M135 CDN W/W Coming Home Soon

[Seatyger]

Thanks to M135CDN I have a complete 'Working Reference Model/Template' to add to the family. This truck will serve as a running working reference platform for our other G749 projects.

Gord was an awesome host and was gracious enough to allow my manchild Tyler the opportunity to sample other examples in his stable. Notably a Chev CMP 15wt, a M38 and Iltis.

Which I believe is going to cost me lol. He is only 11 but has put in many days and hours working, hauling and cleaning machines, parts and pieces. He even earned his Road Warrior status by travelling to Alfa Heaven with me to obtain parts!

I see a smaller MV on the horizon to get him to school when the time comes!

I will try and photograph the inspection process on the M135 to obtain a Safety Standards Certificate in order to register the truck with the Ministry of Transportion here in Ontario.

 

[Seatyger]

Here is Tyler testing the seats to see which one is Just Right!

 

[Stan Leschert]

Nice looking truck! Keep us posted.

 

[butch atkins]

congratulations at least you have lots of spare parts,LOL,good luck on all your projects

 

[m1010plowboy]

Cdn m135

Lookin' at that truck sure puts a smile on my face. Must touch it!

Real interested in your 'inspection process' to see how it compares to the Alberta adventure. I'm next.

More pics of that original interior will give me more incentive to get mine done...please.

Thanks for sharing

 

[Stan Leschert]

More pics of that original interior will give me more incentive to get mine done...please.

Drag your Butt down the road and go have another look at the rig that Super Dave has.

Just please wipe the drool out of it when you're done.

His is by far the nicest one that I have seen rolling,
and not hiding in a museum!

 

[Seatyger]

Super Dave's M135 has certainly set the bar as 'The Rig' to compare to. I don't think GM made them look that pristine when they originally came off the line! Its **** near surgical....

If the opportunity exists to see it in person by all means photograph it to death and I will pay for a disc, shipping and beverage of your choice for doing so!

I think Super Dave just releases enough photos to torment us

 

[Seatyger]

We pulled all the drums. Found a couple in the rear were dragging a bit, the wheel cylinders were leaking. The wheel cylinders did not look to be in that bad of shape externally. They don't like to be sitting for extended period without being used.

I decided to replace all of them. Ralph at Niagara Military Parts in Welland has set me up with a box full. I have yet to find any place that comes close to his prices. I will have the take off cylinders honed out and rebuilt with the kit he sells to kep as back up spares.

Gords son Neil was home from CFB Petawawa, and was a welcome resource. Being an Army vehicle tech/mechanic comes in handy! So did his air assisted hydraulic bottle jack, I definately have to locate one of those. Tyler was in his glory removing nuts and pulling axles.

If you have someone who does mechanical work on farm equipment as well as trucks they may be more familiar with the older air/hydraulic braking systems as is my case the gentleman doing the inspection for the Safety Certificate. It's definately more labour intensive.

I would hate to be doing this in a Caterpillar or Peterbilt shop etc. The In-Shop rate alone would be enough to make you walk funny after leaving.

 

[Seatyger]

Here's a perfect example of Gord illustrating 'There is no such thing as Too Much Leverage' when losening lug nuts.

 

[Seatyger]

Tyler came up to me stating he had the answer to repowering the M135!

 

[Seatyger]

The Wheel Cylinders were in vaccum sealed packages with June 1982 printed within. The Military external packaging was labelled 1983. A couple more photos of pulling out the axles and getting ready for cylinder removal and replacement.

Oh yeah: Make sure if you've never done this before to keep one axle together as a reference while your tearing everything apart. Especially when your putting the brake liners back on. It is possible to waste 30 minutes attempting unsuccessfully to put it on upside down! Of course, had I read the manual, which was sitting open on the front bumper at the appropriate page BEFORE hand.........

 

[topo]

Nice job. with new wheel cylinders you should not have any problems and won't have to go in to the brakes till it's time to grease the wheel bearings again in a few years.

 

[135gmc]

Good luck on your '135. As I recall, the brakes on the CDN GMCs used a 1 3/8" wheel cylinder, while the US GMCs used a 1 1/4 wheel cylinder. Unless your old wheel cylinders and the new cylinders are both the same size, they shouldn't be used as interchangable spares.

I remember trying to get a lug nut off that acted like it was riveted in place - I wound up with the lug wrench on the nut and with the other end supported on a jack stand, then a 10 ft chunk of pipe on the jack handle and me bouncing on the pipe to get the nut loose. The solution was to be real careful tightening the nuts when they went back on - an old sergrant told me that the right way was to tighten them by hand until they had squeaked twice, then they were good to go. I tried that way and it worked fine.

An old friend of mine used to fire arty in Vietnam - they had both Reo M35s and GMCs. They used to use the Reos to haul the ammunition because they were rough riding, and they'd haul the troops and the M102 105mm HOW with the GMC because they rode so much better.

Good Choice On The GMC!!

 

[nattieleather]

The brakes are not hard to do on the GMC (other then everything is heavy) and the adjustment is a breeze with the star wheels. While you have them apart take the adjuster block off and make sure it's working properly and put a little antizee on the screw thread to make sure they keep working. Properly adjusted the brakes work great.

Glad to see you working with your boy too that's great!

 

[135gmc]

I agree! Take the time to be sure that the adjusters work perfectly and lube them with anti-seize. Be sure to blow any dust from the drums before you adjust the brakes, or the dust can cause the brakes to grab. If it pulls one way or the other, blow out any dust before adjusting. The cylinders that are on the market now are mostly CDN surplus - they are 1 3/8" instead of 1 1/4", and the brakes work better than ever with the larger cylinder. Only problem is that you can't mix 1 1/4 & 1 3/8" cylinders.

 

[Seatyger]

Good solid advice guys. The wheel cylinders are 1 3/8 ", we ran out of usable light and time to show the cleaning and maintenance of the drums and adjusters. Keeping track of the little cork wedge (too tired to look up the actual name at the moment) is also important.

We used some of Gord's pristine yogurt containers to keep track of each axle's nuts and take off pieces. You gotta love the benefits of recycling!

 

[butch atkins]

the cork "wedge" is critical part ,if you leave it out 90wt gear oil will wash all the grease you just packed your bearings with,Hello from South Carolina,glad to see your making such good progress on your project,with all the quality help you have you will be finished before winter sets in,Best wishes , Butch