New V-100

[M813rc]

How does that phrase go? "With friends like these..."

Let me check the guest list Tim, if you are on it no need to pack anything, you will be issued a pair of acid-free gloves, a clean-suit and a pair of boot covers before approaching the vehicle.

Seriously though, this is to be a driver, not a museum piece. I will try to keep it nice, but not immaculate. I will be walking around on top of it to get in/out and to service it, and I don't intend to take my boots off to do so.

That said, it is not going to be open to the general public to crawl through or on. Too many things to break/steal/bang your head on. The sticky handed little nose-pickers who could break an anvil will be kept outside!
People I know and polite kids who know how to treat someone's property with respect are welcome to poke about the interior (I am specifically including your youngling here, Barrman).

Cheers

 

[Elwenil]

Hmm, I wonder how big of a deal it would be to get a roll of rubber matting similar to a truck bed mat and cut it up for some custom floor mats? That way you wouldn't have to worry about tearing the paint up on the floors and can pull them out for shows. Just a thought.

 

[wgtactical]

We use this type product for all our floor mat applications. Looks great, easy on the knees, and allows full ventilation of the floor. (no trapped water to cause problems)
WEARWELL® Worksafe™ Drainage Mat, 3'W x 5'L, 60340 - Lab Safety Supply

 

[reloader64]

After having made a snide comment involving the Loch Ness monster a year or so ago, all I can say now is "WOW!!!!" It looks fantastic. I can't wait to see it out moving.

Scott

 

[baseballump]

First it looks great. And if your paint job and paint are half as good as what came on them in the 60s it will hold it well. We repainted a couple of our Vs with brushs out in the open and the wind blowing sand all over it. The painted dried with in minutes as we were in the sun and it was about 100 degress. The vehicle was over 120 degress.

 

[M813rc]

Hopefully the paint will hold up. It is Gillespie, and I have had good luck with that stuff on my other vehicles.
The primer coats were thick and had a good...ahem...drying time (like several years!). Three coats of green, then the camo.
A few days of hardening in the paint booth then a day in the Texas sun should have baked it pretty good.
We'll see...

The V100 manual says to paint the floors inside with a non-skid surface, but rather than do that I was already planning to use rubber matting as suggested.
Earl had cut rubber mats from sheet to fit his V, and they looked good and worked well while being easily removed for cleaning. They had a diamond-plate tread pattern for good traction. You don't want to slip inside a V, lots of rather hard and pointy bits to whack yourself on.
I like WGTac's idea of 'holey' matting, specifically for not trapping moisture, I will look into that.

Update on my boot camp boy - He has gained 20 pounds so far and on rifle qualification shot high Expert. He was the second highest shooter in his series, which is four platoons. The top shooter beat him by one point. My kids, including my daughter, grew up shooting and I wouldn't want to be downrange of any of them if they had a grudge to settle!

Cheers

Photo - Earl's V, showing the mat. There is a loose interior panel sitting on the floor near the hatch, that is is not a cut-out in the mat.

.

 

[EZFEED]

HEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYY that looks nice! Do that Rory! The heck with sticking to 100% original, an improvement like that would be most welcome.

 

[EZFEED]

Would you put a strip above the backrest too? For head bump protection.

 

[M813rc]

I will go with the mats, but no extra pads at head level. Head banging protection will be as in Pic 1 below...

I did recently look at a preserved V100 which had all hull interior flat surfaces, including the ceiling, covered with foam padding. It had some other interesting modifications inside and out. The interior was observed through a missing side gun port, so a somewhat restricted view (pic 2).
I have received permission to get inside to properly document the interior, just a matter of getting back to it to do so.

Cheers

 

[EZFEED]

Hmmm that looks kinda crappy, don't think I'd do like that. It was probably installed to protect from spalling maybe?

That padding type though is no good. I can see what it is, the ribbed surface in the pic. I guess it is a common type of foam used but man....that stuff is junk. You were talking about the mats sweating previousley, well that stuff does that. The Lizard had that under the seats and installed as a pad between the fuel tanks and deck and when separated it was pure rust.

I know it needs to stay white inside but if I had one I'd pad the entry ways. I keep banging my head on the area above the door on mine and I'm about ready to Rhino line the inside of the whole thing. I wana say they do make a white?

 

[Danger Ranger]

Rhino-liner? Won't that just give you a design on your head? Hard stuff...lol.

 

[baseballump]

TRUST ME AFTER YOU HIT YOU HEAD A COUPLE OF TIMES YOU WATCH WHAT YOU ARE DOING. pLUS IT ONLY HURTS A LITTLE.

 

[EZFEED]

Well maybe Rhino line isn't the one I'm thinking of? The stuff I'm thinking of can be sprayed on 1/4" thick and it's kinda soft with a bubbly look. Comes in red, blue, green, white, and black.I mean it is kinda hard, but not hard like bumping your head on steel.

Last bad storm, I was winching a couple who had run off the road into a ditch on the main road. On the Lizard there are supposed to be two people working the winch, one at the control, and one in the cab to regulate PTO speed. I think it's like a 30K lb winch. Anyway doing it single handedly requires fast moving or else the yoke will try to pull through the armor deck and the result is a sheared pin. In and out of the cab fast = a large lump and dang near knocked myself out, kinda wheezy when I got on my feet, 10mm compressed chrome moly armor plate isn't too forgiving lol. Also when hauling grain or hay I seem to get knocked around pretty good.

I'm all for originality, but c'mon....we're not going to war with them. Some creature comforts should be allowed if they are drivers/workers.

 

[M813rc]

Personally EZ, I think if it is your vehicle, do what makes you happy with it. Particularly if it is something that can be reversed. If you chose to sell the Lizard later and the new owner wanted originality, it would be fairly simple to strip that liner back out.
I'd also be interested to see how your spray liner works out, since I don't have originality issues to deal with when I start restoring the XM704. I bet you get some sound attenuation and insulation benefits too.

Or maybe we should just take up a collection (the "Save EZ's Noggin Fund") and buy you a CVC!

My experience in the M-1A last summer gave me a true appreciation for the CVC helmet and the padded elbows on my shirt. There are so many opportunities to whang off the various bits inside that tank while going cross country at speed. I also would have appreciated one of those maxilofacial shields (is that how you spell that??) when I tried to knock the GPS mount in front of the loaders hatch off with my jaw. Didn't know a 70 ton vehicle could stop THAT fast!!

Cheers

 

[EZFEED]

HAHAHA! Well how many sharp points are there in the V? I know you have that fiberglass center part. Are there lot's of sharp corners in it?

Those mats with holes look great! Discovered we have them in the workshops here at work and sure nuff water won't collect in the holes. Cool stuff!
If you did have to clean the inside, are the drain holes easy to get to?

 

[jimk]

HAHAHA! Well how many sharp points are there in the V? <cut>

It depends on how old you are.

 

[M813rc]

HAHAHA! Well how many sharp points are there in the V? I know you have that fiberglass center part. Are there lot's of sharp corners in it?

If you did have to clean the inside, are the drain holes easy to get to?

The fiberglass cover over the transfer case actually has nicely rounded corners, so you don't tear a kneecap off or anything if you run into it.
The wheelwell corners are pretty pointy though, and there are lots of pointy bits on the turret basket, what with the ammo trays and boxes sticking out and such. Add to that various hatch release handles and cross members in the ceiling, axle cross tunnels, the center tunnel, fire extinguishers, grenade boxes, etc.

According to Jim's diagram, there will be lots of pokey bits inside the V, but perhaps a lack of sharp bits mounted on the driver's seat!

The drain holes in the floor are easy to get at, and big enough (most around an inch) to be useful. There is one under the engine that is maybe 4" across, used to drain the engine oil. It has a raised edge around it, so not much good for draining water out, but there is a flush one near it.

Pretty much everything in the V is reasonably accessible, it was well thought out.

Cheers

PS - the drain plug is 3.5"

 

[EZFEED]

Most impressive Rory!!!!!

 

[M813rc]

Well, work on the V has progressed to the point that there was no longer a reason to keep taking up valuable space in Earl's shop. Time for another Sarge and Rory road trip!
Other than the last minute entertainment involved in getting something to haul the V on, this trip was rather uneventful. There were no fire extinguishers or rounds expended, no fire trucks or state troopers involved, and everything ended up on the farm in the condition we wanted it in.

Yesterday Sarge, Paddy (my youngest), and I went up and brought Nessie home. Hard to believe the day has finally come, but it did. Still lots of little things to do, but she is basically ready to display.

Even though Pawnshop's M1009 hasn't been pink for years, she is still referred to as Pinky. Nicknames being what they are, I think the V is now apparently stuck with Nessie. Could be worse. I'll put a little Loch Ness Monster on it somewhere for those who are in on the joke.

Cheers

Pic 1- Current state
Pic 2- Loaded up behind Sarge's truck
Pic 3- The recovery crew. Paddy, Sarge, me, Earl
.

 

[airmech3839]

Sweet!!! Nice ride!! I am impressed!! Have fun with it!!