Scrap it or keep it? 1953 m135

[ivbeenrokd]

I'm going to pick up this 1953 m135 tomorrow. The brakes are out and he hasn't started it in several years. Bill of sale, no title, rusty, no bed, winch is gone (but all other brackets and hardware remain). It also has a spare hood and gas tank. Should I take it straight to the scrap yard, part some of it out and then take it, or keep it?

Thanks,

John

 

[clinto]

From a strictly dollars and sense viewpoint, it doesn't make sense to fix/restore it. GMC's values are such that you could buy a nice restored unit for probably half the cost of doing this one.

That being said, the preservationist in me hurts to say that.

 

[quickfarms]

If you can not save it then part it out and scrap what is left

 

[doghead]

Bob it and drive it really fast.

 

[maddawg308]

If you can not save it then part it out and scrap what is left

What he said. There are lots of guys here who could use the parts for their own build. Torch what's leftover.

 

[Flyingvan911]

Agree. Part it out to give life to other M135's.

 

[hendersond]

Save the PTO! Only10 bolts on the side of the transfercase. Take the airpack too.
Someone needs this stuff.

 

[Section8]

Send it to me!!! I could use 90 percent of it probably!
I would say keep it if you have the intent to get it up and running. If not sell it as a whole parts truck to some one who needs it or actually has intent to restore or modify.
Looks like a decent truck. I would keep it.

On a side note. Looks like a M211. I see duals in the rear in both pictures.

 

[steelypip]

GMC deuce people certainly want special parts like the air pack and PTO from it, as well as common wearing/damaged components like the radiator and gas tank. I'd part it out. Probably save the prime mover, trans, and transfer case if they're decent even if nobody wants them right now. You can do a little asking around and find out what is 'often' needed by people even if it's not needed right at the moment, and store that in a small volume in a container/shed. Then the rest goes off to the scrapyard. Look around the truck and note what is good about it and then let people know. If you keep the truck or parts around for a while they'll all find good homes eventually as knowledge of availability meets need.

I bet if you have six months or a year to part it out you can get a lot of good parts to a lot of deuces all over the continent, and that will help keep the fleet going another few years.

 

[ivbeenrokd]

I went and picked it up today and it is an XM211. I did bring it back to the shop to part it out to help people get what they need. This will ultimately cost me a couple of hundred extra $$ and obviously time but I'm hoping that will help others get what they need and I can get some more $$ out of it to throw at my M35a2. I will post more pictures and pricing in the classifieds ad section by later tonight.

 

[Kalashnikov]

How does parting something out cost you money?

 

[Ridgerunner]

How does parting something out cost you money?

I was thinking the same thing. Parts trucks have always worked in my favor.

 

[ryan77]

Cutting gas and sawzall blades are not free!!!

 

[ivbeenrokd]

$200 wrecker bill 2x rather than a $200 wrecker 1x

 

[ivbeenrokd]

The parts are in the classifieds now....

 

[ivbeenrokd]

Okay, so I'm trying to pulling the manual shift kit and I've taken off the shifter, linkage, and cover. I pulled the 4 7/16 bolts on the front side under the cover but can't figure out how to get it out. Anybody have any pointers or able to point me to an instruction manual for this shift kit?

Thank you,
John

 

[ivbeenrokd]

Never mind, figured it out right after posting.

 

[ivbeenrokd]

So I took the truck to the scrap yard today which proved to be an interesting experience. Started pulling into the yard and the radiation alarm went off. I had read on here that the gauges can cause that so I wasn't too concerned. We pulled the gauges and ran it through again. The alarm went off again, this time I was concerned. They brought out a handheld meter that looked like a weedeater and started going over the truck. It started picking something up at the cab which had me really concerned the whole cab was going to have to come off. We opened the storage box under the passenger door and found a complete set of gauges sitting in there! Took those out and the truck went in fine then....

 

[maddawg308]

Radiation meters at a scrapyard? The only meter that I have seen when I pull in with a load of steel is the scale.

 

[ivbeenrokd]

I think this yard is the only yard in town with a radiation meter. They also paid the most for the truck!