Blog

April 2008
We made more parts for the Deuce. More to come.

March 2008
We actually finished up the spreader mount on the Dodge this month. We also installed a trailer brake controller in it.  Next month (April 12th and 13th) we will be at the Sussex County Fairgrounds for the 7th Annual MTA Swap Meet and Military Vehicle Show. Last year on the Saturday of the show alone there were 3500 visitors! We are excited to be there as we love old military iron! We will have plenty of Fluid Film on hand, as well as Meyer E-47 and E-60 seal kits, Jeep A Frames and Sectors too. We have been fabricating some replacement parts for these vehicles. Here is an almost complete step for the M35A2 "Deuce and a half". Here it is completed.

The original step was made out of 14gauge steel, stamped. We make ours out of 11 gauge, and use an angle iron frame. The traction pattern is the same, but instead of stamped, they are dots of weld, which give much more traction for wet muddy boots. We hope our last  much longer than the factory ones! We are confident they will.

Here is a 1977 E-47 rebuild. Plow would not stay up. We found out why.

The Cylinder Base O Ring was cut/pinched during assembly.

You can see the O Ring with the piece missing.

The year of casting is cast into each Meyer sump base.

February 2008
Will get pics uploaded as time allows. Here is a Kerosene heater we repaired. Something heavy fell on the filler neck and knocked it into the tank. Customer brought in an old kerosene can for us to cut the filler neck off and weld onto the heater. The fuel tank was WASHED THOROUGHLY and filled with water to the brim before we welded the new neck on.

On he left is the new neck, the tank has been prepped. On the right is the old neck we fished out of the tank, mangled.

Here is the new neck welded on. Checked for leaks, NONE. Heater is good to go.

We need to give credit here. We saw this modification on our site LetsTalkSnow.com. It was posted by cat320, who got it from Bug Thug. So when a customer came in wanting to install this Western spreader on a truck, without the proper mounting kit, it made $ense to do it this way. Thanks for the idea guys!

First we cut off the old tangs/blades/knives. or whatever you want to call them.

The bracket was clamped to the new angle iron base to hold it upright while torching off the tangs.

New piece of 4" x 4" x 3/8" angle iron that will be the base of the mount.

Mounting bracket partially MIG welded in place.

Bracket being ARC welded in place by Andy from ACS Welding.

Mounted. Wiring it up!

Another view. We dropped it about 6" lower than the stock Western mount.

Here you can see the step we added, just like bug thug and cat320.

Same truck, we forgot to get a pic of where we mounted the Meyer Touchpad Controller.

January 2008
Didn't get the pics off the camera often enough to date these pics and jobs, so we will just call this January.

Customer came in the other day with a "You're not going to believe this", so we went outside and took a look. Seems he went onto a job site, to check out a new install, and the road in was not paved yet. He saw the raised manhole, but he also saw other obstacles marked with cones and barriers. So he went over the manhole, straddling it. Guess the road had a crown. He hit it at about 5mph, as he was going real slow looking for the guy he was supposed to meet with. Needless to say, it stopped the truck fast, and he cracked the windshield with his head. He got out and measured the manhole, and it stuck up 3". His plow frame has 9" of clearance. Needless to say he's a little pissed. Doesn't know of the truck frame is bent yet. Has an appt. for an alignment to see of that is out now. I ended up torching the mount off, as every piece was bent or twisted. I left some of it on, to save him some $$ until it is time to mount the new one. Not sure if I got a shot of it, but he sheared one of the grade 5 3/4" bolts holding the frame together. That is 3/8" angle iron that is mangled.

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This E-47 had a cracked off mounting hole on the base. It is getting a new base, and a brand new motor and pump.

Not bad inside.

No signs of water, just moisture from sitting for many years.

Previous owner used yellow Teflon tape on the hose threads and couplers. See how it works its way into the tank?

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Rebuilding an E-60 off eBay.

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Had a big job and needed to call in our expert Junior Welder

This is an E-57 we rebuilt/built for a friend/customer in Colorado.

This was dropped off to be repaired. It was called an antique, but on the base was a "Made in Taiwan" decal. We soldered it up no problem. The reins were broken off the horse and jockey's hands, the jockey was off the seat, the wheels were bent and half the spokes broken off. No problem. Here are a couple of pics of the progress.

12-23-07 - 12-29-07
Customer bought a truck on eBay. Found a nice plow for it on eBay too. Got a great deal. Paid $1000 for the truck, and $2500 for the plow. The plow was almost brand new. No wear on the edge, the powder coat was not faded, and not a speck of rust or a scratch anywhere! The decal was even still on the face of the moldboard.

12-16-07 - 12-22-07
Two welding jobs this week too. One was an A Frame that was snapped in half, and a patch was welded on to get through the storm by the customer. We cut off the patch and did a proper repair. The other was a Dodge Ram that found a BIG rock in the woods with the plow frame.

Customer dropped off a Ford with a conventional mount Western on it, that he installed himself. Unfortunately, he didn't do the best job of getting the mount on properly. He made a bad mistake welding it to the truck frame. We made it very clear he needs to get some bolts in it before he plows anything! He brought the truck to us because the pump did not work properly. It was a wiring issue. We took care of it, and also serviced the pump. This pump was way overdue for service!

Local used car dealer brought in their pump from the truck they use to plow their lot. The pump and motor were tired, so we upgraded it to an E-57 pump and motor.

Customer had a plow on this 2000 F-250. Had it removed when he had a lift kit installed. He brought it in for us to install the plow frame properly. The previous owner had the brackets welded to the frame, and they were the wrong brackets too! We wish we got more pics of this truck. It sure is sweet looking.

 

Some of these may have been from late last week. Got a call from a local Chevrolet dealer. They dropped off a 4500 with plow problems. It was a wiring problem, actually a few of them. The warranty was never registered. Many repairs and modifications were made by other shops that would have voided the warranty too. If you have problems with a new Meyer plow, please take it to an Authorized Meyer Dealer! DO NOT TAKE IT TO A CHRYSLER/DODGE DEALER THAT SELLS MEYER PLOWS, or any car dealer that sells plows. Keep your warranty as long as you can! Even some Meyer dealers are not up to date. Had another vehicle sent here from the same Chevy dealer. Customer said the plow controller light kept blinking, and it would lock out. ANOTHER Meyer dealer sold him a brand new controller! The plow was less than a year old, and the warranty was registered with Meyer. A controller would normally be covered under warranty.  The really sad part is that it is one of the new pistol grip controllers with self diagnostics built in. Those blinking lights were blinking a code, telling you what the problem was, and what to check!

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