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My first MV. M35A2

sidel2426

New member
22
0
1
Location
Cypress, TX
Hello everyone.
I'm a newb as far as posting, but I have been doing a lot of reading and research on the site. I finally bought my first Duece.

I'll start with the story first then go over the truck. My wife and I were visiting her parents in Duncanville, TX about 3 or 4 months ago. We decided to go for a walk through the neighborhood and we came up to a dead end street. I was ready to go back home but my wife wanted to walk down the street and see what was down the hill. I gave in and we started walking by this property on the corner that was surrounded by trees and brush. There were two driveways that allowed us to see the house and as we got to the second driveway I barely saw the hood of this Duece. I stopped dead in my tracks and said there's a truck. My wife looked over and was like "OH LORD, I knew we shouldn't have walked this way". I took a closer look and I also saw a trailer next to it. I was excited to see there was a truck in the neighborhood. We didn't know who lived there and my wife was worried about walking up to the house so she talked me out of approaching the house. We left, but I couldn't stop thinking about that truck.

A couple of months later we returned to Duncanville for another visit I and I had decided I was going to go to that house and talk to someone. I ended up talking to an older lady about the truck and she said she would love to get rid of that truck. Unfortunately it belonged to her son and he wouldn’t get rid of it. She did say that he was recently divorced with children to take care of so I decided I would come back and talk to him after he got home from work. I returned and talked to the owner and he told me a little about the truck and I finally asked him if he thought about getting rid of it. He told me that he had paid $2500 for the truck and trailer and that in the condition it was in he would take $1000 for the truck and $500 for the trailer. I was jumping for joy in my head. I thought for a second about running to the ATM before the guy changed his mind. There were a couple of issues I had with the truck though that made me walk away with the guy’s phone number saying I’ll give you a call. First was the fact that I really wanted a winch truck with hard top and second was the condition of this truck. You will see in the pictures below some of the issues it has. One of those issues was a smashed oil pan.

I struggled with the thought of walking away, buying it and fixing it the way I want it, buying it and reselling it, or buying it and parting it out. I consulted with a couple of members here on the forum and got their opinions and concerns. I really appreciate them helping me out. Ultimately after doing a lot of quick researching I decided to buy the truck if the owner would let me patch the hole in the oil pan and start it up and check the truck out. I called the owner and he was cool with me patching the oil pan. I took a couple of batteries out of my vehicles and drove up one weekend. I had some type of metallic epoxy putty and used that to patch the hole in the pan. I filled it with oil and installed the batteries. I checked the coolant and looked over the engine the best I could. The owner hit the starter button and 3 or 4 cranks and she started to purr. I heard that whistler start to sing and I was jumping for joy again. I felt like a kid in a candy store.

Oil pressure was good and it looked like all of the gauges were working. We jumped in and the owner pulled the truck out onto the street and stopped. He said “your turn, take her around the block”. We started out and I took her around the block checking every gear. Everything seemed fine. We got back to the house and finished the deal and I had my first Duece and a half. As I got into the truck and was pulling away I thought heard some squealing noise and thought “I hope I didn’t just buy a lemon”. I turned and looked toward the house to see the guy walking out of the porch playing his bagpipes…a farewell song for his beloved truck I suppose. It was very cool.

Now for the truck. I haven’t verified this information yet, but the owner said it is a 1970 M35A2. I don’t remember the manufacturer. He said it had come out of Fort Hood, TX. The numbers on the bumper indicate “64CSG 553 (64th Corps Support Group (CSG) 553 Corps Support Battalion “the Iron Horse Express”) 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) from Fort Hood. He said it was used in the first gulf war. He said it was refurbished in 1991, but there is a plate that indicates it was done in 1989. The tag on the motor says it is a White Co. motor LDT465 1D. There is a sticker that says the FDC has been bypassed.
The truck and trailer will definitely need some work. The battery and tool storage doors are both bent out of shape. Both front fenders have a little damage. The insulation on the soft top is falling down. Most of the tires are fairly worn down. I thought it might be leaking from the injection pump but after closer inspection with a flashlight it looks like it is coming from the oil filters. The primary fuel filter is also leaking. The trailer is missing both brake handles and the air line is missing. The plug for the wiring harness was also cut off. I’m in the process of trying to find parts.

My next step is trying to get it to Cypress, TX which is on the NW side of Houston. I had thought about driving it but it’s just too risky without completely going through the entire truck. I think I will start looking into having it transported. If there is anyone that can help me out with that or steer me in the right direction I’m all ears. It will be a lot easier for me to start working on it at home than trying to drive up to Duncanville and work on it. Sorry about such a long post, but I am just excited to finally have my first MV. Thanks to everyone on the forum for their knowledge and especially to my wife for putting up with my expensive hobbies.
 

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sidel2426

New member
22
0
1
Location
Cypress, TX
Thanks 4X4, My first order of business is to try and get it to Cypress. I ordered some parts from Memphis yesterday and I'm going to order an oil pan today. I will definitely keep everyone up to date on the progress.
 

DeucesWild11

Active member
1,265
12
38
Location
Putnam County, NY
Wow you got an amazing deal! I would have paid the original $2500 that he paid for both! Can't believe you got a running deuce and trailer for $1500! Best of luck with them..
 
Congrats on your aquisition, and welcome to the Green Iron Laughing Academy! A winch and a hard top definately aren't deal breakers for what you paid for that combo! You have an awsome foundation to build on! Some of us would call it a "Do it yourself bobber kit", and the purists all cringe and groan. lol
Which ever direction you go with it, try to keep a "Bob Ross/happy little trees" mindset and all will be right with the world. Good luck and above all, have fun!
:driver:
 

wilogger

New member
41
0
0
Location
west central wi
Nice find, thats the way to do it, keep your eye's open, for a deal. Theres a nice one across the street in the woods thats been sitting for about 15 years. When I asked to buy it the owner gets mad, he'd rather it RIP (rust in peace) then sell it lol. Anyway good deal.
 

sidel2426

New member
22
0
1
Location
Cypress, TX
Thanks for all of the replies. I certainly feel better about buying this truck. It has a half a tank of fuel in it so at least thats worth something, right? :lol:
 

pyro1955

New member
60
0
0
Location
Carsonville, Michigan
[thumbzup]Welcome to SS, and you definately did not go wrong, that truck is worth at least double what you paid! A little elbow grease and some paint and you will be suprised how great it will look. I'm sure you will enjoy the Deuce as much as I do mine. Congrats!
 
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