Steel Soldiers MV of the month 2023 - November VOTE HERE!

[patracy]

Welcome to the MV of the month poll sponsored by Consolidated Press. If you need decals, magnets, stencils, or anything printing related, please give them a call!

Now, onto the vote! Please vote for MV of the month! Feel free to campaign in this thread, but please keep it here and not via PM.

1. Weldman

2. kendelrio

3. cobra5

4. SCM35A2

 

[Guyfang]

Well, lets hear some details and stories. Hopefully Kens Lawyer, (Chucky) will keep it down to a dull roar. But then again, maybe not!

 

[kendelrio]

Well, I first saw Gerty when I was at @Csm Davis place when I went to pick up some parts for my 5 ton.... she was tucked WAY back in the bushes and I casually asked if it was for sale... his answer "Everything on this property is for sale!"

Being as I was just starting to really get busy with Bertha (my 5 ton) I tucked that knowledge away in the back of my head....

Fast forward two years, and I'm still thinking about that M715 tucked back in the bushes.... the M715 has been a favorite of mine since I first saw one in the movie "Flatliners".

ANYWAY.... we were looking for a vehicle for my lady's soon to be 17 year old kid to drive and I casually mention "That old Jeep in Mississippi"....

"Let's go look it" is the reply....

While waiting to get off the boat, I spoke to Jeff about it, asked price and arranged the money, because whether the kid wanted it or not, the truck was coming home...

So, December 18th of last year, we load up with some friends and a car hauler and head to Mississippi.

We get there and go look at the old girl...

My kid Jak wanted to check it out too...

Of course, Mississippi law requires rifle racks in trucks older than 15 years...

So, with some help from a buddy and Jeff, we got her loaded and ready to head home...

Of COURSE Jeff was wearing his Santa hat....

So on the road home we go...

When we were almost home, we passed a couple in a new Jeep Gladiator.... they were so excited they snapped pics and "Ducked" us at the exit to the highway

More to come later...

 

[chucky]

Jeep got there monies worth out of the sheet metal stamping on these trucks 34 years same stamping ! 1963 thru 1087 ! Great job on the rehab ! How many children were forced to work round the clock for days on end ???????? Folks the most money hes got in this build was the gas money to go get it ! The truck was built in a child slave labor camp out in the swamp and funded by ill gotten gains derived thru pet kidnappings and puppy mills hes ran for years !

 

[Weldman]

Move over parade queens, daddy's got work to do

 

[chucky]

Move over parade queens, daddy's got work to do

View attachment 910662

That the oddest single row plow/planter ive ever seen ! What are you going to plant ? Back home gran pa pulled his tanks with both wheels on the ground ! Yall farm a lot different out west from us down south ! Keep up the good work ! You might be the first man to have a 2 mile long single row of corn in the USA YOU MAY SOON BE FAMOUS !

 

[Weldman]

Anywho this is what came of the frac tank.
Root cellar/water tank storage with shelves welded in. I will take other half and put my solar system into it with my battery that weighs 3k lbs and a genset. I sprayed about 2" of spray foam insulation to help insulate when I bury them.

Notice the 5 ton in the background doing more work. Hauled home 2650 gallons of water when I went and bought a septic tank to put down.

 

[chucky]

Anywho this is what came of the frac tank.
Root cellar/water tank storage with shelves welded in. I will take other half and put my solar system into it with my battery that weighs 3k lbs and a genset. I sprayed about 2" of spray foam insulation to help insulate when I bury them.View attachment 910663View attachment 910664
Notice the 5 ton in the background doing more work. Hauled home 2650 gallons of water when I went and bought a septic tank to put down.View attachment 910665View attachment 910666

Your not keeping people against there will in these remote jail cells are you ??????

 

[Weldman]

Your not keeping people against there will in these remote jail cells are you ??????

Too much work, I will just stick them down here... Cadaver dogs can only go up to 15' down, I can go 20' with my excavator.

Made that hole for this months competitions vehicles, squish them to square blocks and stuff'em down the hole, I win!

 

[SCM35A2]

My 1991 M923A2/5ton truck. To date she's pretty much stock except for a few upgrades that include a bigger/more heavy-duty air dryer assembly, new headlights & outer rings, new rear mud flaps, K&N air filter, repainted all the rims black & swapped out the oem batteries for two group 31 batteries. This winter-(currently) my buddy Arron who is a fellow military vehicle enthusiast & heavy wheel machine will be doing some major upgrades that include a complete oem front winch assembly, hardtop, new power coated combat rims with larger 16.00R20 tires & 5-inch exhaust. I've also got a complete navigation system with outside cameras & monitor for the interior and some Doomsday Diesel dog bone retainer plates for the rear. I've also got some custom group 31 battery tray mounts, license plate box & bracket that I had power coated as well. My plans are to move the batteries to the side compartment, rhino line the battery box under the passenger seat & use it for storage. At a recent rally I snagged a Pioneer tool kit unit off an M35A2 truck that I'm also going to mount on the truck too.

 

[Weldman]

Hauled home $33k worth of windows for my house this month too. Only payed $4500 for them since a project went sideways and they needed to be gone, (12) 90 15/16" x 74 5/16" windows that are 1 1/8" thick. Rode on the back with not one broken down 30 miles rock gravel road and last 3 miles up a ridge.

 

[SCM35A2]

I've been swapping out parts here & there and my goal is to make her as clean as she was when she rolled of the assembly line back in 1991. Once everything is done on the outside Ill paint her back as she is...

 

[kendelrio]

Well, I can't compete with a giant cock and balls....

But I'll continue the rebuild story...

The next step was a pressure wash, airing up the tires, then figuring out a plan of attack...

The first decision was to remove the home made hard top and rewire it back to 24v. I was fortunate in that a brand new harness from Vintage was in a box in the front seat along with new plugs and wires!

Then it was a few days of puttering around with miscellaneous stuff, removed and cleaned the fuel tank, sending unit and put the gauge cluster together

Then I finished the wiring harness and started on lights

New LED taillights

And new LED headlights

More later.

 

[kendelrio]

Then it was replacing the 12v alternator with a 24v alternator, replacing the points with a Pertonix Electonic ignition

Then turning her over... with a "jump bottle" of gas to the carb...

Then we wanted to purge the fuel line/pump, so we put 2 gallons of gas in the tank and started turning her over...... and could not get gas for ANYTHING! After installing an electric fuel pump and still nothing, I went and got another 5 gallons and put it in.... still nothing.

I asked my buddy: "Did we reconnect the pickup when we removed the tank to clean it and change the sending unit?" His response: O_O....

Sure enough, the pickup line was disconnected. After reconnecting it and priming it ....

she idles nicely!

military vehicle 1967 gladiator Vietnam

youtube.com

Then it was cleaning up the driveline and more electrical...

And at the end of the day, we decided to see if she would move...

she idles nicely!

military vehicle 1967 gladiator Vietnam

youtube.com

Moving was no issue... stopping, on the other hand....

So time to do brake work

Cleaned up the pads and checked the drums and wheel cylinders...

Replaced the master cylinder:

And I had brakes!

I also took time while waiting on parts to start repairing the various holes, dents and dings she had picked up over the years in prep for paint.

I fabricated some tail light mounts, as the fire department had cut "custom" holes in the originals for their 12v lights.

I also mounted some LED side marker lights and fabricated jumpers for them to work.

 

[kendelrio]

Then... cleanup, pressure washing (all of the green paint washed off woth a concrete bit!), then a LOT of paint...

Some tires came in along the way...

@G744 helped me out with some kick ass OG blinker/BO lights and brackets...

Added some front blinkers

And a new soft top. (Her hanging with Bertha)

 

[kendelrio]

Then it was interior:

And exterior (wheels, tools fuel can etc)

Along the way I picked up a M1061A1 trailer from @fuzzytoaster and dovetailed it so I can haul the M715 and M37 (eventually) behind the 5 ton...

 

[Weldman]

 

[kendelrio]

You can call Gerty a lot of things, but Pavement Princess isn't one of them

 

[kendelrio]

Gerty has also been known to show up for car shows and benefits...

A local scout troop was having their derby car races at the same time/location as this car show and they voted on best vehicle, and presented me with a homemade scout trophy (which is one of my most favorite!)

We hooked her up behind Bertha for a trip to Bolivar Peninsula for a Memorial Day event....

Which got pretty stinking AWESOME!

@m715mike Had a great time for sure!

Even @fuzzytoaster showed up!

And as I promised @Guyfang there were even some mankinis hanging around...

 

[kendelrio]

I have a complete rebuild thread HERE, in the mean time, I've decided to change her registration from a regular vehicle to Historic Military Vehicle, so in accordance with Louisiana law, "Dirty Gerty" had to come off of the hood, to be replaced by her VIN:

Of course, now my brain is running full speed, so there will be some more changes and updates when I get in from offshore, and hopefully I'll get them posted before the end of the poll.