Q.M.C. G-518 Ben Hur Trailer.

[D.R.H.]

Hi Gents, I finished assembling the port side rack for my Q.M. trailer today. The paint I used on the hardware is military issue dated 1983 and is F.S.N. 34087 Acrylic Lacquer. I have been saving it for a long long time. The solids still mix well into the oils, and Acetone thins it perfectly. It sprays well, cures fast and looks great!! Sure do wish I had more........Enjoy.

Here is the 'inside' with front at the right side of the pic.




Inside, 'aft'.


Outside.


Thanks for looking...........

[D.R.H.]

I was cleaning up the hardware for the rear gate today boys and thought I would post a few pics. of the lower pins. There are some numbers on them and I was wondering if anyone who has done the same, has found them too. Here they are.



We can clearly read the part number. I am wondering if the encircled symbol is an "A" or an upside down "V", but it is followed by the numeral 4.


This one has the numeral 5 on it. Both surfaces end up facing the the lowest horizontal slat.


I also did some work on the wood. I'll post the photos later. Thanks for looking.

[D.R.H.]

I finished the rear gate assembly today. UNFORTUNATELY the two lower rungs were not Red Oak. The middle one was Ash and lower one was Redwood. After much deliberation, I bit the bullet, went to Lowe's and purchased two more rungs. I bought 2 - 48" lengths took them home and cut them to 45". I sanded and oiled them and they came to a close match. The only thing missing is the darker stain from air pollution, road dirt and time. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

Facing out.


A little paint touch up is in order.



Here you can really see the difference between the original wood, top, and the two new ones below.


Facing in.


Three lower rungs of the starboard side rack had been finger-jointed and glued together. Only a military contractor would use cut-off's to fill an order this way. Probably with the mindset of, how long will the trailer last in a combat zone anyway ?? I sanded all the rungs and joints and have the front end of rung 2 glued and clamped on my work bench. I hope I can make these work, the wood is really pretty and is going to look great after it is oiled.



Thanks for looking, more to come.

[D.R.H.]

So here is the assembly off the rungs for the starboard side. I am not sure if I am going to like the outcome yet. I decided not to finish sanding the rest of the wood right now just in case they turn out too warped and uneven. I'll know more on Sunday.



I screwed short lengths of 2 X 4's to the bench in an attempt to keep things straight.


Finger joint with glue going back into place.




I bumped everything together with a dead blow mallet then used a small ratchet strap to keep things tight.


I just don't know about these rungs, I may wind up buying replacements .

[D.R.H.]

Well Gents, the wood isn't too bad after all. The glue in the finger joints had completely vanished and the rung sections came apart in my hands. I had a lot of work cut out for me. All the sanding and prep-work has been finished. All of the finger joints went back together with a tight fit and look great. Rung #4 is on the bench. One part had a pretty big hump in it in relation to it fitting vertically in place. I did the ole Steam Iron and wet rag trick, I think it'll work and then it will be on to oil and assembly.

In this photo, some of the fingers had broken longitudinally some time ago on one side and needed some attention. I drilled holes into a 2 X 4 with a dull drill bit and produced some small chips. I mixed some glue into them, pushed some glue into the joint and them pushed the mixture into the joint as well. This is the lump that resulted after the glue had cured.


Here it is sanded smooth.


Another in a different spot.


I am glad that this evolution is finished. I FAILED to buy a H.E.P.A. 1/2 face respirator and my nasal passages are irritated .......... That's what I get for laughing in the face of safety I guess. Thanks for looking.

[D.R.H.]

I was back at it today Gents. Another pretty day for working on W.W. 2 equipment ......

I broke out the best 10 dollar tool I ever bought and boy did it come in handy.


This is the only photo I have of the port side of the box, and it had a couple of bends in it. At the second stake pocket the bend went out and at the third, it went in. The bends weren't too bad, but enough to warp the vertical stanchions and provide extreme difficulty in removing the side gate. The area along the top edge of the box also had an inward bow between the first, second and third pockets. Here are the pics. of today's efforts to straighten it out. I am not a body/fender man, so I think it through and do my best.


The bend at the 2nd. pocket was pretty bad and the top of the outside edge had rolled up a bit. I started there with some heat and a slapping hammer. I set up the screw jack and 2 X 4 at this pocket to push out.


After I had straightened the area around the 2nd. pocket, it was a matter of just going along from back to front with the screw jack assy. As the steel regained its shape, I gently coaxed certain areas with heat and hammer back into place. This is not a time to act like Mighty Joe Young! .




Tomorrow the fenders will come off for a little Shiatzu Massaging. I 'll also see what other things can be removed that isn't supposed to be there. Thanks for looking.

[D.R.H.]

Hey Gents, here are some photos with all of the gates installed. The best part of this exercise is that the port side gate slips out very nicely. I had to use my high lift jack and a lot of muscle to remove it initially. The work took some time & patience but it is complete. In the process, inhaled and ate a lot old wood, paint dust and rust. I need to oil all of the wood a few more times, it still feels really dry. I am not going to bore you guys with a ton of photos of the trailer its' self. We all know the ins and outs of them, so I'll skip that and just snap a few when it is finished.







Thanks for looking at my thread, keep wrenching and painting guys !!

[D.R.H.]

Hey Gents, I was re-reading my thread here looking for grammar mistakes and looking at my work and realized that I made mention about the "implement" that I found for the trailer but didn't show what it was.

Earlier in this thread I read that Retro-Roco had cited a post, (thank you very much), over on CCKW.org. about the K-52 Trailer with P.E. 95 Gen. I saw that there were 6 Jerry cans in it, 3 along each side. I looked at the floor of my trailer and there are 6 evenly spaced holes on each side for Jerry can holders. I will be returning my trailer to a K-63A. Unfortunately, the 63-A utilizes the P.E. 197 6.3 KW Generator, so I will have to make do with my E-3.
I have started a "show off" thread of the implement, but I won't be getting to its' restoration for a little while.

http://g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=129&t=294186

Thanks for looking.

[D.R.H.]

So I went fishing for registration numbers on the trailer today. BUPKIS! The only thing I found was information I already know, the trailer is a K-52 . The layers of paint from surface to metal are; white, flight-line yellow, grey primer, flight-line yellow, grey primer, olive drab, red oxide primer and lastly the steel its' self. Here are the pics of what I found.

I outlined the very faint Black-Blue drab with a sharpie. Port side.


Starboard Side.


The manner in which the stencils were centered on each side leads me to believe that the previous owner may have done away with the registration numbers, and did this instead. Perhaps I might be able to find the registration numbers through the serial number.

[D.R.H.]

Hey Gents. I did a little investigative wrenching today. I wanted to find out the condition of the wheel bearings and brake assemblies. I was only able to get into the Port side today. The Starboard side will receive attention tomorrow.

First I had to delve into my "Road Box". It contains ALL the sockets that I need to perform emergency road-side repairs when necessary. After removing the 8 sided hub cap with my field expedient socket, I pulled the hub. Here is what I found.


The wheel bearings, seal, and cups are in very good condition. However they were starving for sufficient lubrication. I cleaned everything in a solvent bath, then repacked the bearings and put everything back together. I was surprised to find that the lip in the seal was still 1/8" thick.





Contents of my Road Box. These sockets have seen some good use in their day.
My Field Expedient Square Socket is being brought up to speed, just like the others....


My experience tells me that when grease becomes black like this, all of the oils have run out. I found the void in the hub to be devoid of grease, so it was packed properly too. Thanks for looking.

[timsresort]

Interesting point about your trailer, 4-bolt spindle, as my '41 has. And you have the 8-point hub caps. I think most later Ben Hur's have a 5 bolt spindle, and possibly the 6- point hub caps? A few days ago I was getting parts ready for the swap meet and picked up a brake backing plate from a trailer I parted last year. 5 bolt, looked at the axle from the same trailer, 5 bolt. Checked the hubs, 6-point cap. So early equals 4 bolt spindle and 8 point hubs, later 5 bolt spindle and the 6- point hub caps. Maybe clears it up a little for me. BTW, I am no expert.

[Joe Gopan]

Note the 40's era wheel bearing grease, it appears it has not been serviced since its' army days.

[D.R.H.]

Yes Ben, I believe that to be the case as well. It is high time they were serviced and had a good bath in FRESH bearing grease. Don't you think?

[Joe Gopan]

Mine were the same. Remember, the manufacturer of the axle may have used an approved 40's axle bearing grease that differed from the latest mil spec. I have some 40's AMOCO and TEXACO WB Grease that looks the same.

[D.R.H.]

I serviced the Starboard side wheel bearings today and found that everything was in good condition, yet there was very little wheel bearing grease in the bearings and hub cavity was completely devoid of any as well. All of the brake springs were present and in great shape too so everything went back together in proper form.
I cut the makeshift tailgate chains off and discarded them, then ground the steel smooth where they had been welded as well as where the originals had been. I also removed the rear reflectors and the fenders. That is all for now.