Steel Soldiers MV of the month 2021 - July VOTE HERE!

[patracy]

Welcome to the MV of the month poll sponsored by Consolidated Press. If you need decals, magnets, stencils, or anything printing related, please give them a call!




Now, onto the vote! Please vote for MV of the month! Feel free to campaign in this thread, but please keep it here and not via PM.

1. Migginsbros

2. Tracer

3. MPRamsey

4. Phoenix77

 

[microjeep]

Going to be a hard choice this month, all are great looking rigs!

 

[Phoenix77]

Had some struggles with Atlas, but I think he's got a good shot at a second lease on life.

NC - 1995 M1078 Stewart & Stevenson LMTV

I am selling my 1995 Stewart & Stevenson M1078 LMTV that I just finished getting right due to financial developments and domestic priorities (this monopolized my time / finances, and quickly made it to the top of my Honey Don't list). My woes and their remedies have been documented on this...

www.steelsoldiers.com

 

[Tracer]

About the only thing I accomplished mechanically since last months competition was a new gasket on the fuel pickup. I over tightened the screws on the original replacement gasket, and the gasket started to poochie out from under the plate and leak. So I ordered another gasket, cleaned the surfaces, and installed the new gasket making sure to tighten the screws evenly. So far all is well. Have some pictures to post from a trip we took to the mountains in the Jeep last weekend.

 

[pmramsey]

#3 is a 1965 M54A1 Mack 5-ton. Delivered October 1965 from the Reading plant. After some hard days in 1969, it was shipped to Japan for a complete rebuild to include the final version of the ENDT 673 engine, the over-drive Spicer trans, and the upgraded 809 type steering. Somehow, it made its way to the Army Reserve Unit in Lawrence Township, NJ. It spent 40-years with the unit before I purchased it in 2015. It benefits from a cab off restoration with new doors, glass, mirrors, gauges (except speed & RPM), seats, fenders, steps, hood, top. fuel tank, cargo bed, radiator, completely new wiring harness, and troop seats. It awaits a final coat of U.S. Marine Corps Old Forest Green, semi-gloss and the proper decals.

 

[SCM35A2]

Voted, best of luck to you all!

 

[Migginsbros]

1975 406.145 aircraft tug.

 

[Guyfang]

Another hard vote coming up!

 

[Tracer]

Join the Wife and I on a Jeep Journey to the Borealis Gold Mine. Pic.1 We are at the summit of Lucky Boy Pass in Mineral County Nevada. The summit is about 6,500ft, with a great view of the Wassuk Mountains, and towards the horizon the Eastern Sierras. Pic.2 Here are some of the locals in the summit area. These range cattle are usually down in the valley out side of town most of the year. But in the hot summer months they migrate to the higher altitude near the summit. These bulls usually pay the Jeep no mind. But if there is a cow in season, they will paw the ground and put their heads down as the Jeep approaches. Maybe they think it's a noisy OD Green bull. Pic.3 This is the road to the Borealis mine, it's mostly straight then meanders up into the far hills. I'm still convinced there are places out here where no man has ever set foot. Guyfang knows what I mean. Heck we grew up in this part of the world. Pic.4 Ah, after 30 miles the Borealis Mine. This is the offices and maintenance shop, and the end of the Jeep tow bar. The mine it's self is off to the left just out of sight. A couple of years ago with Gold running at $1200 to $1300 an ounce, the Borealis and nearby Aurora mines were running skeleton crews. Now with inflation pushing Gold to $1800 to $1900 an ounce, the mines are working 2 shifts and hiring anyone who has a pulse. It's OK though It's great to see people working, and it sure changes the attitude here in town for the better. At the American Legion it's hard to get a seat at the bar after work gets out! Pic.5 & 6 The Borealis Mine gate and Safety Rules sign. I had a chance to talk with the Security Guard for a little while. He's an Army Reservist and lives about about 40 miles away, he drives the dirt road east both ways 5 days a week, that's 80 miles round trip a day, and 400 miles a week. You need a 4 wheel drive out here, some of the new hires are learning the hard way. We saw a Subaru dead on the side of the road a few miles from the summit. It tossed a con rod.

Pic. 7 Off to the Aurora Mine. More to come.

 

[Migginsbros]

This is our UNIMOG 406.145 aircraft tug build in 1975. Equipped with a straight 6 Diesel 5,7 liter direct injected engine.





Some details of the equipment.
The original PTO driven brush sweeper our tug was equipped. A Schmidt VKS 4.1 And a snow plow Schmidt E 3.5.
The 3.5 plows are a little bit bigger than the original 3.2 our UNIMOG was formally equipped with.



We rebuild the hydraulic line routing and connectors and we had to build a pressureless return line to the hydraulic tank to get all funktions off the big
snow plow.

 

[Migginsbros]

This watercooled Mercedes Benz M352 engine is good for up to 55miles with 5 passengers (driver included).
The engine is half in cabin. Covered with a hood named "doghouse".





The main task is to pull an push on plain surface but you can also have fun in rough terrain.




Migginsbros

The Lufthansa Pic is scapped from the net

 

[Migginsbros]

You easily can go piggyback on a truck if you travel for longer distance.



Crawling on the MAN F2000. Vid shows the Unimog with the original weights (1,3 tons each) in the back and a 1/2 ton weight at the front. This configuration we need for a funny tractor pulling event some years ago.

 

[Migginsbros]

Some pics from the rear axel weight modification.
To get speedy at road traffic we take the original 2 x 1.3 tons weights off and build
a pair of 850 lb/each.



Migginsbros aircraft tug.

 

[Migginsbros]

Mentioned the tractor pulling.
Ready ............go!

But no chance against the Big Boys

 

[Migginsbros]

Found this pic at post of the military museum Berlin-Gatow. Dont know which typ of plane they got for the museum. But for sure it´s the UNIMOG 406.145
Tug.

 

[Migginsbros]

Like those pics with MV in the scenery or landscape.
View to the abandoned Field Station at Teufelsberg in Berlin. An early morning mission.

Lost, but some years earlyer.

Operating in the early 70th.

 

[Migginsbros]

Hello everybody. We need some votes to get in Mullaney´s 2022 calendar .
This Mv is a all season, family friendly (5 passengers incl. Driver), pet friendly, unique Tug.

 

[Migginsbros]

Sitting with his brother, the forestry.

Pic with friend

 

[Phoenix77]

Full disclosure, for the lettering on ATLAS, I had contemplated removing the "T" and just parking it and leaving it as "ALAS"...

Issues abound(ed) with the truck; the engine was strong, but the transmission in the truck left me stranded a few miles outside of Fayetteville. [Insert heavy tow fee here] I got a New to Truck 3,600 mi transmission/transfer case assembly from Simp, and spent as much as I paid for the truck getting it installed at a shop in Fayetteville.

When it was installed, the truck made a god awful grinding noise in upper 6th and all of 7th gears. Simp asked Wheelspinner to meet me in Fayetteville to help diagnose the issue since the shop just tapped out an said I needed a whole brand new transmission. The bright side is, I got to meet @wheelspinner (who I have since helped pull an engine out of an LMTV at his house and seen all 8,472 projects he has on the back burner). With some additional help from @Suprman and a TM, we figured out it was the transfer case, not the transmission, as LMTVs transmit all power in those gears through the transfer case.

I had the old transmission/t-case assembly loaded into the bed and ultimately had it towed 2 hours away to Greenville.

I do not have a heavy truck repair shop like some of y'all. I have a Kawasaki Mule, a Kubota Tractor, a 3-ton floor jack, a bad right shoulder, and terminal stubbornness. I worked under the truck in the rain, cold etc. until I had the old transfer case in (thank you, gravity), and through a disproportionately arduous process of lifting, repositioning, rinse, and repeat utilizing only the floor jack an an ever-increasing number of ratchet straps (I hate you, gravity) with my HMMWV winch delivering the coup-de-grace to finally mate them, me and my [probably former now] buddy got the other transfer case on.

I drove the truck and it still had grumbling in 6th and 7th, but not nearly as before. I drove it maybe a total of 30 miles and then the transfer case cracked and the truck would only do limp mode. I towed it onto a concrete foundation (pictured) at the back and drained the transfer case. It spit out a metal jigsaw puzzle .

I obtained another transfer case and utilizing much the same tools, plus a surplus 2,000lbs bomb loading cart I recently got from GP, I swapped the transfer case entirely by myself after kicking the project down the road a few times to recover physically and mentally. Having parked the truck near my personal shooting range, dark thoughts crept in when frustration set in, but I did not blow the truck up.

She's all back together and... still grinds in upper 6th and 7th gears, so now I am entreating an Allison-certified truck shop in New Bern (1 hr away) if they have the guts to actually delve into a transfer case and fix the bearing or whatever is off, or if they're just going to punk out and tell me to get a new transmission assembly. I'll set the transmission to 5th as the highest gear and go old school deuce and a half 40mph for the trip.

Yes, the truck is for sale, and yes, I am openly admitting the truck has an issue, but yes, if you are interested in the truck, I will disclose all of this and no, I will not sell the truck until I have the issue completely addressed.

Anyway, I guess this counts as campaigning ... not an easy road, but I got to be more involved in the SS community and hang out with my new bestie, @wheelspinner and learn a lot about these trucks. I'm not giving up on this war horse; I'm in it to win it, then pass it along to a good home since my wife simply refuses to climb up into the cab, let alone do a road trip .

 

[Mullaney]

Full disclosure, for the lettering on ATLAS, I had contemplated removing the "T" and just parking it and leaving it as "ALAS"...

Issues abound(ed) with the truck; the engine was strong, but the transmission in the truck left me stranded a few miles outside of Fayetteville. [Insert heavy tow fee here] I got a New to Truck 3,600 mi transmission/transfer case assembly from Simp, and spent as much as I paid for the truck getting it installed at a shop in Fayetteville.

When it was installed, the truck made a god awful grinding noise in upper 6th and all of 7th gears. Simp asked Wheelspinner to meet me in Fayetteville to help diagnose the issue since the shop just tapped out an said I needed a whole brand new transmission. The bright side is, I got to meet @wheelspinner (who I have since helped pull an engine out of an LMTV at his house and seen all 8,472 projects he has on the back burner). With some additional help from @Suprman and a TM, we figured out it was the transfer case, not the transmission, as LMTVs transmit all power in those gears through the transfer case.

I had the old transmission/t-case assembly loaded into the bed and ultimately had it towed 2 hours away to Greenville.

I do not have a heavy truck repair shop like some of y'all. I have a Kawasaki Mule, a Kubota Tractor, a 3-ton floor jack, a bad right shoulder, and terminal stubbornness. I worked under the truck in the rain, cold etc. until I had the old transfer case in (thank you, gravity), and through a disproportionately arduous process of lifting, repositioning, rinse, and repeat utilizing only the floor jack an an ever-increasing number of ratchet straps (I hate you, gravity) with my HMMWV winch delivering the coup-de-grace to finally mate them, me and my [probably former now] buddy got the other transfer case on.

I drove the truck and it still had grumbling in 6th and 7th, but not nearly as before. I drove it maybe a total of 30 miles and then the transfer case cracked and the truck would only do limp mode. I towed it onto a concrete foundation (pictured) at the back and drained the transfer case. It spit out a metal jigsaw puzzle .

I obtained another transfer case and utilizing much the same tools, plus a surplus 2,000lbs bomb loading cart I recently got from GP, I swapped the transfer case entirely by myself after kicking the project down the road a few times to recover physically and mentally. Having parked the truck near my personal shooting range, dark thoughts crept in when frustration set in, but I did not blow the truck up.

She's all back together and... still grinds in upper 6th and 7th gears, so now I am entreating an Allison-certified truck shop in New Bern (1 hr away) if they have the guts to actually delve into a transfer case and fix the bearing or whatever is off, or if they're just going to punk out and tell me to get a new transmission assembly. I'll set the transmission to 5th as the highest gear and go old school deuce and a half 40mph for the trip.

Yes, the truck is for sale, and yes, I am openly admitting the truck has an issue, but yes, if you are interested in the truck, I will disclose all of this and no, I will not sell the truck until I have the issue completely addressed.

Anyway, I guess this counts as campaigning ... not an easy road, but I got to be more involved in the SS community and hang out with my new bestie, @wheelspinner and learn a lot about these trucks. I'm not giving up on this war horse; I'm in it to win it, then pass it along to a good home since my wife simply refuses to climb up into the cab, let alone do a road trip .

.
Not much more to say than a plain simple Wow!