Restoration Questions - M35A3

[rwoods]

I took a little detour from a business trip to drop in at to see my new deuce Thursday with my PAID invoice in hand. Too bad I didn’t have an appointment and Jason with GL had to be somewhere else. And I had no place off base to leave it. Jason told me that it does start and run which is always good news to those of us who live too far away to pre-inspect and the listing says “Does Not Start”. We didn’t start it due to the cold temperatures. Unlike my first truck, this one has a full toolbox. I didn’t have time to go through it so it will be like opening a Christmas present when I get it home. Jason was kind enough to tell me he would padlock it if I would buy a lock and toss it over the fence; I did. I was able to verify the serial number to be 5000001. Hopefully, AmGeneral will further verify that this is the first production M35A3.
I have a couple of questions for the restorers and collectors reading this. 1) Assuming the current paint scheme is different from the scheme as produced should I return it to the factory scheme or leave it with the last use scheme? 2) When did fiberglass troop seats and racks first show up? I see A3’s on GL with wood and with fiberglass. This one has an empty bed. Thanks in advance for your input.
I don’t have a camera so I’ll just use the GL shots.

 

[hippiedude]

I have to say those trucks are fugly ...... But that one looks like a real nice one ...... Good luck with it ....... Tim

 

[panzerjunky]

Comgrats Man Nice truck
Good luck with Her. I am running into the same issue as you I have a very nice M35A2 I wanted to paint it the 1st issue OD with the white star But....
I like the new plastic troop and cab covers and the super singles are lookin good Mine is painted with the Murdoc pattern but the troop and cap cover are scapp as well as most eq you buy now Gensets trailers ect are all scapp. Yours looks std exept for the lighter tan. I guess my point is your truck is newer and hasn't gone through as many paint and eq changes as the A2 If I were you all I would do is repaint the tan with the correct brown that way it will match your troop cover and any other Eq you might buy. Just my 2 cents.
Take care and have fun
Jerry

 

[Andydieselpower]

Thats a great looking A3!

 

[KsM715]

Well its an A3 so I cant say its a good looking truck, but it is a very nice looking truck. I hope your search for the serial # pans out. that would be pretty cool if it turns out to be the first one.

 

[Heavysteven]

Guess I'm an odd ball. I like the A3's and your truck looks good.

Fiberglass seats are so so much nicer than wood. Good luck with your restoration.

 

[m16ty]

The paint on the truck is the correct paint for the time period of the A3. No need to change the color if you're keeping it original.

 

[greenjeepster]

Keep in mind that the A3 was built from A2s so it is likely that the troop seats are what ever the donor a2 had and has nothing to do with the production time period.

 

[rwoods]

m16ty, I have not seen this camo pattern before. Is it unusual or fairly typical? Thanks, Ron

 

[rwoods]

Keep in mind that the A3 was built from A2s so it is likely that the troop seats are what ever the donor a2 had and has nothing to do with the production time period.

So were fiberglass seats in use in 1993/94? Thanks, Ron

 

[bryan70546]

m16ty, I have not seen this camo pattern before. Is it unusual or fairly typical? Thanks, Ron

very fairly typical

 

[bryan70546]

So were fiberglass seats in use in 1993/94? Thanks, Ron

yea i am sure they were and even before that , not to be a azz but looking at this A3 what are you going to restore the truck looks awesome , put some troopseats and a 3 color camo cargo cover on her along with some bows and racks , and there you go one fine looking machine that did not require much .
Good luck that is one good looking machine

 

[greenjeepster]

So were fiberglass seats in use in 1993/94? Thanks, Ron

I don't know when the fiberglass seats came into use, but my point was that it really doesn't matter. The A3 is comporised of mostly refurbed parts. The axles for example are probably 30-40 years old on your truck as are many other parts. I don't think any a2s came from the factory with fiberglass troop seats, I think they were a replacement for the wood when the wood deteriorated. So if your are looking to go period correct wood is correct and fiberglass is its modern replacement.

 

[rwoods]

yea i am sure they were and even before that , not to be a azz but looking at this A3 what are you going to restore the truck looks awesome , put some troopseats and a 3 color camo cargo cover on her along with some bows and racks , and there you go one fine looking machine that did not require much .
Good luck that is one good looking machine

I appreciate your comments and question. I ask about restoration because I am about as ignorant as you can get with respect to MV’s. My thinking has been that if this truck is the first production A3, it is probably of interest to someone who collects MVs. So I am contemplating what, if anything besides documentation, I should do to make it more desirable to a collector. If it has collector appeal, it will be sold to a collector; I simply want to maximize my return. My thoughts so far are similar to your comments troop seats and cargo cover. I also will address any mechanical issues discovered. I just don’t want to spring for fiberglass seats and find that I should have bought wood. Or find that the cover I purchased is incorrect or find “if I had only done ABC” or “if I had not done XYZ.” I respect and appreciate the opinions and advice that members like you offer. I hope I can return the favor from time to time.

Also running through my mind is the fact that I have an A3 w/w which I have kept original but I have not “restored” the missing tools, troop seats, bows, etc or the obviated markings. Just keeping it original has been a challenge and expensive (for example staying with 14.5 R20’s which are neither plentiful nor cheap and building a removable trailer hitch without drilling new holes or removing any factory bracing or parts). I bought my first truck to use and it is being used fairly regularly. If the new truck has no collector appeal, then it will be put to work or sold but I won’t spend the time or money trying to restore it. Ron

 

[peecook]

great looking truck. hope she was the first one, that would be pretty cool.

 

[rwoods]

"A veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to The 'United States of America', for an amount of 'up to and including my life."

This is the MAIN reason I enjoy this site so much. And it is why I feel priviledged and I feel like a trespasser at the same time when posting and asking questions. My heartfelt thanks to all of you who have served (or are serving) our great country. Ron

 

[bryan70546]

Mr.Ron I wish the best of luck with your A3 i have driven a few and they are a nice truck to drive I am sure you will enjoy fixing the girl up , to bad you dont live closer I have a full set of wood troop seats you could use.
Bryan

 

[Skycop]

Ron, in speaking with the Guard guys here in my area, the fiber seats were around when the truck was built. They have said the same thing as posted in they have seen them with both types of seats in them. If you have any questions about the A3 shoot me a PM as I am being forced to learn quickly

 

[greenjeepster]

"A veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to The 'United States of America', for an amount of 'up to and including my life."

This is the MAIN reason I enjoy this site so much. And it is why I feel priviledged and I feel like a trespasser at the same time when posting and asking questions. My heartfelt thanks to all of you who have served (or are serving) our great country. Ron

As a veteran I just want to say that for me it was a job. I collected a pay check and all the other benefits the job offers. I don't see serving as being any more dangerous than being a cop on the streets or a firefighter in a burning building. In most cases it is far less dangerous than many jobs that civilians perform daily.

No thanks required.

From a collector's standpoint I don't think an A3 is very desirable. Many collectors are Vets and collect what they drove or saw while in service or collect stuff of historical significant because of war. The A3s have seen very little use, the only war they could have been involved in would be desert storm and I don't think they were. (I could be wrong on that)

 

[rwoods]

"From a collector's standpoint I don't think an A3 is very desirable. Many collectors are Vets and collect what they drove or saw while in service or collect stuff of historical significant because of war. The A3s have seen very little use, the only war they could have been involved in would be desert storm and I don't think they were. (I could be wrong on that)"

Other than being the last "upgrade" of the series, I know of no reason to attach any collector significance to the M35A3; but I don't collect any thing so that's one of the reasons I threw my questions out there. I think some A3's did serve in the Gulf but without any positive distinction that I can find. If you crawl around under one you will note that the engineers seemed to have the desert in mind and not bushwhacking as there are numerous unprotected air lines. Thanks for your input. And thanks for your service - job or not. Ron