Military Vehicles, January 1997,: Rewelding of cut M151 bodies (was: M151-series body drawings,

Rewelding of cut M151 bodies (was: M151-series body drawings,

Hanno Spoelstra (H.L.Spoelstra@wbmt.tudelft.nl)
Wed, 8 Jan 1997 13:35:08 +0100

At 09:35 PM 1/7/97 EST, you wrote:
>Yes, all manner of cut bodies have been rewelded. I, myself, have done 4
>that were 1/2 cut through the door ways. I have seen guys weld 1/4 cut
>bodies, best done by using 2 jeeps so you can overlap parts when making
>1. I still have 20 half cuts from my last contract but the government
>realized they could be rewelded, so they kept my rear halves. I only have
>from the dash forward.
>Getting correct dimensions isn't too bad depending where the cut is. Best
>1/2 cut is inside the battery box and fuel tank well. You can use the
>seat frames to check distance and most of the welding is hidden.
>Yes, it is possible and if you can get good parts, it's not as hard as it
>looks. I've got a "BBQ spit" I can mount the tacked together body on and
>rotate to finish welding and body work. Neat!
>Daryl

>From the input I've received I understand "everybody" simply lines up a
front and rear end, and rewelds them. Sounds too simple to be true, but
apparently it can be done that easily as I haven't heard otherwise.
Undoubtedly, someone would have developed some sort of replacement middle
section for the M151 otherwise.

So Daryl, if I buy 20 rear ends, we could fire up your Mutt-BBQ and get a
production line rolling :-)

Thanks,
Hanno Spoelstra <H.L.Spoelstra@WbMt.TUDelft.NL>
Bloemndaal, The Netherlands

P.S.: Back in '84 a Dutch MV dealer had at least seven BRAND NEW M151A2
bodies, and a yard full of cut ones. These bodies must have slipped through
somewhere, as he never had another shipment in. Later I heard he sold these
bodies for at least US$ 5,000 each.
Hanno Spoelstra <H.L.Spoelstra@WbMt.TUDelft.NL>
Bloemendaal, The Netherlands