Our BRDM-2 scout car

[Kcimb]

Purchased (New) from International Repot Depot in 2016, delivered in 2017.



Getting cleaned!








Interior. After 4 years of bouncing in and out it was in need of a good blast






After, much cleaner !







All done!





I have a title and tags being sent to me from Vermont. I went the Dirt Legal way since our local DMV was shut down due to the COVID stuff going on. It was pricey but I wanted to have it running sooner, not later.

This is my second BRDM. My first one was bought from Indiana and sold to a gentleman here (Nutt68) who then sold it to another guy who is bringing it back to Texas.

Mine is more or less how they come off the factory floor. It's in immaculate condition. There's a bunch of little things that need to be fixed from the vehicle sitting for so long. Bulbs, lights, indicators, seals, etc. But the primary things we are fixing soon before the road test are:

Tires-I have 4 new tires here that need to be put on.
Brakes-test.
Trans-change oil.
Turn signals and brake lights-replace bulbs/change to LED
Engine-change oil again.

Minor stuff-
Wire brush/ prime paint rear cargo
Complete PKT kit and shoot
DRIVE

I normally start and run it 2 times a month. It always starts fairly quickly.

[Kcimb]

A rather disappointing day working on the BRDM.

Hooked up the PKT solenoid and the firing circuit works.

I changed the transmission oil. It was very low and nasty. Flushed it with 2 gallons of extra 90w I had then poured in 8ish liters of ep90.






The PTO is the fill hole for the entire trans.

Shifts much smoother now and the synchros are actually functioning well and it hits second gear without any problems! Ya.

While driving it with Ben it started making weird noises.

PTO was spinning the winch. Not sure if it’s supposed to spin. F.

Then it died. I know it’s not broken, it’s a Good running vehicle. It’s probably out of gas.



10 gallons of USA’s finest Dino juice dumped in the tank and it fires right up. Ben noticed it’s leaking coolant all over the battery and right side of the engine bay.

F.

So we power it back to the stall and change the front right tire with a new one and contemplate the meaning of 40 year old rubber failing.

[Kcimb]

License plates arrived today, we are now street legal!

[Kcimb]

After 4 years we have the major issues sorted out and God willing this saturday we hit the road. The license plate has been applied, coolant leak fixed, and going to swap out the bad tires for the good ones we have.

Expect some funny videos.

The intercom system works, thankfully.

[Kcimb]

We were able to hit the road today.

It drew quite the crowd. Unfortunately, had issues.

Brake seized shut
Carb is surging.
Hydraulic fluid blew out

It runs and drives like a DREAM. It’s quick. Well, until the hydro blew and the brake seized shut and the carb started surging.

Minor issues to fix.

Armor draws a crowd.

[Kcimb]

More issues since then.

Shifting issue sorted out-it was a loose nut.

Brakes went from working good with one side locked up to not working at all. I think we will have to rebuild all the cylinders since the previous owner dumped plain tractor hydraulic fluid in it which likely caused damage to the seals. Not good.











I was able to get the correct gunsight today. My vehicle had a kpvt/pkt gunsight and I traded it with another brdm owner for the correct PKT only
Gunsight.

[Kcimb]

Since I have power at the shop (aka huuuuge daisy chain of electrical cords) it’s time to paint stuff.

Starting off. Wire wheel, shop vac, and degreaser (brake cleaner).



Now cleaner, just enough for hammerite.



Now paint




Much better but could use a second coat




Hammerite smooth dark green is NOT a color match for the original paint. It’s much closer to British military green than the OD of the original Czech/Russian paint. It’s going in all the high wear areas to keep it looking nice/nicer and stop any rust spots from forming. Hammerite can be applied with a minimal of cleaning and prep and with a brush. Handy for someone with no air compressor or paint experience.


Lots of work done the past couple days since I have been off.



Before (just wire wheeled it)

After



Exposed steel rusts quickly but this won’t now.

The more days off I have the more stuff I get done on this







Needs another coat



Cleaned and prepped

Much better and protected.



I still have 3 more areas to focus on but then it's pretty much mostly done.

[BigBrdm21]

Awesome post and love the progress pictures - have you run into any issues with the tire inflation system? My friend and I have a BRDM-2 located in northern VA and can't seem to get the CTIS to work properly. Just wondering if the two you had worked on had any issues with it.

[RCASSIN]

A work of art!. How long did it take to get it registered in Vermont? Thanks, Rob

[Kcimb]

Awesome post and love the progress pictures - have you run into any issues with the tire inflation system? My friend and I have a BRDM-2 located in northern VA and can't seem to get the CTIS to work properly. Just wondering if the two you had worked on had any issues with it.

Nope, ours works fine. I think yours came from Georgia, right?

[Kcimb]

A work of art!. How long did it take to get it registered in Vermont? Thanks, Rob

It took a couple weeks, super easy. I’m doing this for everything I own now.