Riktord
Member
- 78
- 1
- 6
- Location
- Dallas, TX
I realized that after not posting for a while that I had never given the details on how, when or why I got my Deuce. Those facts are bland and uninteresting but after owning my Deuce for some time now I have come to realize the freak of a truck I have. I expect a lot of ridicule for how i have abused my beloved truck but pause and realize. She likes it rough... 
Story One
The Beast Sings
After a random finding on Ebay i found myself watching an auction for not one but two M35A2's. I had no real intention of buying either but I loved the look of the truck and wanted to know what they were worth. So I watched and then i began to research. After reading many a story and seeing first hand the capabilities of these trucks I fell in love. So I continued to watch and after five days time both trucks went without a single bidder. They had papers, they had been registered, they ran. I saw no reason why they didn't sell other than the price. So I sent an email and got a respond. A meeting was setup and I drove just north of Austin to meet with the owner and do a full inspection. He had a Kaiser and an AM. The Kaiser had been sold and after an operational check and full inspection I gave the man an offer he wanted to refuse.
But here is where it gets interesting. I had just over 200 miles to drive on a truck I knew very little about. I had driven large vehicles but never on the highway. So after getting acquainted and with my wife following closely behind we set off for Fort Worth. Took her nice and slow at first, learning the big behemoth. She struggled on the slightest of hills but was relatively easy to drive. So easy in fact that at one point i found myself driving with traffic on I35-N... at 70 miles per hour.
Immediately realizing that I had the motor spun up to 3000RPMs for at least two minutes I immediately backed down to 55 and was much more careful about my speed. Taking breaks every 45-60 minutes and letting my legs and the truck rest.
Story 2
Mud of DOOM
I had taken the Deuce out to the mud bogs and with a few rock climbing buddies. I had a good handle on what the truck could and couldn't do. So when I decided to head out with a couple friends but no back-up trucks, I felt I could handle most of what i encountered and avoid what i couldn't. We tooled around on the trails for a couple hours and were on our way out when we found ourselves off route. No biggy, I knew where we needed to go and could see our final destination. So we decide to go through a small puddle that was only as long as the deuce is wide. Now, normally i would have hit it at speed and just powered through but with two people in the bed I decided to approach the puddle slow. This was the beginning of the end.
I dropped the nose into the mud and upon hitting the other side the entire truck slid sideways. Now, the puddle may have only been as long as the deuce is wide but it was as wide as the deuce is long. If you dont follow, you will soon. The truck slid to the side and all ten tires dropped perfectly into this mud hole. Normally not a problem other than the puddle had a one-foot slope on all sides. We were stuck. For the next ten minutes I tried feverishly to drive the deuce out but only made the situation worse. So i submitted, we were going to use the winch but upon trying to operate the winch we managed to shear the "shear-pin".
For the next 40 minutes I fought and fought with the truck to get it out of the hole, almost breaking my thumbs in the process as my grip grew weak I used my thumbs inside the steering wheel and when it snapped back it grabbed them and folded my hands in ways I knew they shouldn't bend. In the end we were saved by a 4-cyl Jeep with 44"s. Thank you JEEPIES.
Story 3
The Tale of the Screaming Belt
Occasionally, upon starting the mighty truck the belts would scream.
Not knowing why i simply shut off the ACCESSORY and turned it back on. The screaming would stop after doing this a handful of times. I knew it was the alternator but wasn't sure why. Just figured it was old and could never find any information as to why this would happen. So I just dealt with the issue.
There was a weekly car-meet that I decided to attend one weekend and I brought the Deuce. It was only forty or so miles away so it was not a big deal to drive that far. Fuel was low but i should have enough to make it there and fuel up on the way back. Suffice it to say, I missed my fuel stop and ran out of fuel on the highway. I pushed in the clutch, let the behemoth utilize it vast amount of inertia and I was able to coast it into a fuel station. A splash of gas and a half tank of diesel from another station got me rolling but there was a problem. The SCREAMING BELT. It wouldn't go away this time and my irrational impatience in that moment would cost me more than i knew.
I drove on, belt screaming and engine pounding. My roommate and wife in his car behind me. I get maybe fifteen miles down the road and I receive a call. I can barely hear them but I heard two words: SMELL and COOLANT. I pull over into another station and realize that the truck was steaming quite badly. Engine temp read a bit warm but nothing absurd. So I check under the hood and can't find a leak, only that the vent tube was doing it's job. So at that point we are fifteen minutes out from my garage and decide to lumber on and just make it home. Shortly after getting back on the highway I hear a slight his and like out of an internet "scare-video" there's a violent explosion of steam, the hood flexes up, the windshield is covered and I see a huge cloud wrap around the truck. At this point my instinct is to pull over and save what's left of War-Hog but in another completely irrational instance I soldier on. Ten miles, fifteen minutes at 55 miles per hour and I am in my drive. I immediately jump out and open the hood.
The radiator has been splayed open along the top seem with a VERY visible foot long hole that was at least three inches in width. Being five feet from my water hose I leave the truck running. Turn on the water full blast and shove the hose in the easily accessible wound. The violence in bubbles is amazing as I watch the heat fight the cool water. I continue to pump water into the radiator even as it overflows and once the bubbling has slowed, only then do I shut down the truck and wait til morning.
Morning comes. I fill the radiator once again. Look over the engine. Pray a little and she fires right up. I park her and begin work to repair. So yes, she is a freak but one **** of a freak.
Story One
The Beast Sings
After a random finding on Ebay i found myself watching an auction for not one but two M35A2's. I had no real intention of buying either but I loved the look of the truck and wanted to know what they were worth. So I watched and then i began to research. After reading many a story and seeing first hand the capabilities of these trucks I fell in love. So I continued to watch and after five days time both trucks went without a single bidder. They had papers, they had been registered, they ran. I saw no reason why they didn't sell other than the price. So I sent an email and got a respond. A meeting was setup and I drove just north of Austin to meet with the owner and do a full inspection. He had a Kaiser and an AM. The Kaiser had been sold and after an operational check and full inspection I gave the man an offer he wanted to refuse.
But here is where it gets interesting. I had just over 200 miles to drive on a truck I knew very little about. I had driven large vehicles but never on the highway. So after getting acquainted and with my wife following closely behind we set off for Fort Worth. Took her nice and slow at first, learning the big behemoth. She struggled on the slightest of hills but was relatively easy to drive. So easy in fact that at one point i found myself driving with traffic on I35-N... at 70 miles per hour.
Immediately realizing that I had the motor spun up to 3000RPMs for at least two minutes I immediately backed down to 55 and was much more careful about my speed. Taking breaks every 45-60 minutes and letting my legs and the truck rest.
Story 2
Mud of DOOM
I had taken the Deuce out to the mud bogs and with a few rock climbing buddies. I had a good handle on what the truck could and couldn't do. So when I decided to head out with a couple friends but no back-up trucks, I felt I could handle most of what i encountered and avoid what i couldn't. We tooled around on the trails for a couple hours and were on our way out when we found ourselves off route. No biggy, I knew where we needed to go and could see our final destination. So we decide to go through a small puddle that was only as long as the deuce is wide. Now, normally i would have hit it at speed and just powered through but with two people in the bed I decided to approach the puddle slow. This was the beginning of the end.
I dropped the nose into the mud and upon hitting the other side the entire truck slid sideways. Now, the puddle may have only been as long as the deuce is wide but it was as wide as the deuce is long. If you dont follow, you will soon. The truck slid to the side and all ten tires dropped perfectly into this mud hole. Normally not a problem other than the puddle had a one-foot slope on all sides. We were stuck. For the next ten minutes I tried feverishly to drive the deuce out but only made the situation worse. So i submitted, we were going to use the winch but upon trying to operate the winch we managed to shear the "shear-pin".
For the next 40 minutes I fought and fought with the truck to get it out of the hole, almost breaking my thumbs in the process as my grip grew weak I used my thumbs inside the steering wheel and when it snapped back it grabbed them and folded my hands in ways I knew they shouldn't bend. In the end we were saved by a 4-cyl Jeep with 44"s. Thank you JEEPIES.
Story 3
The Tale of the Screaming Belt
Occasionally, upon starting the mighty truck the belts would scream.
Not knowing why i simply shut off the ACCESSORY and turned it back on. The screaming would stop after doing this a handful of times. I knew it was the alternator but wasn't sure why. Just figured it was old and could never find any information as to why this would happen. So I just dealt with the issue.There was a weekly car-meet that I decided to attend one weekend and I brought the Deuce. It was only forty or so miles away so it was not a big deal to drive that far. Fuel was low but i should have enough to make it there and fuel up on the way back. Suffice it to say, I missed my fuel stop and ran out of fuel on the highway. I pushed in the clutch, let the behemoth utilize it vast amount of inertia and I was able to coast it into a fuel station. A splash of gas and a half tank of diesel from another station got me rolling but there was a problem. The SCREAMING BELT. It wouldn't go away this time and my irrational impatience in that moment would cost me more than i knew.
I drove on, belt screaming and engine pounding. My roommate and wife in his car behind me. I get maybe fifteen miles down the road and I receive a call. I can barely hear them but I heard two words: SMELL and COOLANT. I pull over into another station and realize that the truck was steaming quite badly. Engine temp read a bit warm but nothing absurd. So I check under the hood and can't find a leak, only that the vent tube was doing it's job. So at that point we are fifteen minutes out from my garage and decide to lumber on and just make it home. Shortly after getting back on the highway I hear a slight his and like out of an internet "scare-video" there's a violent explosion of steam, the hood flexes up, the windshield is covered and I see a huge cloud wrap around the truck. At this point my instinct is to pull over and save what's left of War-Hog but in another completely irrational instance I soldier on. Ten miles, fifteen minutes at 55 miles per hour and I am in my drive. I immediately jump out and open the hood.
The radiator has been splayed open along the top seem with a VERY visible foot long hole that was at least three inches in width. Being five feet from my water hose I leave the truck running. Turn on the water full blast and shove the hose in the easily accessible wound. The violence in bubbles is amazing as I watch the heat fight the cool water. I continue to pump water into the radiator even as it overflows and once the bubbling has slowed, only then do I shut down the truck and wait til morning.
Morning comes. I fill the radiator once again. Look over the engine. Pray a little and she fires right up. I park her and begin work to repair. So yes, she is a freak but one **** of a freak.