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Experimental 5/4t? - XM705

xm708

Member
167
0
16
Location
vermont
nice rig

I have always wanted a 705. imagine that one in my backyard and never knew it. I looked at the data tags and it actually says M705 not xm705 which makes you think it was production run not expeiremental. I have an xm708 dumpand it was never putin production and made 198 of mine nybody know how many 705's were made ?
 

xm708

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167
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16
Location
vermont
705

was this the 705 that came up a few years ago on gsa for sale ? or is this still at the fire house in Mass ?
 

W1IM

New member
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1
Location
Western MA
Wow, I've been gone for some time.

This truck was acquired by the fire department in the late 70s or early 80s and has been there ever since.
 

Mike Hill

New member
5
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Location
Laurium Mi
Hi I'm new to this forum and I just purchased a m705 today, it was a Mi DNR brush truck it appears to be in very good condition, the truck has a water tank on it instead of the bed, the truck appears to have a closed knuckle dana 70 in the front and some sort of eaton rear in it, transfer case appears to be a np205.
 

W1IM

New member
9
0
1
Location
Western MA
Hi I'm new to this forum and I just purchased a m705 today, it was a Mi DNR brush truck it appears to be in very good condition, the truck has a water tank on it instead of the bed, the truck appears to have a closed knuckle dana 70 in the front and some sort of eaton rear in it, transfer case appears to be a np205.

I hope you are going to post some pictures for us.
 

maddawg308

Well-known member
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How many of these XM705s were built? I have seen about 4-5 come up over the years, makes me wonder how many "experimental prototypes" were made by GM for testing before they lost the bid.
 

W1IM

New member
9
0
1
Location
Western MA
How many of these XM705s were built? I have seen about 4-5 come up over the years, makes me wonder how many "experimental prototypes" were made by GM for testing before they lost the bid.
I don't know what the number produced was, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was 20 or 30. After GM got the tooling to build the truck in place, churning out an extra 10 or 20 wouldn't be that big of a deal.

They would also have needed enough vehicles for the military to run through trials in various situations. This may or may not have included testing that destroyed the vehicle under test..
 

maddawg308

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With an estimate 20-30 made, and I've seen 4-5, that gives a survival rate of about 20%, and that's pretty darn good for an experimental vehicle. I doubt 20% of all the M37's ever made are still driving around.
 

USAFSS-ColdWarrior

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Mike Hill

New member
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Laurium Mi
Well we put plates and insurance on the 705 this week so I was able to take it for a ride today, the truck is surprisingly good in the bumps but it could use some shocks, putting power steering on this beast is my top priority.
 

rhinob

Member
429
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16
Location
Ijamsville, MD
Just bought an M705 today. VIN: B100019. No rot. Surprisingly clean. It's a '71 transferred to the Agency of Natural Resources, Water Dept. in 1972 but the bed is intact and un-converted. Painted black. Gas 350. Holley single barrel carb. Couple extra wires, but all original and very tidy. Shows 5009.4 miles, but who knows. I'd actually believe it considering there's no rust.. It's also got a nice integrated winch. Anyway, it's coming home with a Winpower 3-point hitch PTO-driven 12kw generator in the back. :)
 

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jdknech

Active member
1,095
6
38
Location
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Just bought an M705 today. VIN: B100019. No rot. Surprisingly clean. It's a '71 transferred to the Agency of Natural Resources, Water Dept. in 1972 but the bed is intact and un-converted. Painted black. Gas 350. Holley single barrel carb. Couple extra wires, but all original and very tidy. Shows 5009.4 miles, but who knows. I'd actually believe it considering there's no rust and the tires, which appear original. It's also got a nice integrated winch. Anyway, it's coming home with a Winpower 3-point hitch PTO-driven 12kw generator in the back. :)
VERY NICE! these look like really cool toys!
 

maddawg308

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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Cool Den! Plan to put her back into original configuration with the 307 V-8? Love to come up and take a good look at it sometime...
 

rhinob

Member
429
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16
Location
Ijamsville, MD
VERY NICE! these look like really cool toys!
Thanks! It's quite unique. One thing that I noticed was the strange sort of….err….resemblance to the HMMWV. I was walking around it today thinking that someone might have been involved in the design of both. Do a full body 4-door version of the XM705 and guess what that'll look like….only a vintage version...
 

jdknech

Active member
1,095
6
38
Location
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Thanks! It's quite unique. One thing that I noticed was the strange sort of….err….resemblance to the HMMWV. I was walking around it today thinking that someone might have been involved in the design of both. Do a full body 4-door version of the XM705 and guess what that'll look like….only a vintage version...
I see what you are saying.. i do see the resemblance..
 
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