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Where did you get the rubber track? I would guess either SECO or Sam Weiner????
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Rubber track install
- Thread starter wehring
- Start date
wehring
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tracks
Thanks LB... Tim & Mrs Pam always put on a great rally.
This track kit was a retail purchase. I have never seen a kit come across the surplus channels. I have more in the tracks than I do the machine but they are necessary for this project.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
Thanks LB... Tim & Mrs Pam always put on a great rally.
This track kit was a retail purchase. I have never seen a kit come across the surplus channels. I have more in the tracks than I do the machine but they are necessary for this project.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
L999here
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....why...?
Speaking from bitter experience....why did you opt for rubber tracks...? In my experience,putting rubber pads on the existing steel tracks would have been cheaper,easier to assemble and maintain. And they are legal for road use...at least in most mid-west states. I do have an FV432.....see avatar...with rubber pads on the tracks. And I applaud your decision to 'hole' the wheels. Makes it much easier to clean up after a mud-bath....LOL.
Speaking from bitter experience....why did you opt for rubber tracks...? In my experience,putting rubber pads on the existing steel tracks would have been cheaper,easier to assemble and maintain. And they are legal for road use...at least in most mid-west states. I do have an FV432.....see avatar...with rubber pads on the tracks. And I applaud your decision to 'hole' the wheels. Makes it much easier to clean up after a mud-bath....LOL.
wehring
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Live tracks
I decided to go with the rubber tracks for three main reasons:
1. Better performance (braking, flotation, acceleration) than steel track due to 1/2 the weight. Much quieter and much less vibration.
2. Even with pads the edge of the steel tracks leave light marks on the road in uneven areas like pulling off of a road onto a driveway.
3. most of the links in my live track are dead. 5 bushings per grouser x 64 grousers per side = too much work.
In truth I added the holes because I like how it looks but mud removal has been discovered as a plus now that I have taken apart my "clean" road wheels. They were PACKED with mud even though I cleaned the machine for this conversion.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
I decided to go with the rubber tracks for three main reasons:
1. Better performance (braking, flotation, acceleration) than steel track due to 1/2 the weight. Much quieter and much less vibration.
2. Even with pads the edge of the steel tracks leave light marks on the road in uneven areas like pulling off of a road onto a driveway.
3. most of the links in my live track are dead. 5 bushings per grouser x 64 grousers per side = too much work.
In truth I added the holes because I like how it looks but mud removal has been discovered as a plus now that I have taken apart my "clean" road wheels. They were PACKED with mud even though I cleaned the machine for this conversion.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
wehring
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Parts
OK the correct parts have been ordered. Things are moving along...
Thinking about buying a stud puller/pusher. I have 80 studs to change out when they arrive and the last 40 we changed took half of a day. Gotta be a better way. They are 5/8" studs.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
OK the correct parts have been ordered. Things are moving along...
Thinking about buying a stud puller/pusher. I have 80 studs to change out when they arrive and the last 40 we changed took half of a day. Gotta be a better way. They are 5/8" studs.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
wehring
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Road Wheels with holes
Just saw a video of an Aussie M113 with holes in the road wheels. It is a 2:20 into the video
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc1a9vo2oo0&feature=g-vrec[/media]
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
Just saw a video of an Aussie M113 with holes in the road wheels. It is a 2:20 into the video
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc1a9vo2oo0&feature=g-vrec[/media]
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
wehring
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Drama.... got to bob a tracked machine.
Well this is a new one... got to bob a tracked machine.
OK folks. It is clear to me that Mr. Murphy LOVES driving the XM474. This is one of the most snake bit projects I have worked on in a LONG time. This rubber track conversion has been HARD. Ready for the venting session...
This is the 3rd time I have attempted to install one of the bands. Each attempt illuminated another challenge... to include wrong stud length and wrong spacer thickness. I sourced studs from Canada and spacers from AZ. Now all is well with the kit. I put in the correct length studs and spacers so the road wheels are now good to go. The drive sprockets went on great too. When I attempted to finalize the right side install I could not get the band track around the idler wheel. It was not even close!
Left to come to Yuma for work and was looking at pics on the plane... ****. This machine is of the M113 family but there are different wheelbase lengths for different models!!!! I pulled tech pubs and found that (of the 5 road wheel machines) there are two lengths... 105" and 111". These numbers are for the road wheels only. This machine has an extra 3" on each side of the center road wheel = +6" and the band track was made for the 105" M113s. The band is one piece so you cannot simply add a link. Ref the two pics. The M113 has equal space between each road wheel and mine has extra gaps on each side of the center road wheel. All missile carrier (Lance, hawk, pershing) variants and the M548 has this extra space. M113s do not. There are no band tracks for the 111" machines.
As I sit here in the hotel I have pondered one of 2 solutions. Give up and sell the kit or cut the body and remove 6". I have invested 2 years in the acquisition of this (finally complete) band track conversion kit and even jumped through hoops to get a Texas license plate and registration for this machine in anticipation of a full rubber track conversion. Nope... can't quit now.
I spent the day on the phone with our SS heavy hitters that cut/weld/fabricate alloy armor and I feel that I am ready to begin the bob job when I get home.
The rubber track kit will end up on this machine and in service soon! Wish me luck. Any words of caution are appreciated.
1. Build jig
2. cut behind center road wheel, remove 3" and reattach.
3. cut in front of center road wheel, remove 3" and reattach
4. Have it done for fair parade on Oct 13th.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
Well this is a new one... got to bob a tracked machine.
OK folks. It is clear to me that Mr. Murphy LOVES driving the XM474. This is one of the most snake bit projects I have worked on in a LONG time. This rubber track conversion has been HARD. Ready for the venting session...
This is the 3rd time I have attempted to install one of the bands. Each attempt illuminated another challenge... to include wrong stud length and wrong spacer thickness. I sourced studs from Canada and spacers from AZ. Now all is well with the kit. I put in the correct length studs and spacers so the road wheels are now good to go. The drive sprockets went on great too. When I attempted to finalize the right side install I could not get the band track around the idler wheel. It was not even close!
Left to come to Yuma for work and was looking at pics on the plane... ****. This machine is of the M113 family but there are different wheelbase lengths for different models!!!! I pulled tech pubs and found that (of the 5 road wheel machines) there are two lengths... 105" and 111". These numbers are for the road wheels only. This machine has an extra 3" on each side of the center road wheel = +6" and the band track was made for the 105" M113s. The band is one piece so you cannot simply add a link. Ref the two pics. The M113 has equal space between each road wheel and mine has extra gaps on each side of the center road wheel. All missile carrier (Lance, hawk, pershing) variants and the M548 has this extra space. M113s do not. There are no band tracks for the 111" machines.
As I sit here in the hotel I have pondered one of 2 solutions. Give up and sell the kit or cut the body and remove 6". I have invested 2 years in the acquisition of this (finally complete) band track conversion kit and even jumped through hoops to get a Texas license plate and registration for this machine in anticipation of a full rubber track conversion. Nope... can't quit now.
I spent the day on the phone with our SS heavy hitters that cut/weld/fabricate alloy armor and I feel that I am ready to begin the bob job when I get home.
The rubber track kit will end up on this machine and in service soon! Wish me luck. Any words of caution are appreciated.
1. Build jig
2. cut behind center road wheel, remove 3" and reattach.
3. cut in front of center road wheel, remove 3" and reattach
4. Have it done for fair parade on Oct 13th.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
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wb1895
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How much play do you have in the rear idler track tensioner. I know with the bradleys there is about 4 inches of play that we use to tighten or losten the tracks.
Is there anyway to possibly use that or modify the rear idler wheel to compensate for the shorter track???
Last edited:
wehring
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Idler wheel
I removed the adjuster from the idler wheel hub to allow full movement. Still cant get it over the bare hub. Remember... 6" of body = 12" of track! I even looked at moving just the idler wheel but the only way to make it look as-factory is to remove the material on both sides of the center wheel.
On another note... the M113 family has different tracks for each side. The Right side has 106 grousers and the left has 105! I called Soucy and asked why and it is because of the torsion bar arrangement.
All of this is a non-issue with link track because you can add/remove as necessary. Band track is not so forgiving.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
I removed the adjuster from the idler wheel hub to allow full movement. Still cant get it over the bare hub. Remember... 6" of body = 12" of track! I even looked at moving just the idler wheel but the only way to make it look as-factory is to remove the material on both sides of the center wheel.
On another note... the M113 family has different tracks for each side. The Right side has 106 grousers and the left has 105! I called Soucy and asked why and it is because of the torsion bar arrangement.
All of this is a non-issue with link track because you can add/remove as necessary. Band track is not so forgiving.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
wb1895
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Well, I'm outta ideas................
wehring
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thanks
Thanks for the idea. I appreciate you for considering the help/idea.
Justin Wehring
Thanks for the idea. I appreciate you for considering the help/idea.
Justin Wehring
gimpyrobb
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Wow, I don't envy you this time! Thats such a hard decision, I will have to respect whichever you do(I know you decided already).
wehring
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use vs history
I battled with useability vs history on this one. There are only 2 of these in private hands in the US. I know of 2 others on military bases in the US.
In truth... I have had this machine for years and I would not have known of the different dimensions if I had not attempted this conversion. Unlike the deuce bob jobs this mod will not be easily identified during a walkaround. You will really need to know what to look for to see that it has been altered and with only 4 in the country there are few folks that will know what to look for anyways.
This is my most used vehicle and it will be used even more when it can be taken to town without the drama of leaving marks on the road. It will bring MANY more folks joy by exposure than it would if it were restricted to the property. This will be taken to town weekly for outings.
In the end I decided that a modified vehicle that is used more often is better than an original that sits.
I believe that had I not posted this info here it would have been unlikely that the topic would have ever come up at MV shows etc.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
I battled with useability vs history on this one. There are only 2 of these in private hands in the US. I know of 2 others on military bases in the US.
In truth... I have had this machine for years and I would not have known of the different dimensions if I had not attempted this conversion. Unlike the deuce bob jobs this mod will not be easily identified during a walkaround. You will really need to know what to look for to see that it has been altered and with only 4 in the country there are few folks that will know what to look for anyways.
This is my most used vehicle and it will be used even more when it can be taken to town without the drama of leaving marks on the road. It will bring MANY more folks joy by exposure than it would if it were restricted to the property. This will be taken to town weekly for outings.
In the end I decided that a modified vehicle that is used more often is better than an original that sits.
I believe that had I not posted this info here it would have been unlikely that the topic would have ever come up at MV shows etc.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
salt6
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Just move the track ajuster and reaar idealer wheel. You would only have to drill some holes. Lots less work than cutting the body.
Or you coild just buy a couple of crates of pads and go with the orginal sysyem.
Or you coild just buy a couple of crates of pads and go with the orginal sysyem.
wehring
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tracks...
Yes, We have a pile of track pads. Fresh off of the Goodyear production line. However, this conversion has become an obsession.
Here are some pics to show how the rubber tracks will not fit. Since these pics I have removed one of the track bump plates in the trackwell and have conducted some welding tests. I am taking a piece to have it tested so I know (for sure) what alloy composes the hull.
The first cut is pending the outcome of the material test and acquisition of the proper welding spools.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
Yes, We have a pile of track pads. Fresh off of the Goodyear production line. However, this conversion has become an obsession.
Here are some pics to show how the rubber tracks will not fit. Since these pics I have removed one of the track bump plates in the trackwell and have conducted some welding tests. I am taking a piece to have it tested so I know (for sure) what alloy composes the hull.
The first cut is pending the outcome of the material test and acquisition of the proper welding spools.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
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L1A1
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Seems like your doing an awful lot of work to a vehicle that you have up for sale (over on Dave U's site). There was another one of these cargo carriers for sale over on ebay a while ago. It was out of Cali (& still 383 CARC green)
Matt
Matt
wehring
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Dave...
I don't really care if I sell it. It is a lot of fun. After this conversion the price will change from $60K to $95K. The track kit alone is $40K from Soucy in Canada.
The only other one I know of in private hands is camo and was also on Dave's site. It is now in a museum and in good hands.
After this track conversion, I plan on upgrading to the A3 crossdrive and 5.9 Cummins.
All of this is to entertain civic groups (boy scouts, VFW, etc) and myself by running around town and raising awareness of their cause and our hobby.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
I don't really care if I sell it. It is a lot of fun. After this conversion the price will change from $60K to $95K. The track kit alone is $40K from Soucy in Canada.
The only other one I know of in private hands is camo and was also on Dave's site. It is now in a museum and in good hands.
After this track conversion, I plan on upgrading to the A3 crossdrive and 5.9 Cummins.
All of this is to entertain civic groups (boy scouts, VFW, etc) and myself by running around town and raising awareness of their cause and our hobby.
Justin Wehring
979 997 3112
Jbrowning22
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LOL, looks like its almost on! Can't you just drive on? (only half serious as I know nothing about tracks, but I do subscribe to the "if it don't fit....force it" school of thought on most things).