1945 Studebaker M29C Weasel
Our 1945 M29C Weasel was bought from Northern Ireland back in the spring of 2013. This vehicle had originally been recovered in Colorado before it was imported to the UK.
In Colorado it served as an emergency vehicle on a ski slope, hence the choice colour scheme.
Underneath the red paint, this vehicle is painted orange. Initial and now likely outdated research showed that many of the weasels utilised in building highways in Alaska in the 50s were painted orange.
Underneath the paint again, this weasel is in its original OD green with factory swimming markings visible through the layers.
The pictures above show the vehicle in use in Colorado immediately prior to its export.
This vehicle is among the last 1000 or so weasels to have been produced in 1945 and shows evidence that it served for a time with the US Army stateside.
Like with many weasels, the downside of these vehicle is the track arrangement. When this vehicle arrived, it had a set of very original bands, but these were showing signs of cracking and corrosion.
In March 2023 the vehicle was moved into storage and the tracks removed for the currently ongoing repair. The plan is to utilise the set of remanufactured stainless and neoprene bands supplied by Oscar Wennink.
The track is currently in the safe hands of Martyn who has, very enthusiastically, removed all the original grouser plates from the original bands, and is now looking into a solution to fit new rubber running blocks. Following this, the grousers will be correctly riveted to the replacement bands.
This is very much an ongoing project that will likely see repairs to the hull and painting prior to the re-fitment of the completed track.