Need prebuy inspection on m109 in Huntsville AL

[Rifleman]

First of all i would like to say hi to everyone, i am new to military trucks and have never owned one so i need some help. I am looking to place a bid on the GL web site on a 1973 m109a3 but since i have no way to get from Phoenix AZ to Huntsville AL i am asking for another member to help me out.

My wife is disabled and i want to buy a M109 so i can fix it up into an RV so we can go camping together. A little back ground on me i run a full machine shop from home and do all types of fab work. In my shop i have a lathe, mill, tig welder, all types of saws and grinders.

I have years of mechanic experience from rebuilding engines, transmissions to rear ends. I hold two Journymans cards from the UAW one as a AA tool machinist and the other as a machine repairman. I have a full shop of automotive repair tools along with scopes and scanners. Now i have never worked on large trucks so i know i will need some LARGER TOOLS but i know i can do this.

Anyway back to the problem at hand since i can't leave my wife alone i need someone who knows these trucks to do a prebuy inspection for me and let me know if this truck is junk or if it is worth bidding on.

Now if it turns out to be a good truck and i win the bid i will also need help getting it from Huntsville to Phoenix but that's a question i need to ask in a different form.

One more thing, i believe in paying it forward so since i have a full shop i would be more than willing to help out any members who happen to need a helping hand with any of their trucks in the Phoenix area, you never know when a Tig welder and machine shop can come in handy on a Sunday afternoon.

 

[ThunderCracker]

I'm not familiar with these vehicles but I work in Huntsville. If you can give me specifics on what I need to check out I can try to get by and inspect it for you. When's the viewing dates and times?

 

[Scooteerr]

You can ask Wreckerman 893... He's up there all the time doing inspections and loadouts.... I'm 30 minutes away but I'm not as fluent with deuces than he is... He has a lot of experience with them... Happy hunting!!!!!!!!

P.S. if nobody can make it out there I might be able to go take a look... But I'd only be able to tell you what kind of shape it's in, not much about the engine though...

 

[wreckerman893]

I checked out both of those trucks last week when I was picking up some stuff for another member.

They show lots of wear and tear but they have the 1100x20 radials on them.

I didn't crank them but I was told that they are both runners.

If you win one I can pickup and hold. PM for details.

On another note....you say your missus is disabled. The deuce is not a user friendly vehicle for folks with disablities. It rides like an oxcart, is very loud and is a mobile oven in the summer (which I guess is all year in Arizona).

Getting in and out of the cab and the van requires some doing. There is usually a ladder to get in and out of the van.

You can add AC to the deuce but there is no insulation in the cab so you need a big unit to stay ahead of the heat. I have some add on AC kits for sale.

They are slow on the road....top speed with the radials is only going to be around 60 MPH with the pedal mashed to the floor. Getting passed on the interstate by a Peterbuilt running 80 causes an increased pucker factor.

I'm not trying to talk you out of your plan, just help you make an informed decsion.

 

[Rifleman]

Hello, thanks to everyone who answered my request for help. Werckerman 893 if it would not be too much trouble, could i please ask you to go inspect the 1973 m109 for me.
It's lot number 3901, event ID 11152. After you have looked it over please let me know what you find and if you think it's worth buying or not. If Wreckerman 893 is not able to check it out then maybe ThunderCracker, or Scooteer could go take a look.
The viewing dates are on the 2 and the 3 of Oct. So Wreckerman 893 please let me know if you have the time to do this so i can let the other guys know if they need to go. Thanks

 

[wreckerman893]

I can't make it this week due to a prior commitment and getting ready for the GA Rally....the rally is the week after that.

I'll call Adam (GL guy up there) and see what he thinks about them.

You need to factor in shipping when you think about how much you want to spend.

 

[Rifleman]

Werckerman, if you could call you friend at the GL and see what he thinks about the trucks that will give me a little more information to base my decision on. ThunderCraker and Scooteer i want to thank you guys again for your kind offer to help me.

 

[ThunderCracker]

Anytime!

 

[Scooteerr]

Dito

 

[patracy]

FWIW, Adam with GL at the Huntsville lot is a good guy. He actually knows about things. If he were to offer up intel without me seeing a truck, I'd take his word for it. (His mother as well in the office)

 

[Rifleman]

Gentleman, i took my wife on a day trip yesterday to go look at a standard M35a2c yesterday in southern Arizona. I was thinking i need a back up plan just in case the M109 gets to be too much money we could always buy the M35 and put a shelter on the back of it.

Anyway while i was at the GL lot they had three of the S-280 shelters there and one is coming up for auction in a few weeks and the others will be up for sale after that.

Now if you know anybody who is looking for one and wants to know what they look like just ask me because i looked all three of them over real well. Two of them are nice with one being REAL NICE and one not so great, it had ALOT of mold inside it from water leaks.

 

[Rifleman]

I forgot to add that along with the S-280 shelters that i looked at on the Gl lot they also had a real nice S-250 shelter that is also coming up for auction in a few weeks.