M66 ring heading my way, mounting questions

[midcounty]

I found a M66 ring through a friend of mine, who also got one for himself. Now comes the mounting task. I have two Deuces, one hard top and one soft top. I will probably mount it on the soft top truck, but wondering if any of you have pictures of them mounted on hard top trucks. I am curious how you seal the hole when not in use. Also, anyone adapted their set up to hold a 1919? I would like to mount a dummy M2 or M60 for display, but be able to put my 1919 on for a little fun at the range.

 

[flyusn99]

M66 hard top mounting

I just got done mounting my M66 on my M35A2C that has a hard top. Its really not that tricky. The hardtop M66 equiped Deuces I've seen all had 30" diameter holes cut out above the passenger seat with some unit level thrown together plate with a verticle lip welded on top then bolted to the outside of the cab. I took a plasma cutter and cut the 30" hole in the top then two pieces of diamond plate cut 35" square with 30" hole cut out of them and a 1.5" piece of diamond plate bent around in a circle and had a 1/3" lip welded around the outside of that. Then I refurbed the whole hard top and bolted the two pieces together (one inside and one outside to add structural support) with a generous helping of silicone sealant between and put the whole top back on the truck.
To cover the opening after it was re-installed I took some wet-suit neoprene (they sell them in rolls) and cut out a 29.5" circle and then a 1.25" strip (about 29" long) for a skirt and sewed it together to form a top. With that then I sewed on some velcro to the inside of the /skirtlip. I then took seam tape and ironed it over the seam between the two to make it waterproof and over the stitching for the velcro to make it all look a bit more uniform. Then it was a matter of just putting the opposite side velcro on the outside of the lip on the access port.
After that I decided I wanted to make sure the neoprene wouldn't sag down if it was raining so I took a big piece of dense foam and cut it to 31" circle and domed the top a bit and now that just pushed up in the hole stays there by friction and prevents any water accumulation on the cover.
I'm on leave right now in Alaska but when I get back to Florida I can post some pictures so you can get a better idea on how it all goes together if you'd like.
The main piece of advice I can offer is make sure you have the cab reenforcement kit installed (jwaller still had a few for sale) becuase that ring moves around a lot when you're driving even with the entire cab reenforced, I haven't shot off mine yet but I can imagine the stresses are even greater. I'm almost certain the ring would tear a truck apart without that kit put on. Hope this helps.

James

 

[flyusn99]

M66 1919 adapter

I forgot to add I think you can mount the 1919 to the standard M23 mount with an adapter kit. Not sure but if you get ahold of the guy at www.bmgparts.com he could tell you for sure. His prices are a bit on the steep side but he's got a boatload of stuff.

James

 

[midcounty]

Sounds great! I will look forward to the pictures. Thanks for the help.

 

[flyusn99]

Pics of the Hard top w/M66

As promised. First set, couldn't get all of them on one so I'll post another reply as well. Let me know if you have any questions.

James

 

[flyusn99]

The pics, hopefully....

 

[flyusn99]

Last batch, hope this helps.

James

 

[midcounty]

Nice looking job. Thanks for the pics and how to. I will be doing this to my hard top when I get the time.