Been lurking for a couple months but only posted once since I joined. What's the best way and place to buy a deuce? I've watched a bunch of Gov auction sites over the last few months and haven't seen much. Mostly municipal fire surplus all painted red. Badly painted at that. I want an a2 in decent shape and decent paint with a winch. I'm ok with minor issues and minor mechanical issues. I mean I am planning on this being my hobby for the next 20 or 30 years so as long as it's a good solid starting point that isn't falling apart from rust I'm good. It doesn't need to be a show piece. Also is there a better time of year for the market? I probably wont be able to make the financial move until summer/fall so I can be as patient as I need to be.
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best place/way to buy m35a2?
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fpchief
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Any auction entity is a definite toss up but you will usually pay less. Check the classifieds here on SS. Most people on this site are decent hard working enthusiast and should be honest in the condition of their vehicles. Also, you can place a want ad here too.
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Tax return time usually produces a spike in prices. Fall is probably the low point in the price cycle.
BEASTMASTER
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too bad you're not down here. there's one in s.c. for $3200 . looks good and he says it runs good. if I could get rid of my 5 ton ,I'd buy it right quick.
Bummer man. I dont have the flow at the moment cause otherwise ROAD TRIP. I have family in the myrtle beach area. Roll it to my dad's place for any immediate repairs and head north.
I found mine on Craigslist, but the guy who was selling it only listed it as “army truck”. So it wouldn’t have pulled up if I was only looking for “m35a2”.
I’ve seen them listed as “military 6x6,” “duce and a half,” and all sorts of other random misspelled names.
Scour your local classifieds, keep an eye on the classifieds here... one will show up sooner or later that fits the bill of what you’re looking for
I’ve seen them listed as “military 6x6,” “duce and a half,” and all sorts of other random misspelled names.
Scour your local classifieds, keep an eye on the classifieds here... one will show up sooner or later that fits the bill of what you’re looking for
18operator
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I agree with Fatalid. Craigslist is a good place to start. Use different key words. I found mine in Downtown Cleveland with a for sale sign on it.
If you're in PA, then you're (relatively) near Kublo's Military Surplus. The guy has rows and rows of deuces and 5 tons for sale. He claims to go over them thoroughly before selling them and Kublo's seems to get positive comments here if you search the archives. I do not know what he typically charges for a truck. www.kublossurplus.com
Also, Eastern Surplus Equipment is in Philly. They do the same thing. www.easternsurplus.net
My recent (and limited) experience with shopping for trucks on the gov't surplus auction sites, leads me to believe that most M35 trucks and M809 trucks have largely been flushed from gov't inventories. There are still some 939 series trucks being sold through the auction sites as they are more recent. If you want a deuce (M35) or an older 5 ton, you'll need to look to private sales such as the classifieds here, and places like Kublo's and Eastern.
I bought my M813 from a local guy who runs a small surplus flipping and re-sale operation. I feel that I paid a fair price for a fully operable truck with good bones and a short delivery trip. Even if I'd scored a truck from an auction site at a cheaper price, I think I would have spent a lot more time and effort getting it operable.
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Not affiliated with Kublos, just bought parts, but spoke to a guy who did and he mirrored what Ajax MD said. Kublos serviced and fixed the truck prior to pickup and even retrieved it and replaced the IP that went bad on the drive home. They "feel" trustworthy.
Sephirothq
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I might be able to help you depending on what you are looking for. I have a few different trucks in central pa.
I'll keep that in mind when I'm ready to pull the trigger like I said probably (hopefully) summer/fall. Looking for solid m35a2 with winch and heater a decent paint minimal rust. More worried about the condition of the interior actually cause that's what I'll be looking at the most. Sounds crazy i know, but decent looking data plates is s bonus. A lot of the outside issues can be fixed with a rattle can of od green but if the plates are worn away, well new ones with proper numbers i dont know how to get made.
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All of the data plates are available new. No big deal.
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Data plates will be blank, find a engraving business or gunsmith that can stamp.
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I found mine on Craigslist, looked for months to find the right one & not cost a kidney!! Just be persistence, if possible go look/drive it & if it's not 100% up to speed to drive home you can always have it transported.
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The FIRST place I would start is right here!!! Put and add in the vehicles wanted section and write exactly what your looking for, hard top or soft top, engine type, tires wheels good glass etc. do you want it delivered to your location, will you be picking up the truck detail YOUR deal out then at the end tell us how much you want to spend. I will tell you the same thing I tell everybody trying to do exactly what your trying to do. There are a few folks out there with Deuces that are virtually brand new in almost every way, these unfortunate folks have sometimes twice the money into their truck than it will ever be worth selling price, at least in our life time. YOUR buying you can buy a beautiful truck right now for about half the price of buying a project and buying everything and doing all the work your self, YOU will NEVER come out on top doing that. Buy a great truck NOW and enjoy the drive NOW!! You may think HOW the heck does THIS guy know all about this?? I will be putting my Deuce up for sale this Spring its absolutely one of the most beautiful trucks in the Midwest and I have over 17K invested in just money, not to mention the 460 hrs of my time that is obviously worth nothing, when I sell my truck somebody will be getting one heck of a deal!!!!
Good luck!
Karl
Good luck!
Karl
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Gsa has an auction site, you might find a Red Deuce from a local fire service. Red is easy to get rid of. Notice mine, it started Red. That's a camo called MASSTERS from 1974! But the auction can be cheaper and the Fire guys keep them In great shape! Like everyone said Craigslist is great, but check it out with another Deuce friend. Prices are HIGH now, but be patient, look around and you'll find what you want! Good luck!
Fgg
Fgg
I'm a wrench guy I know nothing about paint. Do you take it off piece by and spray over the red or do you need to blast it down to bare metal first then prime and paint?
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I'm the same, although the son now does the wrenches now and I drive and try to make ours look like it just came out of a motor pool! I only sanded with a air orbital sander, washed and painted. I did the frame and cab with an xairless sprayer! Why, check out the Behr section in here! Didn't have to prime because first the Military paint is on there almost for life, and the fire guys did a perfect job adding another life! So the truck was well primed! The camo was hand brushed as that's the way I did it in 1974 in Germany while with the 122 Maint Bn. However the whole truck could be either OD for older, or Sand for a newer look, your choice. Again, only mild sanding, wash, dry well, then paint. Behr is easy to use, Get, Clean, and Touch up, and on sale really Ceap!
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This is a 4 year old Behr paint job!