Thanks to all of you who answered my previous question regarding the serial
number/year of the deuce I got from DRMO Great Lakes. When my two friends
and I went there to get it on Friday, they basically didn't care what year I
wanted put on the SF97 so I went with '71 based on the S/N.
Anyway, many of you that answered wanted to know how things went during the
trip, so I'm posting this to the whole list.
The deuce came up for bid in a national sale that opened on Aug 4. I
actually got a chance to look at it about six weeks before that while I was
picking up a trailer I had won on a local sale, and being from Michigan
about 300 miles away I took a few minutes to look around the yard. Lesson 1:
Take LOTS of notes. I was in a hurry to get back on the road and about the
only thing I wrote down was the S/N and a scribble or two about the general
condition, like 'has hard top' and 'has canvas.' By the time the sale came
up, I couldn't remember if it had a heater or not or even what condition the
tires were in. I even went out and bought a lug wrench and safety triangles
(reflectors.) When I picked it up it already had a set of triangles and TWO
lug wrenches!
So, I get in and take a look around. Someone left the lights on. No problem,
we brought new batteries. Except the guy in the yard wouldn't let us change
them. He insisted on push starting it with a forklift. Fine, it's his yard.
6 tries later it still wouldn't start and now half the CARC was missing from
the front bumper and the tailgate. So then he says he'll just pull another
deuce around and start it with a slave cable, which would have been nice in
the first place. We hook it up, crank for five seconds, and it starts and
runs fine. For about five minutes. Now it cranks but won't start. Fill with
fuel, bleed all the lines, empty all the sediment traps (lots of rust,
water, and dirt.) Starts right up and purrs like the proverbial kitten.
Checked all the fluids, filled the tires, swapped a dryrotted one, checked
the lights (all except BO headlight OK,) and then hit the freeway after a
quick drive up the road to check steering, brakes, etc.
About 150 miles into the trip, just when it's getting dark, the ammeter
starts showing discharge. We debate for several miles whether or not to
stop, and then we come upon a huge truckstop off of I-94. We stop and pop
the hood to find one alternator belt gone and the other so loose it's
useless. Luckily, the truckstop has a parts department and belts that fit.
Now the batteries are dead. Out come the jumper cables and new batteries
(The battery hold down bolts were so rusty, we didn't want to chance
breaking them so we just jump-started it.)
The rest of the trip home was uneventful, save for the rutted right lane of
I-94 and the bucking-bronco ride of Michigan roads. We left home at about
04:30 Friday and finally got back about 00:30 Saturday, with major fatigue
affecting us by the time we got back. Then I still had to drive my friend
home some 40 minutes away so he can get up for National Guard duty a few
hours later. Ironically, his unit is moving to an armory some 30 miles away,
and he gets to drive a 5-Ton the rest of the weekend!
I'd like to thank all those on the list for providing suggestions, support,
and tales of lessons learned. Although I got off to an unprepared start,
your help is really what got us home happy and in one piece. And perhaps
this story will help the next person that is contemplating an adventure into
the HMV world.
Thanks again,
Jay
'71 M35A2
'65 M105A2
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
===
To unsubscribe from the mil-veh mailing list, send the single word
UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of a message to <mil-veh-request@skylee.com>.