JDToumanian
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- Phelan, CA
Hi group,
I thought I'd share some pictures of my 1953 Diamond T M52 that I recently purchased. It is somewhat unique, in that it was remanufactured by Memphis Equipment (probably a long time ago) and has their aftermarket hood, fuel tank, and other details. It's most unusual feature, however, is that it is powered by a 2-stroke 6-71N Detroit Diesel engine. I'm a 2-stroke diesel nut.
To fit a 6-71 in a 5-ton is a stretch. The engine is long, extending into the firewall and requiring a doghouse cover in the cab. It's also tall, and barely fits over the axle and under the hood. I've also been told that a custom flywheel had to be made to bolt up the military clutch and transmission. There's a lot of other fabrication that was done, like motor mounts, to make the conversion.
The truck itself is a wreck, as you can see from the pics (Though I did drive it 45 miles home). I bought it for the engine and it's associated conversion components, and my goal is to put the engine into a different 5-ton, either cargo or wrecker, and part out the rest. The engine is in excellent condition. I had been watching the same M543A2 wrecker that rumplecat won on GL, but I could not afford it at the moment when shipping to CA was factored in, but I'm leaning toward a wrecker over a cargo, since I already have my M35. A "fixer-upper" wrecker, missing an engine is okay, would be just the ticket for this project. An M543 would be the same as my M52, from the cab forward, right? As opposed to an M816 which is different? I want to do a basic swap, rather than re-engineer the conversion for a different series of trucks.
If the truck were in better condition, I would consider restoring it as an M52, but it is really bad. The fenders, cab and hard top have significant rust-through with bad Bondo repairs. The right front has had a collision, so the fender and bumper are damaged. This home-made bumper is very sloppily welded directly to the frame, which is pretty chewed up. The wiring has been poorly converted to 12-volt, and nothing electrical seems to work except the starter. The brakes have been partially converted to air... The pedal is an air-type, and there is no air pack now. The air lines lead to three master cylinders, one for each axle. Wierd, but it does provide some redundancy for safety. The dogbones are so worn that a bolt had to be welded on to four of them so they don't fall off!
My girlfriend thinks I'm nuts (the look on her face was priceless), even my brother says I've "officially lost it", but I knew I could turn to my fellow Steel Soldiers members for technical as well as moral support!
Regards,
Jon
I thought I'd share some pictures of my 1953 Diamond T M52 that I recently purchased. It is somewhat unique, in that it was remanufactured by Memphis Equipment (probably a long time ago) and has their aftermarket hood, fuel tank, and other details. It's most unusual feature, however, is that it is powered by a 2-stroke 6-71N Detroit Diesel engine. I'm a 2-stroke diesel nut.
To fit a 6-71 in a 5-ton is a stretch. The engine is long, extending into the firewall and requiring a doghouse cover in the cab. It's also tall, and barely fits over the axle and under the hood. I've also been told that a custom flywheel had to be made to bolt up the military clutch and transmission. There's a lot of other fabrication that was done, like motor mounts, to make the conversion.
The truck itself is a wreck, as you can see from the pics (Though I did drive it 45 miles home). I bought it for the engine and it's associated conversion components, and my goal is to put the engine into a different 5-ton, either cargo or wrecker, and part out the rest. The engine is in excellent condition. I had been watching the same M543A2 wrecker that rumplecat won on GL, but I could not afford it at the moment when shipping to CA was factored in, but I'm leaning toward a wrecker over a cargo, since I already have my M35. A "fixer-upper" wrecker, missing an engine is okay, would be just the ticket for this project. An M543 would be the same as my M52, from the cab forward, right? As opposed to an M816 which is different? I want to do a basic swap, rather than re-engineer the conversion for a different series of trucks.
If the truck were in better condition, I would consider restoring it as an M52, but it is really bad. The fenders, cab and hard top have significant rust-through with bad Bondo repairs. The right front has had a collision, so the fender and bumper are damaged. This home-made bumper is very sloppily welded directly to the frame, which is pretty chewed up. The wiring has been poorly converted to 12-volt, and nothing electrical seems to work except the starter. The brakes have been partially converted to air... The pedal is an air-type, and there is no air pack now. The air lines lead to three master cylinders, one for each axle. Wierd, but it does provide some redundancy for safety. The dogbones are so worn that a bolt had to be welded on to four of them so they don't fall off!
My girlfriend thinks I'm nuts (the look on her face was priceless), even my brother says I've "officially lost it", but I knew I could turn to my fellow Steel Soldiers members for technical as well as moral support!
Regards,
Jon
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