Totaled Deuce Gets Rebuilt

well last night i changed all the brake hoses on my M109. I ordered them from eriks military surplus. i also put pressure to the master cylinder and blew out the lines before i put the new hoses on. also while the hoses were off i blew out the lines to each wheel cylinder at the bleeder, since the hoses were off. All i need to do tonight is get some DOT 5 and have my buddy help me bleed the brakes. Here is the front left brake hose that gave me the idea i should change the brake hoses. all of the others looked decent with no cracks, but i wanted to change them all.

Here is the brake hose with the tumor.

Wildchild467 said:

Here is the brake hose with the tumor.

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OK, I just couldn't resist.....

USAFSS-ColdWarrior said:

OK, I just couldn't resist.....
S O R R Y !

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And to think i didnt pick the words "bulge", "hose", "rubber", "breaking" the same sentence because i thought that would turn into a joke. haha! its all good!

In medical terms, I think you could have said "aneurysm".

Aneurysm - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

or a cyst.... i didnt want that to pop and make a mess! the brake fluid was yellow-ish in color too. looked ok, but i put fresh in at $32 a quart from napa.

I have been doing more work on the deuce stripping it all apart. When i took the right front fender off, i found a spend blank casing from i believe an M60 machine gun. My truck had the cab reinforced for the machine gun, so i think thats what it is from. how the casing got tucked inthe cab that far, ill never know! in the one picture of the passanger door open, it looks like i have lambo doors!! haha!

Be interesting to know what the date stamp is on the round.

Missed you at RC this time. We had an M109 out on the trails on Saturday. He did good with no damage. Your 109 would make for a very comfortable camping stay and will fit fine on the trails, so long as we stay out of the narrow woods trails.

Sorry about your m35, but glad to see you are working on your 109

wsucougarx,

Good thinking. i checked and saw it was Lake City, but that was it. ill get back to you on that one. I was looking at your thread about your M35A2 restore project. it is motivating for me to get mine back together and get some fresh paint on it!

Pa Farmer,

Im glad you guys had a good time. i really wish i could have went, but i got a lot done this weekend on the M35A2. i did take the M109A3 out for a drive on sunday though, so that was fun! Someday i would like to make the M109 box into a trailer so i can tow it with the deuce. it would make it a lot more practical. Maybe make the M109A3 a bobber... not sure yet. i bet it would go real good with that LDS!

im glad you're ok brother. I would be heartbroken if my baby ended up smashed. God bless

i am heart broken. but me tearing it apart and beginning the fixing is making me feel better. all in all, it seems to be going better than i thought it would. that puts me in a better mood about it. I am going to pressure wash the whole thing and paint it before i put it back together.

You are on to something with coverting the 109 box into a camper and making the 109 into a bobber. I made a bobber a few years ago. I had it at RC for one of the fall rallys. It was fun to drive, but gave up some traction off road and I should have installed a set of shocks on the back, it bounced alot off road.

Just read the whole thread. I've heard the "It's just a truck." line before, but the "That's my TRUCK!" emotions overruled. Having lost "vehicular loved ones" myself, and understanding the feelings involved, I do admire your attitude. Besides, consider the old one as training for the 109 build. Just a thought... You could do a "In lieu of flowers, please send to donations to the M109 Restoration Foundation."

yea, so many options i could do. i worked a lot last night to get the cab off the truck. with help from my dad and 87 year old grandma/supervisor, we got the cab off and safely on the ground. after the cab was off i found out the rear cab brace was bent and also the steering column. im not sure what to do about the column... maybe just the tube is bent and could replace just that. orrrr i could try to do a full hydro steering conversion. that would be nice. if a steering box is expensive, maybe ill try to find a HS54 box and go that route. still not sure and have to research more threads. I dont know how long it would take to modify the frame and get the full hydro steering box in. guess i know what im doing on my lunch hour!

Oh, i forgot to ask... what does the "overhauled" tag on my bellhousing mean? was the transmission or the clutch or engine overhauled? the engine does not have a rebuild tag on it.

That steering column picture is scary. Even if you stay with manual steering, I would replace the entire column and the steering box. You sure don't want any part of the steering failing a few years down the road.

PS: It's great that your grandmother is interested enough to "supervise".

Good to see your making progress!

Steering seems you have several options:
- stock manual steering
- air assist steering
- hydo assist steering
- full hydro steering

With the steering, 1st question would be: Is full hydro steering legal in NY?
Quickly searching I didn't see anything saying that it isn't...
Hydro assist or full hydro would be a great addition over the stock manual steering.
On my CJ7 we went hydro assist and I can now turn the 42" tires with 1 finger.

Seems there is a number of trucks here that have gone full hydro, hear's a couple of threads for lunchtime reading:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce-.../54804-fail-proofing-full-hydro-steering.html

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce-modification-hot-rodding/65810-building-full-hydro-steering.html

I put a bunch of miles on my deuce per year, so i am leaning toward going hydro assist like the HS54 box with the LDS power steering pump. those threads are still good reading though! i never had a chance to build any hydraulic systems... maybe this is my chance!