1944 weasel

[Joe Iannitto]

I was asked to post pics of my military trucks. This pic is my 1944 studabaker weasel. This is a C model meaning that it swims if it had float tanks and skirts.
http://s902.photobucket.com/albums/ac22 ... %20trucks/

I will post more when I get some time
Joe

[Lavoy]

Yeah, just one more thing to add to the gotta have list! There was an auction not far from me this summer that had two of them. Both were pretty much rags, tracks were garbage, one would supposedly run. They both had foreign military tags on the dash, so assuming they went to Europe for a while or something.
The thing I was trying to figure out was the pistol grip on the cord reel behind the seat, what was that for, winch controller?
Lavoy

[Joe Iannitto]

mine was in rather bad shape when I got it. What you are seeing is 3 years of restoration. I had to rebuild the tracks using conveyer belting. Now there is a company new tracks for them.

The ones you saw came from Norway. Norway was the last country to retire them in the mid 60's

As for the reel behind the seat that was an non miltary option added by the last owner. The winch for these trucks was a capatan winch which was located on the front float tank and was belt driven off the front engine pulley.

[Joe Iannitto]

I just added 2 more pictures to the photobucket link. The 6 wheeled truck is a gammagoat made by condec. Under the skin it is all GM. It is powered by a 353 detroit. Only 7500 of them where made and a very low number was released from the military. The remaining stock is being distroyed as unfit for civilian use. This truck can swim,to steer the back wheels turn opposite the front wheels, it does not bend left or right between the tractor and carrier. the body will rotate as much as 30 degrees between front and rear axials and it will bend up or down 45 degrees between the tractor and carrier to maintain ground contact. it is the next restore project after the dozer

The 2 1/2 ton is restored
http://s902.photobucket.com/albums/ac22 ... %20trucks/

[Lavoy]

Both of the ones I saw at the sale had the identical reels. I would bet a fair amount of money that they were original based on their construction and design. They used cloth covered wire and a very heavy metal pistol grip of some sort. They were obviously for some sort of electrical operation. The housing would remind you of ones used on a retractable trouble light. They were bolted to the bulkhead directly behind the driver's seat, and were both identical and in the exact same location. Given the cloth covered wire, and the overall looks of things, they were quite old, I just could not trace any wires to see where they ended up.
Lavoy

[DANEEE]

The reel behind the seat is for removeable head spot light. These are original equipment. Go to libertyar.com or m29cweasel.com to learn more about these. Lavory if you get down by Omaha you should slip on over, Elk Horn Iowa (60 mile to Omaha) or anyone else for that matter that is interested in these. We have 30 to 40 unit in various conditions. We are also the makers of the new track system. Studebaker 6 cylinder engine. Brake band steering. Had alot of fun with one last week on unplowed roads.

Eric

[DANEEE]

Joe,
Your weasel looks really nice. On the weasel forum if you ask, some members may be able to tell you more history about your specific machine.

Eric

[Lavoy]

For some reason, I am fairly sure I have been to Elk Horn, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was for or when. I would love to stop in take a look, would also love to have one.
Lavoy