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Two M-55s
- Thread starter ThatXJGuy
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vtdeucedriver
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They are still out and about. Great engines, I certainly would not turn away any of them at the right price. But hey Im a sucker for the G744
ThatXJGuy
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So I bought my M-55! 
Not either of the two that I was talking about however. Every time I go back to that Junkyard I get a higher price, so I bought one from a friend of a friend that runs and drives. It needs brake work ( not sure what exactly yet) I just towed it home yesterday. I drove it about 4 miles total so far and the engine starts and runs wonderfully, the throttle sticks a little, it has some bullet holes in the windows, lots of air leaks, but the air compressor seems to work great because the hissing gets louder as it runs haha. I noticed when I got it loaded that the winch housing is broken and the PTO shaft is bent, and it has a valve cover leak that has everything to the axle housing covered... But all in all, its great and I'm super excited to start working on it! 
I ended up getting it for $1000 so that leaves me with some money to put into it before it gets out of hand. The wife is excited too and can't wait to drive it but she's a little skiddish about the brakes and says she'll wait till I get them working. I say who needs brakes when you have good compression to slow you down?? 
Im going to get it a VIN soon and get it licensed and registered and insured as soon as its road worthy (which also means tires). And yes iatractor, those continentals are neat to listen to!
Not either of the two that I was talking about however. Every time I go back to that Junkyard I get a higher price, so I bought one from a friend of a friend that runs and drives. It needs brake work ( not sure what exactly yet) I just towed it home yesterday. I drove it about 4 miles total so far and the engine starts and runs wonderfully, the throttle sticks a little, it has some bullet holes in the windows, lots of air leaks, but the air compressor seems to work great because the hissing gets louder as it runs haha. I noticed when I got it loaded that the winch housing is broken and the PTO shaft is bent, and it has a valve cover leak that has everything to the axle housing covered... But all in all, its great and I'm super excited to start working on it! I ended up getting it for $1000 so that leaves me with some money to put into it before it gets out of hand. The wife is excited too and can't wait to drive it but she's a little skiddish about the brakes and says she'll wait till I get them working. I say who needs brakes when you have good compression to slow you down?? Im going to get it a VIN soon and get it licensed and registered and insured as soon as its road worthy (which also means tires). And yes iatractor, those continentals are neat to listen to!
ThatXJGuy
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vtdeucedriver
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Welcome to the 5 ton G744 club!!
silverstate55
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Congrats, that's a nice looking truck there! Great starting project...now once you find out how useful these trucks are, you won't stop with just one...
vtdeucedriver
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He just got started and now you let that get out early. You will scare him away. I have my 5 ton fetish perfectly under control.
ThatXJGuy
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My wife and I have already talked of others, and I talked to a friend today who wants some 5 ton axles that might split one of the junkyard trucks with me. He'd take the axles and i'd take the rest. I'd keep what I could use and sell the rest to anybody on here. My wife and I are more wanting to get a little more diverse in the MV hobby, our second one we really want is a gama-goat but then I learned that they can no longer be sold without being demilled. There are a few here that the local fire department has but I bet they're still government owned... Our original goal was a CCKW which is definitely still on the wishlist but they seem to be few and far between around here. If I could split the one and sell some parts and put some $$ back in the MV budget, I might buy the third one from the junkyard and fix it to sell. I would rather see these restored than parted out but if I have somebody interested in splitting one with me, it will be ok if one is an organ donor for the two that get saved.
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Do not worry, is short order you WILL work your self into a wrecker.
vtdeucedriver
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Ron is right or you can go the direct route like I did and just get that first!!
ThatXJGuy
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If I could find a CCKW wrecker or something else I would. I am planning on building a small crane right behind the cab of this truck with a 2-4 thousand pound lift, just to be able to pick up things on and off of the truck, and a small permanently mounted flat section for my welder to mount and a torch setup. The rest of the bed will be a dropside dump bed. Im going to build it all myself, it won't really look original but it will look nice. There will also be some serious tool box space under the bed. Im building a 3d CAD model of the whole job first. And then im going to do a custom sagebrush/sand/foliage camo job, try to make it match Wyoming the best I can, so nobody can see it sitting out on my property haha.
It also needs all new glass and a new right fender. Im also missing the door handles and fuel tank for some reason. Right now I have bungees holding the doors shut and it runs off of a 5 gallon gas can bungied to a board on the mounts for the tank. Im guessing either it was used for some parts for another truck or it was going to be rebuilt and somebody ran out of money. The guy I bought it from bought it the way it sits. The front winch is also toast. Im guessing somebody hooked the cable on to something and used the truck to yank. The case is missing the whole passenger side front bottom corner. All of these problems but the glass could be fixed if I split that other truck with a friend. I also have some major air leaks from somewhere around the tranny as well as the lines running to the rear gladhands, and by the horns somewhere. It all can be fixed, nothing major seems to have any problems. I went out to work on it yesterday afternoon and it started snowing and blowing so I didn't get much done.
I also haven't completely decided but I think Im going super singles with it. There are so many pros and cons to both options. The biggest pro I can think of though is going larger diameter for a little longer legs on the thing. right now it feels so so low geared (which is great) but I don't see how I could even get it over 40 without feeling like I was going to blow the thing. If I could get some 53" or so tall duals I might go for that though. I really like the ability to limp on a rear flat for a short distance and have another tire keeping the wheel off the ground. What do all of you guys have and what to you think of it? Anybody have both and see any real difference in offroad ability or anything else?
It also needs all new glass and a new right fender. Im also missing the door handles and fuel tank for some reason. Right now I have bungees holding the doors shut and it runs off of a 5 gallon gas can bungied to a board on the mounts for the tank. Im guessing either it was used for some parts for another truck or it was going to be rebuilt and somebody ran out of money. The guy I bought it from bought it the way it sits. The front winch is also toast. Im guessing somebody hooked the cable on to something and used the truck to yank. The case is missing the whole passenger side front bottom corner. All of these problems but the glass could be fixed if I split that other truck with a friend. I also have some major air leaks from somewhere around the tranny as well as the lines running to the rear gladhands, and by the horns somewhere. It all can be fixed, nothing major seems to have any problems. I went out to work on it yesterday afternoon and it started snowing and blowing so I didn't get much done.
I also haven't completely decided but I think Im going super singles with it. There are so many pros and cons to both options. The biggest pro I can think of though is going larger diameter for a little longer legs on the thing. right now it feels so so low geared (which is great) but I don't see how I could even get it over 40 without feeling like I was going to blow the thing. If I could get some 53" or so tall duals I might go for that though. I really like the ability to limp on a rear flat for a short distance and have another tire keeping the wheel off the ground. What do all of you guys have and what to you think of it? Anybody have both and see any real difference in offroad ability or anything else?
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