M715's Good or Bad ??

One available in my area with a hard cab, not a winch model. In unbelievable condition and complete. Only thing I see is fender extensions beat up and grill in front of the radiator missing but other then that it appears solid, has all military lights AND probably original pintle hook.
Your thoughts ?? Good or bad ??

Edit: Will NOT be sold to me by auction.

Stock, they don't have a grill guard. Sounds like a good project. I love my m725=ambulance version.

June 26th, 2011.

Among military weapons carriers, the M715 was and is one of my favorite trucks, especially if not run to death or beat up beyond salvage. They rode well, steered fairly easy had lots of power for a 5/4 ton truck, and were easy to repair. The only downside is they like to eat up their water pump bearings, the carb can be temperamental now and then.... and if the foot starter switch should ever short you'll be doing sheet metal repairs after you get the sheet out of you pants.....
Still, I'd take one any day that runs....

They have a grill guard, they do not have a grill! They are an interesting truck. You are limited to about 45 mph and that is screaming. They have a long skinny rod. There are a lot of good 715 guys here, but the M715zone is where you really want to be. It is only fair to warn you that nothing is standard on them. They have Dana 60 front and Dana 70 rear, but they are coarse splined and use an odd sized bearing and seal. A lot of parts are getting hard to find. The red one was my brother's and he got a grill out of a Gladiator for it. Glen

I've got one. Was the first MV I owned. It's still got the Tornado engine that's old and tired but it just won't die. I say buy it if the price is good.

The fender extension should be pretty easy to beat back out. Its just flat round steel. no compound curves or anything like that to worry about.

It was my first MV and it still parked in the drive. I havent done anything with it but cant bring myself to put it up for sale. (yet)

We had seven of them over the years and worked on a few others. Neat truck, they do have their own character! Glen

I'd get it if you want to do a full restoration or fully modify it. Anything in between is just a pain in the tail due to odd parts and similar issues.

If I were to take on another project I would be an M715 (or some version there of).

I saw one at Haspin that someone had installed an small 4 cylinder multi-fuel in.....he siad it was just a regular multi that had had two cyliners chopped off. I think he also reworked the axles too.

I'd love to have a -715 one day, I have owned a -725 with the original engine. They are okay engines but have their quirks. If you find a good deal on one with a replacement engine like a 350 Chevy, don't turn up your nose at it. They are very rugged - Dana 60 front and Dana 70 rear axles are some of the toughest out there for offroading.

Of the three trucks I own, the M715 by far is my favorite and the most fun to drive. If you are a person of any size, then it beats the M37 hands down. I'm 6'3" and have a hard time getting my foot up onto the clutch of the M37 were there is plenty of room in the cab on the M715. My 67' with a good running stock motor will run 60 mph if you lean on it, but prefers 55 mph without putting to much stress on it.

maddawg308 said:

They are very rugged - Dana 60 front and Dana 70 rear axles are some of the toughest out there for offroading.

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That's just what they want you to think, lol. The D60 front in the M715 is closed knuckle and has very small joints. Many people on the M715Zone have compared it's axle shaft and joint strength to a modern D44 axle. The D70 rear is also a bit of an oddball as the diff is very offset and can only use one or two other gear sets that are available. Overall the quality of the metal is not up to more modern standards and they will break if abused. That is why I made the comment that if the OP wanted one to restore to stock for cruising and parade duty or to completely modify to get one, otherwise avoid them. They seem well equipped for hard trail use on paper but in reality they fall a bit short. Most people who mod them for wheeling go with the CUCV D60/14 bolt combo or 2.5 ton Rockwells and swap in some sort of V8 and NP205 transfer case. Naturally a lot of it depends on what one considers "wheeling" and how hard core you get about it but I think a lot of M715 owners, myself included, were taken hook, line and sinker with the heavy duty aspect of the trucks. With the exception of the extreme low gearing, my Ramcharger is much better equipped than a stock M715 and I have a lot less in my Ramcharger than I had in M715 project that still never quite got off the ground.

Lol^ jmo

Something to say, Bob?

I'll add my in here while I don't own an M715 (YET!!!!! waiting on offers to Warthog) my old fire dept has 2 bought from the Texas FS in the early 80's both are still in service and just won't die. They really have been put threw H377 the 2 have had the tornado's replaced with Chevy 350's. They are tuff trucks as long as as there isn't much cancer on the body and the price is right I'd buy. you can also find a ton of info for these trucks on the website M715zone.com. The guys there are very helpful and there is unlimited info on them there. Keep us updated on if you get it or not.

We have had two, still have the second one. Tough trucks! They have that "meant to go there and do that" appearance. Just be sure to duck your head every time you get into and out of the cab. They could have had higher clearance there! Also keep your right elbow up when getting with it on the steering wheel or your elbow will pay for the memory lapse by hitting the battery box. Compared to an M37, they ride extremely rough. That is the price of a heavily springed truck meant for work.
With all of that said, we like the truck very much.
Regards Marti

I've owned two of them. They have their good points and bad. They are an enjoyable truck to drive. The cab is limited in size because of the convenient battery box. I'm 6'4" and have no problem with M37 pedals, you won't have any in the 715 either. They have a very stiff frame and won't flex the way an M37 will. It shares the same transfer case as the M37 but the input and output flanges are different. They use the same tire size, 9.00-16. But the wheels are different. The engine is the major problem with them. It is tempermental and often unreliable. If you ever need to rebuild it, pretty much forget it. I can't remember, but either Advance Adapters or Novak had a kit to adapt a Chevy V8 for them. I have no idea if would still be available. The engine uses a timing chain I don't believe is available any more. The over head cam was a neat idea, perhaps a bit of a stretch for Kaiser. I wouldn't turn away from another one if it fell in my lap for a great price. I prefer the M37 for hunting, offroading and hard trails. I have good shafts in the M37's so axle breakage is not an issue with the them. If the price is right, and the engine will run in the M715, I'd jump on it if I were you. Besides oddball parts, they are a great truck to break in your MV teeth with. Good luck. Please post pics of the truck if you get it.

NO engine can stand to be driven at modern highway speeds with 5.87 gears..... the engine has a hemi combustion chamber, excellent flowing ports, get excellent fuel milage, has a steel crank and forged rods with bushings, cam chain is very h/d. folk just ask too much of them and when they run them to death they give them a bad name. try to run a modern pickup at 55-60 mph with 5.87 gears. i have a m715 with over 50k on the speedo and its only had the valves adjusted 2 times but it never sees over 45mph and for short bursts then. its like anything else you take care of it it will take care of you. same for the axles.a cave man can break anything. theres operators and then theres steering wheel holders. JMO

P/S Forgot to mention the exhaust manifold is as close to a tuned headder as you can get, its flows extreamly good as its design is intended to do.

I thoroughly enjoy mine. I have a chevy 350, SM465 tranny and a NP205. The only other major mod is power steering. It is a joy to drive since updating the engine and transfer case. Those two items are the weak links. I don't make it a habit to off road hard, but I have carried two tons of rock and had countless loads of fire wood in the truck. It is very capable and gets lots of honks and thumbs up. The number one issue in my case is the gap between the tailgate and bed when the tailgate is open. I've about broken my ankle twice when unloading the truck and stepping in that gap.

I've done quite a bit of "wheeling" in mine. I try not to be too hard on the truck though. I've never not been able to go where I wanted to but I'll admit the sometimes I'll go around a obstacle to get there. They are far from being bullet proof (as are all other stock MVs) but will hold up if you respect them for what they are.