WSUCougarx's M561 Gama Goat Acquisition and Build Thread

Priorities first Mike............................... Someone gotta teach 'em, "glove down and get in front of the ball!"

wsucougarx said:

In my search for Gama Goat parts . . . Hmmm, I thought... I really wasn't looking for a winch kit as I intend to swim my Goat should that time arise. OK I thought, I inquired back and asked if it was an actual kit. His response was YES . . .
She came complete with an extra hook and chain for the winch cable. The winch cable is coated with cosmoline. Plus she had a nice NOS snatch block in there!!

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I was wondering what that PTO looked like, now I know! Looks like a nice snatch block too . . .

Stalwart said:

I was wondering what that PTO looked like, now I know! Looks like a nice snatch block too . . .

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She's a beautiful kit. Thanks again Stuart!

Carrier Air/Hydraulic Line Removal

Today, I had a chance to go out and remove the two tubes on the forward portion of the carrier. I removed both the Air and Hydraulic hard steel lines along with the two hoses that connect the tractor/carrier. As you can see by the pic, the AIR line tube was about 90% occluded. The hydraulic line tube was about 80% occluded. I took both lines down to my local NAPA to try and find the ferrules. I just got a dumbfounded look and the guy brought out a couple barrel ferrules. I said NOPE, those won't work. Depending on what I find, I think I may just head to the local hydraulic shop and see if they can just make an extended hose. Then I can just do away with the hard line altogether. Still thinking on it.
Update 05APR16**
Went to a local hydraulic shop. They said they can get the fareless Nut and ferrule no problem. They've got a dozen on order for me for tomorrow at $2.50 each. They said they wouldn't be able to make the hoses for me once they figured out they were for the brakes. They said too much liability involved. So, I may check with another shop and see if they'll do it. I really want to get those hoses replaced that bridge the tractor/carrier unit. I may get a set that are a couple inches longer.

Since, I was working on the brake system. I opted to remove the master cylinder. Boy was she full of yuck yuck. I'm not sure what was in there but it didn't look like brake fluid. I'm going to remove all the wheel cylinders and purge with pressurized air, followed by alchohol, purge with air, brake cleaner, purge with air, purge with air, then put DOT-5 in there.

Brake Tubes & Flareless Ferrules and Nuts

My local hydraulic shop indeed came through for me today. They overnighted 12 #4 Flareless Ferrules and Nuts (specific for steel tubes). I paid $1.04/ferrule and $1.96/Nut. I could have gotten on a popular E*** site but knowing these particular Ferrules/Nuts fit was worth the extra. I went down to my local NAPA store and found they had the uncoated steel 1/4"x60" brake tube sticks. I bought the last two uncoated sticks they had. I paid $8.34 each.
I consider myself a very patient man. However, all deals are off when it comes to plumbing. Bending brake lines can be added to that category. After about 2 hours and one practice try, I had my two brakes lines for the front portion of the carrier. They're not exactly factory in appearance but they're a far cry better than what was there. I'm going to attempt another branch of the hydraulic shop and see if they'll do the two hoses between the tractor and carrier.
I also placed an order with Red River today. I found they had the front carrier headache rack and splash guard in stock. I also bought a few other items.
Project Cost:
1) Blue Point TBS200A tube bender $27 shipped off ebay
2) Flareless Ferrules and Nuts (4 each) $12
3) NAPA 1/4" Steel Brake Tube 60" stick $8.34

Looks like a pretty reasonable facsimile to me. Nice work.

Sealed Drum Maintenance

Today I decided to break open the sealed drum to see what kind of goodies I had in there. I've been a bit apprehensive about this project. My first thoughts were this was a sealed drum. So if the military or US Forest Service swam this thing, then whatever got in there was now trapped. With a few decades gone by, I only imagined a rusty muddy mess inside those hubs.
I was a bit surprised err I was really surprised at what I found. This Goat looked like she was just serviced!! Everything in the drum looked like it was just replaced. In fact, once I got the "old" wheel cylinder out, I made the mistake of putting right next to the new one. I looked down to grab the new one and had to really look at them. The only way I figured out the new one, was the rubber plug. The bearing grease looked new as well. There was absolutely no contaminants in the there at all. The brake fluid was a different story. It was evident the DOT-3/DOT-5 mixture made it's way down into the wheel cylinders. Glad I got in there to purge the lines.
3,599

Nice, I hope mine look that good.

Yeh that looks a whole lot better than the mess I found when I opened mine up.

USGI Life Preserver Vests

Being that I'm in the process of rebuilding this amphibious vehicle, I thought it would only be appropriate to outfit her with life preservers. I really don't have plans to swim her on a recreational basis. However, should the need arrive to swim her (and I hope she floats) I'll have the appropriate USGI Life Preservers to outfit her passengers. Plus they'll be great props for MV shows and parades. I only bought the four initially but have 4 more on their way.
I wasn't going to buy them, in fact I have been watching them on E*** for a couple months. These in particular weren't a bad deal at $9 each but I didn't bite. It wasn't until I got an E*** alert letting me know the seller discounted them 50%. At $4.99 each, I couldn't go wrong. They were all tested and ALL hold air without any air leaks. All the necessary straps are there as well. After these four were enroute, I saw the same seller listed four more as a set for $9.99. Even better of a deal at $2.50 each.
Project Cost:
1) Four Life Preservers $4.99 each x 4 ($22 shipping)
2) Four Life Preservers $2.50 each x 4 ($22 shipping)

Wheel Cylinder Removal

I know there is a very limited number of Gama Goat owners. Most of which are mechanically inclined. However, just in case you need an easy way to get that wheel cylinder out without taking everything apart, here you go. Simply remove one retaining clip and one spring. Slide the brake shoe out of the way, pull out wheel cylinder and put the new one in
I did run into an issue. Not sure how this happened. But the carrier's passenger side drum had DOT-5 all over in there. I wasn't able to track down any leaks so I can only assume that Soldier A or B bled the brakes and just let the DOT-5 drip down into the drum. Well, the brake shoes had a nice film of coating the surface. Looks like I'll need to track down some replacement shoes for her. From what I've read, the M715 shares the same brake shoes and there is a cross reference to set of 1980's Chevy truck. I may just buy a set of replacement shoes and rivet them in.

wsucougarx said:

I know there is a very limited number of Gama Goat owners. Most of which are mechanically inclined. However, just in case you need an easy way to get that wheel cylinder out without taking everything apart, here you go. Simply remove one retaining clip and one spring. Slide the brake shoe out of the way, pull out wheel cylinder and put the new one in
I did run into an issue. Not sure how this happened. But the carrier's passenger side drum had DOT-5 all over in there. I wasn't able to track down any leaks so I can only assume that Soldier A or B bled the brakes and just let the DOT-5 drip down into the drum. Well, the brake shoes had a nice film of coating the surface. Looks like I'll need to track down some replacement shoes for her. From what I've read, the M715 shares the same brake shoes and there is a cross reference to set of 1980's Chevy truck. I may just buy a set of replacement shoes and rivet them in.

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I can't read it clearly but if you can zoom on the FE# on the web of the shoe, I might be able to cross/ id the aftermarket number for you?

Defrost Vent and Partial Install

I finally tracked down and found a NOS Defrost Vent. Red River came through for me yet again and found this vent in their warehouse. I didn't have a means of cutting the sheet metal so I just took a drill motor to it and cut a billion holes until I finally cut the hole. I paid $38 for this NOS part. It looks a bit different than the other Gama Goat vents I have seen. It has the additional deflectors on it.
Project Cost:
1) Defrost Vent- $38

M792 Jump Seat and Splash Shield/Rack

Another set of parts from Red River. With the installation of a couple radio mounts scheduled for the carrier, I found I lost a couple seats. Then it dawned on me. The M792 had a jump seat. I thought the incorporation of a jump seat would help to alleviate my concerns of lost seats. Luckily, Red River had a NOS in box jump seat for me. Also, my Goat didn't come the front rack on the carrier. They too had that part in stock along with the vinyl splash guard that drapes over the rack. The shipping was a bit much as they didn't cut the box down to the actual dimensions, so I ended up paying a bit more but got something I really needed.
Project Cost:
1) Carrier Rack $65
2) Splash Shield $35
3) M792 Jump Sear $100

Well, I guess it's a start....

Just removed these truss components off the Goat. Well, that's three components. Just need to find the rest...
The eye bolts have been on the carrier for sometime. It took a serious amount of penetrating oil and the laws of physics to get those things off.

Possible 11.00x18 Gama Goat Tire Recovery Trip coming up

I'm getting ready to head out on a journey to pickup some much needed 11.00x18 6-Ply Gama Goat tires. The tires I have are OK for small trips to town and around the area. However, I would not trust them for anything farther than that. I found some tires that are suppose to be 90% and stored in doors. The guy has something like 14 so hopefully he has exactly what I need. He wants $125 per tire/wheel. I'm looking at probably buying one complete set. Looks like I'll be hitting the road over Memorial Day Weekend. Just hope the traffic to/from won't be too bad. As with the recovery of this Gama Goat, it may be another marathon run. I'm hoping I find some locally within the PNW. But what kind of adventure would that be
I've made provisions to visit a yard that has some Gama Goat parts 1.5 hours southwest of where I'll be buying my tires. With that, I have made been prepping my M101A1 trailer to tow behind her. I've had to do some work on the trailer to get her ready. So far I have added a military trailer plug to the back of my truck to accept the military trailer cable. I have also added a license plate light to be compliant with the state laws. Also, made a trip to our local tire shop to have a dependable spare tire on board for any unforeseen issues with tires. Lastly, with the M101A1's safety chain being so short, I had to buy some chain to extend her out.

Back on your saturated Brake shoes, old mechanic trick. Get some really hot soapy water, scrub the daylights out of them, and let dry. This should take the offending fluid out of them. Although thinking about it, not sure how it will work with DOT 5 as it is more water resistant, but the soap surfactent may do the trick. After all they are primarily asbestos and not too much affects that.

We missed you at Matlock today. Took the M151 for its first long journey. 132 miles.

wsucougarx said:

Just removed these truss components off the Goat. Well, that's three components. Just need to find the rest...
The eye bolts have been on the carrier for sometime. It took a serious amount of penetrating oil and the laws of physics to get those things off.

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Mark at RAPCO said he had NOS truss kits but I could never get a price out of him when I was trying.

Good haul on parts, he told me he didn't have any of the rear canvas when I talked to him, besides the front and rear curtains.

I need to give him a call

Do you have the part no on that vinyl piece that goes over the splash shield?