1960s Tailgate Stencil Locations

Hi Group,

My 1967 M35A2 is coming back together after painting it semi-gloss OD (US Army). I have paint masks from Rick Larsen, and will be ready to stencil the truck soon.

Everything about stenciling my truck is clear to me except for the tailgate area... I've read TB 746-93-1, and looked at the diagram in it but I'm still not sure:

Where to put the star? On the tailgate or on the bed below the tailgate? It can't be centered on the tailgate because one of the five ribs is in the middle...

"US Army" ... I've seen it on the tailgate and below it. Registration number? The paint mask Rick included for the "tailgate" has US Army above the registration number, and it seems logical for me to put this on the left side of the tailgate and the star on the right...

I realize this could have varied widely from truck to truck, but I wanted to get a consensus and decide what looks good. This is one area where my truck showed no original paint or markings for me to use as a guide...

Maybe you guys could post some tailgate pics? I'd love to see some period pics, too.

Regards,
Jon

1968

The Tennesseean Circa 1968 Note the stars on the flaps also.
Duce is Wild
Wayne

When I was in the ARNG (early 70's) I don't recall any stenciling on the tailgate of M35s. Our trucks were OD with white lettering (US Army & registration #) on the hood, white stars on the doors, major unit designation (for example, 26 S&T) on the right front bumper and left rear bumperette, and Company/march unit number (for example, HHC-6) on the left front bumper and right rear bumperette. I don't recall any other markings on the bumpers, bumperettes, tailgate, or rear of bed. Of course, that was 35+ years ago, so a I might have forgot a few details since then. The Army has changed it's marking scheme a few times since then also.

The US ARMY should be on the left and the registration # on the right side. Most all pics I have seen show them below the tailgate. I have seen the star in both locations, below and centered, and on the tailgate just to the right of the rib. I used the placement of the original markings on the replacement bed I used on my truck to determine where I put them.

Thanks Guys!

That's exactly what I was looking for. I really like the 10" star centered over the rib, and it follows my interpretation of TB 746-93-1:

"The National Symbol marking will be located on the largest regular area and as near as
possible to the center of such area."

"The National Symbol will be the largest size practical for use in the available space,
but will not exceed 36 inches measured between opposite points."


My decision made, I went outside and started spraying. The "U.S. ARMY" mask that Rick Larsen included in my set for the tailgate was too big to fit on the bed below, so I cut out some of the space between the letters and eliminated the periods. I did not have a paint mask for a 10" star, so I just laid it out using 3-M blue painter's tape and basic high school geometry. I may also add a star on each mud flap.

Here's the result of a few hours' work...

Regards,
Jon

Looks good! Post up plenty of pics once you get the truck all finished up.

Looks awesome JD!!!!!What is the correct star location on a dropside bed? This is where I put mine because of the data plate on the tailgate. Maybe I should have painted over it.
I see I forgot to add 'US ARMY and the vin #' on the back.

JD, great job, I hope and see to that my deuce will look as good
I'll give it a try to make my own stencils (there are army true type fonts for windows), either by cutting them out with a scalpel or having them cut with a cutting plotter.

Unfortunately we have no one here to supply ready made stencils as there are in the US.

roger-wilco-66 said:

JD, great job, I hope and see to that my deuce will look as good
I'll give it a try to make my own stencils (there are army true type fonts for windows), either by cutting them out with a scalpel or having them cut with a cutting plotter.

Unfortunately we have no one here to supply ready made stencils as there are in the US.

Click to expand...

If you can not find anybody over there that will do them, let me know, I'm sure I can mail you a set. Here in my decal site http://www.i2k.com/~schwarzd/