crosmembers and frame rails, some of which you can't get to with a side grinder. I used a Dremel tool to cut those - until I ran out of cutoff disks. Then I abandoned the tub and started blasting the running gear. I got that and the wheels blasted inside and out. I will go through the brakes and bearings/seals when I get everything back together. I laid down 2 coats of red oxide on the running gear, but ran out before I could do the wheels. I am going to stop by the store and pick up some spray bomb red oxide and tape for the wheels tomorrow. I go back to work tomorrow night, so I guess the wheels will be the last thing I do this week. I guess I will jump back on the tub next week and decide then whether to replace the whole floor or repair what I have! Stay tuned.

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

[wilfreeman]

Yeah, it was put on the backburner for the winter and until after the Denton show. I am currently working on some upgrades on the deuce, and then have a few things to do to the Jeep before the show. Maybe I will get back to the M100 in the Spring. I did get the running gear painted and the frame separated from the tub before I quit working on it.

 

[Whiterabbit]

Looks like most jobs..
The more you dig the deeper you get, but it looks like a great little trailer.
I hate rust!

 

[wilfreeman]

Ain't that the truth! My spare chassis frame is in better shape than this one - I might just use it instead. I can't seem to locate the place that had the $159 (shipped) floor pan - I looked for hours last night. I guess I should've bookmarked it - DUH! Now, the cheapest place I can find them is Bensinger, and they want $300 + $98 shipping! Luckily, my father in law makes a couple of trips up there each year for business, so the shipping won't be a factor.

I cut the frame off when I was planning on buying the new $159 floor, so now it has holes where all of the spot welds were - YES, I am a dumba**! I could've repaired the floor - probably still can, but it won't look great. Might as well go ahead and blow another $300 and make it right (and worth more).

 

[RodUSMC1962]

Great project , we pulled m-100 trailers with mighty mites when I was in the Corps in the 60`s. Most of these trailers have been outside most of their lives, lucky to be as good shape they are in. I got an m-416 trailer free when I bought one of my mites. Got over $800 in blasting, paint, tires, tarp, bearings ,did all the work myself and my buddie painted it. You will have a great looking trailer whaen done!

 

[wilfreeman]

Mine didn't have quite as much rust when I bought it. It has been stored outside with a tarp over it (with bows like a covered wagon). I guess sitting there for 6 yrs with no air circulation did as much damage as leaving it open to the elements. I know what you mean - I bought the trailer for $200. By the time I figure in blasting (done by me - $100 materials), floor panel, painting, wiring, canvas, tires, and other stuff, my $200 trailer will cost me around $1,400. Still much better than $2,000, but people wonder why these "original", restored trailers are so expensive!

I hope she will turn out to be a useable, good condition piece - not a "for show" piece though.

 

[wilfreeman]

I bought a trailer floor from Bensinger for $300. My father in law was in the area last week on business, so he picked it up for me to save $100 shipping. I was finally able to get out to the shop today to look at it a little closer today.

​

- the metal thickness (without having a metal thickness gauge) is .062", which equals about 16ga? Seems to be plenty heavy enough. I forget what the factory floor measured.

​

- The end and side edges are turned up and down 1" like the original.
- It didn't include the floor drain plug retainers, although MD Juan says they are included.
- It includes the spot welded on center cross member on the back.
- The drain covers are square instead of rounded like original.

​

- The edges of the panel where the ribs and drains are located are cut and re welded - I am guessing that when stamping or rolling the ribs deformed the panel and it had to be cut and re welded to to straighten it out.

​

I won't know how it fits until I start fitting it on my trailer tub. I will update then.

 

[wilfreeman]

I started on replacing the floor today. I got the old one cut out and the rust cut out of the front panel and new metal put back in. This was the only day I could work on it this week off, so I am a little disappointed in the progress, but I WILL have the new floor in next week when I get off!

All I have to do now is cut the turn downs (lips) off of the sides and one end of the new floor - the measurements are almost exact. This should give me enough room to slide the floor down onto the ledge I left of the old floor - leaving a minute gap between the tub walls and floor. Then I can screw the floor down to the ledge to prepare for plug welding. I will have some finish work to do on the front replacement metal to make it look pretty though.

P.S. - Thank God for a plasma cutter! This little bit of work would've taken me all day to do without it.

 

[oddave715]

The process date stencil would have been when the trailer was processed. I have seen several other trailers with similar markings. If it was an early enough M100, could it have been initially assigned a wwii style number? My M416 had yellow zinc chromate primer originally. Can't remember on the m100 I had.

 

[wilfreeman]

Cool! Thanks for the info. Any idea what the C.M. ALMVSS under the process date could be? If the process date is correct, it would be a later model, so I wouldn't think it would have a ww2 style #. I don't know what to make of all the different clues - ww2 style tub #, 1954 process date stencil, early intervehicular cable socket on the front, metal Douglas connector wiring harness that looked original, cable box removed, still had chains & hooks. The original serial # plate was replaced with one that had a serial # of 500. I think this trailer was restored and put back together with a bunch of mottled crap. The only thing I am truly wondering about us the tub # - it was on several layers of paint.

 

[oddave715]

Maybe process date was a transfer from army to usaf, just a thought. There are so many possibilities you may never know.

 

[oddave715]

AFPEO/CM for Services

Welcome to the Program Executive Office for Combat and Mission Support (PEO/CM) also known as PEO Services. Contract services are essential to sustaining and maintaining the Air Force mission. From a budget and acquisition standpoint, contract services are outpacing hardware purchases. The business of contract services is growing in complexity and undergoing significant scrutiny from many sources. While the opportunities are tremendous, the challenges are significant as the DoD works to position resources, skills, training, policies, and processes to manage services acquisitions to the same degree as product acquisitions, as the law requires. To read more about us, click here.

 

[oddave715]

Found this:

AFPEO/CM for Services

Welcome to the Program Executive Office for Combat and Mission Support (PEO/CM) also known as PEO Services. Contract services are essential to sustaining and maintaining the Air Force mission. From a budget and acquisition standpoint, contract services are outpacing hardware purchases. The business of contract services is growing in complexity and undergoing significant scrutiny from many sources. While the opportunities are tremendous, the challenges are significant as the DoD works to position resources, skills, training, policies, and processes to manage services acquisitions to the same degree as product acquisitions, as the law requires. To read more about us, click here.

http://ww3.safaq.hq.af.mil/organizations/peo/