XM-211 Dump (first MV for me!)

[Tplane37]

After 20+ years of day-dreaming, I finally got her. I have wanted an old deuce since I was about 10 years old, and then my other half came to me last week and said, "we need a dump truck for the farm, you need to find one." And that was all the excuse I needed! I got lucky and found this ol' girl 17 miles from the farm.

Top end has been completely rebuilt in the past year with a new head, valves, seats, plugs, sealed wires, rebuilt carb, new exhaust, and all the gaskets replaced when the head was replaced (of course). High Range-Reverse literally has a bolt preventing anyone from intentionally or unintentionally kicking this girl in her Achilles Heel. Mechanically, all this truck needs is the steel hydraulic brake lines replaced and she is road-worthy! The body, well that's another story.

The body is solid for the most part, I found one spot of rust about the size of a dollar bill on the floor pan in front of the driver's seat. There is some rust-through on the fender lips.

And in looking at the pictures, yes, I did use my car trailer as a dolly... the 211 was to long to pull all the way on, not to mention to heavy! I pulled both rear drive shafts and kept her under 15 MPH for the 17 mile trip... took over 2 hours to get home.

My other half has already named her "Tonka" because she's a yellow dump truck and she says I am acting like a five year old with a new Tonka Truck (so no relation to Jatonka... just coincidence). The Silverado pulling her did extremely well, even in stopping (better than I thought she would). The Silverado's name is Tiny... and she has a story all her own as well... perhaps another time.

I originally thought this truck was a M-215 because of being a dump truck, but when I scraped the paint off the data plate, it says "XM 211 Cargo" on it. What is the "X" in "XM" and is this an original dump truck, or an after thought? Who can tell me something about Tonka?? (I am browsing the forums too).


EDIT: Spelling and grammar corrections. -Tplane37

 

[Tplane37]

Okay, so I got over excited. There is some other rust through, but its repairable. Let me know if there is anything anyone wants better pictures of on this truck. I don't know what's typical or what's hard to find. I am going to be working this truck, so the rare stuff needs to come off prevent damage for now.

 

[mhassett]

Nice score.

 

[Tplane37]

More pictures...

 

[Tplane37]

More pictures...

I think when I am done loading today's pictures, I am going to head over and look at the subscribe/donate information on this site to help cover my excessive bandwidth use in my first thread . On a positive note, I will try to keep everything about this truck in this thread as time goes on. No sense in cluttering the forum up with multiple threads about the same truck!

 

[Tplane37]

Last set for tonight...

 

[Tplane37]

Nice score.

Thanks. Now I have to decide what I am going to do with it! I have several sketches from over the years that utilized 6x6 chassis. But this thing is pretty cool as is. I know one thing that will definitely happen in this truck's future: more creature comforts in the interior, some bolt on engine upgrades, and I want to find some new gears for it at some point. I found 4.90's for the Rockwells, but these axles don't appear to be Rockwells, and I have no idea what they are... yet.

 

[gijoe]

Bit

Now your bit by the OD bug, welcome to spending to much money on everything green that comes your way from now on. I never thought of using a trailer as a dolly, is that legal? Honestly i wouldn't see why it wouldn't be and i even have a
small towing company but learned something new today! thanks never to old to
learn a new trick or two! I have moved semi trailers in the yard that way but never anything on the road. Looks like a nice beginer project as the first one comes hard the rest are easy, just bid away!

 

[Danger Ranger]

That truck is older than the average deuce. I don't know enough about them to help you out. But, that truck was not a dump truck from the factory. If the data plate says XM211 Cargo truck, then you have an M211 cargo truck. Just a standard 6x6 cargo truck (early deuce) that later had a dump unit put on to the normal cargo bed. Notice your bed is not a dump bed, it has the standard cargo sides and troop seat headache rack. If it were a dump bed it would look different, and have a steel cab protector. The X in the XM211 means this was built before the series was officially adopted by the military. Technically experimental, but still mass produced...kinda like the paperwork hadn't gone through yet I guess.

The truck looks good, and should be a fun project. It may be yellow now, but the green bug has to have already bitten you...it never ends...

 

[Tplane37]

Now your bit by the OD bug, welcome to spending to much money on everything green that comes your way from now on. I never thought of using a trailer as a dolly, is that legal? Honestly i wouldn't see why it wouldn't be and i even have a
small towing company but learned something new today! thanks never to old to
learn a new trick or two! I have moved semi trailers in the yard that way but never anything on the road. Looks like a nice beginer project as the first one comes hard the rest are easy, just bid away!

It must be "somewhat" legal in Ohio at least. I passed two State Troopers on the way home, and they just grinned and waved. I did take several precautions though. Since the rear tandems were on the ground and I knew I would not be exceeding 15 MPH, I put a "Slow Moving Vehicle" placard on the back (in Ohio, an SMV Sign is good for up to 25 MPH if you don't have plates on the vehicle). I also had my other half following behind me in our Suburban with her hazards on, my hazards and wig-wags were flashing on Tiny (I used to be a volunteer firefighter, so Tiny has the lights... I left the blues off and just turned on the whites and the ambers). I took country roads where possible, but hit the state highways (not interstates) when I needed to avoid hills and sharp turns. The setup I used to get this ol' girl home is not what I would call ideal, but it worked. Now I need to find a more suitable trailer to tow any future deuces I decide to pull... next time I want them all the way on the trailer!

 

[Danger Ranger]

Tow them with Tonka next time.

 

[Tplane37]

It may be yellow now, but the green bug has to have already bitten you...it never ends...

I don't know about going green. I don't mean to knock anyone else's preferences, but this truck will either be yellow (to stay with the Tonka Truck theme, just for kicks), blue or black with a satin clear + some flattener in the clear coat, or blue and grey custom paint. I was in the Navy, so naturally I am not going with green! But a blue with a unique gray random graphic scheme could prove interesting. I really don't know yet. I am focusing on the drive line first, then onto the body.

 

[hendersond]

Welcome!
Does it run and shift ok? If so, I would head right into the brakes first. Safety, safety, safety. In my opinion the biggest expense and can be a lot of work. I've seen too many guys start on cool stuff and burn out or run out of cash at this point.
Also what size tires are on this truck? They look wide.
Thanks for posting the pics. It is nice to see your project!
What is first on your "to do" list?

P.S. -There is nothin' wrong with yellow!

 

[Tplane37]

Welcome!
Does it run and shift ok? If so, I would head right into the brakes first. Safety, safety, safety. In my opinion the biggest expense and can be a lot of work. I've seen too many guys start on cool stuff and burn out or run out of cash at this point.
Also what size tires are on this truck? They look wide.
Thanks for posting the pics. It is nice to see your project!
What is first on your "to do" list?

P.S. -There is nothin' wrong with yellow!

First thing's first... buy a bottle jack so I can get the forward tandem's drive shaft hooked back up after the tow. I had both rears unhooked for bringing her home (per the TM), but they didn't stay in sync (obviously), now I have to get the tires off the ground or something to that I can line the drive shaft back up.

Second, the guy I bought it from said that when he tried to bleed the brakes, it looked like a garden sprinkler coming out of the steel brake lines. I will be going through all the steel lines and replacing the bad ones (many of them appear to have been replaced with stainless lines already). I will be inspecting any rubber lines while I am there, replacing as necessary. The brakes may need freed up from not being used, so I am going to do some light trial runs on the property to gently work them to knock off any surface rust they might have (not equipped to pull tires yet, and injured my back a year ago at work... thus the need for a dump truck on the farm because shoveling everything out of the back of Tiny is literally a pain... but the work must continue on the farm).

I will be going through the air system and repairing any leaks I find and verifying pressures against the TM's. At some point early on, I will be checking out the pump pressure on the tranny per one of the threads I found here, which also referenced the TM's (something about a minimum of 90 psi after warmed up?). Hopefully the tranny checks out.

Then the electrical... screw it, I'm tracing it all since nothing electrical works and I have found several bare wires with just some quick glances.

The heater... it, um has one in the box under the dash, but I will have to evict Mickey and Minnie when I go through that. Core appears to be okay, so I will disconnect and flush that and see if it flows and holds fluid. I should know something regarding the blower motor when I look through the electrical.

I need to replace the passenger side windshield, the transmission cover (as can be seen in my pictures), bang a dent out of the driverside rear roof corner and weld up the hole (I swear it looks like a .308 went through it right there!), patch up some holes in the floor pan, replace the passenger door glass since it has the typical brown fading you see in older cars/trucks going on dead center... and its just annoying. I need to verify that the gauges work, or at least find out which once don't work/don't read correctly. And I need to find where the minor leak is on the dump bed hydraulics (small, just enough to let dust stick to the lines, but present).

All 8 rear tires are currently matching (brand and tread depth) 9.00x20 tube-type mud/snow tires (not government issue)... fairly new looking. The front tires are 11.00x20 highway tires, also tube-type. I need to get a close look at the passenger front, because the truck shifted over into my trailer tires on the haul home, melted a grove in the sidewall, but did not penetrate... will most likely have to replace.

After she is safe/legal for the road, I am looking to find "tall side" dump bed to replace what I have. I need to call one of the SS members that has some part in PA (off of one of the M8** series...still learning my models! LOL).

Once the floor is patched up right, I'll be brushing in some bed liner in the cab and possibly some insulation and then rubber flooring to help keep her warm for use this winter. I also want to put a stock, or similar, fuel tank back on her... maybe a larger tank. Either way, this ~25 gallon gas can (tank) they have on here just won't cut it.

Down the road, I am looking at installing a Patrick's aluminum intake and a 4 barrel Holley, some cast iron headers running to a pair of "Purple Hornies" (every vehicle I build has 'em, no reason to change that after doing it for 20 years!) and out through either dual stacks or side dump exhaust. When money permits, I would change out the Holley carb for a Holley Projection unit.

The one thing I want to do, but have not found the resources for yet... I want to find a place that makes 4.90 gears or something close for Tonka. What differentials are in these beasts anyway???


EDIT: I missed an answer. As far as how she runs: gotta pump, crank, pump, crank, pump, then crank and then she fires right off (same sequence every time!). Once she starts, smooth as silk. Once she warms up, no hesitation of misfire. Steady and consistent rise/drop of RPMs with no back fire. Does she run as well as Tiny? No. But she runs d*mn good for a 60 year old truck, actually running better than many 10-15 year old trucks on the road today. Might use some very fine tuning, but I don't see a need to mess with the engine at this point. As for the tranny: haven't had her out on the road yet, but she seems okay in Level and Hilly in both High and Low (e.g. Hilly = shifts by RPM, Level = shifts by speed). Haven't experienced the 2 - 3 shift yet, haven't moved her that fast yet. [SECOND EDIT: I have had her through all the gears in Hi and Low Range "Level." Turns out she has the REB kit as well. She does shift through all 4 gears in both ranges, and 2nd to 3rd... well, as I have read from other owners, "brace yourself."]

 

[hendersond]

I believe the gear ratio is 6.17 if I remember correctly. There is not a lot of room for different gears. That is a big diameter ring gear and a small diameter pinion. I don't believe there is much back spacing on the carrier flange for a big pinion gear. The ring gear cannot get to be larger in diameter so the only way to change the ratio is a thinner ring gear and larger diameter pinion. Pretty soon you run out of room. There has been much discussion and some theory, but I have not seen anything successful for these GM axles that were produced in the 50s.

Couple words of caution.
There is a sprag clutch that engages the front axle. It is in the transfer case. 6% slippage. Diffrerent diameter tires tears up the teeth on the front differential. I would be less concerned about the numbers on the tires and more concerned about what the tape measure says.
That carburetor has a governor that controls the transmission shifting. It won't shift without the vacuum. I'd hate to see you throw on an expensive Holley and have to have your passenger squeezing on the mity-vac pump hand pump to get it to shift.

Sounds like you have a good plan of attac so far. Keep us posted!

 

[Section8]

Nice find!!! You will have lots of fun fixing Tonka up!
As others have said once the engine is fixed so she starts and runs with out fight, do the brakes! I plan on getting my trucks motor running, god willing, in the yard and then rebuilding the brake system before even moving the truck out of the farm.
I have done lots of research about gear options for the axles. The are GM CORP axles with the diffs and gears made by EATON. There is only three gear options for those axles. Two civilian gear options of 7.20 and 5.43, then the military used 6.17. There were however two different spline counts on the axle shafts. 27 fine, and 16 course. Most common are the 27 count.
The 5.43 gears are hard to find but are out there cince the axles were used on truck like old ford 800 and such till the early 80's.
I have also tryed to talk to manufacturers about making custom gears at 4.10 and they all refuse due to legality issues if the unproven gears fail.
My suggestion if you wanna go faster with your rig is find the 5.43 gears like I am trying to and get 1400-20 tires. Coures you will need new rims for the wider tire to. And a suspension lift probably.
Good luck and welcome to the club! keep us all posted!

 

[Tplane37]

Okay, so as y'all can read, I brought Tonka home yesterday. I replaced the toggle switch for the fuel pump this morning. I come home from the shop this evening and there's this guy with a mini van wanting to buy the old bank barn out back... Long and Short, I told him no, we changed topics.

So as this guy is getting ready to leave, he points to Tonka and asks if she is available to haul barn beams and old barn stone from various farms in the area to his shop a couple towns over... I told him I just got the truck and she's not ready yet. That wasn't good enough! He keeps prying, asks if she has a dump bed and if it works (the bed was down, obviously looked like a Cargo Truck). At this point, Tonka decides she is going to be a show off. I haven't started her since yesterday afternoon. I pump the pedal exactly twice, pull the choke out half way, and I don't even think she made a full revolution before firing off and starting to pur! The guy looks at me, says he is willing to start negotiations on hauling at $200 per load, roughly a 30 mile round trip, 1-2 loads per DAY. No touch hauling, they load and unload with their equipment while I wait. He gives me his card and says to call him when she's roadworthy because he has trouble fining anyone who can haul the barn stone because of location plus the weight.

Just to weird. the first business day after I get Tonka home, we bought her to make a LITTLE extra cash and to work for the farm since my back can't handle it, we haven't had anyone out here bugging us about buying the old barn for nearly two years now, I am looking for something to do for a living other than what I have been doing for the past 15 years because of a work injury that the doctors tell me will prevent me from ever returning to my field, and now this guy wants to give me $200+ a day to sit around and watch them load Tonka, then drive her a few towns over and watch them unload her? I have heard of fate and all that jazz, but really?!?!?

Guess it comes down to this much. I have Thurs. through Sunday with nothing planned... I am now booked solid. Bring on the grease, sparks, and slag! There's work to be done (that my body will hate me for on Monday!)

 

[drlogistics]

Great find!! That is definitely not an original dump bed. Pretty awesome conversion though. And congrats on the potential income. Talk about dream come true. Drive an old deuce all day AND get paid for it. I'm jealous.

 

[Danger Ranger]

Sweet deal

 

[Tplane37]

It would appear that my brake system is *missing* a few hydraulic lines. TM 1819AC directs me to TM 9-819A. I cannot locate a TM 9-819A (July 1951) online. I do, however have TM 9-8024 (October 1955). Does the 1955 edition supersede the 1951 edition? And since Tonka is a 1952, which Operational Manual is necessary for Tonka? [EDIT: TM 9-8024 states at Pg. 1 that it supersedes TM 9-819A and a number of previous manuals.]

I also have the following TM's:

TM 9-8024: Operational and Organizational Maintenance (October 1955)
TM 9-8025-1: Engine
TM 9-8025-2: Transmission
TM 9-1819AC: Power Train
TB 9-2855-40: Personnel Heater Kit
TB 9-2855-17: Hard-Top Closure Kit

I am missing the following (that I know of, please let me know if there are others I need):

TM 9-819: Operational and Organizational Maintenance (July 1951) [EDIT: No longer necessary unless someone can specify something that this manual has that TM 9-8024 does not.]
TM 9-1819AA: Engine Rebuild
TM 9-1819AB: Transmission Rebuild

At the moment, I need to find a diagram showing all of the hydraulic brake components/lines, and either in the same or separate diagram, all of the air components/lines for the braking system. It's a cluster-**** under there, things have broken over the years and supplemental systems have been run along side the original systems without removing the old parts. I whacked my head several times trying to trace lines, and the best I can tell, there is at least one steel line completely missing from the equation, but I cannot see where it SHOULD go. Please advise, I am currently searching as well.

Another question: On the XM211, does it require DOT 5 or DOT 3/4 fluid? I know some of the newer models use DOT 5, but I have not located the specifics on the type of fluid to be used in the 1952 XM211...