Another Dam[n] Yankee From Maine

[Katahdin]

Hi guys, a MV newbie here from Maine. I'm on day 66 waiting for a EUC from Battle Creek for a 66' Kaiser Jeep M109A3. Today's gotta be the day, right?

I'm located in the Greater Portland Area right off the Cabelas exit. I'm in IT by profession but I've been tooling up for auto restoration work on a 67' MGB (wife's car) and keeping my 93' GMC plow truck street legal. Why not add a Deuce right? I'm also a jeep TJ owner.

Besides general cargo and firewood hauling I plan to outfit the M109 for camping trips up in the North Maine Woods. I've hit most of the campsites on the Allagash and St. John Rivers, now need to spend some time at the drive-in camp sites.

In my spare time I'm involved with Scarborough Fish Game and we hold a lot of military commemorative and Civilian Marksmanship matches which would be fun to drive the deuce to, as well as the local parades.

Its great to meet you guys, I've actually been browsing the website for months. I haven't had many questions because all the answers are already here, great search engine!

 

[nk14zp]

Welcome to the site fellow Mainer.

 

[Scarecrow1]

Hello and welcome from SC,,, I hope you have a great recovery on your truck .

 

[Katahdin]

Thanks, as much as I'd like the adventure I'm going to have a professional haul it up from Campbell. My brother is a soldier on base and has been over the truck, fired it up, etc. He's driven a few deuces in Kuwait. Luckily I'm getting a referral bonus for hiring another guy at work (same guy is Army qualified on Deuces) so the transport costs aren't going to hurt that much and I have someone local to help with it. Its almost all coming together, just the need the darn EUC.

 

[scooter01922]

Congrats on the truck and welcome to the site. Plenty of guys on here call the northeast home, if you need a hand just give a shout.

 

[ASTFU]

welcome great to have another crazy mainer on the site

 

[srodocker]

welcome to the site!

 

[Katahdin]

Thanks all. If you haven't been reading the EUC Help forum the invoice cleared on day 68!

I solicited 3 bids for transport from regulars on the site, two low bidders tied so I went with the first low bidder which was Hotshot Transportation. Really impressive support network you have here!

I'm flexible on pickup but Hotshot wants to pick it up right away. Next loadout is Monday at Campbell. Could be here by Xmas if all goes well. I'll probably have the M109 unloaded in the Cabelas parking lot. If you'll be in the area next week and want to see then send me a note and I'll keep you in the loop.

 

[m38inmaine]

Congrats on the new truck, and welcome aboard!

 

[Katahdin]

Today a GL employee escorted my brother over the truck so he could get the VIN number for registration and insurance. My brother had previously inspected and started the vehicle before the auction. The truck now had two flat tires, the cab floor was torn up and you could visually see that transmission gears and linkages were missing. The batteries were also gone. As panic ensued I called the Eric to wave off the pickup and was about to cancel the sale then guess what? It was the wrong d@mn truck!

Anyhoo, the correct truck is fine and fired up under its own power. It’ll be picked up tomorrow but stored on the trailer over the holidays. Current ETA is first week of January.

 

[Chevytruck]

Welcome to the site!

and congrats on the truck!

 

[Katahdin]

I did spend 5 years in the DC area, including a year in Lorton VA (not the prison!) but that's as far south as I got. My Army brother (Green-to-Gold 1LT) tho has taken up permanent residence in Clarksville (Sorry!) But we'yah tryin to get him back hey'ah.

Eric from Hotshot loaded up the Deuce at 11PM CT last night! My brother took custody of the deuce earlier that day and GL parked it just outside the motor pool so it could be picked up. The Campbell MPs showed up to see what the heck a 18 wheeler was doing on base near at GL 11PM but they got the load out before any questions were asked. All the paperwork was in order, tho it would have been hard to explain the several cases of MRES, ammo cans, and Army cot in the back!

The M109 drove out of the GL lot and onto the flat bed unassisted under its own power, most excellent. They tried to take pics for the "Baby Book" but it was too dark. Carnac says the last odomoter reading record was 38 miles less than it is now, from December 1981! Its been sitting on a National Guard lot since then, either Elizabethton or Mountain City? Do both of those towns have Armories?

Anywho, I do like the South. My brother and I plan to tour the TN hiking trails, campgrounds, pay respects to the Civil War sites, and sample your fine BBQ!

 

[zout]

welcome - come on down to us real rednecks in Ga - TN is still yankee territory
transplanted yankee down here as well - play the banjo and have (thought) about getting my hands on some shine - but as a yankee I cannot do 2 things at one time @drink and play.
now you have to start working on it so you can be as distorted as the remainder of us and buying more green

 

[Goose2448]

Welcome to SS

 

[SGTStewart]

Welcome fellow M109 owner. If its and older truck and its been sitting for sometime make sure to check out the top of the box for any leaking. Mine is an 1988 model and I have a leak that I just can't seam to find yet. Its only a problem with hard rains. Just have to park it up hill so it will drain.

Also,

 

[elkhunter]

Welccome to ss.

 

[Katahdin]

Now with Pics!

Finally! Eric and Bill from Hotshot Transportation arrived today from the South and dropped off the 109 in Maine. To my surprise it has both the C Turbo and a rear transfer case PTO! No linkages however that I've found in the cab.

Other details: its a 1966 Kaiser Jeep. The fuel density compensator has been bypassed. It has Hawker AGM batteries and seemed to be pretty well maintained. The coolant had a tag that said it was last tested in 08. As well as a few new bolts here and there. My only complaints is its missing a shop van window, shade, and cab heater but I'll acquire those parts eventually.

No pictures from inside the box yet because my brother forgot to mail the key to the padlock he put on it. It's a military padlock and my bolt cutters pretty much just scratched it.

Tomorrow: More detailed pictures

 

[srodocker]

Congrats!

 

[BillF]

I saw your truck on I89 going past warner NH. Nice looking truck.