New to the board-New M151A2 owner.

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63DH8
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New to the board-New M151A2 owner.

Post by 63DH8 » Tue Apr 05, 2016 4:11 am

A short intro... I served eight years in the US Army. From 83-91. I served in the 3rd battalion, 3rd field artillery regiment in the 2nd Armored Division at Ft Hood from 84-85. I did a co-hart rotation with the Artillery Battery to the 4th Battlion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment to the 2nd Armored Division (forward element) Tiger Brigade from 85-86. I was an Artillery mechanic and recovery crewman in the 2AD. My experience with M-151s is very limited.

I ended up with a compassionate reassignment to Ft Lewis to a company who's duties included running the cannibalization point. We ended up being involved with decommissioning the jeeps for the region. There was a month where we took the jeeps to the railhead to send off to get retrofitted for deportation to other countries, and for storage for our military's future use. I wanted one of those jeeps BAD!!!

This last Thursday, I went into a military surplus store across the interstate from Ft Lewis. I know the owner, and hadn't seen him for years. I asked if he was interested in selling his M151A2 sitting behind his store. He said he has one hell of a deal for the right person. Then he asked what I wanted to do with it. I replied that I wanted to return operator level running until I get my shop built on my property, then I want to restore it. He asked if $2,500 was a figure I could work with. I shook his hand and returned with the money.

The story behind the 151 is a customer asked if he could find one for him. After bringing it down from Canada, he called his customer to tell him that it's ready for him. A month passed, then he gets a phone call informing him that his customer passed away. It's been sitting for about 15 years. It's not a reweld. It's fairly straight and complete. He said he has extra parts and a spare soft top, and possibly a hard top for it he'll toss in. There's no rips in the seats, and two minor tears in the top. He drained the coolant to preserve the block against freezing. I checked the oil, and it looked almost new, and smelled slightly used. No contamination seen. I'm going to have the fuel tank flushed or replaced before putting any fuel in it. Ditto with the radiator.

The question I have is about the vin number. I've read where the vin number is supposed to be on a ID plate, on the spare tire mount, and/or a tag on the transmission hump. Another location mentioned is on the firewall. The question I have is, are these numbers the complete VIN numbers?


Rickf
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Re: New to the board-New M151A2 owner.

Post by Rickf » Tue Apr 05, 2016 8:08 am

There is no VIN number on an M-151. They never were assigned a VIN from the factory, the only numbers from the factory were body build numbers. The sequential number you are thinking about would be on the data plate that would have been attached to the dash and those numbers were assigned by the military, not the factory. If the plate is gone then so are the numbers unless they are still painted on the vehicle. 1970- early 1972 would have been made by Ford and the Budd body tag would be under the hood centered directly over the valve cover on the cowl. It would not have side drains on the body for the floors. Later A2's were made by AMG and they had scuppers in the sides at the front of the front floor area. The body tag on these is on the transmission tunnel on the drivers side about where your right ankle would be when driving and behind the lines that are there. Not far up from the bend . It will probably be covered by several layers of paint and hard to see ad it will be quite fragile so do NOT sand it. Paint remover only, I use DOT 3 brake fluid and let it sit on there for a while and then brush it with a stiff bristle nylon brush or an old tooth brush.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

63DH8
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Re: New to the board-New M151A2 owner.

Post by 63DH8 » Tue Apr 05, 2016 9:13 am

Thanks much Rick! Is that the number the DOT asks for when they ask for the VIN number?

Rickf
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Re: New to the board-New M151A2 owner.

Post by Rickf » Tue Apr 05, 2016 10:21 am

Not usually, does this thing have a title? If not then you may have a rough road ahead. some states are easy and some states are impossible. (mine, NJ) The best way to find out is to call the state DMV office and ask. You will get a hundred people telling you a hundred things on here but only one thing counts, what the DMV in your state tells you.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

63DH8
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Location: Parkland, Washington

Re: New to the board-New M151A2 owner.

Post by 63DH8 » Tue Apr 05, 2016 11:17 am

Thanks much Rick. I'll run it by the state patrol inspection station as well. If I'm going to stir things up, I may as well do a thourgh job. ;)

63DH8
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Re: New to the board-New M151A2 owner.

Post by 63DH8 » Sat Apr 09, 2016 12:10 pm

Update:

The 151 has the scuppers on the sides. If there was a tag or data plate on the side of the transmission hump, it's either missing or covered with many layers of paint. I'll brush it with brake fluid as soon as I get a little time. The only data plates are on the side of the engine and behind the passenger seat. The only information on the data plate behind the seat are vehicle dimensions. The data plate on the side of the engine says:
Serial Number: 5027440
Ord Part Number: 11613729
Contract Number: DAAE07-71-C-0103

I'm trailer her home on Monday. Someone suggested pulling the freeze plugs to flush the engine. Is there anyone I need to watch out for during the flushing? Is a power washer the thing to use, or should I use a garden hose?

Fil Bonica
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Re: New to the board-New M151A2 owner.

Post by Fil Bonica » Sat Apr 09, 2016 2:23 pm

You would be well served performing a complete checkover of the entire engine.
Turn over by hand , see if valve train is functioning check compression , examine oil , check all
Fuel lines , carb distributor, wires and plugs ,radiator water pump and hoses
The engines in generally very reliable but are touchy after long periods of sitting.
Sounds like a big task but it will pay off in the end.
Unfortunate that we werent closer would like to resurrect another beast!

Fil Bonica

63DH8
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Re: New to the board-New M151A2 owner.

Post by 63DH8 » Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:20 pm

Roger on the 10-20 level maintenance checks. I don't want her damaged before I start working on her. I visited the 151 today to ask the previous owner if he had importation papers or anything that I could use to license her. Unfortunately, he wasn't at the store. I took a bunch of pictures of where numbers should be, but it's a no-go. No number or ID plates anywheres (spare tire holder, under the fuel line along the transmission hump; particularly next to the hold down clip, no data plate on the dash, and no data plate on the firewall. I'm hoping the previous owner has some kind of paperwork that'll allow me to license her.


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