No one's m35a3

[EXITNOONE]

• FIRST OFFICIAL POST FOR MY M35A3 ADVENTURE •

FOUND IN CLARKSBURG, MD.
CURRENTLY AWAITING TRANSFER TO EASTERN SURPLUS FOR FULL INSPECTION, PM SERVICE,
CUSTOM BOB, HARD TOP, AND 46" TIRES. ONCE COMPLETED, THE A3 WILL BE COMING HOME TO CALIFORNIA.

according to the gentleman i bought it from, it's in perfect shape.
shop maintenance logs, title, and tech manuals are in the mail on their way to me now.
can't wait to read up on the A3... and of course drive it !!
will i join the cross country recovery club ?? ... stay tuned !!

PHOTOS AS FOUND ... PHOTOS AS MODIFIED TO COME:





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[AceHigh]

The trip will be fun

and slow!

Nice looker.

 

[fuzzytoaster]

Make sure to get cup holders!

 

[EXITNOONE]

THANKS ACE & FUZZY- depending on the east coast's current state of hellish heat... shipping the a3 sounds better every minute. and then again, who would pass up a cross country adventure ?!?! i've read through other new members' debates on this subject, and i'm not gonna waste too much space repeating. the real interesting part will be once i tackle the air conditioning problem that nobody on this site has been able to successfully defeat( at least from what i've read so far)... even the guys who've bought the retrofit kits from DILVOY have fallen off the update wagon... and who knows if any of them have successfully installed that system yet ??

i've been searching all over the place... from companies in south africa, to some in australia, to right here in the best country on earth. we're talking 300 amp alternators, alternator/generators up to 2 kW, roof top ac's, auxiliary power units, stand alone compressor systems, entirely separate electrical systems wired into the a3 off a 2nd generator, alternator/welders... all of it. and due to it's complexity without a complete system, i think the red dot approach completely sucks for the prices they want. you still have to engineer your whole set up.

the simplest looking system so far: 300 amp alternator to 5000 watt inverter to either the carrier air v roof top, or a regular 15,000 btu home wall ac fitted into the back of the cab. the air v at 41" long will probably hang off the cab roof, and definitely require a light duty interior roll cage type of support system to make up for the fiberglass hard top weakness. the rear wall ac will require the loss of seat space as well as stick out the rear of the cab by up to 20". apu's and other self-contained 24volt ac truck units are anywhere from $3,000 to $9,000.

300 amp alternator + 5,000 watt inverter + wall ac = $1000 and some time

if some grad student in texas can get web famous for rigging a wall ac into his honda... then a streamlined system can work in an A3 !!!

MORE SOON...

EXIT

 

[Josh]

You really only need about a 6000 or 8000btu AC. An 8000btu will do a 350sq ft room easy.

 

[EXITNOONE]

JOSH- i appreciate that input. and a smaller ac will draw far less amps/watts from the alternator, as well as weigh less, which are all extremely important factors.

HERE'S A FEW PHOTOS FROM DAVE AT EASTERN SURPLUS IN PHILADELPHIA OF THE A3 WHICH ARRIVED THIS MORNING FROM CLARKSBURG, MD ABOUT 150 MILES AWAY. AND A MOCK-UP PHOTO OF THE A3 CUT TO A 9' BED. I HAVEN'T DECIDED ON WHAT LENGTH THE BED SHOULD BE YET... 8.5' SEEMS ABOUT PERFECT TO GET SOME USE OUT OF IT, KEEP THE SECTION PROPORTIONS, AND HAVE IT SHORT ENOUGH TO FIT ON TIGHT LOS ANGELES STREETS FOR WORK.

MORE TO FOLLOW...

 

[transman]

Where is your sense of adventure? 2@55 is all the AC you need ! (two windows down at 55 mph and a large bottle of refreshment of your choice.)

 

[jwaller]

you sir have money to burn. congrats!

 

[dburd72]

check out vintage air only big concern is a mount for the compressor

 

[gimpyrobb]

If you are bobbing the truck, I suggest 395 tires. If I remember correctly, the top speed of the A3 is less than that of the A2. The larger tires will get you some speed back and you don't have to worry about all the 14.5s that have popped.

 

[MyothersanM1]

Welcome to the site. PM sent.

 

[watkinssr]

It's a convertible...convertibles don't need AC.

 

[SixSpeed]

If you are bobbing the truck, I suggest 395 tires. If I remember correctly, the top speed of the A3 is less than that of the A2. The larger tires will get you some speed back and you don't have to worry about all the 14.5s that have popped.

Good advice on the speed.

Do 14.5's for some reason have a higher tendency to fail?

 

[Josh]

If you get the 2 rims from the removed axle, id be interested in buying them from ya

 

[Wrench Wench]

Even though it'd mean fabbing a new driveshaft, I'd move that rear axle back a bit to about the middle between where the rear axles were.

 

[sirmrtow]

if you need a copilot i can go on a moments notice

 

[EXITNOONE]

THANK YOU GENTLEMAN FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS.

TRANSMAN- i'm usually more adventurous when the temperature is around 40-80ºF ... 55mph over 3000 miles @ 100ºF & 100db in the cab will beat the snot out of anyone... tough guy or not... but don't think i've stopped considering driving the A3 cross country once it's ready !!! half crazy is an important quality in many historic leaders' arsenals. perhaps i'll enjoy some native american sweat lodge visions while driving through the southwest, or lose 20 pounds... all from the relative comfort of my rolling sauna. all i know is when i was going through basic in san antonio with 114º temps and rain AT THE SAME TIME it was ****. maybe i'll drive the a3 only at night to beat the summer wrath.

JWALLER- i only have a few spare $$$ for the A3 because i decided to sell my 78 corvette, which is great for getting girls, but doesn't do a darn thing for my work, which is necessary to pay for the girls. life is one big circle sometimes. work by the way is hauling scrap metal for my family's business.... no matter what the weather is like. on 2nd thought, the A3 holds more girls than the corvette can. win win

DBURD- the compressor draw on the engine is my main concern. with the cat 3116 only putting out an astonishing 170hp, any added strain will take away from the incredible acceleration i'm surely expecting in the A3. maybe i should add some 3 point racing harness seat belts.... and one of those cool oversized tachs that all the import car guys have... so they can go faster.

GIMPY- i'm definitely going with 46" tires. when i add them will depend on whether or not i end up driving the A3 cross country. if i have it hauled, i'll add the tires once it's in california. if i drive it, i'll add the tires before i leave philadelphia.

WATKINS- if GOD didn't want me to have ac in the a3, HE wouldn't have given me the ability to buy the truck in the 1st place. i'm half joking on that one, but a huge part of me believes this truck and what it will allow me to do for my business is total destiny. from America's earliest desires to pursue a coast to coast nation, that too was Divine destiny according to our forefathers.

SIXSPEED- there's been several posts on the forum about 14.5 failure during highway speeds. nobody is sure if it's under-inflation, age, or over-inflation that's causing the problems.

JOSH- the best parts from the removed axle will be used to upgrade the remaining axle. the rims, tires, leftovers, etc are going to eastern surplus for credit towards the bob. i'm also trading in the tarp, bows, troop seats, soft cab, and anything else i can to offset the costs... which gets back to JWALLER's comment... i'm trying to get the A3 set up as economically efficient as possible. in these times i don't really think anybody has $$$ to burn. and if they do... PM ME !!! i could use a few spare $$$ !!!

WRENCH- i'm going to discuss that subject with dave at eastern surplus. i haven't settled on the exact bed length yet, but i agree that the remaining axle would be best moved back about 2 feet if i go with a 9' bed. for weight distribution, proportion, handling, etc.

SIRMRTOW- i appreciate your offer, but unless you're cuter than my girlfriend, or a better cook, she's still got dibs on the co-pilot's seat at the moment. does she know about my comments on the board regarding other girls ?? she does, and she knows my sarcasm too. it takes a special person to put up with my pain in the @$$ self ... we'll see if she lasts 3000 miles... or if i do ?!?

THANKS AGAIN GUYS FOR ALL THE COMMENTS. LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE AS MY PROJECT DEVELOPS.

EXIT

 

[BigWill1276]

Hey Exitnoone, I was checking out threads on driving across the country and decided that when my EUC clears for my M35A3 in South Carolina, I'm flying out there, meeting a couple of Good Ol' SS members and driving it back to Vegas (2200 miles). I have a couple of pit stops planned along the way to pick up some M105 trailers. And to see the worlds biggest ball of yarn, But just encase I encounter some problems, I'm taking my best friend who's a heavy equipment mechanic. Do the drive man, lifes too short, especially when you can see the country at 55 mph.

 

[EXITNOONE]

BIGWILL- if only my girlfriend was a mechanic !!! she just lost a notch in the great co-pilot debate. i was out your way in pahrump 2 weeks ago picking up fireworks for the locals here in southern california so we could actually celebrate our country instead of being forced into hiding by the state's pansie laws. and i'm planning a trip to vegas sometime soon to visit the guys at pawn stars in order to raise more cash for the A3. got some goodies i'd like to trade in.

if i do make it out your way, i'll let you know... and in the meantime, i'll be following your updates, to see how your drive goes. not sure which would be a better tear... but it's gonna be a drive at this time of year no matter where we start out from on the east coast.

 

[EXITNOONE]

updated photo in the shop at eastern surplus. bed removed. waiting for measurements to determine final axle location and bob.