T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by 70th Division » Mon Aug 20, 2018 11:21 am

Hello,

Does anyone know what these small angle brackets were used for on the front of the weasel ?
They are on the front left and right sides. I don't yet have a manual for the T-24.

Here are some pics :
photo(209).JPG
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photo(208).JPG
photo(208).JPG (179.96 KiB) Viewed 1653 times


Thanks,

Ray


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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by 70th Division » Tue Aug 21, 2018 9:55 am

Hello,

Here is a picture of a bogey wheel with the white paint on it for snow environments .
It is a BF Goodrich.
You can see the red dot on it too.

photo(210).JPG
photo(210).JPG (146.04 KiB) Viewed 1630 times

Ray

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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by 70th Division » Thu Aug 23, 2018 10:51 am

Hello,


Does anyone have an old set of weasel tracks laying around with decent track cleats that are
in Florida or the southeast region ?

When I go to re-rubber the tracks with conveyor belts, I will need a good number of them, as many of mine are
deteriorated from the elements sitting in sand.



Thanks,

Ray

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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by svaasand » Thu Aug 30, 2018 3:15 am

Thought I would join this thread as a Norwegian and a weasel owner...

Many of the T-24's with 15" track were retrofitted in Norway with 20" tracks with side skirts added. Looks like this is the case with yours.

Regarding the track issue; yes, track bands were manufactured in Norway in the 1960's (not sure when they ended, 1970's probably). In the 1970's most WWII vehicles were being replaced in active units in Norway, but it is true that many were being kept in strategic storage until the 1990's. My weasel was sold from the Norwegian Army in 1986, and I am the second civilan owner.

There is no track band production in Norway now, the common track fix here is also the conveyor belt method. It is possible that someone owns the Viking molds. Viking quit making tires in 1984.

-Lars
-Lars Svaasand

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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by svaasand » Thu Aug 30, 2018 3:24 am

This is my weasel, in original Norwegian army snow camouflage

Image
Last edited by svaasand on Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:16 am, edited 4 times in total.
-Lars Svaasand

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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by 70th Division » Thu Aug 30, 2018 9:44 am

Hello Lars,


That is great information, thanks for the update !!!
I will try the conveyor belt method, and get some additional replacement track pads, as some of mine are too
rusted.

I am looking forward to seeing your weasel !!

The picture didn't come through yet.

I also have a couple beautiful Norwegian M-1943 Field Jackets, they are great and basically exact copies of the US one, with slightly thinner plastic buttons.


Best Regards,

Ray

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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by BATMOBILE1 » Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:17 am

Hi Ray,

Ive got a couple of pictures you may be interested in,i was ski-ing on the French Alps a few years back and came across a Weasel at a bar on the mountain side in Courchevel..not something you see every day.
The canvas was brand new and had that canvas smell, something my other half hates..made me think of home..and my spare room.lol.
IMG_2137.JPG
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IMG_2139.JPG
IMG_2139.JPG (132.7 KiB) Viewed 1514 times
IMG_2134.JPG
IMG_2134.JPG (128.99 KiB) Viewed 1514 times
You can see the people in front looking at me like im mad, taking photos of it..!
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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by 70th Division » Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:19 pm

Hello Batmobile,

Thanks for posting, that weasel looks beautiful !
Especially with the snow, and the tourists sitting around it having some fun in the sun !
The people do looked pissed though, they should smile more :D
It looks like it had the added brackets on the side, like Lars was mentioning the Norwegians added to some of their T-24's.
I am pretty sure that is what was done on mine, but it will be nice not having to reproduce them as the T-24 appears to not to
have had them from the factory.

That weasel also has the conveyor belt repairs done to restore the tracks.

I have some canvas in my jeep barn loft, that smells great and really makes everything better :D :D :D
Still working on the insulation of the ceilings from the heat of the Sun in my barn !!

Best Regards,

Ray

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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by svaasand » Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:57 pm

New try at the photo:

Image
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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by 70th Division » Fri Aug 31, 2018 7:12 am

Hello Lars,

Thanks for posting your Weasel pictures!

Your weasel looks great, and must be a whole lot of fun driving around like that,
especially at night.

Beautiful !!!! Nice camouflage as well !!

Ray
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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by Quest Master » Thu Sep 20, 2018 6:37 am

70th Division wrote:
Sat Aug 18, 2018 6:06 pm
Here is the Hull data plate :
photo(186).JPG
Best Regards,
Ray
Ray,
So, that is interesting! The contract from T-24 to M-29 was changed at serial number 1003, but I wonder if the body didn't continue to contain the "T-24" for a little while. The "T" stands for Test, which the U.S. Army ordered 1000 vehicles. After acceptance, the contract was awarded and the designation of the accepted vehicle designated as M-29, "M' standing for Model 29.
When the change occurred from T-24 to M-29 a few modifications to the vehicle changed. One noteworthy body detail that the T-24 bodies had that the M-29 did not have are the two sets of six bolts on the sides of the hull. They do absolutely nothing - but they are correct. Those bolts are for special brackets that mounted on the sides of the hull so the vehicle could be dropped by parachute (which did not operationally happen, and this was omitted from the contract T-24 body with Studebaker when the M-29 contract was awarded).
It does appear that your body did have the side skirts - but have been removed. But this could have been a post-war modification. Hard to tell from the photos.
It also looks like your vehicle has the M-29 20" grousers/tracks (but these could have been mounted at any point), the T-24 and M-29 used 15" wide
grousers through vehicle serial number 2102 (per TM 9-772 July 5th 1944 page 228). After vehicle serial number 2103 20" wide grousers were used.
I have some T-24/M-29 details on my website that may help give you insight:
http://www.questmasters.us/1943_T24_991.html

Without the build plate (located behind the drivers seat) we may never know if your vehicle is an M-29 with a T-24 produced body, with a early M-29 serial number - but it is an interesting cross-over production vehicle! Get a copy of TM 9-772 and look for the change-over details like the mounting point for the fuel filter, instrument panel type, stretcher pockets, fire extinguisher location etc. TM 9-772 also specifies all of the contract and serial number information plus cross-over details when the changes occured. But also take note that the TM's are sometimes wrong - with contract and production details not getting into the manual correctly! (they weren't documenting production features - they were trying to keep war machines operational!) Most people look at MV's like modern day cars, forgetting that they were built under contract with the government during a time of war. Vehicles/aircraft were ordered in batches of a 1,000 or 10,000 and changes to the contracted vehicle did not always happen immediately. Studebaker may have initially made 2000 T-24 body tags, and used them on the vehicle body until supplies had exhausted, even though the designation had changed to M-29 at Serial Number 1003.

Either way, good looking Weasel! Good luck with the restoration!
Thanks,
Van
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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by laurent » Sun Nov 18, 2018 4:25 am

you own one of the very last T24, sideskirt was added by the norwegian, hitch is not original for your model, T24 hitch is completely different. the two little bracket was used to old the brushguard in low position. the jeep air filter was used on later weasel, your must have the dry air cleaner. weasels was painted white with black camouflage until the mid production M29 , late M29 was the first painted OD .

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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by 70th Division » Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:06 pm

Hello,

Thanks Laurent and Van for that great update about this weasel.
The information is great !
While I have not started working on it .......
I was lucky to have purchased a gas tank that was tracked down by a parts dealer.
It is in good shape, but needs to be cleaned out.
It will fit in very nice, and I will keep locating parts that I need to get collected for the restoration.
The tank cost more than the Weasel ! But I am glad to have it !!

I will get some more pictures posted of the tank and the dash assembly, and pockets for stretchers.

Best Regards,

Ray

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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by 70th Division » Wed Dec 12, 2018 8:45 am

Hello,

Here is a picture of a T-24 Weasel that G503 member, Wagoneer, just acquired .
It looks great !! He has a great WW2 project there !!!
Those look like nice French Army tracks, can anybody add additional information ? Maybe a Euro return ??
Weasel.jpg
Weasel.jpg (181.6 KiB) Viewed 1178 times
Best Regards,

Ray

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Re: T-24 Weasel Found and Recovered !

Post by dirtfab » Wed Dec 12, 2018 9:12 am

Those tracks are often referred to as "French" tracks. They were manufactured and sold by Consolidated Industries post WWII. They are more robust than factory tracks, but significantly more heavy. Often the rubber is cracked and water has destroyed the chain links inside the rubber. The grousers can be re-banded with conveyor belting.


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