No one's m35a3

[BigWill1276]

Looks good man, Can't make up my mind about the tires either. I'll probably stick with stock but they are hard to come by. Still waiting for my EUC to clear but I can feel it. It's gonna be any day now. So are you driving her home or having it shipped? Keep up the pics and post.

 

[EXITNOONE]

THANKS BIGWILL- it's almost done !!

i'm still on the fence about driving it home.
if it was any other season except blazing hot summer, i'd have no reservations at all about driving it home. the difference between driving it home and having it hauled is $800 once all costs are figured in. i don't exactly care to lose the $800, but it might be worth it to avoid any break downs, fatigue on the truck, and wear & tear on me... who by the way should be at work so i can pay for the fabrication.

once it is home, i'll most likely pick up the 46" tires from 100dollarman in barstow.
i wanted to be sure the truck weighs as little possible for registration costs here in the pansie state of california. still can't figure out which model i want more xml xl or xzl ???

while i was waiting on my euc's i called the arizona hq for gl. they had it cleared for a few days before it showed up on my gl account summary page. wouldn't hurt for you to put a call in and see if there's any progress on yours. have all your event, lot, info ready for the operators.

 

[Oilleaker1]

I vote drive it home! I've got the fondest memories of breakdowns of all trips. It's a real adventure that you just can't buy. You meet some of the best friends of your life! No kidding, in times of hardship, the real friends who like what you like show up out of the clear blue to help. I like the trucks both configurations, so yes, have both! Then move on to the A2! Ha! John

 

[kc5mzd]

You might find a RV storage facility near the pickup and store it till October - November when it will be cool outside.
Its hard to believe but fall / winter will get here in just a couple of months and we will all be complaining about the cold...

 

[akonitony]

I was not going to bob my M35A3, but now I am thinking about it.

You are a bad, bad man...

 

[EXITNOONE]

OILLEAKER- truth be known, my preference is to drive it as though i have all the time in the world. one of my biggest desires with the truck is to take it off the beaten path in northern california and nevada and go trekking and gold mining for months at a time.
if only we didn't have to work for a living, and get back to civilization in order to fund the trips !!
it's a regular dilemma. wish me luck that i find enough gold to stay out and play for as long as i want !!! and then i can get the 2nd A3 for sure. funny that you mentioned still getting an A2, because even though the A3's are cool, i'm feeling like they need more babying than the A2's, due to the auto transmissions. there's almost nothing as fun as having a truck you can just beat to death without worrying about. and the A2 would be perfect for that.

KC5MZD- that's not a half bad idea... i've been considering it actually. only draw back about storage though is i will miss out on the 2 months or so which i could have been using to set the A3 up exactly how i want it in order to be ready right when the cooler weather starts. instead of being ready in september, i'd be set back to december. that's not so bad in southern california actually, but northern california and nevada would be a heck of a time if i got delayed until winter.
the way projects usually go though, i might not even be ready until next spring.

AKONITONY- well, just to tempt you a little more, here are the latest photos of my A3 from eastern surplus.



DAVE at eastern surplus is out of town until september 1, so he gave me the option of waiting until he got back to settle up the bills. of course that sets my schedule back a little, but i want his final once over before i arrange to drive it or ship it. his mechanics don't have the final approval while he's out.

 

[akonitony]

Must... resist... must not... be... overcome...

 

[kc5mzd]

The truck is looking nice!
Instead of a fuel can on the drivers step you should look into an extra tank where the spare tire goes. It would seriously extend your range and let you carry an extra 5gal of water instead.

 

[EXITNOONE]

AKONITONY- i'll take it easy on you for now, but once i add the 46" michelins... i doubt anyone could say no at that point. i'm also thinking of painting the truck in winter-ish camo scheme. light grey, dark grey, and black. it would look crazy at that point !!!

KC5MZD- that is definitely one of my ideas in the planning. my gmc 6500 has dual tanks, and they're a must when hauling. knowing the A3 will probably have less fuel efficiency, and that i'd be going places where gas stations don't exist, dual tanks are practically a must.

it couldn't hurt to mount a 50 gallon clean water tank between the frame rails under the bed for extended trips in the desert.

one possibility is using the truck's air system to power a pneumatic jack hammer for breaking gold ore.

now i'm going off the deep end talking about gold mining, but i am completely excited to get the A3 out and off the road to see what it can do...

 

[goldneagle]

AKONITONY- i'll take it easy on you for now, but once i add the 46" michelins... i doubt anyone could say no at that point. i'm also thinking of painting the truck in winter-ish camo scheme. light grey, dark grey, and black. it would look crazy at that point !!!

KC5MZD- that is definitely one of my ideas in the planning. my gmc 6500 has dual tanks, and they're a must when hauling. knowing the A3 will probably have less fuel efficiency, and that i'd be going places where gas stations don't exist, dual tanks are practically a must.

it couldn't hurt to mount a 50 gallon clean water tank between the frame rails under the bed for extended trips in the desert.

one possibility is using the truck's air system to power a pneumatic jack hammer for breaking gold ore.

now i'm going off the deep end talking about gold mining, but i am completely excited to get the A3 out and off the road to see what it can do...

I hate to burst your bubble but the air system in the truck will not power a air jackhammer. they require very large air compressors (tow behind style) They have them on GL from time to time. They are not cheap.

 

[akonitony]

Here's a one-up for you on the paint scheme. Use those colors, but do a '60s-motive hot-rod flames on the leading edge of everything.

 

[EXITNOONE]

GOLDENEAGLE- you gotta let me fail, or else i'll never learn. thanks for the heads up... this rule doesn't apply to anti-personnel mine fields though.

AKONITONY- there's a flaming deuce image online. just google "flaming deuce". it's all black with classic flames on the front. looks alright...

 

[AceHigh]

The flames look good but ...

Reminds me of back in the day our local fire department had a tanker that ran slower than turtles. So there it was running with siren and lights- and all the cars passing it.

 

[akonitony]

I was thinking of keeping it all military colors, so they would almost be ghost flames, and doing them at all leading edges of the body, so it would still have a camo look by breaking up the outline overall.

 

[EXITNOONE]

ACEHIGH- sounds like that tanker was better suited for parades and sight seeing tours with it's speed limit.

AKONITONY- i think your subtle flame idea is a good one. keeps the integrity of the truck camo paint scheme without being over the top.


AND NOW FOR THE LATEST PHOTOS...

the last change was having the bed made symmetrical and centered on the rear axle.
looking good. and soon the 46" tires will go on !!!

 

[swampzr2]

Can you use front springs and hangers from the M35A2 for the bed when you bob it?

 

[EXITNOONE]

SWAMPZR2- on my A3 i used the stock bed, so i don't have any experience with switching with A2 bed mounts,
but i'm assuming they are the same and interchangeable on both versions of the deuce.

if you're asking about the springs because you are switching to an m105 trailer bed, the best person to ask is 100DOLLARMAN.
aka mark aka hundy

 

[bratpackdad]

Did I miss something? I don't see the part where you got this back to Cali..

 

[EXITNOONE]

BRATPACKDAD- you are correct... i'm still in the process of getting the A3 out to california.

very astute observation of you. in my writing point of view, i could have clarified a little better that i decided to have eastern surplus use the stock bed as they were completing the bob. i did mention i didn't have the personal experience of working on the bed myself though.

so that brings me to the latest developments....

1. i've been healing my back as best as possible after suffering a slipped disc earlier this year
2. i got an offer from a shipper to bring the A3 out in an enclosed trailer, for about the same cost as it would have been for me to drive it out on my own.
3. david at eastern surplus agreed to work closely with the shipper to get the A3 ready for the enclosed trailer. that means removing the side view mirrors and taking the top half of the exhaust stack down, also the antenna mast. and the shipper agreed to reinstall them when he gets here.
4. i haven't been able to get away from work for more than 3 days at a time this year, so that has been a major problem with my ability to even get the truck on my own in the first place.
5. one of my biggest concerns from the start was the possibility of getting the A3 stuck in the middle of nowhere with a blown engine and adding all kinds of costs to my project. so to have it shipped out here, where i can get the overhead service done, before putting a cross country trip on the engine, gives me some plain old fashioned peace of mind.
6. also, with no door locks, the cross country trip was seeming a bit unsecure. so the security offered by an enclosed hauler seems like a good idea until i can fabricate door locks for the A3
7. that's about all the excuses i can think of at the moment for not driving the A3 out here.
8. once i've gone through it, and had the engine service done, the A3 and i are going to be doing a lot of traveling in the next year, so even if i do miss out on the cross country recovery club, i will still be able to chalk up tons of miles for my bragging rights.

the A3 is scheduled to be picked up this monday, and should be here by the following monday.

patience may be a virtue, but it takes too long.

 

[EXITNOONE]

FINALLY HOME

after all the debating about whether or not to ship or drive,
even though i said i didn't want to waste time debating that...

the final answer was... to have the A3 shipped.

1. the hauler's cost was only $300 more than my cross country estimated costs of driving it myself.
2. the hauler had an enclosed trailer, which was more secure, given that the A3 doesn't have door locks yet.
3. being self employed, i had zero time for the cross country trip at the moment.
4. by having it hauled, there was no chance of developing any mechanical problems on the way home.

the A3 arrived 16OCT10 15:15

the driver and i spent the next hour extricating the A3 from his trailer, but ran into the biggest problem due to the loading dock we had to use. near my warehouse unit is a neighboring warehouse that has an out door loading dock platform... the problem was the platform was only designed for forklifts. so it was about a 25x35 foot rectangle that had a 7.5' wide access ramp.

the A3's air assist steering was improperly adjusted upon arrival, and that's where the biggest problem with the unload was. not being fully familiar with the system, i didn't think to adjust it then and there. so we backed and forthed the A3 inch by inch from the center of the dock to the far right.

once it was finally aligned with the access ramp at about a 20º angle, it was of course still wider than the access ramp. we cut the open inside corner of ramp/platform space by bridging it with some 4x4 and 1x6 pieces of wood. the driver side of the truck had an inch of space between the next door warehouse wall. and the passenger side wheels hung about 5" off the side of the access ramp.

i wish i had pictures of the decent down the ramp, but guiding was so intense and precise that neither of us was thinking about pictures at that point. needless to say, we successfully got the A3 down the ramp.

now the A3 is resting at my warehouse, taking up about 3/4 of the interior, and looking fine.
i adjusted the power steering, and it's working well.
i ripped out the passenger bench seat, because it's some kind of passenger torturing device.
and i'm going to replace it with another spring ride seat if i can find one in the newer A3 style.

i power washed the truck to get it ready for paint, removed the interior sound deadening foam, and should have it taped off and sprayed by this weekend. after paint, i'll be using an old trick to keep the undercarriage and hinges or joints of any kind from rusting.... fill a bug sprayer with a gallon of transmission fluid and completely soak the underbody, especially any part that moves, like leaf springs.

even though it's an east coast A3, it has very little rust underneath, and coating it with oil will make sure it stays that way.

as i have more time, i'd like to add a 12 volt alternator for interior gadgets, quick disconnect air lines plumbed to the front and rear bumpers, an electric radiator fan, everybody's dream of an air conditioner, and also change out the 37" tires for 46", and door locks.... a must in los angeles !!!

as the truck stands now, it barely squeezes under my warehouse door, so adding 46" tires might have to wait until i can move or find a secure open storage space.

here are a few pics of what i did get from the unloading. notice the narrow forklift ramp...