Looking at my first 715

[ThePolarBear]

Hey all,

My name is Zach and I'm looking at potentially purchasing my first 715. I'm not looking for a show truck, or anything that's going to be quick, I've just always really loved these old military vehicles, and came across this truck at what I think is a good price. Delivery date on the dash says 1968. Didn't catch mileage or hours yet, I was too busy looking for rot. It's been sitting a while, but surprisingly, it seems pretty solid. Haven't found any rot in the frame, and there's only a couple spots on the body that are more than just surface rust. Apparently the last time he tried to start it he put in a good battery and some fresh gas and it fired right up. Original Tornado still in it. Here are a few questions I had:
- This is the first 715 I've seen with a hardtop on it. It's white and I think it's made of metal. I don't know if it's factory or not. Can anyone shed some light on that?
- Is it worth keeping the little tornado motor in it? I'd thought about a 6.2 or 12v but will make that decision when the time comes. 230 cubic inch just doesn't seem like enough displacement for such a heavy truck, low gears or not.
- Are there any problem areas I really need to look at before I buy it?

It's an old guy who I guess is just sick of looking at it. I've heard through the grapevine that he only wants 900$ or so. Seems like a good deal to me.

Thanks in advance for any info! I'll attach some pictures.

 

[Warthog]

Welcome.

$900 is a steal for that truck. More than that is parts alone. The top is an aftermarket and looks like fiberglass. There where a lot of companies that made tops for the fire departments.

It all depends on what you want to do with it. Be aware that with the gearing 45mph is about the top speed. For now leave the 230 in place and run it as is. Get to know the truck and then make the call on a replacement.

I have owned a couple of them. The first one was my introduction to the MV Green Iron Madness.

Checkout www.M715zone.com for all things 715. A lot of us are there also.

 

[NDT]

Welcome to Steelsoldiers. The top is not military. Engines are a personal preference. I'm OK with the 230, and it works for me, just a 50 mph truck, but it pulls really well. That truck looks really good except for the rocker panels under the doors, a typical rust spot. The tailgate is worth half of the asking price. I would snatch it up. Much better than average.

 

[ThePolarBear]

Thank you both for the quick replies! I'll be checking out the m715 zone as soon as I'm done typing this reply. I went with a guy I work with to check that truck out today. It belongs to his next door neighbor. More details will come to me in a few hours after he talks to the guy who owns it. I'm very excited! Thinking about running 11.00 x 16s, unless a standard size tire like a 285/75/16 would be cheaper.

So are there any real red flags with these trucks? I noticed it doesn't have a bumper and I'm not sure if the guy may have it just laying around somewhere. Floors look pretty solid, there is at least one patch but I'm not too concerned with that. Only real bummers are the driver seat is ripped right down the bottom cushion, and the passenger side door must leak somewhere, the passenger seat was pretty wet.

 

[patracy]

For $900, I'm seeing a value as it sits much higher. I'd buy it!

 

[NDT]

The easiest way to get a front bumper is to go to your local sheet metal fab shop and have them make you one. No red flags except for rust and fire department brush truck holes and cutting (which you don't have). The preferred tire is 11.00-16 like you said.

 

[bcowanwheels]

YEP $900.00 IS EXCELLENT PRICE and thank "GOD" it has a hard top as that will preserve the floorboards inside. if your going to keep the 5:87 geqars the stock 230 will be fine but if you go to 4:56 then your better off with a bone stock sbc. also 45 mph is wide open with stock setup and it prefers 30 mph if you want it to live.
bob

 

[M715VFD405]

I agree $900 is a steal. I have seen the tail gate alone sell for $300 not counting the rest of the Jeep. This is a great deal, jump on it and run you will not regret it. That looks like a J-series (extra hood) in the bed and I'm not 100% but that looks like a M38A1 hood in there too. There are enough parts on that to beat $900 just as a start, as for a starter truck you are totally in the green (pun intended) with this. It is a perfect start on an M715 restoration. I agree with Warthog join the Zone anything you want to know about the M715 is there, and just as here the people there are 100% helpful. He and I are both as part of the Zone and are willing to help you in any way we can. Keep us posted on what you do and if you don't buy it please let us all know there are people out there that would love to jump on a great jeep like this. The real problem area as far as body is rocker panels under the doors poke your finger on it everywhere. They can be replaced but that is the hard spot for damage. Spring hinges are another hot spot. Look the frame over really good. Salt is a pita in the northern part of the states so be aware of that as you would with any vehicle. Keep us all posted on what you do and send pix as we all love those.,

 

[Fishtail]

Don't type anymore, go to your bank and get the cash.

That is a great price for what you have sitting there.

Scott

 

[KaiserM109]

RE the engine: That was a big failure for Jeep and the Army as well. It was so bad that Jeep dropped it like a hot potato, but not before the Army ordered a bunch of them. The Army sent very few to Vietnam. Instead they rebuilt M37s, the old Dodge Powerwagon with a flathead 6, and sent them over. Other than that it's a cool truck. That's partly why M37 are a bit hard to find.

I also agree that $900 is a good price.

 

[bcowanwheels]

Theres absolutely nothing "wrong with these engines" the problem is with the operator of them. Please understand 5:87 gears and hi-rpm,s dont go good together. No engine will stand hi-rpms for long. 45 mph is wide open............ Yes it will go faster but engine failure will be the result. There is hardly any engine even today that is made of the quality of materials,design and simplicity of the 230. It has forged crank and rods, bushed rods on little end, hi pressure and output oil pump, no lifters or pushrods, will run on any grade gas and just sips it. Just 6 lobes on the cam with rockers driven off the cam, hi-flo exhaust manifold & equal length runners, trouble free ignition, extra h/d timming chain & gears. On and on.

 

[Barrman]

I will throw in with BOB on this one too. The stock 230 is a great engine for what the M715 was designed to do. Move 1-1/4 tons of stuff off road at speeds up to 30-45 mph. The truck and the engine are matched very well to do that intended job in a great way. If you were to attempt driving cross country in a truck on nothing but dirt roads/trails. The 230 and M715 would be an excellent first choice to get there.

The problems when the trucks were new pretty much could all be attributed to high rpms. Timing chain issues, water pump issues, camshaft oiling issues, transfer case over heating, etc….

I would suggest following the advice of Joe, Chris, Franz, Scott and BOB. Get the truck. A few pieces alone are worth the posted purchase price. I would also suggest as Joe did to drive it with the 230 if it really is just missing a set of batteries to make it go. I drove my M715 stock as a daily driver for almost 2 years. It started every morning and got me to work and back. Not fast or flashy, but dependable. My rear main seal had always leaked. It got bad enough to be called a pouring instead of a leak. I wanted highway speeds and the ability to pull trailers so a V8 and NV4500 got put in. 5 years later and the truck was no longer needed for towing and mostly was parades, shows and around the property stuff. The 396 big block throwing a rod was a great excuse to go diesel. I love the 6.2 in there now. Sure, a Cummins 6BT or 4BT could be better. Maybe later.

Most everybody that has contributed to this thread has brought a long dormant M715 back to life. I have great respect for the toughness of the 230. I have helped get a locked up 230 running. Once we had it free, it purred like a kitten. Not many engines can sit for 20 years and with a few hours of work be idling without smoke or knocks.

Get the truck, use it as stock and see if you need to change anything. Your driving style and personal expectations will dictate that if everything is working correctly. Basically, have fun and enjoy.

 

[KaiserM109]

I don't mean to throw mud on anybody's favorite toy, but the M700 series engine was an overhead cam inline six and spent more time in the maintenance bays than it did in its place in the motor pool. You can't buy parts for that engine and many parts stores don't even show it.

A friend of mine ran a rebuild shop and was asked to restore an ambulance for a local radio station that used it for its remote broadcasts. He couldn't get parts and had to machine many, such as the pilot bearing. He told me all about that truck. His source of knowledge was first hand; he served under Lt. Col. Hal Moore, at Nha Trang, Vietnam and had some in the battalion there. The experiences with the 7th Cav. was what made them decide to rebuild M37 instead of ship more M7XXs over.

I agree with Barrman about where you ought to start:

… Get the truck, use it as stock and see if you need to change anything. Your driving style and personal expectations will dictate that if everything is working correctly. Basically, have fun and enjoy.

 

[Barrman]

I totally agree about parts for the 230. It was cheaper for me to build a high power 396 big block than fix the oil leaks on my 230. I know your reply was not directed totally at me. I am going to reply though by saying that I qualified my suggestions several times as meant for a truck running below 30-45 mph. There is a guy over on the Zone, and here sometimes too, that drove M715's in the service. He took pictures of his truck on the autobahn with the speedometer pointing straight down. Lets call that 70 mph. That is right at 4,000 rpm. Not many inline 6 engines can survive at that rpm. His did, but many, many did not when abused by soldier B.

I have no doubt unit commanders preferred to keep the M37. I would have too. Mechanics know how to work on it, drivers know how to operate it, the M101 trailer bolt pattern is the same, midnight parts requisitions could be done more easily because everybody else had them, etc...

I have read/heard from several diverse sources that a huge stock pile of NOS M715 parts were destroyed in a warehouse fire 25-30 years ago. The parts that survived make up what VPW still is selling. That explains why there are NOS intake valves basically for sale behind your corner convenience store (by MV parts standards) and not a single exhaust valve to be found anywhere.

Then there is the whole 230 engine design evolution. Kaiser designed it and put it in trucks starting in 1962. They had a lot of failures. So many problems that they killed it in 1965. Then they bring it back for the M715 production run 2 years later. Except head gaskets, timing cover, motor mount holes and a few other things aren't the same. Some can be used on both engines and some can't. That is more of an argument for the Zone than here. It has been argued over and over by the way. Just another example of things being built by the lowest bidder and the lowest bidder trying to milk all they can out of the DOD.

 

[bcowanwheels]

i,ve got quite a few n.o.s. engine parts and even a n.o.s. complete engine...

 

[M715VFD405]

If you have a good stock engine run it. I bought one off a guy for $300 who was replacing his with a SBC I think. The one I replaced I'm not sure what happened but I have a feeling it wasn't me or mechanical failure that killed it. I drive it all the time it is my daily driver and I have no trouble whatsoever with the stock 230. Would I replace a failed engine with something else in the future, prolly but as it sets now there is nothing wrong with it if you treat it just like you would any other old military vehicle. It's not built to go fast it's not ment to save gas and it's not ment to be driving on the road. This was Vietnam for crying out loud they didn't have good roads it was jungle and rice patties. Yeah you can push this jeep hard as I am sure most of the 18-20 year old guys driving them new thinking they could hot rod the heck out of them back in the day, just like anything else you treat it good and it will do what you want treat it like trash and it will be trash.

 

[kvflyer]

I would be the guilty member that has a picture of the M715 going rather fast. I would not do it today and kinda regret abusing the truck back in 1970. But today, I am a stock person who wants it to go, drive, sound and smell like it did back in 1970. They are designed as mentioned to go at about 45 - 50 MPH comfortably. Faster than that , the transfer case will protest.

This is a real picture taken in 1970. No Photoshop here!!!

 

[Barrman]

I'm glad you posted that Don. I didn't want to call you out by name unless you knew about it.

 

[kvflyer]

I'm glad you posted that Don. I didn't want to call you out by name unless you knew about it.

BTW, my name is Don Cavey. I frequent the M715 Zone a lot. I am presently visiting my daughter and family in Melbourne, Australia. That puts me thousands and thousands of miles away from my truck. So, I am at a disadvantage to walk right out to the garage and check my truck for answers! I love driving the truck and it brings back memories. It does what I want it to do and has adequate power. I know that there are many different ways to approach restoration/modification. Each has its merits. I want to go the "stock" route and have removed most of the South Carolina Farm Bureau mods. The most difficult so far was to remove that bloody deuce winch that they put on it.

That price for the truck is just fabulous. I would certainly consider buying it if I were in the market. Go for it!!!