Fleet expansion: 1968 M62A2

[montaillou]

So, I bought a new, to me, A2

It's actually a 1968 M61A2. I'm posting here, because I really bought it for a friend - he a mechanic who will work off the debt doing stuff to my other A2. Neither one of us have room for 2 trucks, so, when he's working on my Deuce his truck will live in my driveway, then we'll swap.

 

[NDT]

Clean '68. Any idea what Uncle had on the back in service?

 

[Bill Nutting]

So, I bought a new, to me, A2

It's actually a 1968 M61A2. I'm posting here, because I really bought it for a friend - he a mechanic who will work off the debt doing stuff to my other A2. Neither one of us have room for 2 trucks, so, when he's working on my Deuce his truck will live in my driveway, then we'll swap.

Truck swapping??? Kinky...

 

[montaillou]

Clean '68. Any idea what Uncle had on the back in service?

It's been in use by a small city for some years...101k miles, I wonder what they've been using it for.

 

[NDT]

It's been in use by a small city for some years...101k miles, I wonder what they've been using it for.

Plowing snow looks like. Look for plates from other government agencies like NASA or DOE, they tended to do nice white paint jobs like that one has.

 

[davidb56]

Plowing snow looks like. Look for plates from other government agencies like NASA or DOE, they tended to do nice white paint jobs like that one has.

plowing.. got the lights for it too. good catch. probably has a spot on the frame sides aft of the cab where the rear mount was at.

 

[montaillou]

plowing

There are a few extra switches that have been added in the cab, maybe one of them is for a heater. Wasn't able to inspect the truck before purchase, bit of a leap of faith, but the city said it was in running condition though w/o brakes.

 

[V8srfun]

Score!!!

 

[cattlerepairman]

I agree with snow plow use. Probably had a sander on the back. Plow trucks with a salter on the back get killed by road salt in short order. They literally fall apart before your eyes, with frame rust jacking and cancer everywhere.
This one does not look bad, the seams of the front fenders seem to be rust-free, the back has what looks like surface rust.
Maybe a spare/reserve unit or used sand, not salt.

I would not touch a plow truck that has a salt spreader with a 10ft pole.

Are you planning to restore it back to tractor configuration?

 

[montaillou]

Are you planning to restore it back to tractor configuration?

Around here, salt isn't used much. DOT's will spread a de-icer the night before and maybe use sand. In my city, they only plow the main roads, if you live on a side street (like me) you wait for the sun.

I'm not sure what my mechanic friend has in mind, he's been talking about getting a 5 ton since I've known him (about 10 years). Got this one through a local auction, and it went cheap. I suspect he'll try to restore it to stock condition. His uncle runs a small military museum near a base - when I moved away from ndt's, I donated my set to them.

 

[lovecm]

I agree with snow plow use. Probably had a sander on the back. Plow trucks with a salter on the back get killed by road salt in short order. They literally fall apart before your eyes, with frame rust jacking and cancer everywhere.
This one does not look bad, the seams of the front fenders seem to be rust-free, the back has what looks like surface rust.
Maybe a spare/reserve unit or used sand, not salt.

I would not touch a plow truck that has a salt spreader with a 10ft pole.

Are you planning to restore it back to tractor configuration?

It was never a tractor and there are no holes for the hitch so most likely a tank or a plow

 

[montaillou]

It was never a tractor and there are no holes for the hitch so most likely a tank or a plow

This by the way, is the soon-to-be owner. He's been enjoying himself trying to fix the brakes and other odds and ends to get it roadworthy. And it looks like he'll have room for the deuce after all (he's parked the 5 ton in the front yard, guess it's better than cutting the grass), so we won't be swapping .

 

[fasttruck]

Chassis was apparently sold to the army as a bare chassis and some type of body was furnished by another vendor and fitted to the chassis. "Bituminous tankers" or asphalt oil spreaders are an example of this. The Army kept the body and sold the chassis. Same chassis used for 5t tractors and dump trucks.