Need help figuring out "M" number for my deuce

[shadow]

Hello all,

I am hoping someone can help me figure out what kind of truck I have. (M44, M58, ETC)

The data plates indicate a M44 but they look too clean to be the original ones for the truck. The Truck is a 1953 Diamond Reo 2.5 Ton 6x6 Semi tractor with a 5 speed manual, straight 6 cyl Continental engine and 6.72 ratio on the rear axle tag.

I tried looking around a little for info on Diamond Reo's but most places don't show any picks to compare to. This is all I can find about Diamond Reo's...


"The Diamond T Motor Car Company was founded by Charles Arthur Tilt in Chicago in 1905. The company produced cars, but in 1911 the first small truck was produced. This model proved successful, and within a few years car-production was abandoned altogether. During the Great War Diamond was supplier of the Class B "Liberty" trucks to the US Army.
In the early 1930´s the company supplied a number of 1 and 1½ ton trucks to the US Army, but mostly the production was concentrated on the medium to heavy end of the market.
By spring 1942 production was turned over to war production, and the period 1940 to 1945 around 50.000 vehicles was produced.
A new range was launched in 1947 and by 1951 lighter trucks had been dropped. From then on production was concentrated on heavy-duty trucks, both normal and forward control.
The Diamond T company was absorbed by White in 1958, and production was moved to the Reo plant in Michigan in 1961.
The trucks were re-named Diamond-Reo in 1967 and the company was sold to F.L. Coppaert in 1971. Diamond Reo Trucks Inc., as the company was called, fell into financial problems in 1975 and the company was bought by Osterlund Inc. in Hansbury, Pennsylvania."

That info conflicts with my truck because based on this mine is a Diamond-T, not a Reo, because of being made in 1953 before the company was sold to White and re-named.

I tried looking up M44's but it looks like they are rated at 5 tons, not 2.5 ton like mine.

Any help in figuring out what number my truck is would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You and have a Great Day!

 

[Hookin1]

This is a list of M-series 2 1/2 and 5 ton trucks. Hope this helps,this body style i believe was used from 1954? to 198?

M 44 series trucks

TRUCK, CARGO: M35A1,
M35A2, M35A2C, M36A2; TRUCK,
TANK, FUEL: M49A1C, M49A2C; TRUCK, TANK,
WATER: M50A1, M50A2, M50A3; TRUCK, VAN,
SHOP: M109A2, M109A3; TRUCK, REPAIR SHOP:
M185A2, M185A3; TRUCK, TRACTOR: M275A1,
M275A2; TRUCK, DUMP: M342A2; TRUCK,
MAINTENANCE, PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION:
M756A2; TRUCK, MAINTENANCE,
EARTH BORING AND POLESETTING: M764


M 809 series trucks

TRUCK, CARGO: M813, M813A1, M814;
TRUCK, BOLSTER, LOGGING: M815;
TRUCK, WRECKER, MEDIUM: M816;
TRUCK, DUMP: M817;
TRUCK, TRACTOR: M818;
TRUCK, TRACTOR, WRECKER: M819;
TRUCK, VAN, EXPANSIBLE: M820, M820A1, M820A2;
TRUCK, STAKE, BRIDGE TRANSPORTING: M821

 

[Recovry4x4]

Guys, let me take this one since I'm the deuce tractor guru! Shadow, there were 2 basic deuce tractors produced throughout the deuce production run. There was the M275 which had the short 142" wheel base and the M48 which had the same wheel base, 154', as the regular deuce cargo trucks. Would really like to see pics of the truck to assist you. What leads you to believe that its a Diamond Reo? Even if thats on the title that's not what your truck is. If it's in fact a '53 it will most likely be a Studebaker or a Reo. Reo had the original design and was the original mfr of the M44 series of trucks. Later in the run years there were many more manufacturers of the deuces. In 1966 there was a pretty decent run of the M275A2 tractors which were multifuels. The M48 was never produced with the multifuel and I've never found one in captivity. Does your truck have the fuel tank on the drivers side partially under the cab? Does it have a spare behind the cab? There's a SN on the frame rail somewhere near the steering box. My 1952 Stude M275 was Reo Gold Comet powered. Attached is a pic of my 73 AM General M275A2 and my former 1952 Studebaker M275. Post pics and ask questions!

 

[shadow]

Thanks for the help you guys.

I think mine is the short wheelbase because it looks short in length when looking at it from the side. I will have to measure it to see.

The gas tank is on the drivers side partially under the cab. There is no spare tire with the truck. It has non-military 8.50 X 20 tires on it right now. I don't remember seeing any type of mount for a spare behind the cab. There are 2 air tanks on the passanger side right behind the cab next the the batterys.


I bought the truck and a 45 foot trailer from the same company and am using the setup for storage at a outside storage area. I drove the truck to the storage location without the trailer because the trailer was not ready yet. Besides a problem I'm having with releasing the trailer brakes, I don't know if I could have towed the trailer the 5 or 6 miles because I think I only got up to 45 or 50 in 5th gear and the engine screaming. Having the extra weight I probable would ony have hit 30 or somthing.

I am new to air systems and was thinking of getting a book on this truck to learn how to fix it and tune it up a little. I didn't want to order a book for the M44, that the tags says in the cab, if that was not this truck.

The breaks on the truck work fine. They are air over hydrolic. The problem I have is no air is getting out of the rubber lines that hook to the trailer so I can't move the trailer. I found air goes from the push-pull parking brake on the dash threw a line that goes out the back of the cab that attaches to a device the main rubber lines come out of, but no air comes out of the lines.

There is also a large lever like a turn signal lever on the stearing colom's right side that says "not for parking" with 1 line out of 3 that has a plug in it. I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not.

In a few days I am going back out to the storage are. I will try and take some pictures of the truck and post them so you can see it to better figure out what kind of truck this is.

I was told it was a Diamond Reo and the title said that as well but that could have been a easy mistake marking it Diamond Reo insted of just Reo. I think I will also try and see if I can do like a title search or something to go back when it was signed over from the militery. The guy I bought it from says his dad bought it from the militery way back and they used it for awhile then had to rebuild the motor then just used it as a yard spotting tractor for there company. It has been sitting for the last 4 or 5 years not being used so they decided to sell it. I have only had it about 2 months and only drove it a few times.

I am thinking of maybe restoring the truck over the next few years. It would probable be ok as it is now but if it was re-geared and all the seals and joints were replaced it will probable last another 50 years easy.

 

[G744]

Books

Getting a "Book" for you truck is easy. That is, the military didn't really have different pubs for individual models unless they were VERY special.

The duece went thru three "Lifetimes", the gas era, the Muiltfuel, and the last "E3" variant with the Cat Diesel, auto trans, and super singles.

To the mechanics, all of the G742 series were the same, with a few differences owing to powerplant, transmission, bodies, winches, add-ons like heaters and fording kits, eTc. Commonality of basic components was one of the key design goals of all M-series trucks back then.

You can get by just fine with the -10, -20, and -35 series manuals. Those for the gassers are plentiful either as original surlpus on eBay or from Portrayal Press.

Generally as a rule, trying to get any DMV to change pedigree or year is a real uphill battle. I'd live with the paperwork as is and just get new dataplates done up with the right info and go from there. Who is going to care? Your rig is old enough to qualify as a historic rig in most states, and some (like Arizona) are exempt from all commercial requirements.

DG

 

[73m819]

i had a 1952 diamond reo m52 (5t truck tractor) it was a gasser with a 6602 in it, i have never seen a diamond reo 2 1/2

 

[Recovry4x4]

I tried to post this in the AM. After typing my story the connection got timed out and I lost everything I typed. I feel your pain Bjorn! Anyway, here's about the response I typed this am.

Greetings Shadow! What you have there is the M275 tractor. This can be determined by the description of the fuel and and air tanks. It's probably a Reo as in 1953 deuces were made by Reo or Studebaker. As far as the M44 description, that refers to the series of trucks. All of the gas deuces from the Eager Beaver desgn are the M44 series. If you want to get technical manuals I would suggest the following manuals. TM 9-8022 is an older operators and unit service manual and covers most of what you need to do with your truck. You can also get the TM 9-2320-209-10 (operators) and TM 9-2320-209-20 (unit service) manuals dated 1965. The later of the 209 manuals won't have much info on your gasser but will cover the rest of the truck. Addressing the brakes, look at the valves on the back deck where the hoses are. There are shutoff cocks there and the handles are reversed from regular valves. When the handle is in line with the hose, the valve is off. The right one will have air all the time and the left only when the brakes are applied. As far as the push/pull valve on the dash, thats been added. The military never used such a thing on that truck. The other handle is a trolley brake used to apply the trailer brakes only. There is also a shuttle valve under the deck as well as a tractor protection valve. The protection valve, if frozen, can cause the no air condition you described. Keep popping out questions and we'll do what we can to sort out your problems. Parts are available from a wide variety of sources and you should have no problems keeping this thing going. When you can, post some pics so we can get a gander at what you have. It probably looks real similar to the tan one in the pic above, it's a 1952 M275 made by Studebaker. I wouldn't expect much more than the 50 MPH or so top speed. The gassers do everything the Multifuels do, just slower and more costly.

 

[mangus580]

If anyone has the gasser manuals in PDF (or am I an idiot and they are on rdixie's cd... I forget) Lets get them uploaded here. If they are on RDM's cd, maybe someone can help me upload them? I have been a little too busy with other things to do it...

 

[Recovry4x4]

They're not in PDF format anywhere that I know of!

 

[mangus580]

Or.... if anyone has a paper set I can borrow to scan

 

[shadow]

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you all, I cought a nasty cold and had to go to the doctors and was just to sick to even turn the computer on.


I tried to measure the wheelbase and got 163" from the front center to the 2nd rear axle center. I only had a 12' tape measure with me so it was not a stright measure. I took some pics of the truck and will try and post them as soon as I find my cable that connects my video camera to the computer. My truck looks a lot like Recovry4x4's 1952 Studebaker M275.

Thank you very much everyone for the manual numbers I need to look for. I was lost when looking around on Ebay for what manual to get for my truck. Now I know what numbers to look for.

"Addressing the brakes, look at the valves on the back deck where the hoses are. There are shutoff cocks there and the handles are reversed from regular valves. When the handle is in line with the hose, the valve is off. The right one will have air all the time and the left only when the brakes are applied."

I don't remember any type of handles or anything by the hoses. Mine are mounted on the drivers side wall of the cab. In your picture it looks like they are in the middle of the truck behind the cab. I will have to post pics so you can see what I have. I am guessing that because mine is in a different spot and having a push-pull knob on the dash, that the air system must have been replaced with one from a regular truck or something.

Hopfully tomarrow I will have some pics uploaded to post for you guys.

Thank You for the help everyone!

 

[Recovry4x4]

Sounds good Shadow, We'll figure out whats up with the truck. Looking forward to the pics.

 

[shadow]

I got some pics uploaded finally. As you can see it is a little ruff. It looks like it was spray painted blue both inside and out.

The unit with the hoses in this picture is what I think might be bad. The line coming out of the cab that screws in on the left side in the picture has air when I took it off. I have no air coming out of the hoses. I haven't got under the truck to see where the other 2 lines go yet.

 

[73m819]

if theres a bunch of moisture things mite just be froze up, that valve replaces the handle valves, its just a air operated on /off valve, air on-spring off, thay will freeze up real easy both from moisture and crap in the air system ,especialy if the truck had been sitting for a while

 

[Recovry4x4]

Shadow, without a doubt it's the M275. I can see the original lines in the center off the porch. You could plumb stuff back to the center of the porch and just use ball valves to shut down the air. Other than that, looks cool, glad to see another M275 out there. My old Stude was the only gasser 275 I had ever seen until now. Unfortunatley my old one met its demise, the purchaser chopped into pieces and used the axles for a swamp buggy.