I figured it would be nice to have another project on here that wasn't Honda related. (Not even close, actually.) What my dad and I have is a 1945 1/4 ton Bantam T3-C trailer. These were made from surplus military T3 trailers. These would have been pulled behind Army Jeeps in WWII. This one has the original solid combat rims from that era. They're those potentially dangerous split rims, and the tires have tubes. (After today, I have learned to HATE these bastards.)

The trailer was basically original until the 1960s when it got some repairs. In the 70s, it got some fresh paint. Back in '85, it got some new (used lol) 7.50x16 tires. A few years later, it was "restored". Basically that means it got sandblasted, shoddy paint, an updated hitch, and a new diamond plate steel floor that looks like it was welded on by a 5 year old.

After that, it sat on the side of the house for a long time. It was full of water, got a lot of debris tossed around and in it, and it was basically neglected. A few months back, I dragged it out of its ...pile of leaves and scrubbed it hardcore until I could see paint again. Unfortunately, the paint was chipping and rust was forming. The chains were mostly a lost cause and the tires were loltastic. I think the lights still work, but they're a little broken. It's not really even road worthy.

I can speak volumes about what it used to be and what it will look like. That might have to wait for another day, because I'm really tired after fighting those rims all day. (I discovered PB Blaster, and it's AMAZING.) I'll post up some pics of the project tomorrow if there's interest.

 

Definitely toss up some pics and plans! I am interested!

 

Here's what I'm working with:

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You're probably saying, "Hey Hobo, that's pretty damn sweet for a 65 year old trailer."

Meh, that's after I spent hours scrubbing it down to the paint. It used to look like the tread on those tires. The problem is that it's been through hell. It sat around full of water for awhile so the floor has a bit of rust.

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That's the "new floor" too. The other problem is that it was "restored" years ago by a shop. My dad had some preventative stuff done to it (sandblast, paint) and it wasn't done well. Honestly. it was a little half-assed. Case in point: The wheel wells.

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And the underside:
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And those poor rims. Don't get me started. The inside faces are pretty bad, but the outsides were at least painted.

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The rims are my biggest concern. They're original, but they need work before they can go back on. I took the rims over to the shop the other day to have the beads broken so they could be taken apart. One of them (the one pictured above) had rusted around the valve stem, so water got into the rim and wreaked havoc.

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They look pretty bad, but these are REAL rims. They're solid steel, so I'm confident that they're serviceable.The only catch is that there must be some repair on the valve stem holes.

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One of the coolest parts is that after 66 years or more, the original paint was intact on some parts. Surprisingly, the inside of the rim was one of them. The other was on the hub and on the part of the rim that was protected over the years.

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One of the challenges is going to be the suspension. I don't know anything about these leaf spring setups. They look pretty rusty, but I'll bet these can be sandblasted and powdercoated and be like new. I also don't know anything about axles. These need to be repacked and have new seals put in, but I guess I have to learn that along the way.

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The rims will still be a challenge. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do about this:
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Now, one of the coolest features is that one of the factory options was a set of bows for the top. There are pockets on the sides of the trailer for these to sit on. This allows you to put a canvas cover on top. We had a reproduction set of bows made (steam bent!) for this one.

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But wait, there's more. You can build rails for this trailer that have pockets higher up, so you can put the bows on top of the rails and get that "chuck wagon" style. Here are some examples:

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We're going to have one of those made at some point.

 

Got more work done today.The trailer is mostly stripped down. Wheels off, rims apart, fenders off, reflectors off, data plate off. Need to remove the suspension soon. Will remove the yoke and disassemble the coupler soon.

I need a Tetanus shot.

Spent a lot of time today with a wire brush against those rims. Nasty. Not sure if there is enough left to sandblast.

 

Dang looks like you have your work cut out for you....

This a cool restore!! Hopefully you can save as much original stuff as possible

 

Here's some of the teardown carnage.



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Progress is slow on this thing. I only have time to work on the weekends so far. I did make a little purchase on the side for this though. I got some "new" spring hangers so we can restore it to what it should have been. The original ones were cut short and welded back on. I wanted to put it back the way it was.

Now, these "new" ones will be a challenge to fix up. They look to be from a '46 or '47. They also look like someone pulled them off the ocean floor, plus the rear ones have a piece of the original shackles still attached. The bolts are GONE, so I'll have to grind them off. In the end, they'll be powder coated black.

The one on the left is the first one I was working on. (not much progress...)


Here's the other side of the one I was working on (now right side). My wire brush isn't handy, so I was using a dremel. Haha, next time I'll get the right tool for the right job.
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Here's one of the back ones with the pieces of shackel still on it.


Yep, pretty bad.
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Looks like these used to be the same green as the trailer, so they're a good match. Aside from the paint and surface rust, they're straight. (I'll have to have my fabricator add some metal to the support brackets to make them more solid.)
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i suggest leaving the axle alone, just take a good wire wheel on a grinder and clean it up real good and just paint it. those rims can be patched up an welded then grind them down for a smooth finish.

 

The bearings have to be repacked and the seals are leaking pretty bad. We're gonna go ahead and take it apart, sandblast it, and have it powdercoated black.

The rims need to go to the sand blaster so they can be clean for my welder. He said he can add metal around the edges and around that hole. We'll just close it up, smooth it out, and then redrill the hole.