Noob from Monroe, Washington

Hi all. Found this site after a recommendation from another forum. Looks like a very healthy and active place for all my deuce questions. I assume this is the proper forum to say hello.

I'm 31 years old, male and a big car nut. I currently own a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis, a 1999 Camaro Z28/B4C ex-Oregon State Patrol car, a 1966 Cadillac Coupe DeVille convertible, and a 1984 Cadillac Sedan DeVille hearse. My love of vehicles is wide spread.

I don't currently own a deuce and a half. However, there is one near me (Renton) that is for sale. I'm hoping to buy it Saturday if everything goes to plan. I have been communicating with the guy via email. It sounds like a good truck, but I haven't seen it in person yet. The owner tells me it needs a new canvas top, but I think that will be a minor expense. Around $200 or so. Hopefully you guys can direct me to a place to buy a new top for it.

This is actually the third deuce I've tried to buy. The first deuce was for sale on eBay by a company in Idaho. Before the auction was over, I asked the seller if they had the paperwork for the truck that would allow me to get it licensed in Washington state. The guy said he did. After the auction was over and I was arranging shipping, the guy calls and says he can't find the paperwork. We both agreed to void the auction. Too bad because it was a nice truck. It was a desert camo, 1966 deuce.

The second truck I tried to buy was for sale locally. It was a little out of my budget, and the guy wouldn't move on the price. It was a nice truck though. Hard top, winch, cab heater and new tires. It think it was a 1967 model.

So here I am attempting to buy a 1965 deuce and hope to get it this weekend. The third time is the charm.

Thanks all for the site. I'll be sure to post pictures of the new truck.

Good luck.

I'm 68% sure that the truck in Renton used to belong to one of my Dad's co-workers. He sold it about the time I got mine last year. Non-turbo with a muffler and the exhaust routed under the truck, and painted a uniform shade of green (not camo). It was very quiet for a Deuce.

datsunaholic said:

I'm 68% sure that the truck in Renton used to belong to one of my Dad's co-workers. He sold it about the time I got mine last year. Non-turbo with a muffler and the exhaust routed under the truck, and painted a uniform shade of green (not camo). It was very quiet for a Deuce.

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Good to know. I was kind of hoping someone local could give me some info on the truck. The paint does look like a solid shade of green and I don't see an exhaust pipe on the side. Do you think the rerouting of the exhaust will cause any problems? Obviously no driving it in deep water.

If it is the truck I'm thinking of (which would have Washington plates on it), the truck ran fine. The under-truck routing didn't seem to effect it at all except make it significantly quieter. I was so used to the whistler turbos that the truck didn't even sound like the Deuces I knew at the time. My Dad's co-worker used it on his micro-farm near Carnation for years. I only saw it once, when he used it to pull my Grandfather's Isuzu off an embankment. However when I saw it it didn't have any side rails/troop seats at all.

The story I got was that it had been modified to be used as a radio truck (the mod being the re-routed and muffled exhaust). But I've also heard that it wasn't uncommon for non-Turbo Deuces to have the exhaust routed that way. It is, however, the only one I've seen in person without a stack.

Excellent information Datsunaholic. Thank you very much!

FWIW - That sounds like the deuce my son and I looked at a few weeks ago. According to the owner it was an M109 and he took the 109 box off the back and is using it for a shed in his yard. He installed a standard cargo box in place of the 109 box. The truck seemed to run good, but my son did not drive it because he wanted a rig with a turbo and an airshift xfer case. The only thing that really needed attention on that truck was the sheet metal. She had some serious rust in the floor of the cab and some interesting patch work on the cowl as well. I think he was using a poly tarp for a top when we looked at it and the floor was covered in fir needles and pretty wet.

Are we talking about this deuce? The only thing I noticed about this deuce was it appears to have a SPRAG transfer case.

That sure looks like the one we looked at. It had a 465-1A motor, no turbo, sprag and the rusty cab option. The exhaust ran under the truck and dumped out between the right rear wheels.

Jinx - Welcome to the site!! Bunch of info on here, i'm still learning new things ever day, which is always a plus for a website/forum. It's also nice to see yet another local "pacific'r"

If the truck deal doesn't go through for you, there are a lot of nice trucks on the site for sale, unfortunately most all of them are a distance away and then I also have a bunch of trucks for sale so let me know. Good luck this weekend. If you need any help, i'm not too far for a major problem and always just a phone call away for everything else... -Todd aka MilitaryRestoration/Military Related

Yeah, wsucougarx found the truck. I asked the guy about any rust in the cab since he told me the top had a tarp cover. He said the floor had some surface rust due to the missing top and that the seats had been reupholstered last year. 15K miles and low mileage.

Is a sprag transfer case good or bad? I'm a little concerned about it not having a turbo as well. If I get it, it will need to do a bit of highway driving.

Any advice I can get is helpful guys. Thanks.

Welcome aboard and good luck on your purchase.. The air shift seems to be more desirable. I had seen that truck add also, looks like it would be a good starter rig.

Welcome to SS!

Lately we've been getting a lot of new people here from the PNW. Our numbers are growing!

Can't wait to see some pics of your deuce when you get it...

That makes me think it isn't the one I was thinking about- the truck my Dad's coworker had was a M35A2, not a converted M109. Plus it had the cab canvas and I don't recall the floors being rusty.

Welcome to the group, Jinx. Did you attend the MVPA convention in Portland, OR last year? We had a great time driving around Oregon and Washington. Beautiful country and nice folks. Can't wait to go back.

Chut1st said:

Welcome to the group, Jinx. Did you attend the MVPA convention in Portland, OR last year? We had a great time driving around Oregon and Washington. Beautiful country and nice folks. Can't wait to go back.

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No, I didn't. But I would like too the next time there's a convention.

Thanks everyone for the help and the welcome.

Jinx said:

Yeah, wsucougarx found the truck. I asked the guy about any rust in the cab since he told me the top had a tarp cover. He said the floor had some surface rust due to the missing top and that the seats had been reupholstered last year. 15K miles and low mileage.

Is a sprag transfer case good or bad? I'm a little concerned about it not having a turbo as well. If I get it, it will need to do a bit of highway driving.

Any advice I can get is helpful guys. Thanks.

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I am no expert on transfer cases, but the consensus is the Sprag transfer case is what contributed to the high rate of Deuce failures in the field (failures meaning having to be brought to the motorpool for repair). However, one can change out the transfer case and replace it with an airshift transfer case. The sprag has just that, little sprag or clutchlike things inside the transfer case to detect slippage. One slippage occurs it engages the front axle for 6x6. However, sludge and grime can form b/w the sprags to make them inoperable so only 4x4 on the rears only. The airshift is just that an airshift. There is a switch inside the cab of the truck so you can engage 6x6 when you want to. Do a search on Sprag, sprague and see what you come up with.

oh BTW, welcome aboard! There are several of us here in the PNW now, good time to have a rally. Somewhere near Olympia would be great

Okay, here's a real noob question. Is there an actual classifieds section here on Steelsoldiers.com? I found the "Military Vehicle Stuff on eBay" section, but is there an actual place that members here can post ads for deuces they are selling? You guys know a lot more about these trucks than I do, and I'd much rather buy from someone here, than to gamble on a random ad on Craigslist.

You could try Brad Milne in Yelm Washington for a duece. I will look this Saturday to see how many he has left. I would say there are at least 20 or so. He still has wreckers and 5tons as well. If you want Pm me and I will give you his phone number. I do not want to post it without his permission.