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Got a Deuce! '62 M35A1

DavidWymore

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El Centro, CA
I've actually been meaning to look into finding a harsh chemical I can use to strip the old grease, dirt, oil, mud, and hopefully the civvy paint while I'm at it...
 

DavidWymore

Well-known member
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Location
El Centro, CA
They are expensive. Time varies a lot depending on how cruddy is it. Has a ten minute timer. Usually does the trick but the dried up oil/adobe clay mud stuff on these deuce parts takes a couple cycles. Wet stuff comes off much easier. Dry is faster to hit with a power wire wheel.
 

DavidWymore

Well-known member
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Location
El Centro, CA
See if you can find a big machine/welding shop like mine. We rent out the use of ours. Gets stuck stuff apart sometimes too.
 
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DavidWymore

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Location
El Centro, CA
Front diff and kingpins loose and sloppy. I'm thinking about just tearing this truck and my parts truck apart and putting the best of each together...this one has the "reinforcements" welded on the frame, needs rear spring trunions, springs, and spring mounts on axles changed, all brake lines and vent system lines replaced, jack shaft replaced, trans rebuilt or replaced, front DL replaced...sprag Tcase leaks...parking brake installed.

Parts truck has an air shift Tcase, good frame, rear suspension mostly already disassembled, front axle probably better, though it had a driver tire fire.

When I swap the sheetmetal, I could clean/repair and paint it...need to get my hands on some paint, keep taking stuff off and cleaning and reinstalling without paint, waste...
 

DavidWymore

Well-known member
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Location
El Centro, CA
My hangup is if I swap the frame and everything, it's no longer a '62 M35A1 on paper. I talked to MV registration guy, sounds like it shouldn't be a problem, but easier with the '80s AMG truck since it has dash tags.
 

DavidWymore

Well-known member
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Location
El Centro, CA
Sentimental I guess, which really doesn't count for much. I know a truck mashup is going to be a ton of work, but it's a ton of work no matter which way I slice it, and I guess I was being optimistic that a little freshening up would get the '62 on the road. Which I guess I could still do, just replace the real bad parts but it wouldn't be right (all parts cleaned/painted/rebuilt/replaced) or worth much once I did. The mashup would mean a nice clean proper if somewhat mixmaster truck when it got done.

I did have a guy on the FB M35A2 group offer me some airpacks cheap, so that's a big plus...

The guys that have the $200.00 bed I'm suppposed to pick up this weekend also have a cab, not sure if my AMG cab is save-able or not, rolled, pass side crunched.
 

rustystud

Well-known member
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Woodinville, Washington
...or just sell everything and buy a decent deuce...:roll:
You could just sell everything and buy a better truck, but you won't have the satisfaction you would get by getting this one up and running. Also you will know how to fix any problems down the road as you have had to learn to rebuild all the parts now. This way this truck truly is "your" truck.
 

DavidWymore

Well-known member
1,598
164
63
Location
El Centro, CA
You could just sell everything and buy a better truck, but you won't have the satisfaction you would get by getting this one up and running. Also you will know how to fix any problems down the road as you have had to learn to rebuild all the parts now. This way this truck truly is "your" truck.

I took a break from turning wrenches tonight, tuckered out and needed to sit back and think. Was stuck at work "safetysitting" until 5:30 am last night, so I was wrenching and finding stuff wrong with the truck.

After thinking about it all night, I don't think I want just another Army A.M. General, I love Barrman's USMC truck and I think it's his quote, "If you didn't build it, you can't call it yours". With my luck, if I bought the other one, I'd have to go through the brakes and everything anyway! I know it needs a trans and probably tires...

Building it myself is about the only way to go. That's why I got the parts truck in the first place. I think the work so far has basically been checking out what needs what and making sure that 5 ton engine is good, which I'm feeling better and better about. Somewhere along the line I got it in my head that I might get by with just changing a few parts on the '62.

Time to buy some paint, which I'm pretty sure is 24052 USMC semi gloss forest green. :cool:
 

DavidWymore

Well-known member
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164
63
Location
El Centro, CA
So...I'm supposed to go tomorrow and pick up a $200.00 bed a few hours away. They did have a cab for same $ and have fenders too. But I'm hanging up on the originality thing. If I'm gonna bust my rear on this thing for a year, I kinda want it halfway orginal, even if it's kinda rough. Ach, sentiment. I'm also afraid to rip both trucks all apart and then run out of gas. I wonder if I shouldn't do a "driving restomod". One thing at a time with some drive time between to keep motivation up.
 
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