Motor Pool

Military surplus trucks and related stuff.

M35A2C 2.5-Ton 6×6 Cargo Truck

 Motor Pool  2 Responses »
May 252006
 
M35A2C 2.5-Ton 6x6 Cargo Truck

Since I’ve sold my other 2.5-ton 6×6 trucks (I had as many as 6 at one time!), this is now my only one left. This M35A2C is a cargo truck, which is the same as the most common M35A2 truck except that it is equipped with an improved cargo bed whose sides fold down to allow loading with a forklift from the side. This kind of truck can also carry a communications shelter, such as my S-448.

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M38A1 1/4-Ton 4×4 Truck

 Motor Pool  No Responses »
May 252006
 
M38A1 1/4-Ton 4x4 Truck

I bought this 1964 USMC Jeep right after I sold my M561 Gama Goat. This is my first military Jeep, and I think it will fix up nicely. It has a coat of what looks like Forest Service green over the original USMC semi-gloss paint. While it has some civilian modifications like a roll bar (not that it would help too much in a roll-over, as it’s bolted to the body, not the frame), it’s not too badly hacked up.

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S-448 Communications Shelter

 Motor Pool, Radio Room  No Responses »
Nov 232005
 
S-448 Communications Shelter

I bought this S-448 communications shelter on 11/22/2005 from another military radio and vehicle collector. I plan to use it as my primary radio room at home. It originally housed a Collins AN/TSC-60(V)1 “Communication Central” set. The interior was completely stripped of equipment when the previous owner bought it, and he installed some equipment racks, desks, drawers, etc. He also re-wired it to run from single-phase power instead of three-phase power. The shelter would have originally had a panel on the right side of the door with a whole bunch of connectors and binding posts, but that has been replaced by a blank metal panel. If I need to add any external electrical connections, that would be the obvious place to do it. Some of the ventilation panels leak, but they look like they’ll be fairly easy to repair. Overall, the shelter is in good shape, and it’ll make a really nice radio shack.

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M52A2 5-Ton 6×6 Tractor

 Motor Pool  No Responses »
Jun 072003
 
M52A2 5-Ton 6x6 Tractor

This truck is a 19?? (dataplate missing) Kaiser-Jeep 5-ton 6×6 tractor. I won it in a goverment surplus auction, and picked it up on June 7, 2003 from March Air Reserve Base. I ended up selling it a few months later. It was a neat truck, but it was really uncomfortable to drive on a rough dirt road without a trailer, due to the very stiff rear leaf springs. I’m sure I would have fixed that by adding a trailer if I had kept the truck.

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M561 1.25-Ton 6×6 Gama Goat

 Motor Pool  No Responses »
Jun 172001
 
M561 1.25-Ton 6x6 Gama Goat

This is my fifth ex-military truck. It’s a 1970 Consolidated Diesel Electric Company M561 1.25-Ton 6×6 Gama Goat. I found it on Ebay. It has 6-wheel drive, an articulated chassis (i.e., the part that looks like a trailer rolls and pitches, but does not yaw from side to side like a regular trailer), 4-wheel steering (the rear axle steers in the opposite direction of the front axle, at half the rate), and it is amphibious. It has a Detroit Diesel 3-cylinder 2-stroke diesel engine, and a 4-speed manual transmission with synchromesh on second, third and fourth gears. The part that looks like a trailer is an integral part of the truck, with a driveshaft, steering linkage, etc. passing through the pivot point.

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M44-Series 2.5-Ton 6×6 Truck Brake Vent Modification

 Motor Pool  No Responses »
Mar 182001
 
M44-Series 2.5-Ton 6x6 Truck Brake Vent Modification

This page contains excerpts from PS Magazine (a monthly magazine published by the US Government for Army personnel involved in maintenance) which describe how to perform a necessary brake vent modification on M44-series 2.5-ton 6×6 trucks such as the M35 cargo trucks or my M109A3 shop van. I used to have a couple of pages with many PS Magazine excerpts with 2.5-ton and HMMWV tips, but they are no longer necessary now that you can download individual articles from 1988 on at the PS Magazine web site. I kept these particular excerpts here because the vent line modification was published in 1983, and is not yet available on the PS Magazine web site. It’s a very good idea to check the PS Magazine index for other articles which may apply to your truck. For example, there’s an article in issue 542 (January, 1998) which describes a necessary brake light switch modification which replaces the old hydraulic pressure actuated switch, which could blow out and leave you rolling without brakes!

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2000 MRCG Meeting Highlights

 Crypto Room, Motor Pool, Radio Room, Spy HQ  No Responses »
May 082000
 
2000 MRCG Meeting Highlights

Once again, the annual meeting of the Military Radio Collector’s Group was held at the Camp San Luis Obispo NCO’s club. The meeting was held on Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6, 2000. Friday was mostly dedicated to informal activities and display setup, along with some radio operating events and several really fun hidden transmitter hunts using 6m FM military radio gear. Cam Ogan, WA6VVC provided a fancy little hidden transmitter for us to find, and I bet it was funny to watch all of us guys running around with big, green radios and “rug-beater” direction-finding loop antennas! The swap meet, formal presentations, and David Ragsdale’s great barbecue were on Saturday. Unfortunately, I had to cut my visit short due to some engine trouble with my HMMWV, so I missed most of the fun on Saturday this year.

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