Picked up a box of M38A1 hardware (nuts, bolts, brackets, etc) at Red Ball and need help figuring out what a couple things are in the pic below. The metal pipe "T" and rubber elbow were connected when I found them. Are these parts of the battery box drain system? It looks like the "T" may have been coated with something rubbery at some point, as there are remnants of it inside. The grommet is unusual in that the center hole is offset. It's molded that way and in good shape.....but I have no idea where it goes. Lastly are the shifter knobs. At first I thought they were old worn out junk, but looking closer I see they're basically new. And heavy! They have a rough surface finish and the knobs on my T-case levers are smooth. These things feel like rocks when you pick them up and they have a steel insert. They feel too heavy for bakelite, and when you smack them together they sound like pool balls hitting. Not sure if the original knobs were smooth or rough like these..........any ideas?
Hi Bob,
My new replacement knobs are pretty heavy and have that pool ball click when smacked together. Round edge on the side.
For what it's worth, my takeoffs which are in bad shape have the same metal insert inside. There's too much junk on the outside to get anything out of smackng them together. But they aren't light either.
The Ord ( G758 does list a tee for the drain but it is listed as steel. What you have may be steel, just extremely corroded. I suspect it is the drain tee between the two trays, and the rubber is part of the rubber drains.
There aren't any pics in the Ord 9, but the battery parts start on page 170, and the stuff you are looking at is on page 173.
Thanks! Any idea where the grommet with the offset hole goes? Is it even an M38A1 part?
The "T" is made of steel. It just has a rubberized coating on it.........like the battery hold down brackets. That's why I'm thinking it's part of the battery drain system.
The grommet is solid, no split. The shifter balls are clean.......no cosmo. I'm going to look at them under the magnifying glass and see if I can find any markings or numbers.
While we're talking battery box drains..........is there a master list for tubing the military used? Reason I ask is the ORD calls out Tubing 44-T-5080-35 for one of the battery drain tubes, but there's no definition of 44-T-5080-35 in the ORD. It has the other definitions for the -65 and -10 tubing, but not the -35. And I'd like to see what ID/OD they call out for this steel tubing.
Your comment about cosmolene on the shifter balls got me thinking. Rolling them around in my hand it sure didn't feel like cosmo.....but on second thought I didn't try hitting them with any solvent. I'm going to do that when I get home tonight. Thanks.
Tried some strong solvent on the balls......the roughness doesn't come off, they were made that way. Did get a set of the 2 angled battery drain tubes from Dan at Midwest, and the long 90 degree tube is available......so I now have all the parts needed to put my battery drain system in place. Still haven't found a spec for the 44-T-5080-35 rubber tubing.......but haven't had much time to dig deeper. Also never found out what the goofy grommet is for, or if it even belongs on the A1. I'm going to assume it's not an A1 part, as I'm sure someone restoring one would have remembered it. Thanks again for the help!
