M149A2 Recovery

[flyfishtrailer]

Today I brought home an M149A2, The previous owner had taken good care of it and with minimal rust (stored in the Nevada desert) it should restore nicely. At some point prior to the guy I bought it from, someone had removed all of the data plates and cut off the air brake hoses. The drive home was slow with several stops to check bearing temps and tires, but we made it. I did a more thorough walk around inspection and other than the air hoses the only thing missing is the hood latch block and the two hood latches to secure the manhole cover. Even the man hole seal is in great shape. I will add some pictures tomorrow but have some questions for you experts. Who manufactured most of these and when did the A2 model first start to appear so I can try and figure out roughly how old the trailer is.

 

[flyfishtrailer]

 

[flyfishtrailer]

 

[NDT]

I think they were made by American Development Corporation, I have a SF97 with mfg date 1983 and vin ADC13D3.

EDIT: on second thought the insulated aluminum ones like you have were made by Aero Welding in the early 90's.