From: Ron (rojoha@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Jan 31 2004 - 09:46:48 PST
Heck, I don't mean to insult anyone and I hope I can get to be 1/100th as
knowledgeable as RAM when I get REALLY crusty like him (I'm just a little
crunchy around the edges right now).
When Newbies (I still am after 3 years) get their 1st deuce, all kinds
of weird things happen. Hopefully, we have friends to help us in the
beginning or at least explain to the list and family what we did wrong and
why we are now in a better place ( respectful moment of silence for HMV
collectors who have, so to speak, screwed the pooch ).
If the then President of the MVMVC, Larry Damour hadn't been present
when we first got my Deuce started, I might not be here and neither would
the engine in my Deuce. He learned about Deuces in the service, had his own
M109 and knew what to do when the engine 'ran away' when we finally got it
started. While I sat there behind the wheel with absolutely no clue of what
to do as the engine RPMs passed 28 gazillion and sent a solid plume of
exhaust 100 feet in the air, I sat there like a deer caught in headlights,
both feet on the dash trying to pull the entire "ENGINE STOP'" assembly out
of the dash board, with no effect. My other partners in crime were splitting
in all directions ( nothing but asses and elbows in motion AWAY from my
vantage point), when suddenly the engine started to slow down, and then
after a few seconds, stuttered to a stop.
Since the hood was up, I hadn't seen Larry come tearing TOWARDS the
truck while everyone else remembered previous commitments in Canada, Cape
Cod, Mexico and Hawaii. He yanked the mushroom cap off the intake, leaned
across the fender, planted his chest across the intake and wrapped his arms
around the air cleaner housing while trying to find that little air intake
opening on the back with his hands. He literally saved my engine and my
legs, since a close reading of the -10 tells you that if this happens and
you are behind the wheel, either stall it in 5th (if not moving) or unass
the vehicle and run away in a direction to the REAR of the truck and wait
for the Sarge to show up and bite some of your still living ass off while
the FD checks buildings within a 1000 ft for shrapnel damage.
A point to remember here is that the pressed on starter tooth ring on the
flywheel is about on level with your mid thigh area, and as RPMs approach ,
oh say, 3.5k, it tends to disassociate itself from the fly wheel in a
spectacular manner, gaining you the new nick name of 'Stumpy' if you were
still sitting behind the wheel playing 'pull the engine stop handle game' at
the time of separation.
Larry saved my truck (and me) because he is a Professional Fire Fighter
by trade, (who just retired Dec 30 with full retirement benefits and all
body parts intact, and is now devoting all {well, most} of his waking hours
to HMV restoration. Congratulations Larry!!) and had learned to THINK and
ACT under pressure. I had gone to a poorly planned Plan B, then Plan C and
then lost the ability to think when that didn't work, instead just 'looping'
Plans A(try to start truck) and B(pull stop handle if it starts) and C (pull
harder if it don't stop) over and over.
That's what is so neat about the internet and this (and other) list(s).
Instead of us being in the service and having the manuals furnished to us,
being trained in the equipment operation and having other troops and
Sergeants around to get us through the first couple of weeks with pithy
statements about our families breeding habits and dope slaps, we have to
rely on input from our 'mentors' like RAM and others on the list and in our
clubs, concerning their experiences, to keep us from killing ourselves and
others.
I bought a set of -209 and -361 manuals, in binders, from a fellow
GMMVC for $150 last fall. Better than the CD then, since my desktop was too
heavy too carry into the bathroom. (Though the new Centrino laptop is a
hoot, plus it keeps your legs warm while growing hemorrhoids). The manuals
are indispensable to be sure, but the info gained here and in face to face
meetings with other members at the rallies and fleas is beyond price and the
real value of our hobby.
That's my $0.05 worth,
Ron (zo)
BTW... If you wonder what I look like at a rally or flea, or how to find
me, look for a long line by the Military Markings.com table, that usually
has Hankie at the lead. I'm usually facing the line. Dope slaps can only be
delivered by open hand. And unlike Barbara Billingsley, I do not speak
official Jive, just the putzo type....
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Kealey" <cwkealey@charter.net>
To: "Ron" <rojoha@comcast.net>; "Military Vehicles Mailing List"
<mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: 31 January, 2004 11:13
Subject: Re: [MV] My big green truck won't start (reply to Ronzo
> Ron(zo) and everyone else helping me,
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