March 14th, 2009.
Gents:
The M422A1 will run on 3 wheels, the manual said either of the back two could be off, but it was preferred that the left one was the one on. My experience with the #2043 M422A1 (1961) was that she would run on three wheels, didn't matter which one, provided that: 1. the offending member was chained up, and that a counterweight be applied on the side that had two wheels on it (l or R). I used to use sincrete blocks as a counterbalance to get her home when she threw a wheel (usually the front).
The weak point in the mighty mite was not and is not the frame.... It's the 5/8" OD hub bolts on the front hubs that keeps the hub togather laterally. My original bolts broke throught the cotter pin holes, the nut would unscrew, and the hub and wheel would pull out and proceed you down the road.
So, as these bolts weren't easy to find in the late 1970-early 1980's period, I machined a batch that were longer so the cotter pin hole would be in a second locking nut. That way, if the end of the bolt separated through the cotter pin hole, there would still be a nut engaged to hold the unit togather untill I got home.
Ask Jeff Miller down in Philadelphia if my modified bolts are still on the (Right?) hub of the 2043 mite..... The whole mighty mite was designed for airmobility with the choppers the Marines had the (Skiorsky H's, I believe) and to get around the existing willys jeep patents on the front end drive. In any case they were agile, fairly fast empty, handled like no other FWD in the world (corners like a Porsche) and will run on three wheels, or three driveshafts, whichever comes apart first.
The light weight was less then a MG Midget, so I don't think there was much room for modification regarding the axles or the drive train... the M422A1 was about 9' long overall, the M422 about 6 to 9" shorter. The engine was a V-4 of about 107 CID (I think) American Motors design, sounded like a VW beetle on steriods at 45 MPH!
I was told that there were about 6,000 made originally, many were abandoned in Vietnam, I would doubt that there are over 150-200 in the states still running, and very few with the original aluminum windshield.
Just my two cents worth for your consideration.....
I would bet a solid Mighty Mite would run you about $8,000 to 10,000, just buy a Swiss Mog, they'll do almost the same work and are a lot more robust. Footnote, Sgt. Carter in "Gomer Pyle USMC" is often seen driving a Mighty Mite.
Cheers,
Kyle F. McGrogan