From: chance wolf (chance_wolf@shaw.ca)
Date: Sun May 30 2004 - 13:27:56 PDT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Franklin" <lee@wellnesshealth.com>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2004 12:52 PM
Subject: Re: [MV] 63B anyone?
> Hey Chief!
>
> I don't know about rust with them, they were fairly new in the system when
I
> worked on them from 86-94, I think they rust-proofed them fairly well,
> though. The earlier models definately had some issues with bad bolts and
> such, though, like the ones that mounted the generator on the engine
block.
> I'd try to get a more recent model if possible.
I've seen some really, really bad frame rust-outs being driven around, most
of which appear to have originally come through the first batch of 1985-ish
ex-USMC HMMWVs auctioned off in Atlanta. It *looks* as though they were
driven into the salt-chuck as part of some Marine exercise at some point,
then just were either never washed properly, or were stored directly
afterwards. Either way - scary. I have quite literally seen some you could
easily push a screwdriver through both sides of the frame-tube, and/or flex
portions of the frame with your bare hand alone. I think this was discussed
here before back in the dawn of time, but what I seem to remember having
happened is that a number of those vehicles were sold in Atlanta as "parts
vehicles only" due to the extreme rust-out, yet were purchased and later
titled at some point in their careers by people who didn't want to part them
out as intended.
If I were buying one of the 85's, I think I'd spend half an hour underneath
it with a tap-hammer looking for rustout in key spots and any hint of fresh
undercoating in vulnerable areas. I suppose if a guy could come across some
main frame-rails somewhere and had a few weekends to spare, you could strip
the vehicle down and re-erect it around a decent set of non-rusty rails, but
the selling price of the rotten beast would have to reflect all the
additional work which would need to be done to save it.
The ones I've seen which are horrible seem to have rails which rusted from
the inside-out. In fact, bits of rust will 'hinge' on the coating sprayed
on the outside of the frame where there are outright holes, and/or be hidden
beneath parts of unblemished coating which belie the extent of the corrosion
beneath, and give the outward appearance of decent structural integrity.
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