Ammo Can Center Console

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Airborne Bob
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Ammo Can Center Console

Post by Airborne Bob » Fri Nov 09, 2007 8:01 am

While cruising around the flea market with NavSecGruJoe last year at Aberdeen, we came across a bunch of ammo cans for sale that are the perfect size for a center console for our M151's:

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The approximate dimensions of this 40mm can are 19" long X 6" wide X 10" deep. They appear to be a can that stores practice "dummy" linked 40mm rounds as the lid is marked "inert."

The guy had quite a few of them, so we were able to pick out a couple that were virtually brand new. They came with some styrofoam and a wooden tray for the 40mm rounds, but Joe and I took them just the way they are because we had no need for the insert and they were so new they looked like they'd never even had any ammo in them. They weren't cheap by ammo-can standards, I'm going to say about $20 apiece. Maybe we paid two for $30, I don't recall, but well worth the price because of the size:

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The lids are the mason-jar clamp-type with the rubber seal around the edge to keep out moisture. They're really a quality container... even the handles have rubber on them.

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Here's what they look like between the seats (from the driver's side) with the lid off:

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Here it is with the lid clamped on from the passenger side:

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I can think of a lot of ways to use this thing. You could hinge the lid at one end and rig up a padlock hasp on the other. It could either be through-bolted to the floor or just bungie-corded front and back. I like that idea because I could easily remove it for parades and such, whenever anybody has to get in and out of the back seat easily.

I've been looking for something like this for a while now, ever since I started driving my rig to Aberdeen in the convoy. If I'm driving with a bottle of water by my side, for example, I'm always at a loss as to where to put it where it won't tip over. Paying tolls is a pain when you have to reach into your jeans and fumble around for the right amount. It would also make a good place to throw the hand mike or headset instead of having it kick around on the floor between the seats. Sunglasses? No problem. These jeeps of ours are great, but lack a "glove box."

I might even make my own insert or organizer that has built-in cup holders and a place for change. I even came up with another idea to really make it fancy: cut out a piece of 1/2" plywood the same size as the lid. Then drill several holes in the plywood and lid so you can carriage-bolt the plywood to the lid. Then send it off to Dave Pizzaferrato and have him pad the plywood and cover it with canvas. Presto! A padded "console!"

Maybe you can find one of these things locally or maybe just posting this here will bring someone to the board who has a supply of them or if you're going to Aberdeen next year, you might be able to find the guy yourself. If you can't make it to Aberdeen but want one, if you'll remind me next spring, I'll try to find the guy again and see if he has a card and can ship one to you if he still has them.
Army Basic, AIT and OCS: Ft. Knox, KY (1967)
82nd Airborne Division: Ft. Bragg, NC (1968)
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Post by raymond » Fri Nov 09, 2007 9:17 am

Bob

I have a couple of good cup holders between the front seats of my M151 and they look "correct" for display. Get yourself 2 rolls of O.D. duct tape. A 16 OZ. water bottle or a 12 oz. can of barley with a thin foam cooler cup fits in one just right and won't tip over, even on rough roads. As you know, that area of the floor board gets hot with the muffler directly under it, so I set mine on a couple of cardboard discs cut just a little smaller than the diameter of the roll of duct tape.

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Post by Airborne Bob » Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:16 am

Thanks Raymond. I'm actually thinking of making something out of wood that will fit inside the can, maybe with a place toward the front for two elevated drink holders and change and then leaving a deeper space behind them for headphones, sunglasses, etc. Or maybe I can find something in plastic in WalMart and cut it down to fit and brace it in there.

I could even probably get a lot of my spare "break-down" stuff in the bottom too, like spare ignition module, coil, plugs, wires, carb kit, etc. ... stuff I bring on the road with me in case I break down. At the end of the day I can just undo the bungie cords and carry the whole thing into the room with me.

These cans are so waterproof and seal so tight, they're probably perfect for storing moisture-sensitive parts in your garage. Just throw in some of those silicon moisture absorbers and clamp on the lid. If this guy has more next year I may even buy 4 or 5 more just to have them.
Army Basic, AIT and OCS: Ft. Knox, KY (1967)
82nd Airborne Division: Ft. Bragg, NC (1968)
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Post by Mike Rogers » Fri Nov 09, 2007 3:43 pm

Bob-

I just did this, too! I used a 20mm ammo can. I drilled a hole in the botom of it and mounted it behind my passenger seat using an existing hole in the floor. I then mounted my CB inside the ammo can, drilled a hole in one of the sides for the CB power wire and antenna and ran the wires into the tool compartment. (You only see about an inch of them). I also have room in the ammo can for spare parts, additional tools, a flashlight, and a gas can spout.
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Post by raymond » Fri Nov 09, 2007 4:10 pm

Bob

If you don't want to bolt the can to the floor but would still like some security, you can get some extremely powerful magnets from an alternator/generator/ electric motor shop. Probably get one free out of a parts unit that is not worth repairing. Some of these magnets can have 50 pounds of pulling power. Put one or two in the bottom and to the average thief, it would appear to be bolted in. I have some big magnets out of some large DC motors that I will do this with sometime when I get around to it. (To have ambition is my ambition)

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ammo can

Post by Fil Bonica » Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:11 pm

Bob:
I have had a 20 MM can between the two seats for years. In fact I modified one to have 24 Volts DC into it and it feeds a GI GPS and a 24 volt to 12 volt converter and a six watt VHF portable. It still has room for other things. Maybe this year I'll drive to Aberdeen and you can see.


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Post by toptiger5 » Sat Nov 10, 2007 11:19 am

guys
on a whim, i tried ebay and found several, but be careful-some are different sizes.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dl ... category0=

I bought an identical one to Bob's for 15.95 {buy it now} from coleman's surplus....sure shipping was a hit but they have some other good items like ropes etc that helped offset the cost.

http://stores.ebay.com/Colemans-Surplus ... fpZ0QQtZkm
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Post by Ed Schommer » Sat Nov 10, 2007 4:33 pm

Yes, these are great ammo cans just as you describe. I use two of them in my M151:

1. A 'glove box' between the seats, bungie through the handles to the seat frame.

2. A tool box lying flat under the rear seat.

They could be used for a spare parts box also under the rear seat. [I use a 50 cal ammo can for my spares with fuel pump, complete distributor, fuel filter etc. lying flat under the rear seat]

Ed
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Post by moose53 » Sat Nov 10, 2007 4:39 pm

for those with radios, the fat .223 SAW cans are the same approx size as the R-442 so fit nicely on top the fender next to them to hold spare stuff for the radios like mikes and headsets.....

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Re: ammo can

Post by Airborne Bob » Sun May 18, 2008 2:39 pm

Fil Bonica wrote:Bob:
I have had a 20 MM can between the two seats for years. In fact I modified one to have 24 Volts DC into it and it feeds a GI GPS and a 24 volt to 12 volt converter and a six watt VHF portable. It still has room for other things. Maybe this year I'll drive to Aberdeen and you can see.


Rgards

Fil Bonica
This is a followup on this thread. Fil did bring this ammo can to Aberdeen and it was quite impressive... it fits well between the seats and also acts as an "arm rest" because it's so tall!

Here's what I wound up doing with my smaller 40mm can. I took the measurements of the inside of the can and slapped together a frame of 1X2's I had lying around and a little 1X1 stock... rounded off the edges on a grinding wheel so it slides in and out easily. I partitioned off this wooden insert frame so that I had enough room for a couple of water bottles and other things:

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This is the frame before I brad-nailed the sides onto it.

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Here's another angle.

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And another angle. You could make yours any way you want, but the idea is to have it store things that are handy to have at your side. I hit it with a little 24087 and finished assembling it.

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Here it is fully assembled and painted.

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Installed in the can.

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Here it sits in between the seats.

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A great storage compartment to keep your water bottles, cell phone, sun glasses, sunscreen, loose change for tolls, etc. This came in SO handy on my trip to Aberdeen, where you pull up to the toll booth and, instead of digging into your jeans for the toll, you just reach down for a couple of dollars in the "console."

Now, a good way to go would be to through-bolt this console to the floor, but for now, I just bungy-cord mine to the lower seat frames. I need to have mine removable because when my grandson comes to visit, everyone needs to pile into all four seats in the jeep and the only easy access to the back seat is through the center area. So, when they arrive again soon, I can just remove the console for now. When they leave, I'll bungy it back again because it's so handy.

Fil's console might be even better though, if you want even more room. You could really partition off that thing to include storage for all kinds of extra things like radio headphones, a mike, spare travel parts, all kinds of stuff.
Army Basic, AIT and OCS: Ft. Knox, KY (1967)
82nd Airborne Division: Ft. Bragg, NC (1968)
South Vietnamese Combat Advisor RVN (1969)
Owner: 1972 M151A2

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Post by Mike Rogers » Wed Jun 04, 2008 7:23 pm

Nice can. You need another one so I can compliment you on your "Nice set of cans."
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Post by HQ327 » Wed Sep 24, 2008 5:11 pm

Did this all the time when I was in the Army and rode in a 151. We bolted to floor, welded on side to prevent top coming all the way off, then place part of a hasp lock on the other side to allow it to be locked.

At times also used other one to carry other gear in the back as well as using wooden grenade boxes.

JG

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cans?

Post by James Hybicki » Thu Sep 25, 2008 8:53 am

I had a can like the one shown and took a piece of 1/4" thick plywood, 2 of those wood locking nuts that get mounted in a hole on the top of the board, some 1" thick foam and some nylon material from an old scrap army backpack, stapled the material to the board. made an arm rest pad and after i drilled 2 holes into the top of the ammo can lid hd a nice padded arm rest.

had it at a car show about 2 weeks later and somebody else thought it was as cool an idea as i did and stole it. should have bolted it down or attached it to a claymore.

good idea however.

only change i would make is to put some 1" foam insulation board in the bottom as it about cooked everything in the can from the heat of the exhaust system under it. it was hell on the snickers bars in the can. i have to tell you its hard to drink a snickers bar. fortunately we had them in plastic bags.

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Post by Rickf » Thu Sep 25, 2008 9:02 am

[i have to tell you its hard to drink a snickers bar. fortunately we had them in plastic bags. ]
LMAO :lol:
Yea that floor does get a little toasty. I had a plastic bag of brake parts there and it melted to the floor. This winter I am going to clean the heat shield real good and paint it silver to reflect some of the heat. May even insulate the area between the shield and the floor.
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Post by bobtanker » Thu Sep 25, 2008 9:17 am

If you figure out what to use for the insulation, please let me know. I have been looking for an idea. Thanks

Bob
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