• Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!

  • Microsoft MSN, Live, Hotmail, Outlook email users may not be receiving emails. We are working to resolve this issue. Please add support@steelsoldiers.com to your trusted contacts.

Hi all, new here.

over2land

New member
19
0
0
Hey guys, I'm new here. I've been over on the 715 zone for a while, and if you go to the rides section here, I've put up a few pics of my 715.


However, I'm wondering what were the years and model designations for Deuces manufactered by Jeep? Be it Kaiser, or AMC.



I don't really understand what the diff't model numbers mean, nor can I seem to find for the life of me a clear cut answer to when the deuce was made by jeep.



Ideally I'd like it broken down by model year, with model designation, and number produced.



Basically, I'm a Jeep Freak, and want a deuce. I can justify a deuce if it's a Jeep deuce. Maybe a weird way to go at it, but there it is.



And, also, by thusly hogtying myself, what gotchas are there to the Kaiser deuces?



Thanks.
 

Recovry4x4

LLM/Member 785
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
34,013
1,814
113
Location
GA Mountains
Shop for something between 64 and 69 and you generally find the Kaiser Jeep. I would suggest going to the manuals section of Steel Soldiers and downloading the TM 9-2320-361-10 manual. It gives you a pretty cut & dried version of whats what. There are a ton of other ones out there too including the gassers. Should you find any trucks that peak your interest, gather up what you can on it with pics and we can probably decipher it. Those years above are pretty close but you might find a 70 Kaiser Jeep or even a 63. Pretty much everything from 71 up is AM General. Ask and ye shall receive!
 

rdixiemiller

Active member
1,760
3
38
Location
Olive Branch Mississipi
I have a 1967 Kaiser Jeep M35A2. If you go to the AM General website, there is a pretty decent short history of the Deuce. It started as a REO, then went to Studebaker, Studebaker/Packard, Kaiser Jeep, AM General, General Products Division of AM General.
Along the way there were units built by Curtiss Wright (the airplane engine people), and Utica Bend (mostly M45 chassis as far as I have heard) and probably some others I am not aware of.
All the trucks were built in the same plant, it was just run by everyone and thrie brothers over the years. From what I can find out, production ran from 1953 until 1989, although I have seen pictures of the last truck coming off the line supposedly in 1993.
Over the years, the truck started off with a gas engine, an OA331, with a 5 speed direct tranny and a sprag T-Case. Then, the LDS 427 multifuel engine with the OD tranny, still the sprag T-Case. Next was the LD 465 series NA multifuel engine, with sprag cases at first, later units were air shift. Last, they were mostly equipped with LDT 465 multifuels (T for turbo).
You can find almost any combination of parts in a deuce, and they are correct! The military periodically rebuilds their trucks at a depot, and anything is possible. I have seen a 1953 Studebaker deuce with the latest engine, tranny, and T-Case. It went through a depot overhaul in the late '80's. It started life as a gasser with a sprag case. The LDS 427 is kind of rare, they had reliability issues. The only ones I have heard of seem to be in water purification trucks and M109 van bodies. The rest seem to have been swapped for the 465 series engines.
I have no idea where my truck went over the years, but I have found a bullet hole and what appears to be a schrapnel hole in the cab that have been Bondo'd and repainted many years ago! Mine could well have seen Viet Nam, and from the sand that keeps sifting out from behind the dash, Iraq. Of course, some clumsy GI could have plugged the truck as well!
Find a 1965 to 1969 and you more than likely have a Kaiser Jeep.
Good luck hunting!
 

mangus580

New member
6,010
282
0
Location
Western NY
rdixie, its funny you mention bullet holes [:)] as the bed on my deuce has 3-4 of them in it!!


I should take/find pictures some day and post them.
 

rdixiemiller

Active member
1,760
3
38
Location
Olive Branch Mississipi
Yeah, next time I have the drivers seat out I'll get a picture of them. They are right behind the drivers door, where the cab rolls to the rear. I saw the Bondo and started looking close. One looks a lot like a bullet hole, the other like a piece of jagged metal went through. No major damage, so I don't think it was any kind of a wreck.
Who Knows??
Still interesting to me.
 

over2land

New member
19
0
0
I've seen that deuce chart before. And, after revisting it earlier today, I asked this question.

If Kaiser had Jeep from 53-70, and I know they made the 715 from 67-69, that 67-68 number didn't ring true.

Hey recovery, I maybe a DANB, but I dunno where the manuals section is on this board. I downloaded a bunch of manuals which were linked in a sticky earlier today, but have yet to look at em.

rdixie, I dunno bout the history on the AMGeneral site either. It seems to me that they missed a bunch of incidental manufacturers in there, and some of it disagrees with the olive-drab chart.

These inconsistancies is why I'm finally asking here.

For those of you giving me engine info, I must apologize, but I know I'll be asking the questions you are answering later.

I am really new at this, and it'd be like me telling someone trying to find an AMC jeep that the 232 prior to 76 should be avoided, and stay clear of the civi 230 OHC engine... TMI right now. Thanks for it, and I'll refer to it later, but right now, I just want to nail down the production, and leave the MWO's and so on for once I have a foundation of knowledge to build from.

65-69 seems the concensus, but I've seen ads for them from those years that claimed to be an AM General or the like. Was Kaiser the only deuce producer for those years? And, when AM General performed the MWO's, did they put new dash plaques on getting rid of the Jeep/Kaiser plaque?

Thanks again.
 

rdixiemiller

Active member
1,760
3
38
Location
Olive Branch Mississipi
I have seen deuces with replaced data tags, these on trucks that came out of residue sales in years past. I think some depots left the tags alone, others replaced them.
As for the discrepancies in manufacturing dates, that has been frustrating to me as well. I have been doing some research, and have not had much luck getting really good information. There doesn't seem to ba a lot of historical interest in the M35 series trucks, and hard data is not easy to come by. I'll probably have to do a search through the Govt. archives to find budgetary and purchasing records year by year, service branch by service branch. I would like to be able to get the "Whole Truth" and get it into print, someday.
This will be a spare time project, I should be able to start it about 2 weeks after I die.
 

over2land

New member
19
0
0
If you get the whole truth into print, I'll take one.

And, if the tags are replaced, not a big deal... but I need to know that if I have a 64 deuce it's a Kaiser, without doubt, regardless of who went through it later.

Also, what about model numbers? Are all deuces M35s?
 

rdixiemiller

Active member
1,760
3
38
Location
Olive Branch Mississipi
There have been 3 main series of Deuce and a Halfs.
WW2 was the CCKW
Then came the M135 and M211 (GMC's w/ automatic trannies)
Then the current deuce. The originals were M34's (gassers). Then they became M35's (SWB) and M36 (LWB)
M36's are relatively scarce, just the extra long version.
There have been several specialty trucks built on the deuce chassis. Most of the manuals list them on the cover. For example, the M275 is a deuce tractor. Then there are M45 water purification trucks, M109 van bodies, etc.
The basic chassis is known by the army as the M44 series trucks.
Now that you are totally confused (it still confuses me at times)....
The common deuce that you are looking for is the M35A2 or A2C. The A2 has a fixed side bed, the A2C has drop sides. These are the most common ones out there. Next seems to be the M109 van body series. These are popular for "go anywhere" campers. The tractors, dumptrucks, water purification trucks, fire trucks, and M36 LWB's are not as common. Not that they aren't out there, just not as easily found.
I think I can say with 99% certianty that any deuce from '65 to '69 will be a Kaiser Jeep. I don't know when Jeep took over, I have seen a '62 that was Studebaker/Packard. Anything I have seen with a 1970 tag was an AMG.

I hope I am not muddying the waters too much, but these things are a little hard to sort out on occasion!
 

Recovry4x4

LLM/Member 785
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
34,013
1,814
113
Location
GA Mountains
Sorry, I had to look for it a bit. Here's where you find the manual I pointed out. http://www.steelsoldiers.com/technical_library.htm
As far as model numbers I can rattle them off like crazy. Generally the trucks ending with -A1 have the LDS427. The trucks ending with -A2 have the better LD and LDT engines. There are many exceptions to this including the M109 shop vans and M49 and M50 tankers. Here are a few of the common ones and a few not as common.

M35A2 cargo truck

M35A2C drop side cargo

M36A2 LWB cargo

M109A3 shop van

M185A3 shop van

M45A2 cab/chassis

M46A2 LWB cab/chassis

M342A2 dump

M275A2 tractor

M764 polesetter

M756A2 pipeline

M49A2C fuel truck

M50A3 water truck

Older trucks without a suffix are usually gassers. Also rarely listed are the V17A/MTQ telephone

V18A/MTQ polesetter

M48 tractor

M59 dump.

This should help a bit.
 

over2land

New member
19
0
0
Ok, it does help.

Now, what is the LDS427, LD and LDT engines. Wait, an LDT is a turbo'd engine....

But the rest?

thanks.
 

Desert Rat

New member
2,314
5
0
Here's the most common set-up. An M35A2 with either a naturally aspirated (non-turbo) LD 465, the turbo screamer LDT 465 1C, the turbo LDT 465 1D (I have one in my shop van) or the coveted LDS 465 usually found in five ton applications. Most other configurations share these engines for the most part depending upon year of manufacture. There are always exceptions to the rule.
 

Opie

New member
612
6
0
Location
Salem, VA
Over2land,

Welcome! I have a 1971 chassis whose data plate reads "Jeep Division of American Motors Corporation." I'm still not sure whether to call it a "Jeep" or "AMC," but love it all the same.
 

jasonjc

Well-known member
5,325
283
83
Location
Gravette Ar.
My '71 m335a2 has the tag oipe refers to on the bed but has a repacement tag on the dash that say REO. I know that its a replacement because the SN# is scatched in (pocket knife / pin???)
Some where here there is a list of SN# and it seem that part of sn seems to be the maker
not shure how it works thought.

RD maybe you can work on that after alll itnuity is a long time and no phones
 
Yo Pete - aka Overland,
Since you are in the LA area.............. make a 45 minute journey north up the 101 to Thousand Oaks and you can crawl all over my M35A2 with the Whistler (screamer) turbo. I'll start her up and take you for a ride. That may help in getting you addicted.
 
Top