Mike D's deuce recovery/modification thread

[skinnyR1]

Hello all.

The time has finally come and I am super excited. On Friday I drive out to Kublos to pick up my M35a2. It is a 1971 AM General, that Kenny is also putting a winch on for me.

I have been looking for several months, to locate a clean, rot free m35a2. I looked at a half dozen here local to me here in CT and Mass, but nothing fit. The trucks seem to pull a premium here in New England, especially if they are clean. I was not looking to spend $8K on a rusty truck, without any options. Or $10K+ on a clean truck. I was willing to travel, if necessary, to find what I wanted.

I located a couple within my price range in PA. It seems like there are more trucks out that way. But when I contacted the sellers, on two separate occasions, they decided they were no longer selling the truck? I don't understand how someone lists something for sale, but changes their mind once somebody is interested.

I randomly stumbled across a post here mentioning Kublos, so I gave them a call. I had no idea who they were. Super friendly guys to work with. They indicated they had a number of trucks, dozens, on their lot, for sale. Great, I thought. The trip was 4 hours, so I planned on making my way out there on a week day.

I drove out there about three weeks ago. It was a 4 hour journey, not a bad drive at all through the valley's of NY. Clear sailing really. I had one of my friends with me.

When we got there, we were freezing. It was 15F outside, but we poked around the yard for a couple hours with Kenny trying to locate a truck. I looked at EVERY truck, thoroughly.

I decided on a non winch truck, that is VERY clean. No rust whatsoever. I ended up paying extra for Kenny to put a winch on it, but its worth it to me. I would have to leave empty handed, as they go through the truck and I was having the winch put on.

So here we are, and I am picking it up on Friday! I have a one way rental car booked, and a copilot to go with me. I have already purchased 395's and A3 wheels, to be installed when she arrives at home. I have quite a few other modifications planned, and I will use this thread to post them up as they go.

Pictures to follow.....

 

[skinnyR1]

Here is the truck as I left it, before the winch is installed. Also a couple pics of the mvt's and a3 wheels.

 

[skinnyR1]

And finally, my route for Friday, in case I break down!

Basically, I am driving 17E to 84E for my return trip. I am dropping the rental in Binghamton, my copilot is hopping in, and we are continuing our journey. From noon onward, however long it takes. Hopefully the heater works!

 

[rtk]

Nice pick , The Kublos' are good people and will work with you . BTW , WELCOME to the "GREEN ADDICTION" it only gets worse from here . LOL . Try and make a plan to attend the MV show in Aberdeen MD in May , you will find LOTS of MV goodies there . Also the MVPA convention is in Louisville KY. this year and is always a good time . good luck , bob k

 

[blackrock]

Done alot of business with them, they are great people. How much are his trucks bringing if you dont mind me asking? good luck on the trip you will be fine

 

[skinnyR1]

Basic non winch m35a2 truck starts at $4500, and the price goes up from there. The newer cargo bed trucks were $8K and there were a couple of dump set up deuces approaching $9-10K I believe.

 

[Merc1973]

Congratulations! I just picked up my first Deuce last week. Good luck!

 

[Lieutenant Dan]

I talked to the guy at kublos and they seemed really nice. They told me $4500 for basic truck, +$500 for hard top and another $250 if I wanted the title. Didn't seem bad cause he said I could pick out any truck on the lot and they would make it the way I wanted it and go over it front to back to make sure everything was in good working order. But I found a better deal closer to me from a fellow member on here with a m105 trailer so I could bob it and the truck only has 14000 miles on it, I couldn't pass up that deal as I looked for a few weeks I craigslist and guys wanted $6000+ for the same truck with quadruple the mileage.

what is the exact date of the Aberdeen Maryland show? I'll schedule off now lol

 

[rtk]

The Aberdeen show is May 8-10 2014 at Karl Ripken Stadium . It's right off 95 . The MVPA convention is June 26-28 , 2014 at Louisville , Kentucky . Both shows are good , you get to meet the a lot of the vendors you will be dealing with , plus you get to meet a lot of the SUSPECTS on this website , LOL

 

[Lieutenant Dan]

I won't make the Kentucky show but what all is at the Aberdeen show?

Is is it a meet and greet it like a huge swap meet?

the thing that sucks at swap meets is if you don't go the first day or two then go Saturday there is nothing left usually

 

[rtk]

Think of the Carlyle Car Show in PA , but for MV's and yes you can get just about anything MV related from Uniforms to Vehicles , plus you can show your MV . It is a good time , 15 ACRES OF FUN as they say . Friday and Saturday are the big days , I usually get there Thursday afternoon and leave sometime Saturday in the afternoon .

 

[Lieutenant Dan]

Yup been to carlisle many times.....

Idk if I'll bring my truck but we'll see.... Can't wait for the rausch creek rally with you guys!

 

[skinnyR1]

I will Definitely try to make it out to these events!

 

[skinnyR1]

Well, I made it. Left my house at about 6am and got to Kublos at 10. The truck was ready for me when I got there. We were on the road again by 11.

It took a little to get used to driving the truck, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Dropped the rental car off about 20 miles from Kublos, picked up my copilot, and off we went. As we traveled, the truck definitely seemed to run better. I cruised mostly at 2300 or 2400 rpm on the highway, which by gps was about 50 mph. Really, the truck ran strong! It would slow and lug down going up an over the mountains, and I would have to shift to 4th, but it wasn't bad!

In total, I passed two vehicles the whole trip, slow goin for sure! It was two trucks loaded with stone over the mountain. Thats the only vehicles I passed in 7 hours, haha.

So, all in all, it was a successful trip.

However, about 100 miles in, I noticed that the truck was puking an oily mix out of the breather, slobber, road drain tube, whatever you want to call it. I know a little oil can make a huge mess, and this is definitely the case here. There is no tube on the breather, so the slop completely coated the right spring pack, starter, and frame rail on that side of the truck. It is everywhere, and looks bad, but I tend to think this is normal, especially due to the fact that this truck probably hasn't been driven hard in many years, and probably has a good amount of crap in the motor that needs to come out. But the fluids level were all checked prior to me picking it up, so I am open to hear others thoughts on this. The oil level is about 1 1/2 inches above full icey cold. The dipstick oil looks fine, its just oil I think, but I am no expert. Again, I was running around 23 or2400 rpm most of the way, but there were shorts spurts that I would hit 25 0r 2600 rpm trying to get a run at the bottom anticipating goin up a hill.

I will post pics of my journey soon. Overall return trip with the Deuce was about 250 miles, and took 7 hours due to traffic in Danbury and Waterbury CT.

 

[skinnyR1]

Snowy drive for most of the trip too.

 

[LiveFreeOrDieTryn2B]

Ken is a very good guy and has excellent pricing.

 

[rtk]

Nice ride , looks like a real nice project MV , good luck .

 

[Lieutenant Dan]

Good to hear you made it home. I can't wait to go pick mine up the end of next month. I'm only driving about and hour and 20 minutes home but I'm kinda freaking out about the brakes giving out or some freak accident. There is quite a few 7% downhill grades coming home through towns.....

 

[skinnyR1]

I was concerned about the brakes too, but kenny talked me through the whole operation of the truck. Those guys are great.

The truck has so much engine brake that you are in the throttle going down the hills.

 

[Lieutenant Dan]

Really cause a lot of people complain there is no engine braking on them