Sarge,
IMHO, you are overstating the problems with the Tornado (why do I utter
such blasphemy? - I was a GI when they were still in service, plus have lots
of other evidence from my Jeep research) but I understand your reluctance
and will forgive you. Yes, I like the Tornado, what can I say!
As to your question, AMC tried to interest the Army in an updated
version of the M-715 (called the the AM-715) and it was powered by the AMC
232ci inline six. AMC (AM General to be exact) later went on to market the
truck overseas for a few years in the 1970s. You could take that a step
farther and put in a 258ci AMC six, an engine with as good a reputation as
the Tornado's was bad (with the exception of the notorious Carter BBD
feedback carb on the later 258ci units - early 1980s- easy to swap with an
earlier manifold and carb).
Another alternative wold be to go diesel. A GM 6.2L diesel, perhaps from
a surplus CUCV, complete with all the 24V stuff, would bolt-in in place of
the 350ci. It would need a bigger radiator, possibly,and some pkumbing
changes to accommodate the diesel, but you could usesome or all the GI CUCV
stuff from the donor and make it look GI original. I have seen a couple of
these conversions and the owners report much better mileage and power. They
were able to go to taller gears (4.10s in one case, 4.56 in the other) to
replace the 5.89:1 ratios for better road performance and fuel economy (mid
to high teens).
Thanks for your continued military service!
Jim Allen
------------ >From: SLYGTI@webtv.net >To: jimallen@onlinecol.com >Subject: [MV] M715 {politically correct) re-power >Date: Thu, Jul 19, 2001, 4:45 PM >
> [MV] lister and guardians of history, > > What would be a politically correct re-power of an M715 that has had a > GM 350 in installed it? > I have seen the evil 230 Tornado and have to pass on it. I would like to > use a 68-73 era 6cyl either gas or diesel that won't offend and won't > hurt my wallet too much. I'm still on active duty as a 63B20 at Fort > Bliss, TX. Realize I have to balance power and fuel economy. > > Any input appreciated > > Sarge > > Lars P C [[_]=\X/=[_]] > VW and Offroad enthusiast. > > http://community.webtv.net/SLYGTI/LarsCarHobbypage/ > > http://community.webtv.net/SLYGTI/MyVWWaterCooled/ > > > ===Mil-Veh is a member-supported mailing list=== > To unsubscribe, send e-mail to: <mil-veh-off@mil-veh.org> > To switch to the DIGEST mode, send e-mail to <mil-veh-digest@mil-veh.org> > To reach a human, contact <ack@mil-veh.org> >
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Aug 07 2001 - 09:34:12 PDT