M56 Scorpion Production Changes Etc

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Austringer
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M56 Scorpion Production Changes Etc

Post by Austringer » Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:23 pm

Trying to figure out when several production changes were made or if something was an early or late figure, generally a 2nd production models start with serial number around 153 if I remember correctly.

These are the items I'm trying to get an idea if early or late and approximately when the change was made.

1) Front and rear track skirts:

a) Some had rubber tracks skirts front and rear
Image
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b) Some were metal
Image
Image
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2) Rear Track Guide:

a)Small
Apparently used with the rubber track skirt

b) Large
Apparently used with the metal track skirt

3) Location of hand-Hold on blast shield

a) Upper Corner
Image

b) Towards the middle
Image

The rest of the differences are pointed out in the manual (such as direction of vents in transmission cover) -before ~153 they were straight forward, post they went both left and right

Location of voltage regulator on 1st series is mounted next to dash, 2nd series its mounted in the engine compartment

There are a lot of other changes such as starter solenoids, etc between 1st and 2nd pattern M56s that are covered in the manual. The ones I listed above I can find no reference to a change over.
Jason Green
Atlanta, Ga

STILL NOT associated with the Georgia MVPA 15 years and counting as long as that one guy is president of the club....

1963 Willys M151 (under resto)
1969 M706E1
1983 M106A2


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W. Winget
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Re: M56 Scorpion Production Changes Etc

Post by W. Winget » Wed Feb 14, 2018 3:23 am

Hate to suggest it, but simple old PS magazine issues may have covered the swap out from metal to rubber (likely due to damage to metal VS rubber) so digging on-line through the archives of that period would yield a few answers.
V/R W Winget
PS: there's one a few miles from my house we looked at a few years back on the side of a corn field...if it wasn't made of metal that turned into Gold just sitting there I would have bought it, as well as a relic Ford GPW residue beside it. It had no gun mount, broken track, missing trans cover and general weathering. WAW
Looking for 1918 Standard B 'Liberty' truck parts

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