Steel Soldiers MV of the YEAR 2020 - VOTE HERE

[Tracer]

I would hang it in my kitchen... Our local affiliate, Military Vehicle Collectors Club of Michigan, prints one every year. We sell them as a small fund raiser. They are nice to look at each month. If you do a calendar, what kind of price could we expect?

 

[lpcoating]

I like the calendar idea. I'd buy one.

Guy

 

[Mullaney]

I like the calendar idea. I'd buy one.

Guy

I got the approval I needed to create the SS MV of Month calendar. I am working on a web portal now to receive orders. That should be finished tonight or tomorrow if all goes smoothly. My plan is to use UPS for shipping only because they stop here every day to pick up packages. To be completely honest, I don't know exactly how to handle International shipments with the web tools we use - but I am sure I can come up with a plan!

Schedule is to print on Monday so by the 13th or 14th, I should be ready to ship.

Thought I should update you with where we are in the process - but I didn't want to say too much before we had approval to print the SS logo.

THANKS GUYS!

I appreciate the interest and it is really cool to be involved in this project!

- Tim Mullaney

 

[Sasquatchak]

How do you vote with the tapatalk app?

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Migginsbros]

Good morning!

 

[Guyfang]

WHAT! This can not have been taken today!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The darn snow is still with us in Burgkunstadt. Fake news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[steelsoldiers]

Thanks for putting this calendar together for us, Tim! Can’t wait to hang one up in my office. Hopefully, my M756A2 will end up in there one day!

I got the approval I needed to create the SS MV of Month calendar. I am working on a web portal now to receive orders. That should be finished tonight or tomorrow if all goes smoothly. My plan is to use UPS for shipping only because they stop here every day to pick up packages. To be completely honest, I don't know exactly how to handle International shipments with the web tools we use - but I am sure I can come up with a plan!

Schedule is to print on Monday so by the 13th or 14th, I should be ready to ship.

Thought I should update you with where we are in the process - but I didn't want to say too much before we had approval to print the SS logo.

THANKS GUYS!

I appreciate the interest and it is really cool to be involved in this project!

- Tim Mullaney

 

[Mullaney]

Thanks for putting this calendar together for us, Tim! Can’t wait to hang one up in my office. Hopefully, my M756A2 will end up in there one day!

Thanks Chris! Thanks for allowing us to be the printer for the 2021 MV of the Year calendar.


- Tim

 

[Jeff Lakaszcyck]

It's an honor just to be in consideration for MV of the Year. Every vehicle in this competition is worthy of the prize. Not much has happened on the old Federal since April, although I have located a serviceable exhaust manifold to replace the existing one with multiple cracks. Then we will be able to get an exhaust system and muffler on it and make it sound like it is supposed to. But the big news is that I was able to find an original Gar Wood US6 wrecker unit so hopefully sometime in 2021 it the old Federal 606 should be a C2 wrecker again. The wrecker will need a lot of work as it hasn't been used in many years but it is pretty much all there and not too badly molested.

I love the calendar idea, I would definitely like to order one.

Good luck to everyone up for MVOTY.

 

[Junkyard Wars Crusher]

I'm not sure if we are supposed to campaign again since we did that in our respective months, but in case you missed it -

Here is my story.
1966 Kaiser-Jeep
M342A2 Truck, Dump, 2 1/2 ton


Purchased this truck and dragged it home in July 2006.

Painted Body to match 4 color MERDC found under layers of civilian paint
(also matches the truck I drove during my time in the Corp of Engineers.)

Longest Road Trip - East Coast Convoy to Aberdeen 2007 (1100 miles)

Also driven to MVPA National Convention in Evansville Indiana 2009



Display Vehicle for two different Vietnam Moving Wall Events.

Was used as a static display during a local Vacation Bible School themed "Boot Camp"

Attended several Haspin Rallies.

 

[Junkyard Wars Crusher]

This truck is not just a show queen, but gets worked like a truck too!

Attended more than two dozen parades since purchase

Upgrades, Repairs, and Maintenance
New Master Cylinder
Rebuilt Brake Booster
Rebuilt Wheel Cylinders
Swapped out every single tire on this truck (some more than once!)
Installed M35A3 combat wheels with 12.5 R20 Continental NATO tires on steer axle for "float"
Replaced Fuel Tank
Added Whistler "C" Turbo
Added NOS Exhaust Kit
Installed Thermocouple, Pyro and Boost gauges
Replaced Box Driver Seat with Springer Seat
Replaced all canvas seat covers
Added Canvas Shift Boots
Removed Hard Top and installed NOS Canvas
Found and Installed correct troop seats
Adapted 5-ton Canvas Bed Cover to fit
Paint all over
Bought Stencil Machine and made all the required Fuel, Battery, Tire Pressure, etc. cautions.
Installed Halogen Headlights
Installed Bridge Plate
Replaced Front and Rear composite lights with LED
Built and installed Wood Side boards for Dump Bed
Replaced Side Mirrors
Replaced Water Pump
Replaced V-Belts
Replaced Radiator
Replaced Radiator Hoses
Installed Coolant Filter
Installed Spin-on Oil Filters
Welded in Patches in Bed Floor Holes
Replaced Tailgate
Replaced Reflectors
Replaced Batteries (twice)
Replaced Steel Battery Box with later model Plastic one
Added Jerry Can Holder
Installed New Windshields with Aftermarket replacements
Installed Upgraded Wiper Blades
Added Slave Cable Receptacle
Installed Keyed Battery Disconnect for safety
Replaced Generator with Alternator and added needed wiring harness supplement
Replaced Parking Brake Handle, Cable and Shoes
Replaced most Data Plates in Cab
Complete filter change (more than once !)



And the latest . . . . now is W/W !

Bumper markings are copied from the truck I drove in Ohio Army National Guard 1986-1992.
134th Group, 216th Engineer Battalion (134GP 216E)
Delta Company, Second Platoon, Second Squad (D-22)

 

[Bill Nutting]

This a great restoration! I love to see a good truck find a good home.

 

[Tracer]

After getting the M35A2C home, I sanded and painted the truck Woodland Green. One of the modifications I made was to upgrade the truck with an M52A2 air cleaner assembly that I had, for the day when I would install an LDS Multi-Fuel engine. There is some cutting and welding necessary to the M52 air cleaner intake plumbing, so the assembly will fit under the shorter M35A2 hood. Almost all parts used here are GI parts. To attach the air cleaner intake to the turbo charger, I used the standard rubber air cleaner to turbo pipe connector, that I shortened to hook the air cleaner ducting to the turbo. The only non military part I used was the 4 1/2in diameter flex hose to connect every thing together. I centered the air cleaner on the fender, located and drilled the holes, and bolted it on. The hardest part was cutting the 4" diameter hole in the R/H side panel for the intake pipe to pass through. I have close to 10,000 miles on this modification without any problems. As you can see I also added 2 M816 Wrecker warning lights for parades. Our local PD requested that I change the lights from red to amber so I did. I also added the Lollipop lights for added safety, and they work great for lane changes.

 

[Robo McDuff]

Jeff is too modest. Seeing the last additions restoring the boom to his Federal 602 wrecker made the choice very easy.

The others are worthy contestants, but this one is special , not many left, and should be saved and honored even if not yet as nicely restored as the others.

More details about this truck and its "twin" in this thread.

Here a picture of both trucks. The contestant (the reddish one on the right) does not have the new boom installed yet, but its waiting.

 

[Tracer]

One of the most difficult projects on the M35A2 was the installation of a 10,000lb. Garwood winch. I ordered the winch from a seller in the Midwest. It was complete, but it had a lot of rust everywhere that made it difficult to disassemble. After I disassembled and sandblasted just about everything. I spent just about a year rebuilding the PTO and the Winch, and spooling on the cable was easier than I thought it would be. I learned how to shim the PTO per the TM, saved myself some trouble I'm glad I read it. I purchased new winch data plates from Big Mike, and the last item I purchased is a nice canvas winch cover from Steel Soldiers Member John Tennis.

 

[Guyfang]

If I had a penny for every klick I drove or rode in one just like that, (only they were no where near as nice looking) I would buy Amazon, Microsoft and the San Fransisco Bay Bridge. This was MY truck. C-99. I painted her name on the back tailgate. Midnight Rider.

,

 

[Tracer]

The latest change to the M35A2C this past summer was the change from 9X20 tires, to 11X20 tires. I found these new 11X20 Titan tires on GP in Central Washington State. After a poor weather drive through the Cascade Mountains to pick the tires up, we were fortunate to have good weather on our return trip. I am fortunate to have an Old School tire shop in town that services a lot of the Gold and Silver mines in the area. They don't flinch when I bring in split rims, and they did all 11 wheels including the spare in a couple days. With the 11" tires I get about 5 miles better top speed and some better mileage as well. I'll get a better reading on the mileage when I do another MVCC gathering in California. For me coming from Nevada, that's about 760 miles round trip. The 11" tires give the Deuce a little fatter 5 Ton look.

 

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A couple years ago I installed new front windows and seals, and the new seals make for a drier cab in rainy weather. Now all I need is a hard top and the cab will stay drier with less draft. When we purchased the M35A2 there was a bench seat on the passenger side. My Wife (navigator) complained about the rough ride on passenger side, so I found another driver side spring seat at one of the MVCC gatherings at Tower Park. I installed a new shock absorber, cushions, and the Wife is happy. We got tired of fumbling around with a flash light when we needed to do some evening map reading. So I purchased an APC interior light from CARNAC at one of the MVCC Tower Park Gatherings. I installed new light bulbs, and painted it OD. All you need is four 7/8 hose clams to hold it to the soft top supports, then wire it up and your good to go. I wired in a dimmer switch on mine to make it a little more convenient to use. I did a complete front end rebuild a couple years ago, and when it came to front shocks, I found it was cheaper, and I got a better ride with Monroe Gas Shocks. One of our MVCC members had them on his truck and he liked them, I do too. You get a better ride over rail road crossings, pot holes, and poorly maintained roads.

 

[Tracer]

As I totter into antiquity, I find myself needing help from time to time to do things that came easy a few years ago. Most of this is due to major back and neck surgery, that prevents me from doing things like lifting the medium tow bar out of the bed of the truck, and carrying/dragging it to the front of the truck to attach it to the front shackle mounts. So after spending some time staring at a pair of axle clamps I had in the shop, it donned on me that they might fit on the front shackle mounts along with the pins, and I might be able to use them to mount the tow bar so everything would be at the front of the truck. In (pic 1) the excess chain can be wrapped around and tie wrapped to the rest of the chain to keep it from looking untidy and beating on the front bumper. In (pic 3) a couple of rubber strips can be glued to the bumper to keep the axle clamps from banging on the bumper. Also in (pic 3) the whole assembly can be rotated up out of the way so the winch can be used. I used M35A3 shackles on the bottom of the bumper so I can have a place to stow the winch chain. You will need to use longer grade 8 bolts if you use the M35A3 shackles. I got mine from Fastenal. This modification will also work on trucks without a winch. No parts used in this modification have been altered in any way, so they can be returned to their original function if needed. I have several thousand miles on this modification with no problems what so ever.

 

[Tracer]

FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS. (Pic 1) A while back I purchased a brand new M35A2 heater from one of our MVCC members, and hope to have it installed this spring when the weather warms up a bit. (Pic 2) I picked up an RAK15/2 MRE Ration Heater a couple months ago from GP, and since my truck has 2 driver seats, I have room between the seats to mount the MRE Heater to the back vertical support on the cab, and the trans. transfer case cover. I purchased a 12' cable with a 90 degree elbow so I can quick detach the MRE heater from the cab to a table outside. Now on our long trips, we can stop at a rest stop, fire up the MRE Heater, and enjoy a gourmet delight.