M135/211 Exhaust manifold

[Ak907m135]

Hello and greetings from Alaska.

My dad and I recently bought a cable tool drilling rig sitting on a m135/m211 GMC truck with the Chevy 302 engine. We got it to run, the transmission works, but the exhaust manifold looks like it's cracked in half and the gasket is blown out. We need to move it about 20 miles to get it home, but the exhaust is in such poor condition we are worried it might cause a fire in the engine compartment.

We've been looking online for a usable exhaust manifold but haven't found one. Does anyone know where to find this part? Any help would be appreciated. Other than the exhaust, the rest of the truck seems to be in fairly decent working order.

 

[m1010plowboy]

Welcome to the site. One of the most widely used post service MV's still running and on the push for 70 years........beautiful.

That's a good looker. I smell a heater behind that step, one under the hood indicated by the missing scoop......and I'll throw out a guess that the frame rail behind the front passenger wheel .......and the data plate......says 1207XXXXX. In a frozen world the battery boxes would be insulated and be more than just a flat tray. An odd glass jar that hooks to the compressor, appears to hold alcohol....and did.....sat behind the radiator on the passenger side.

Without pictures of the inside of the cab it's a little tough to see the 'Perfection Heater" control box mounted below the steering wheel....but it was there.

I'll look for a complete manifold gasket kit and.....unless you find something closer...... we'll have a spare manifold sitting on a shelf.

 

[NDT]

These manifolds have been hard to find for ages now. Some tidbits from someone who has struggled with these manifolds: If you get a used one, which it will likely be, get it machined with the intake attached to remove any warp. The head might need machining too if the previous operator let the leak go for a long time. To find a manifold, call all the old school dealers, White Owl, Memphis, Sam Winer Motors, SECO.

 

[292FARMER]

LOVE THE TRUCK LOOKS SWEET. MEMPHIS EQUIPMENT HAS THE EXHAUST AND INTAKE MANIFOLD ASSEMBLY..THINK WAS 600$ KINDA PRICEY...BUT YOU CAN GET IT!

 

[Mullaney]

Hello and greetings from Alaska.

My dad and I recently bought a cable tool drilling rig sitting on a m135/m211 GMC truck with the Chevy 302 engine. We got it to run, the transmission works, but the exhaust manifold looks like it's cracked in half and the gasket is blown out. We need to move it about 20 miles to get it home, but the exhaust is in such poor condition we are worried it might cause a fire in the engine compartment.

We've been looking online for a usable exhaust manifold but haven't found one. Does anyone know where to find this part? Any help would be appreciated. Other than the exhaust, the rest of the truck seems to be in fairly decent working order.

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Back long ago in the 80's, we had two welders who spent their days fixing things. Plates for frames to support derricks, plates on torque rods - so if and when the rubber disconnected - the axles wouldn't slide out of place. Welding booms from scratch - and the part that you care about - Repairing old and hard to find cast iron parts like intake and exhaust manifolds.

One of the guys would have a pallet of those parts to repair and sometimes it took days to finish all of them. Braising Rods, some sort of blue powder that was used as flux with the Acetylene Torch was what he used. At least as much time was spend grinding out a "V" to give more "surface" for the parts to stay together. The man did incredible work. It wasn't fancy or cute or sexy - but when he stuck something together - it wasn't going to break there again...

If you aren't in a rush and can find somebody that isn't working on race cars and feels like patching up old cast iron isn't beneath him, you could save what you have. I would look for an old guy. Somebody that has been around the block a few times.

Otherwise, you can pull off what you have and hope you can buy an old "takeoff" and move along...

 

[m1010plowboy]

That guy must have been busy. His work is all over the trucks up here.



Not all the manifolds broke so there is this little rumor that the fellas and ladies did not read the operations manual. Had they read the manual they'd know the little flap at the side of the manifold has has 2 settings. It's said that if the flap was not in the correct seasonal direction it would heat up the manifold beyond the happy point.



It looks more like a design issue with so many cracked but the good ones are still out there. Check you flapper fellas!

 

[Mullaney]

That guy must have been busy. His work is all over the trucks up here.

View attachment 850125 View attachment 850133

Not all the manifolds broke so there is this little rumor that the fellas and ladies did not read the operations manual. Had they read the manual they'd know the little flap at the side of the manifold has has 2 settings. It's said that if the flap was not in the correct seasonal direction it would heat up the manifold beyond the happy point.

View attachment 850124 View attachment 850123

It looks more like a design issue with so many cracked but the good ones are still out there. Check you flapper fellas!

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I guess you never know where things could end up. I would like to say for sure that the guy who did that work for us so many years ago had a "better hand" than whomever did the sample pictures - but I guess everybody has to start somewhere

REALLY INTERESTING to see that the Ops Manual mentioned two settings too!

 

[DUUANE]

I have a spare. It will take me a little while to liberate it. How soon are you looking to move your rig? PM me your contact info and i'll get back to you asap.

Cheers

 

[Ak907m135]

Thank you all for the replies, this forum is SUPER helpful and a wealth of knowledge.

Yesterday we made the trip to Anchorage and were able to find and pull an intact carb/intake/exhaust. He had a few trucks, including one with a crane on it which I thought was super cool, but he said he's trying to get rid of the rest of what he has, so in the future if we need anything else I'm not sure we'll be able to find anything around here.

Gary's Truck Sales in Anchorage Alaska. He's been selling military vehicles for quite a while. Y'all seem to like pics of these rigs, so here's some I took while I was there. Wish I got a better angle of the crane because it was in such good condition, but oh well.

 

[Mullaney]

Thank you all for the replies, this forum is SUPER helpful and a wealth of knowledge.

Yesterday we made the trip to Anchorage and were able to find and pull an intact carb/intake/exhaust. He had a few trucks, including one with a crane on it which I thought was super cool, but he said he's trying to get rid of the rest of what he has, so in the future if we need anything else I'm not sure we'll be able to find anything around here.

Gary's Truck Sales in Anchorage Alaska. He's been selling military vehicles for quite a while. Y'all seem to like pics of these rigs, so here's some I took while I was there. Wish I got a better angle of the crane because it was in such good condition, but oh well.View attachment 850382View attachment 850383

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You definitely got it right... We like some pictures for sure! That wrecker seems to be in pretty good shape. Nothing quite like having something to lift things with wheels . There is a winter gondola cover for those trucks so you can deal with winter weather and still lift and move things. Some had it and others didn't.

Except for the bumper, the body on the dump truck seems to be in good shape too!

Thanks for the good words. There are a bunch of folks here who enjoy helping others and working on and enjoying big green trucks... If you find more pix, don't hesitate to post them! Glad that you found the parts that you needed too!

 

[m1010plowboy]

Thank you all for the replies, this forum is SUPER helpful and a wealth of knowledge.

Yesterday we made the trip to Anchorage and were able to find and pull an intact carb/intake/exhaust.

I like pictures of trucks and deuce manifolds.

So you're set? You got parts? You still need gaskets? Check locally off the part number sheet. Napa had valve cover gaskets last time I asked. The package is one the shelf....over.

G749 Parts List

Here is the link to the parts list that several of us have been working on for the G749 series. We will continue to update it as new part numbers are discovered. Please let me know of any additional part numbers you might come across and I will add those to the list for everyone to use as...

www.steelsoldiers.com

The perishables are good to find too. Plugs, points, condenser, rotor, water pump, fuel pump, brake pads, air-paks, wheel cylinders and seals.

I can hear that truck running already.

 

[Ak907m135]

I think my dad still wants the gaskets and manifold from you.

Here's a short video I took last week when we got it running before we realized how bad the manifold was. You can see flames shoot out the top, making the manifold a necessary fix before we can think about driving it.

Had to rebuild the starter and give it a little ether and some fresh gas, but it fired right up and after sitting for almost 10 years. Once we fix the brakes and the manifold it should make the trip back home.

 

[Ak907m135]

Earlier this year one of my dad's friends bought a similar rig, also equipped with a bucyrus eire 22-w cable tool drilling rig, so this is sort of our second go-around getting these trucks up and running. This truck however was in MUCH poorer condition. Someone had removed the 24v fuel pump and replaced it with a 12v pump hooked to a car battery. They also removed the compressor and most of the air brake system. The exhaust manifold has a large crack also.

I think the truck was an 1953 m35a(?) manufactured by REO motors. Here's some pics I took when we were working on it, raising the mast on the derrick, etc.

2021 was the year of 50's military trucks carrying drilling rigs apparently

 

[Mullaney]

Earlier this year one of my dad's friends bought a similar rig, also equipped with a bucyrus eire 22-w cable tool drilling rig, so this is sort of our second go-around getting these trucks up and running. This truck however was in MUCH poorer condition. Someone had removed the 24v fuel pump and replaced it with a 12v pump hooked to a car battery. They also removed the compressor and most of the air brake system. The exhaust manifold has a large crack also.

I think the truck was an 1953 m35a(?) manufactured by REO motors. Here's some pics I took when we were working on it, raising the mast on the derrick, etc.

2021 was the year of 50's military trucks carrying drilling rigs apparently

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Sooooo Neat! Very nice.

Yeah, it needs a little luvin to make it "purty" but just having one is amazing.
Having touched two of them is almost impossible to imagine happening...

 

[m1010plowboy]

I think my dad still wants the gaskets and manifold from you.

Here's a short video I took last week when we got it running before we realized how bad the manifold was. You can see flames shoot out the top, making the manifold a necessary fix before we can think about driving it.

Had to rebuild the starter and give it a little ether and some fresh gas, but it fired right up and after sitting for almost 10 years. Once we fix the brakes and the manifold it should make the trip back home.

I got that video open and I see battery heater boxes. I don't see the glass jar but seeing those battery boxes is rare. That truck had some special 'in service' add on parts for northern climate. Here's the drilling rig on a M207 cab and chassis platform.



There XM211 stamp makes sense which might make it an early truck. Some of the experienced fellas here will know if the XM designation went away after 1952.

Really appreciate you taking the time to share the photos.

 

[Zaddict]

Plowboy, I have a 54 ‘ m211 and need a muffler. I heard you had some made but kept north of the border. Any chance you still have any and want to part with one? If not do you have the layout or drawing with dimensions that I might be able to get one made down here in NC?
Thanks for your time,
Zaddict

 

[Mullaney]

I got that video open and I see battery heater boxes. I don't see the glass jar but seeing those battery boxes is rare. That truck had some special 'in service' add on parts for northern climate. Here's the drilling rig on a M207 cab and chassis platform.

View attachment 850552

There XM211 stamp makes sense which might make it an early truck. Some of the experienced fellas here will know if the XM designation went away after 1952.

Really appreciate you taking the time to share the photos.

View attachment 850551

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That drilling rig is SOOOoooo Neat!

 

[nattieleather]

There are two types of GMC owners. Those who have an exhaust manifold gasket that's blown and those who will have an exhaust manifold gasket that's blown. I met a man in the late 90s with an M135 when I had my M211 and his truck was ran smooth and was quiet and I asked him how he got it to run so smooth and quiet and he said that every spring he pulled, cleaned, and inspected his exhaust manifold. He then fixed any issues and replaced the gasket. I thought that was a bit extreme, but it was a good running truck.

If you're going to get the manifold machined do the head with it along with the intake so everything works as a unit.

 

[m1010plowboy]

Plowboy, I have a 54 ‘ m211 and need a muffler. I heard you had some made but kept north of the border. Any chance you still have any and want to part with one? If not do you have the layout or drawing with dimensions that I might be able to get one made down here in NC?
Thanks for your time,
Zaddict

I should have a muffler wrapped in boxes and on the scales for Canada Post transport cost Friday. If delivery is not more than the muffler I'll just send it and if costs seem high I will send you another PM....... first.

Either way I will get you a cost for a muffler on your doorstep......

 

[Ak907m135]

There are two types of GMC owners. Those who have an exhaust manifold gasket that's blown and those who will have an exhaust manifold gasket that's blown. I met a man in the late 90s with an M135 when I had my M211 and his truck was ran smooth and was quiet and I asked him how he got it to run so smooth and quiet and he said that every spring he pulled, cleaned, and inspected his exhaust manifold. He then fixed any issues and replaced the gasket. I thought that was a bit extreme, but it was a good running truck.

If you're going to get the manifold machined do the head with it along with the intake so everything works as a unit.

And here is a fine example of both types of GMC owners lol.

We definitely got the manifold we pulled machined. Eventually we're probably going to have to pull the head too, because we noticed a small amount of coolant in an exhaust port when we took the old manifold off. Hopefully the head isn't cracked...