how to identify a M51 A2 dump truck

[Robo McDuff]

From a complete newby, who has been dreaming about this for years.

We more or less are getting a M51 dump truck for scrapp price. We will use it and some other old equipment in our non-profit project to restore a small-gauge railroad and for demonstrations and events. Problem is, I have to import the truck but it seems it never had any road registration or proper vehicle identification assigned to it.

According the current owner, the truck was bought about 10 or more years ago from an army surplus sale in Germany. It seems the truck was transported there as part of the post-war and cold-war presence of the US army in Germany, and never entered into active service. Less then 50 miles or so when sold as surplus, no further identification or registration numbers entered.

The identification tag shows following

Kaiser Jeep Corporation
mer.ser.no. 512312649
5 ton 6x6 M-51 A2 w/w
ord. service nr 8736516
fed stock no 2320-035-9263


It has a multifuel engine, about 3500 miles on the counter, the engine is supposed to be running without problem but have not heard it, the cabine soft cover is destroyed and the truck has been standing outside in the rain like that for at least a year or more.

I tried to run a search on the fed stock number, both as niin and as nsn (with two zero's inserted after the four digits). No dice. Other searches come up either empty or with too much pages on non-related stuff in the beginning.


My questions are:
- which year this truck was manifactured?
- how can I find more info about this truck, did it belong to a specific unit or was it an unassigned replacement item?
- is it possible to get any copies of the original assignment or sale? The current owner more or less inherited the truck when he bought the campying where it was used for ground work.
- manuals for maintenance?
- how much would a truck like that cost?

Any info is welcome, thanks
Robo

 

[Robo McDuff]

Thought I add a pic. The digger behind the truck is part of the deal.

 

[M543A2]

It may have a dash tag that shows date of delivery to the military.
I do not think you will have any luck tracing its origin, etc. during its time in the military.
Manuals and maintenance/parts are no problem here, but I do not know in your area. If you can buy in the States and import with little problem, you can get parts easily. Information on the truck also can be found on this site.
These trucks bring an estimated price range of $3000 to over $6000 US dollars here in the US depending on the condition.
The gauges, etc. in the cab are waterproof, so the year or so without the top probably did not hurt much. The biggest problem I have found with no top is if the rubber boot at the bottom of the transmission stick on the floor board is in poor condition, water gets into the transmission tower and can lock up the shifter rails and damage gears if it gets deep enough. If the stick shift moves easily in and out of all gears the transmission probably did not get water in it.
Regards Marti

 

[Robo McDuff]

Thanks for the quick reply. I think that the tag with info has the date of delivery / registration empty, has to check that when I get the latest pictures downloaded.

The main problem is that I need some kind of ID and indication of year of manifacturing to get the thing registered on Czech papers.

The tag says "Kaiser Jeep Corporation". Accodrding the history of that company, they used that name from 1963 until 1970, when they were taken over. Also, I think that as of 1970, the M809 series replaced the M39 series, or did they run together as well?

If not, it looks that this truck probably was made between 1963 and 1970 at the latest.

Marti, do you have any pics of your collection on the net?

 

[porkysplace]

search for 2010 vin info thread by carnac read the first post and give as much info as you have he can only do u s army trucks worth a shot

 

[Robo McDuff]

As I thought, date of delivery and inspected US property fields are empty, but I see there is a contract number mentioned as well: DA-20-113-AMC-1948(T)

Porkysplace, thanks for the tip, will post there.
VIN: did not think about looking for it when in the Netherlands.

As to the pictures, the ID tag, a shot from the cabine in its current state and from the engine.

 

[Monty]

Even comes with the heater and an artic grill cover.

I think with a new top you'll have one nice truck.

 

[crasheej]

You have the Vin number where it says Mfg # It is also located on the left front frame above the axle. May have to do some sanding to find it but it is there.

 

[Marcel]

Here are pictures of my 1966 M51A2.

 

[maddawg308]

Did those M51s come from the factory in 1966 with the fender mounted air cleaner and the exhaust stack? Or did they get revamped sometime in their lifetime?

I seem to remember the factory ones from the 60s came with the low exhaust pipe coming out near the rear wheels, and no air cleaner on the fender....

 

[Robo McDuff]

Crasheej, thanks, that should make finding out details easier.

Marcel, do you have pictures showing the dump bed up and details of how the hydrolic cylinders are connected to the frame?

I am thinking to make a switching option between dump bed and fifth wheel, but that depends on the location and attachment of the hydrolic cylinders.

Mike, I think the exhaust stack and air cleaner were standard, since both Marcel and I have the same as you can see on the new pic. I think mine is from late 1960s; the previous owner thought 1973 but that cannot be correct since at that time the Kaiser Jeep corporation did not exist anymore (since 1970).

Finally, the price we pay for this truck is around $ 500 (in kind, have to do some blacksmith work in return), but transporting it 900 km and getting registration and papers with it will probably set me back a lot more.

 

[area52]

Did those M51s come from the factory in 1966 with the fender mounted air cleaner and the exhaust stack? Or did they get revamped sometime in their lifetime?

I seem to remember the factory ones from the 60s came with the low exhaust pipe coming out near the rear wheels, and no air cleaner on the fender....

I believe the M51's with the gas engine came with no fender air cleaner and the rear exhaust. When they swapped to a Mack or multi-fuel engine, the changes were made.

 

[drgreg]

I believe the M51's with the gas engine came with no fender air cleaner and the rear exhaust. When they swapped to a Mack or multi-fuel engine, the changes were made.

I think you are correct sir...
I have the M51A1 with the Contiental R6602, gas engine, as pictured here.

My truck is a 1963 Diamond T.

 

[Marcel]

Did those M51s come from the factory in 1966 with the fender mounted air cleaner and the exhaust stack? Or did they get revamped sometime in their lifetime?

I seem to remember the factory ones from the 60s came with the low exhaust pipe coming out near the rear wheels, and no air cleaner on the fender....

Mine came to me with a fender mounted air cleaner and an exhaust stack.

 

[desertfox]

I have a 1968 Kaiser/jeep M51A2. Came with fender mounted air cleaner. Has the LDS engine.
Has the early marker lights in front. Still has solid mount drivers seat. Mine is the 5 speed with no
overdrive 5th. Transfer cases are prone to failure because most are used at very slow speeds therefore not allowing enough
lubricant to flow to the top of the transfer case. I am getting ready to change mine in the near future due to bad bearing in the top
of the transfer case. Just FYI.
45 is top speed.

 

[Robo McDuff]

Desert Fox, you have the same Kaiser jeep M51A2. Can you tell me your manufacturer - VIN number or compare it with my mfr. serial number 512312649 ? If we compare those two, we should be able to tell if mine is pre- or post-1968, always assuming that the higher number means a later manufacturing year.That should help narrow it done a bit again.

 

[Squirt-Truck]

Conversion (or constructed)to A2 placed the AC on the fneder and replaced the pipe with a stack.

 

[Robo McDuff]

OK Carnac came through big.

Organization: 386th Engineer Batallion
Location: Londonderry, New Hampshire
Year of Mfg: 1973
Manifacturer: Jeep Corporation[FONT=&quot]

Strange though that my ID tag stated "Kaiser Jeep Corporation", three years after that company was bought up and changed to "Jeep Corporation"??

Bit in two minds about this result though (nothing quite serious )
On the one hand, getting older myself (55) for me 1973 is not yet a real old timer, late sixties Kaiser Jeep Corporation sounds better than 1973 Jeep Corporation - AMC.
On the other hand (and much much more interesting) this truck should have all the latest improvements so probably a better vehicle overall compared with the early sixties .

Whatever, let's move on: anybody knows anything about this Battallion, especially when and where they were stationed in Germany getting this truck to end up there and to be sold in the late 1990s or 2000?

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