M35 question

Hello all newbie here. I am going to look at a couple of m35's this weekend and have a few questions for the pros hope they aren't too stupid.

1: are there any year m35's I should avoid or years I should seek?
2: what are the major things that I should check out? (Besides the obvious)
3: what's best m35a2 or m35a3?

i am a heavy equipment/otr truck mechanic by trade so I feel like the mechanical stuff should not give me much trouble. Just want to know the majors before I buy. Thanks for any help!!!

Welcome to the site! NC has a lot of MV enthusiasts, you're fortunate.

You're also really close to the world class Ga Rally, you should come and visit in October.

All the stuff you're asking has been asked before, so you'll want to spend some time researching the deuce here on the site and acquainting yourself with the search mechanism.

1. Read the word document I've attached below.

2. See #1

3. See these:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?69761-M35a2-vs-m35a3
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?57268-M35a3
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?46364-m35-a2-vs-m35-a3-whichn-is-better
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?48649-Buying-a-M35A2-or-M35A3
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?58641-M35A2-or-M35A3-Pro-s-and-Cons-of-each
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?69380-M35-a2-vs-m35-a3

I have a newer version of that word document, give me a second to find it and I'll post it.

I'am pretty much a newb here too, but I spent most of my time in the Army wrenching on, and driving deuces. The first three most important things on any of M35 series is; Brakes, Brakes, and more Brakes.
No one year is much, if any, better than another, although the early 427s had a problem with head gaskets, but that issue can be taken care-of with the later model gaskets and those engines are fairly rare nowdays. No matter the year, you'll find things enough to keep you busy.
The A3 is a much diff beast, with a Cat diesel, auto trans, and single rears, and Central Tire Inflation System, (CTIS), the best thing about the A3s are duel curcuit brakes.
Oh, and welcome to the best site for all things concerning military vehicles.

Wow first of thanks that is good stuff! And second sorry for asking dumb questions that have Obviously been asked so many times before. My apologies to everyone. But thanks again for the help!

Let's try this again...................

NO SUCH THING AS A DUMB QUESTION IF YOU ARE TRYING TO LEARN, SOMETIMES YOU GET SMART ANSWERS OR SMART ASSES. here.

Dad always said with a farm tractor you are buying the drive ine and the tires..... batteries, paint and rubber striping are cheap compared to engines, transmissions and tires.
I always came out better when I buy the best shape truck out of the bunch for reasonable money, as some else may have fixed the expensive stuff. I bought a GL auction 1984 M925 with winch for $4200.00 that had almost new tires that would have cost $4000.00 to replace. I can buy a lot of paint to make her perfect some day.

Mattsfmj said:

Wow first of thanks that is good stuff! And second sorry for asking dumb questions that have Obviously been asked so many times before. My apologies to everyone. But thanks again for the help!

Click to expand...

No apologies needed. If they were dumb, I wouldn't have taken the 5 minutes to find and post all those links.

Thanks for all the help! Clinto I may have to come see you in October I have family in Warner Robins. One more question for you does anyone make a dump bed kit for these trucks?

It's possible to make a dump bed, but it's cheaper to buy a 5 ton dump (and it will have more capacity).

SCSG-G4 said:

It's possible to make a dump bed, but it's cheaper to buy a 5 ton dump (and it will have more capacity).

Click to expand...

I don't know if it's cheaper but the 5-ton dumps certainly have more capacity. A deuce is more of a "household chores" dump truck, it's capacity is limited in comparison to commercial dumps. But for most people in a non-commercial usage, it's way more than enough.

Mattsfmj said:

Thanks for all the help! Clinto I may have to come see you in October I have family in Warner Robins.

Click to expand...

You won't just be seeing me, you'll be seeing 300-500 SS members and over 100 military vehicles at one of the biggest events in the Country.

Go spend some time here: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?114102-Official-2013-Ga-Rally-multimedia-thread

Mattsfmj said:

One more question for you does anyone make a dump bed kit for these trucks?

Click to expand...

I don't think anyone makes a complete kit (Maybe C&C Equipment in Indiana) but you can do deuce dump conversions pretty easily. We have several compilation threads that members have put up showing what is involved in doing one.

More likely than not, you'll end up buying a scissor assy., buying a hinge kit for the bed or building your own and figuring out how you're going to run the hydraulic pump (PTO or electric motor) and building a subframe to support the bed.

Go read all of these:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?63367-Dump-conversion-info-thread <--excellent compilation thread

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?3104-Dump-Conversion <--included in the above thread

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?105750-Deuce-Dump-Truck-Conversion <--not included in compilation thread

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?84411-Deuce-dump-conversion <--not included in compilation thread

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?15325-Working-the-Deuce-Vol-12-385 <--my personal dump conversion, info about the dump begins on post #18