Glad to meet another 715 owner. When you say "any advice" it leaves a lot
open to speculation. Anyway, I can give you some general overview of the
trucks.
First, $4800 for a original, running, and RUST FREE truck is not a bad price,
it would be especially good if it had a stock LU4 winch. There was only
30,000 of these beasts made and they are getting harder to come by all the
time.
Second, check the bottom of the cowl vent area, up under the dash in the
corners where it meets the vertical part of the interior cab skin. These
joints are caulked and there is the most common rust area. Another bad spot
is the firewall. Both of these areas are caused by dirt, pine needles,
leaves, etc.. getting into the cowl vent area and then collecting water. The
rust starts from the inside and when you can see it from the outside, it is
already advanced inside. Also, the cab sills rust as well as the door bottoms
and such.
The stock Jeep Tornado 230 6 cyl engine on these trucks in the weakest point.
These are engines that were too far ahead of their time and they gave owners
alot of trouble. In fact, Kaiser only offered them for 3 years to the
civilian market. They are prone to top end failure and are expensive and
complicated to work on. They also require a lot of special tools for major
work.
Another thing to look for is stress cracks in the hood and doors. These are
common, and usually the hood will crack down the middle starting at the front
center point. This is due to the manner in which the hood is secured. The
doors crack at the top center area, both inside and out.
If you are going to restore a 715, grab the parts you think you will need as
soon as you can. They are hard to get parts for when compared to M37's,
Jeeps, etc.. and the stocks of parts are drying up fast. For non stock use,
consider a 350 Chev engine conversion, which is relatively easy, and adds
much more power and reliability to the truck. Power steering, brakes, etc..
are all easy to do as well.
Will be happy to answer specific questions you may have and wish you luck.
Erik Timothy
Federal Way, WA
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