Rare MV? 1956 M220

[AaronW]

I was talking to a friend of mine last night at the local watering hole when he let me know about an old MV he might be looking to get rid of. He is well aware of my OD fever and wants to help me in the healing process. My buddy claims this is a good runner. I was needing a good excuse to take my M35A2 out for a drive anyway.

To my surprise, the truck is a 56 M220 shop truck that has been turned into a fire rig.

Questions......Any hope of finding an original box? Could a 109 box look close enough? Should I grab this truck for sure?

Seems too cool to let pass....but that could be just part of my illness.

pics of the trip also

 

[citizensoldier]

I would have to check Doyles book but I think the M220 had the same box as a M109 shop van.. Those can be found for a good price. FMJ had a cherry M109 box in NM... He might still have it? Nice find by the way..

 

[Westech]

not that rare, I had one I had to trade away. and yes its the same box as on the M35 type truck.

 

[wsucougarx]

Aaron, this is what you need to do. Sell me your winched deuce so you can buy that truck

 

[gunboy1656]

i have a 56 M220, right now it has a cargo bed on it. with hard top.

 

[SETOYOTA]

not a rare vehicle. Nice though. tendency to have a a bad tranny.

 

[Das Uber Soldat]

Okay, but what's that big, tracked yellow thing in the first picture?

 

[jpcj-7]

Okay, but what's that big, tracked yellow thing in the first picture?

That is what I'd like to know.....

 

[maddawg308]

Looks like an old M47 or M48 tank chassis that's been converted into some form of drilling rig platform.

 

[Das Uber Soldat]

Aaron, forget the M220 for now, buy the drilling rig!

 

[moosebgy]

It looks like it was set up as a mobile logging tower, just missing the tower.

 

[butch atkins]

To Buy Or Not To Buy

i see quite a few things that would need fixing to restore this truck,water temp gauge dissconected,carb been worked on, original military GMC distributor replaced with civilian unit ,original military generator replaced with some kind of alternator,dont know what the heck that is bolted to the drivers side inner fender ,just guessing it is an external fuel pump,probably converted over to a 12 volt operation,none of the factory guages would work,see a lot of loose wiring hanging around,it might crank up and run,try and see,without the factory distributor with the internal governor connected to the carb,the auto tranny will shift really funny,but who am i to try and tell another man how to spend his $,one mans trash is another mans treasure,good luck ,keep posting

 

[davesbf]

M220 is probably the most uner appreciated truck ever made,they are faster than M35,easier to handle,but there is not much interest by MV collectors.there are sveral near me that guys would like to dump but can't get over $500.i personally like this vehicle but like said before the tranny is the weak spot.

 

[nattieleather]

M220 is probably the most uner appreciated truck ever made,they are faster than M35,easier to handle,but there is not much interest by MV collectors.there are sveral near me that guys would like to dump but can't get over $500.i personally like this vehicle but like said before the tranny is the weak spot.

I would agree with everything you said there except this.... "they are faster than M35" Huh? I have had both trucks My M211 would do maybe 50 max and that was down hill with a tail wind. My M35A2 would do 60-65 no problem and still have some peddle left to get up the hills. Unless you were talking about the gas M35s...then maybe.

 

[davesbf]

I should clarify,you are correct,the 211 which i never drove enough to measure mileage probably is not better tha M35,i was referring to article written in one of the military collectors mag.that referred to the M135 with the higher 11:00 tires getting a faster ground speed.there may be some inflated numbers in the article.would be interesting to get real time feed back from more exerienced owners.thanks for reply

 

[butch atkins]

GMC top speed

on flat level road my M211 will run the max governed speed of 58mph,and has reached 62+ mph on a 2 mile long downhill 2 lane country road in Newberry county,that being said,DAYUM it is scary at that speed,and it needed all of the road to attain that speed, and yes going back uphill it slows considerably,going thru the GA mountains to the Helen GA rally ,,max uphill was about 25mph ,that is max governed engine speed in 2nd gear,finally pulled over to let a line of traffic pass,most of them gave me the old one finger salute as they passed,i have owned a multi fuel REO water tanker,and my M211 rides and brakes 10 times better than any M35 ,and you can see way better over the GMCs slant nosed hood,my normal driving speed in any vehicle is about 40 mph anyway so i dont feel the need for speed,my family and friends still laugh because i bought a new DODGE Ram with the HEMI motor in it,just my experience with my GMC,good luck to all on your projects

 

[NDT]

That GMC looks nice, it does not have the usual rust in the sills under the door. The truck has been 12 volt-ized, not a big deal.

Dont you guys watch Ax Men on History Channel? Then you would know that machine is a logging "yarder" based on a Sherman "easy 8" tank.

 

[nattieleather]

I agree with Butch on this one. The GMCs are a blast to drive as far as being able to see, and stopping. Steering isn't that bad either compaired to the M35. Just a few things on the GMC that drove me crazy.
1. Lack of speed. 45 is probably the crusing speed...and yes hills will drag you down.
2. The transmission will down shift if you run over a cigar butt.... Ok I'm streching things a bit, but it shift up and down rather weird for an auto.
3. There are two types of 302 motor. Those that have an exhust manifold leak and those that will!

Other than that I loved the truck and somewhat am sorry I got rid of it, but for me I don't have anyplace to keep a big truck like that out of the weather, and that's not good for them.

 

[tm america]

nice looking truck u'd go for it .whatever bed you put on it doesnt matter i'm sure you'll have fun with it either way

 

[WPNS421]

That yellow rig could also be a tower to hook skylines to haul logs from difficult sites. Saw this on History channel, story about loggers in Oregon.