Steel Soldiers MV of the month 2024 - April VOTE HERE!

[patracy]

Welcome to the MV of the month poll sponsored by Consolidated Press. If you need decals, magnets, stencils, or anything printing related, please give them a call!

Now, onto the vote! Please vote for MV of the month! Feel free to campaign in this thread, but please keep it here and not via PM.

1. biscuitwhistler37

2. SCM35A2

3. DeMilitarized

4. Gunny 0369

 

[Gunny 0369]

Nope
Gunny put the Welbike in there.
The M38 is in court for a recount after couple months ago.

 

[Gunny 0369]

4. Gunny 0369

I have something that you will never see again, and probably never heard of.
Its a 1941 WELBIKE, a foldable mini motorcycle with a Villiers petrol motor.
These were designed in Britain by the SAS and later transferred to paratrooper units to be air dropped in cannisters with the troops.
There appears to be less than 60 known original running bikes.
My grandfather bought this one surplus in 1949. and used it as a travelling salesman. He sold filters out of a Aerocoupe in which he flew to local farms in the Midwest, landing locally, unpacking the Welbike from the plane and collecting orders door to door. Top speed was around 40 mph.
My plans are to restore it, ride it, and break my neck.

 

[Gunny 0369]

The Welbike was a British single-seat folding motorcycle produced during World War II at the direction of station IX — the "Inter Services Research Bureau" — based at Welwyr , UK, for use by (SOE) Special operations executive, It has the distinction of being the smallest motorcycle ever used by the British Armed Forces.
Between 1942 and 1943, 3,641 units (plus a prototype and some pilot models) were built and, although not much used by the SOE, some were issued to the British 1st and 6th airborne divisions and some were used at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden.

The Italians, Germans and Americans also developed small motorcycles for their airborne forces during World War II.

These are some rare bikes, and not many originals are left. There is actually a british company that makes these *new and sells them.
you are voting on an original!!
This little bikes up against those Titan Goliaths this round!
enjoy these pictures.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Thisis going to be a challenging month.....

Let's see all your best Campaign Pitches so we can be INFORMED VOTERS!!!



Carry on.

 

[SCM35A2]

Here is my 1964 M35 A1/A2 w/winch truck, was converted over to an M2 model/multi-fuel in the late 80’s. I have owned the truck now for 5 years. The truck was in decent condition when I got her, so I started with the mechanical stuff to get her road ready. I pulled off all the wheels, removed 40 plus years of paint & repainted them. While doing that all of the brake components were replaced-(wheel cylinders, bearings, seals/gaskets, all hoses, master cylinder, rebuilt the air pack, brake shoes-all) & added a brake fluid reservoir kit to the inside of the truck. Other mechanic parts replaced was the entire exhaust system from the turbo back, speedometer/tachometer cables, gauge grounds, all filters-(oil/fuel/air), front axle boots, belts & removed the old axle vents & replaced them with ¼ fittings that allowed me to run the air lines up & away from them-(see pic). I also swapped out the old battery box for an updated/bigger plastic version so I could run two group 31 batteries along with all new cables & grounds. One last thing was to have the starter rebuilt & replaced the old solenoid. So now she starts, runs & stops!

Next I swapped out off the reflectors, headlights, air breather stack, mudflap guards/mudflaps-(semi-trailer) top winch plate & added a cover to it. Tailgate needed some new step handles & rear bushings so those were replaced as well too. Scored a vintage military issue Pioneer tool kit, so installed that along with all new hold down straps.

On the inside I’ve only done a few things such as new upper/lower passenger seat cushions, new pedal covers, shifter boot, new wiper motors & blades, starter push button, added a battery kill switch & new fire extinguisher.

The truck has the LDT-465-1D multi-fuel engine with the whistler c turbo & besides me completely taking it apart to clean/detail-paint everything its basically stock. The truck came with the non-air assisted transfer case, but however that has been since swapped out to the air powered model.

I just recently bought an M105 trailer to pull behind her & also have a tow bar that I plan to mount in the bed as well. As soon as I swap out the hard top on her for the better shape one I’m going to have a few rust spots fixed & repaint it.

 

[SCM35A2]

More pics, progress...

 

[SCM35A2]

Few more...

 

[SCM35A2]

Still going....

 

[SCM35A2]

Almost done....

 

[SCM35A2]

Last set....



She's not perfect for sure lol, but this was my first truck so I wanted to go "old school" plus its the type of truck my dad worked on & drove while he was in Vietnam. Good luck to everyone this month...Donny

 

[swiss]

@DeMilitarized (Dylan) has submitted his M931A2 for consideration. This story encapsulates our hobby and the unique members who make this site special. The journey of this truck began when it was acquired during one of the last sales by Gov Liquidation. It holds a deeper significance as it was the final project Ron Harris, also known as @73m819, was working on for me before his tragic passing. Many veteran members will undoubtedly reminisce upon seeing his name, while newer members continue to benefit from the wealth of knowledge he shared through his 12,196 posts on this site.

The day before Ron left to assist another member in transporting a truck down south, he excitedly called me after setting the bed on the truck for placement purposes, urging me to come over and witness the progress. Regrettably, that was the last time I saw him alive.

Following Ron's passing, both @DeMilitarized and I made a commitment to fulfill Ron's vision and complete the transformation of this truck into a dump truck, as he had desired. Dylan's fond memories of spending time at Ron's compound across town, listening to his stories and absorbing his knowledge about military trucks, fueled his passion for this project. Ron's influence has been deeply ingrained in Dylan over the years, becoming an integral part of his life. Dylan took the lead in the rebuild, redesign, and all aspects of building the truck, drawing both spiritual and mechanical guidance from Ron above.

After four arduous years and countless hours of work, we have finally realized our goal of creating a dump truck, thanks to Ron and the numerous other members on this site who contributed their expertise, parts, guidance, and support. Special thanks to @wheelspinner, who patiently assisted Dylan with engine tuning and provided many of the parts and components that contributed to the realization of this unique vehicle.

We would like to nominate this truck for April's truck of the month, but more importantly, we want to recognize and share that while the focus may be on the truck, it's truly the members of this site and the friendships formed here that enrich our lives.

Thank you all for your consideration. I'm confident Dylan will provide further technical details later, as he has done an outstanding job with this vehicle.

 

[swiss]

A little dirtwork yesterday!

 

[Robo McDuff]

Thanks Swiss and Demilitarized for sharing. Still miss him.

 

[DeMilitarized]

As swiss stated before this was my introduction into the MV hobby. I thought the project of converting the truck into a dump truck would be a fantastic learning experience and taking care of the truck entirely on my own teaching me responsibility. Some of the Ideas that Ron had were good on paper but could be majorly improved with a few extra steps. The original idea was to cut up a mk15 RBU trailer for a mk48 and use a heavily modified bed for a dump bed. After further research on facebook and steel soldiers I realized with an optimal overhang that a 12ft 10in bed would be ideal rather than the 10ft bed from the mk15. So @wheelspinner was able to hook me up with a trade deal on a lmtv bed with the perfect dimensions. With the LMTV bed I can now run as a complete flatbed if I so chose or be able to run standard cargo covers and bed sides with troop seats.

The mk15 bed is seen above.

The keen eye will notice that this truck is not a winch truck nor has super singles or cits. I had to learn the entirety of how the CTIS system works to be able to order the correct parts for the wheel valves to be rebuilt. The winch kit was modified from a m925a0 from @Elijah95's parts truck. But after many many many hours I was able to get the winch kit modified to fit on this truck and working.

Some with a super keen eye will see that I do not use standard 5 ton CTIS. This is because all of my wheels are LMTV wheels with working ctis from the LMTV. I had custom hoses made and modified the ctis mounts for the standard 5 ton to adapt to the lmtv ctis system allowing for more readily available ctis components. The rear CTIS is NOS 5 ton standard wheel valves.

The dump hoist can lift 32k lbs worth of material due to the extremely overbuilt dump system I implemented under the bed. Finally, throughout the process small engine modifications were made such as injection timing increase, intake filter modifications to fit a m915 air filter and the addition of an exhaust brake to slow this race truck down. A rapco paint job gave the truck the pop it needed and off to work it went. After 4 long years the truck is ready to drive anywhere at any time and do it reliably as Ron had envisioned.

 

[swiss]

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”

Off Roading at Windrock during Southeastern Rally!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[biscuitwhistler37]

Here she is guys, my first MV, 1969 Kaiser Jeep M35A2 W/W.

Heart transplant was done at some point, the original engine replaced with an LDT-465 MFD 2/92

Yes, you really do feel all 4 of those horsepower

Removed a cobbled 12v power supply and began wiring my 24v panel in

Got distracted

Even more distracted

The more I kept adding, the more I liked it.

Not bad for rattle cans and my first camo job.

Mmmmmm, heeeeeat.....

Remember to do your part and filter your exhaust gas for better emissions control

My wife wanted this pic in to show @Guyfang folding chair chic is still popular.

Rocket starter control for those who may not have seen one

Such a happy girl. I have accepted that it will never be "done", so I'll just keep posting as she gets updated. Good luck to the nominees, thank everyone for all the advice and the vastness of information on the site, here's to another 25 years.

 

[Guyfang]

That or a German beer case or two!

 

[swiss]

I found some pictures of @73m819 in action on the truck early in its life. This is when the Tractor 5th Wheel came off and some early fabrication work. I can still hear his voice in these pictures.

 

[Migginsbros]

Hard decision this month .Great, picture loaded campaigning. Great info and details about our MV. Hobby only, or used as a workhorse as it is developed for.

All SS members are invited to have a look at "behind the scenes"