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Well then… I’ve got to laugh at myself a little, I didn’t even consider that that was a manufactured date at the bottom. Thanks!

There was, but it’s hard to read in the picture. I’m looking forward to trying to figure out its history, but having read CARNAC’s recent posts it sounds like things have gotten more complicated…? Here’s the only picture I have of the tag right now:

Alright, I'll give that a shot. The "comet wash" might work too, not sure if you're familiar with the Motor Trend show "Roadkill", but one of the guys uses a scrubbing sponge and comet cleaner to get oxidation and rust stains out of (marginal) old car paint. I've had luck with it before. Won't...

Thanks Will! Might be an idea to bring it home and wipe some light oil on the paint and see if the colors brighten up.

Well… this happened considerably faster than I expected. I never thought this truck would sell within my price range, but I got it! It’s listed as a 1985 XM816, but if I understand correctly, the “X” prefix indicates it’s probably late 60’s? Only a few hours away from me, working on arranging...

I was looking through the TM earlier, I saw the info on using the winches and the boom, as well as the load limit plate and the instuctions for building the A-frame under the boom for heavy, long extension lifting... I'll have to keep looking for the wrecker specific forum, either I'm blind or...

I should make the clarification that this won’t be a work truck, it will probably see more parades and grocery runs than actual recoveries. I totally agree that building an MTVR would be smarter, but that’s not the era of truck that I want.

Thanks for the info! My main drivetrain concern that you listed would be the shaft between the trans and t-case. It would need to run down the highway for trips and parades, hence the turbo. I would only be looking at 270 or 280. I have an AirResearch turbo on my ‘63 Narrow Nose, I could think...

Thanks Mullaney, thanks Will! Regarding the 250, I’ve got one in a ‘63 Peterbilt that also has no piston coolers… I assume there’s no pyrometer in the wreckers, so I would add one to keep from sticking pistons, and not fuel it that hard. I think I’ll skip Jakes for hood clearance, but we...

Hello all, I’m finally starting to get serious about finding an M816 to build. The idea would be to have a large off road recovery rig, capable of going into some rough areas, big enough to crane out broken off road race vehicles, and heavy enough to pull semi trucks that might be stuck in the...

Well, the CJ5 turned M38A1 is sold... And so is my M715, actually. I opted to buy a couple of civilian flat fender Dodge Power Wagons, since many of my friends have them and we meet up every year. I'd like to get another MV soon, something big, with a big winch, like an M816 or M911... when I...

Well it’s finally done! …and now I’m wondering if I made a mistake. It’s a lot of fun to drive, does well on the 4x4 park teeter-totter (see photo!) but I’m not sure I want to beat it up on the trails, and I’d like to rebuild my M715 now. Unfortunately, despite having it listed in multiple...

A quick update for everyone: It runs! We did the main engine break in a couple of weeks ago, and I got to drive it up the driveway this past weekend. I still have finishing touches and tuning to do, but I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. I did my best under the hood to make...

Hi Jeb, thanks! Here are the markings I decided to go with: 20179464 40Δ-1-144F D-7 Intended unit: Vehicle 7, Battery D, 1st Battalion, 144th Field Artillery, 40th Armored Division. I hope it’s a valid marking for a Jeep. I was going for a 1967 CA National Guard vehicle, since we have two...

Thanks msgjd! I chose to leave my tailgate for functionality, and I kept the “Jeep” script on the sides so that it could never be passed off as a real MV. I’m not sure how I’m going to mount the spare and Jerry can yet, I guess that will be a problem for later.

Still chipping away at it, my scratch-built wiring harness is finished and installed. Soldering the connectors was a learning experience, but enjoyable overall. The turn signal unit is working pretty well, I replaced the 24V bulb with a 12 volt one and just ran the flasher unit wires into a...

Hello everyone, I’m attempting to assemble a drivetrain for my M715, but it’s been complicated by the fact that I just got a great deal on a PTO winch and mounting setup for it. My drivetrain plan is a Dodge 360 small block, NP435 and a Dana 300 T-case. Problem is, the NP435 has the PTO port on...

A few days ago I happened across a listing on FB by an acquaintance of mine for an M715 with no drivetrain for cheap. The ad was half an hour old and I immediately jumped on it. It was much closer and cheaper than I had ever seen one before. As of yesterday it’s in my barn! It’s fairly...

Thanks DeetFreek! I can definitely look up some markings for those units. Is there a way to also look up what would have been there in the ‘50s?

Hello all, Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction here, I’m hoping to reverse-engineer a unit number and registration number for my project. Does anyone have a listing of units stationed at Camp San Luis Obispo (or Camp Roberts) which I could formulate bumper numbers for? I’d...