V100 Restoration Project

[commando-72]

You do super work, that looks great. I think I may know where the "sister vehicle in Texas" is...

Here is a picture from the 720th.

Cheers

Thanks Rory, I do know that my hull is in good company. We'll have to get the Sistas back together one day.

 

[commando-72]

Ok, time for some major body work. This time on the 120mm entry wound. The impact knocked out the winch bay, right front wheel well and a good chunk of the 1/2" thick floor. After I stripped the paint, I discovered that the impact also put a pretty good bow in the top armor plate. I had to cut all this out. I was very fortunate the integrity of the fuel tank was not affected. The green stuff is cardboard (steel templates). I was very happy how this turned out.

 

[M813rc]

Man, you should be happy! You will have one fine machine. This is really fun to watch, keep 'em coming.

Cheers.

 

[superburban]

commando-72,
I know you are restoring for historical reasons, not for combat, but I was just curious as to what the patched in bits do to the strength of the structure? I mean to ask: Are the fixes cosmetic only, or are they "good as new"?

 

[commando-72]

commando-72,
I know you are restoring for historical reasons, not for combat, but I was just curious as to what the patched in bits do to the strength of the structure? I mean to ask: Are the fixes cosmetic only, or are they "good as new"?

I'm not restoring for historical reasons. I just want a bad-a$$ second car . The patchwork is NOT cosmetic. It's all structural repair. I'm using 1/4" and 1/2" thick 4130 Chrome-moly steel plate. While not an exotic armor material, the 4130 is just as structually sound as the original material, perhaps even more so since it can flex a little where the armor would just crack. The 4130 will not be as resistant to high velocity penetration as the Cad-Aloy, but it will be good enough (especially with the Commando's oblique angles.) When I'm done, it will be as good as or better than new.

 

[superburban]

I didn't word my question very well, but you answered it right on. Thanks.

 

[Offroadfabworks]

LOL. That is a mans second car that will not be held up in traffic

 

[jimk]

The factory welds are softer than the armor. They create vulnerable areas. Most welds on the side(s) have ballistic backup strips, visible on the inside. This may be why the side panels are one piece, then bent.

The damage looks like the result of a rampant AP projectile (aka solid shot). The HEAT and HEP projectiles both detonate on contact... APFSDS (penetrators) have very small cross section. It's possible, perhaps even likely, that a inert TP (Target Practice) projectile of some type did it, perhaps from a field or SP artillery.

Here is a picture of the only 120mm MBT AP projectile I know of. It was used by the Army /Marines M103 Heavy Tank, and in service until 1974. The round is M358 and weighs a whopping 54 lbs. I believe it used a separate case. It has a ballistic windscreen. It is hard to tell if it is capped but I think not. This was the end of the road for solid shot AP tank gun technology - the gun got to big.

The APCSDS-T show next to it is a Abram's 120mm Target Practice sabot, similar to the current combat projectile , though cone stabilized to reduce range , shorter penetrator length and no depleted uranium inside. JimK


AP (Armor Piercing)
APC (AP Capped)
APCBC (APC w/Ballistic Cap)
HEAT (High Explosive Anti - Tank- aka a shaped charge )
HEP (High Explosive Plastic- aka HESH Squash Head)
APFSDS (Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot)
APCSDS-T (AP Cone Stabilized Discarding Sabot Tracer)

The M1A1 and M1A2 MBT's 120mm gun uses a variety of penetrators , HEAT, canister, and practice rounds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M103_heavy_tank

 

[commando-72]

Great info and cool pics.

Thanks!

 

[wgtactical]

You're doing some fine work commando-72

 

[commando-72]

Here's the repair of the right side, just behind the right front wheel well. This was done before the wheel well itself was cut away, (I needed some solid structure to jack against before cutting away any more steel). Note the smaller patch, (one of many 25mm entry wounds).

 

[commando-72]

You're doing some fine work commando-72

Thanks, I appreciate that! But you ain't seen nothing yet. Stay tuned.

 

[bigbee]

Does anyone have a count on how many Cadillac-Gage V100/M706 series are in private hands? That would be a reunion to see!

 

[commando-72]

I'm not sure exactly how many V100/M706s are out there in private hands. I know it's not many. No more than a dozen or so I think.
__________________________________________________________________

The last major structural repair.... This next series of photos highlights how I dealt with the last "bit" of damage resulting from the large projectile entering through the winch bay and exiting out the right front wheel well. Removal of the large plate revealed several little cracks around the axle tunnel that were easy enough to fix. After the repairs were complete, I removed all the old leaf springs and welded 1/4" thick doublers on all eight of the hard points. I'll be running with some extra weight and stiffer springs so I thought it would be a good idea to "beef it up".

 

[maddawg308]

Running with extra weight, more than stock? What do you plan on putting on that V-100, an armored turret and a 105?

 

[Floyd]

Ya gotta love this site. Watching the dead come back to life. Fantastic work Commando.

Floyd

 

[commando-72]

Running with extra weight, more than stock? What do you plan on putting on that V-100, an armored turret and a 105?

Funny you should mention an armored turret...... Here's a pic on top of the V100. Note the chalk line.......

 

[saddamsnightmare]

August 16th, 2008.

If the armor's brittle, you might not want to play bumper tag with a deuce!!! As a blacksmith, it always interests me in finding out how various steels/alloys age, and given the various impacts your V-100 had on the range, I'd say just about any one of those hits would've made life interesting for the crew without added interior armor backings in the hit area. Of course, the IED's used today threaten about every type of armored and all the unarmored vehicles, so I hope the newer version(s) of the V-100 have been up armored.
Congratulations on saving a Vietnam War veteran that no doubt saw some skirmishes over there, my deuce may have run in one of it's escorted convoys, as no doubt many other members trucks did also. The platework repairs are excellent.... how did you get the even radius's in the curved corner plates, and what are you doing to destress the areas of the welds after the fact??? On one locomotive frame (steam) that had to be rewelded, they used high intensity heat lamps to destress the frame after welding.... I wonder if that might not have worked on your vehicle's welds? Do keep us up on the restoration work... as all of us are likely to gain some insights and enlightenment that we can apply on our own machines (armored or not).
A definite ,

Sincerely,

Kyle F. McGrogan

1971 Kaiser Jeep M35A2 Wo/W "Saddam's Nightmare" Desert Storm and Vietnam Veteran deuce
1968 Johnson Corp M105A2 Cargo Trailer
1967 Hercules MEP023A Gas Gen Set APU
1963 Swiss Army Cargo Unimog

 

[roger-wilco-66]

It looks so easy and clean on the pictures, but I know this is a difficult and time consuming job you are up to.
Great work, I really look forward to see more of the progression!



Cheers,
Mark

 

[commando-72]

August 16th, 2008.

Congratulations on saving a Vietnam War veteran that no doubt saw some skirmishes over there, my deuce may have run in one of it's escorted convoys, as no doubt many other members trucks did also. The platework repairs are excellent.... how did you get the even radius's in the curved corner plates, and what are you doing to destress the areas of the welds after the fact??? On one locomotive frame (steam) that had to be rewelded, they used high intensity heat lamps to destress the frame after welding.... I wonder if that might not have worked on your vehicle's welds? Do keep us up on the restoration work... as all of us are likely to gain some insights and enlightenment that we can apply on our own machines (armored or not).
A definite ,

Sincerely,

Kyle F. McGrogan

Thanks Kyle,

I wasn’t too worried about any critical stress issues with the welding. The geometry of the vehicle is such that loads and stresses are pretty well distributed. Most of the work was low stress non-distorting welding (LSND). However, I did take prudent steps to normalize (de-stress) the welds where appropriate.

The process of welding on both sides of the patch has worked out very well. Once I completed an exterior weld, I’d move inside and run another bead. This second heating would de-stress the previous weld on the opposite side. In some cases I media-blasted or used my needle gun in between the two welds to de-stress and clean the surface.

There were a few cracks and “sprung” pieces of armor I had to deal with a little differently. I simply pre-heated the armor with a torch then I’d start my weld. I also had to use my media-blaster and needle gun to prep the surface more often due to contamination/residue from the torch. The process of needle gunning after a high stress weld is supposed to normalize it pretty well.

I’ve learned a lot on the project. I didn’t even know how to weld before I got this hull. I had a certified welder show me some basics and I carried on from there. So far so good.

As far as matching the radius...
I made cardboard templates for all the patches then generated a computer drawing. I had the plates laser cut at a local steel mill. On the flat pieces, the radius would already be match-cut according to the template/drawing. Where the plates needed to be physically bent to match the rolled edge of the armor, I made a radius template out of plywood and the mill bent the steel in their press.