Here is my new Deuce which I picked up yesterday (3/21/06) from Selfridge ANG Base in Michigan. After the usual fluid checks and airing up the tires (they had between 15 and 40 pounds of air per tire, must have still had the winter air in them!), I added a quart of Marvel Mystery oil to the crankcase and a quart of Power Service fuel conditioner and Injector cleaner to clean up the fuel system during the ride home. Then a helpful AF Mechanic jump started it for me and I drove it about 225 miles (mostly Interstate) to home. The trip was pretty uneventful, except for when I ran out of diesel fuel about 3/4 of the way up my driveway!
As you can see from the photos, it still has the white markings from the DRMO all over it. How do you get that stuff off? I've tried denatured alcohol, gasoline and Goo-Gone, and nothing seems to work.
I think I got a pretty great truck for the money. Here is the details:
Kaiser-Jeep, model year unknown.
16,058 miles on the odometer.
Continental LDT 465-1D, rebuilt at TEAD 10/91, std bore & mains, rods -.010
Rebuild at Tooele 6/89, rebuild tags on all 3 diffs, tranny and transfer case.
Personnel Heater.
Air Shift transfer case.
Ether starting assist system!
NATO Slave receptacle.
CARC Repaint 6/89, great paint job, no peeling except for a few thumbnail sized spots on the hood.
Rustproofed in '89, no rust to speak of, just a couple of small spots of surface rust here and there.
It had about 3/4 tank of diesel, I pulled the strainer and sticked the tank to verify, got to drive it home using Government fuel!
West Coast mirrors.
Full troop seats in excellent condition.
Almost new driver's air ride seat (I just have to figure out how to work the adjustments).
Passenger's seat pretty ratty, cover torn, not much cushioning left.
Tires listed as new but show some wear, I'd estimate at 90%-95% tread remaining.
Spare tire brand new, never been on the ground, still has the paint stencilling on the road contact surface.
Fresh looking 6TLMF batteries, one excellent battery (all cells 1.275-1.300 S.G.), other battery has one dead cell (>1.100 S.G.), other 5 cells 1.275-1.300 S.G. by my hydrometer.
Soft Top (Darn)
Air operated wipers (I can live with that).
Lousy window seals, 1/2" or more gaps at rear of window, I about froze my butt off on the way home even with the heater on high the whole way (mid 30's outside)!
Good sized rust hole on the bottom of the J pipe clearly visible in the photo, I'll use a muffler bandage to fix it until I can get a new J pipe.
No cargo cover, just the front bow and front cargo curtain.
Great brakes!
All lights & turn signals work (I didn't check the BO lights).
Forgot to mention when I posted, it also has a Solargizer. Don't know if it works, haven't had any sunny days here recently!
Here's an oddity though, I supposedly have a "D" turbo but it whistles. I can hear it whine plainly at idle and at part throttle, and it really howls when I back off the throttle at road speed. The only time I can't hear it is at WOT, probably due to the big hole in the J pipe.
I have a couple of other areas I need some help with but I'll cover those in separate postings.
I DO NEED YOUR HELP IN IDing THE MODEL YEAR AND COMPLETE VIN.
As you can see in the data plate photo, the VIN is only 9 digits, 0539-14943, and there is no manufacturer code or model year stamped on it. There is a separate smaller plate with a large painted "USA" and a smaller number "NK 0082" stamped below the "USA". I am told this is the vehicle registration number. I do realize some older trucks have 9 or fewer digit serial numbers, but it was too cold and snowy today for me to go out and try to find the frame serial number to see if had any more digits than the data plate.
A lot of other GL listed trucks of this era have a serial number with a format nn-aannnn-nnnn-nnnnn, I'm guessing the first two digits are the manfacturer's code and the remaining digits are the vehicle registration number and the serial number. Using that format, my complete VIN could be nn-NK0082-0538-14943, with the nn being the unknown manufacturer code. That is just my guesstimate, I can live with a 9 digit serial number as long as that is what it is supposed to be.
I REALLY NEED TO FIGURE OUT THE MODEL YEAR THOUGH. Michigan allows you to register a vehicle with an authentic registration plate for the year of your vehicle, and I really want to do that. 60s era authentic plates are going on Ebay from $2.00 to $25.00 in excellent condition, and I would like to get the correct year plate for my Deuce. Can anyone help me out with the correct model year or point me to some other source listing VINs by model year? For what it is worth, ALL the data plates in my truck are painted with a light brown background as shown in the photo, not a black background as is most commonly seen. The weight is specified as 13,000 lbs empty, 23,000 GVW as opposed to the 13,030/23,030 lbs. on most other M35A2s. Also, the data plate has MODEL-CA-D-54 and CONT. NO. DA-20-113-AMC-03416(T) marked on it, if that is any help (Hmmm, Kaiser-Jeep manufacturer and an AMC contract number?).
Sorry for the long message, hope you can be of some help figuring this out for me! Thanks, Lee
As you can see from the photos, it still has the white markings from the DRMO all over it. How do you get that stuff off? I've tried denatured alcohol, gasoline and Goo-Gone, and nothing seems to work.
I think I got a pretty great truck for the money. Here is the details:
Kaiser-Jeep, model year unknown.
16,058 miles on the odometer.
Continental LDT 465-1D, rebuilt at TEAD 10/91, std bore & mains, rods -.010
Rebuild at Tooele 6/89, rebuild tags on all 3 diffs, tranny and transfer case.
Personnel Heater.
Air Shift transfer case.
Ether starting assist system!
NATO Slave receptacle.
CARC Repaint 6/89, great paint job, no peeling except for a few thumbnail sized spots on the hood.
Rustproofed in '89, no rust to speak of, just a couple of small spots of surface rust here and there.
It had about 3/4 tank of diesel, I pulled the strainer and sticked the tank to verify, got to drive it home using Government fuel!
West Coast mirrors.
Full troop seats in excellent condition.
Almost new driver's air ride seat (I just have to figure out how to work the adjustments).
Passenger's seat pretty ratty, cover torn, not much cushioning left.
Tires listed as new but show some wear, I'd estimate at 90%-95% tread remaining.
Spare tire brand new, never been on the ground, still has the paint stencilling on the road contact surface.
Fresh looking 6TLMF batteries, one excellent battery (all cells 1.275-1.300 S.G.), other battery has one dead cell (>1.100 S.G.), other 5 cells 1.275-1.300 S.G. by my hydrometer.
Soft Top (Darn)
Air operated wipers (I can live with that).
Lousy window seals, 1/2" or more gaps at rear of window, I about froze my butt off on the way home even with the heater on high the whole way (mid 30's outside)!
Good sized rust hole on the bottom of the J pipe clearly visible in the photo, I'll use a muffler bandage to fix it until I can get a new J pipe.
No cargo cover, just the front bow and front cargo curtain.
Great brakes!
All lights & turn signals work (I didn't check the BO lights).
Forgot to mention when I posted, it also has a Solargizer. Don't know if it works, haven't had any sunny days here recently!
Here's an oddity though, I supposedly have a "D" turbo but it whistles. I can hear it whine plainly at idle and at part throttle, and it really howls when I back off the throttle at road speed. The only time I can't hear it is at WOT, probably due to the big hole in the J pipe.
I have a couple of other areas I need some help with but I'll cover those in separate postings.
I DO NEED YOUR HELP IN IDing THE MODEL YEAR AND COMPLETE VIN.
As you can see in the data plate photo, the VIN is only 9 digits, 0539-14943, and there is no manufacturer code or model year stamped on it. There is a separate smaller plate with a large painted "USA" and a smaller number "NK 0082" stamped below the "USA". I am told this is the vehicle registration number. I do realize some older trucks have 9 or fewer digit serial numbers, but it was too cold and snowy today for me to go out and try to find the frame serial number to see if had any more digits than the data plate.
A lot of other GL listed trucks of this era have a serial number with a format nn-aannnn-nnnn-nnnnn, I'm guessing the first two digits are the manfacturer's code and the remaining digits are the vehicle registration number and the serial number. Using that format, my complete VIN could be nn-NK0082-0538-14943, with the nn being the unknown manufacturer code. That is just my guesstimate, I can live with a 9 digit serial number as long as that is what it is supposed to be.
I REALLY NEED TO FIGURE OUT THE MODEL YEAR THOUGH. Michigan allows you to register a vehicle with an authentic registration plate for the year of your vehicle, and I really want to do that. 60s era authentic plates are going on Ebay from $2.00 to $25.00 in excellent condition, and I would like to get the correct year plate for my Deuce. Can anyone help me out with the correct model year or point me to some other source listing VINs by model year? For what it is worth, ALL the data plates in my truck are painted with a light brown background as shown in the photo, not a black background as is most commonly seen. The weight is specified as 13,000 lbs empty, 23,000 GVW as opposed to the 13,030/23,030 lbs. on most other M35A2s. Also, the data plate has MODEL-CA-D-54 and CONT. NO. DA-20-113-AMC-03416(T) marked on it, if that is any help (Hmmm, Kaiser-Jeep manufacturer and an AMC contract number?).
Sorry for the long message, hope you can be of some help figuring this out for me! Thanks, Lee
