From: cougarjack@aol.com
Date: Fri May 06 2005 - 01:29:19 PDT
With swap meet season in full bloom, here are some commonly used list
terms that might help when looking over that green treasure on
someone's sale table.
NOS: never been on a truck, (I swear!) but has anywhere from slight
rust
to a serious wasp infestation from lying under my trailer
for thirteen years May have saplings growing up through it.
NIB: Still partially enclosed in shredded decomposed moldy
cardboard-like substance,
which, at some point in ancient history, was most likely a box.
Causes a flu-like illness if disturbed.
TO: take off, probably taken off cause it was busted, but it's been so
long that I
forgot which ones were good and which ones were busted
Shelf Wear: slid around steel storage shelves and swap meet tables so
much that it has gray
metal paint stuck to underside, and has grooves worn in
spots
OEM: Someone fairly reliable once saw one of these in a truck, thus,
they must be correct
OD: Old and dusty
Still in cosmolene: Otherwise good usable part, which has been coated
with a
brown stinky insect-resin like substance, and then
dipped
into stale chopped newspapers and little pieces of
fuzz
until coated an inch thick with same. You can't
take it
"out of cosmolene" to inspect or identify it,
because
then it could no longer be sold as "still in
cosmolene".
YPYMAYTYC: You pays your money and you takes you chances. Usually
applies to
items that are "still in cosmolene". You think you're
buying a jeep
driveshaft, which later turns out to be a trench art lamp
made out
of old Carcano carbines. Hey, it had the right lumps on it!
Hard to find: So annoying or useless that they usually got thrown away
by troops
Matched pair: Anyone knows that surplus parts which are handed, such as
fenders and doors, only come in the right handed version.
Nobody knows why. A matched pair gets you two of the
right-
handed item. Well, what did you expect?
"Look, everyone, I found this unique item on Ebay while browsing:
(Usually acompanied by a very long cryptic
hotlink that doesn't work.)
Really means that I got stuck with 36 cases of these damned WWI
canteen cover gaskets at Aberdeen last year, and I'm
so desperate to sell them that I'm having Dutch Auctions on ebay
under an assumed name. My wife is really pissed
because she can't get to the washing machine and dryer.
DOT: Department of Transmissions, which oversees proper brake fluid and
headlights. No one knows why.
NAPA: Mysterious entity that generates alternate part numbers for
anything from an Eli Whitney Cotton Gin to a Fairbanks Morse
grapefruit crusher.
Sometimes used for MV truck part numbers. Usage: What's the NAPA
number for a
front wheel split shank solder shim for an M609 1919 Ward
laFrance runway scraper?
Thirty six answers report that the exact part can be had at any
corner auto
parts store using # 223435-4389. This part is the same as the
crush washer for
a '97 Taurus wiper motor. Without NAPA nobody would know these
things.
CARC: Old transport train term. Third car back...ie, CAR A, CAR B, CAR
C.....
APC: Automatic pliers catcher...usually in the form of a depression in
a crossmember
that catches fallen tools.
HMMWV: Noise which emanates from APC when pliers get stuck and rub on
half shaft.
M-series: Military equipment which is designated by lining it all up
alphabetically
according to weight. The actual M series number is assigned
by counting all
indentations which face down. M-1 is the most used M series
number, which
by default, applies only to equipment that has no downward
facing surfaces.
G-series: (Ie: G741, G742, etc) Old method of numbering military
equipment. It was discontinued
when it was noticed that the numbers ran somewhat serially.
USA number: Hood numbers that hardly, if ever, begin with USA. Hood
numbers have no known purpose
other than making lumps under the paint which is used to
obscure them. A vehicle's age can be accurately
determined by color sanding all the layers of USA numbers
off, and counting the resultant growth rings.
Sprague unit: alternately sprag, sprag clutch, etc. Special device in
truck transfer cases which
permits truck wheels to spin and get stuck despite the
type of terrain. Rumored to
only work backwards. These expensive units were later
replaced by a small red light
and a short piece of rubber tubing.
Tow Pintle: Archaic term which applies to hook like weapon thingie at
rear of truck near where
trailer hooks on. Best known use is for smashing thumbs
into bloody pulp. Also known
as "cotter pin bending device".
Lunettes: Strange exotic line dancers found at USO clubs at fire
support bases.
Landing leg: Paratroopers know the answer to this one. You save one
leg for walking, and the other
gets to be your "landing leg".
Landing gear: That big canvas bag of stuff that you toss out of the
plane that always comes down just
after you do. (!!)
Pioneer Rack: small tool rack on mil vehicles. Name was chosen by write
in contest of students who were
seriously affected by radiation during the Manhattan
Project. It was purposely designed so that no matter
how the tools are installed in the rack, they're still
not correct.
Deuce and a half: large ugly truck that is made by sawing a dempsey
dumpster in half and welding it to
big jeep like cab. Somewhat like Citgo gas station
restrooms, these trucks are
made to be uncomfortable and are always painted nasty
colors to discourage loitering in them.
blackout drive light: Special light that is made to be shut off during
the day, and show no light at night.
Close inspection reveals that it actually
contains no bulbs, and is just used to confuse the enemy.
NDT: Normal Daylight Tires. Specially engineered to dig deep ruts into
muddy roads in tactical
front areas, thereby forcing all trailing trucks to follow ruts
thus saving huge amounts of fuel.
MOGAS: Contains mo gas than anything else.
AVGAS: British term: We 'av gas, governor! We don't 'av no gas,
governor! Became obsolete when someone first
said " we don't 'av no mogas, governor!
SMLE: Short Marine Littoral Engineers. These short fat buoyant little
troops came ashore first to clear away
tank traps and such. Think of them as high flotation SEALS.
Iggins Boat: Brit name for landing craft
CUCV: Army generals said "Give us a truck with NAPA part numbers, that
can even be driven by people who live south
of Maryland, that can be hosed out inside to get rid of the beer
smell, and has a name that sounds like some
kind of chicken. Just for kicks, give it a gas engine, but a
diesel fuel system.
Slave receptacle: Electrical plug on vehicle that is redesigned from
time to time so that none of the cables will fit.
These are designed by the Department of the Army's
"Electrical PLug Mutation Group", at Fort Bradely
In American Samoa, where there is no electricity.
This is the same component that produced those
ubiquitous dashboard plugs that nothing fit into.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat May 07 2005 - 20:43:23 PDT