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A Restoration Project
As Purchased - Fall 2001
Tear down - Spring 2002
Repair and reengineering - Summer to Winter 2002
Painting & assembly of the frame -
Spring 2003
Painting & assembly of the tub - Late Spring 2003
Going Back together nicely - Summer 2003
Ready for the road - Summer
2003
This is as purchased Fall 2001
   
 
This page is dedicated to my Bantam trailer. It is a 1950 BT3-C.
The C means it is a civilian model. Bantam made trailers during
WWII for the military and after the war they capitalized on their
experience with the BT3-C. I will be restoring / repairing this
to tow behind my Willys Jeeps.
One of the differences between the civilian and military
models is the hitch. The civilian uses a ball hitch and the
military uses a pintle hitch. The ball hitch is much quieter
while the pintle hitch is more suited for off road. I have a ball
on one of my Jeeps and a pintle on the other. This will require a
custom mount to work with both types.
I acquired this trailer in the fall of 2001 and don't know
when I will start to work on it.
If you are interested in Bantam trailers then check out the
Mike Boyink's excellent web site
and you might consider joining the Bantam email
list. Click in the links to find out more.
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Spring 2002
Well, it's spring 2002 and I decided to disassemble the trailer.
I turned the trailer over and started removing the parts. It really helps to
know where you started so, I took lots of
documentation photos. Here
are the teardown pictures. Click on the thumbnail for a larger view and use the
back button to return.
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Left front spring hanger & tongue mount |
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Original coupler & landing leg |
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Pieces ready for sandblaster |
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Summer through winter 2002
I have been working on the trailer most of the summer. I had it sandblasted
and bought an new floor from JeePanels. I had the frame sandblasted and decided
I needed to replace it. A local fabrication shop bent me some 14 gauge sheet
metal and I welded it together. I think it turned out quite well. I have been
filling spare holes the POs decided were necessary. I am far from a good welder
but, I am getting better with practice. The plan is to fully assemble the
trailer prior to paint of any kind. Then any last minute "engineering changes"
will be easier to deal with.
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Here it is assembled to check for the inevitable "got-cha's"
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Gate hook and "rub block" |
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Spring 2003
I decided to leave the painting till spring. It costs me almost
$5 per hour to heat the barn during the winter and 20 hours would cost me about
$100. I figured that would be better spent on Willys parts, so I bought a Warn
8250 winch and mounted it on Mighty Mo. I also put a rear seat in him, but that
is off topic for this page.
Once the weather broke, I started the painting process. After
much thought I decided not to use POR15. I went with Rust-Oleum for the whole
trailer. This is partly for cost reasons but more importantly POR15 requires a
tie coat to be applied while it is tacky and then the final top coat while the
tie coat is tacky. I didn't believe I would be able to do that and not mess up
on the timing.
Anyway, I took apart the assembled trailer and started the paint
process. First all the frame pieces were primed with Rust-Oleum Clean Metal
Primer and painted with Rust-Oleum Gloss Black. Then assembled with the bottom
up. Repainted the bottom, turned the frame over and repainted the top side.
One of the problems with Rust-Oleum is the drying time. While it
is 'dry' in 24 hours, it takes a month or so to become hard enough to resist the
scratches from assembly of the tub. After painting, I parked it in another barn
while I worked on the tub.
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Frame parts hanging from main welded frame on lift |
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I lowered the lift to get at the other side of the parts |
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Here are the parts ready for assembly |
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Here are the parts ready for assembly again |
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Here are the left side parts ready for assembly (remember the frame us upside down)
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Here are the right side parts ready for assembly (remember the frame us upside down)
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Axle bolts will need to be cut off for "trail clearance" |
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Cut-off wheel makes short work of the bolts |
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Now that looks much better. |
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This shows the electrical box. |
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I used 1/2" plastic electrical tubing for the wire runs |
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Close up of the electric box on the tongue. |
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Turned the frame over and painted the top |
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Late Spring 2003
Well the frame is done and it's time to work on the tub. I first
primed and painted the bottom, then turned it over and started on the top. First
with primer and putty to fill some of the minor discrepancies. I don't believe
in filling big discrepancies with filler. The discrepancies I filled are weld
seams and such. I also will use this trailer and a perfect 1950 tub might reduce
my desire to actually use it.
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Finally found time to put some color on the tub. The inside will bw finished after assembly. |
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Fenders are really regular fenders from TSC. With a little modification the fit well. |
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Original tailgate still has plenty of 'beauty marks'. |
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Summer 2003
Ok, here we are in the 95 degree heat, perspiration dripping in
my eyes, bolting the tub back on. The tub fit perfectly. It should have because
I had put the it all together last spring prior to painting. Fenders are bolted
on with chrome carriage bolts and the bolts holding the tub and tailgate on will
be painted yellow to match the outside of the tub.
Tires and wheels are donated from Ole' Blue. The white spoke
wheels will eventually be painted the same color as Willy's wheels. That is when
I finish the frame off rebuild of Willy. Willy will conform to the Yellow body
and black frame scheme, I don't know when this project will begin. ... So many
projects so little time (and money)!
I bought rubber lamp cord for the wiring. I used 14 gauge 4
conductor for the feed from the vehicle and 2 - 18 gauge 3 conductor from the
junction box in the front through the conduit to the rear. I used 1 lamp cord
for each side and the only connections are in the sealed junction box and at the
tail lights. I planned to use 3 conductor automotive quick connections at the tail lights.
However I decided that I can do that at a later time. For now all connections at the tail lights are crimp on butt connections as they permit
some movement. If course good old Scott electrical tape to cover the
connections. The conduit entrance and exit points are watertight rubber
connections.
The inside of the bed and tailgate are covered with Rust-Oleum
Road Warrior. This goes up the sides just below the rolled top edge, leaving the
top edge with a smooth surface. Hopefully the smooth gunwale will prevent wear
on the tarp.
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Here he is with that huge spare tire. |
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Those are 31 x 9 Goodyear Trackers |
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I installed a second tail light on the right side. |
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This is the results of Rust-Oleum Raod Warrior. I used about 1/2 the kit. |
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This shows the water tight connection to the tail light. |
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Notice the tab to bolt the tub on. |
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This is a little better shot of the tub mounting tab. |
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Water tight electrical connection and rear tub mounting tab. |
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Intervehicle connection with water tight connection also. |
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Finally
Ready for the Road! - Summer 2003
Here is the Bantam BT3-C hooked up to Willy. He sure does need
some prettying up. Maybe the frame off rebuild will be sooner that I thought.
The intervehicle cable is 4 conductor lamp cord. It is very flexible and water
tight. It enters through a waterproof connection and all wiring is totally
inside plastic electrical conduit, making it water tight.
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Here is Willy towing the Bantam |
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Here is another shot of the two together. |
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This is the intervehicle cable. |
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Visitors since December 15, 2002
  
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