I bought the CHEAPEST Army truck I could find, Will It Run??? (Deuce and a Half)

Hey Matt I know a lot about these trucks, the idle issue is usually the fuel shutoff valve stuck or the rod isn’t adjusted or the spring on it. There’s an o ring on the fuel shutoff valve that can leak and suck air too. Another issue is the fuel density compensator, they get stuck and don’t meter the thinness or thickness of whatever fuel is in it. Especially if someone runs used oil mixed with diesel or gas, it’ll gum up quick. You might wanna consider draining the tank and flushing it and flushing the fuel system with just straight diesel and only run straight diesel. The fuel tank also has an electric fuel pump that comes on with the main power switch, it looked to be working in the video. There’s a fuel filter i think around the alternator area and the 2 you bled, those fuel filters look like spooled yarn haha, but might wanna change the filters also. They also make a conversion to put spin on filters on it but it’s cooler to be original but that’s an option. Same with the oil filters. Make sure you replace the o rings for the oil filters if you change them, they will leak bad. A few issues on those trucks I know of, the oil cooler housing is known for pitting out inside mainly on the top where the coolant enters the housing, it wears the housing out and leaks, it’s made of a pot metal too. That happened to mine. The brake system uses dot 5 silicone based brake fluid, only use that. The master cylinder is under the drivers side floor board under a little door on the floor. The best way to bleed that system is pressurize it, I use a pvc pipe with a hose coming off and a homemade cap connected to it, fill the pipe with brake fluid and install cap, connect regulated air and push like 12 psi and it’ll force pressure with the brake fluid and you can bleed and refill at the same time. The rubber boots on the steering axle are another issue, check those they go bad over time and crack and rot. The transmission is a 5 speed spicer transmission. The radiators are junk in those trucks, I’ve never seen one not leak, best to take to a radiator shop and resolder tanks and all. A few more tips, the left wheels are left hand thread, yeah those dipsticks are threaded kinda weird but it works, they’re great trucks and will go anywhere, they’re so low geared they’ll climb a wall with 5 tons behind it, they also have a pto winch for the front on some trucks, I think you can convert it to that if you want. You can also convert it power steering if you want. On the front there’s a little fixture below the lights, that’s blackout light, it only emits enough light to see barely to get where your going to be stealthy and not shine big headlights, I think the same for the rear taillights have a small light in them. Thanks for the videos, can’t wait to see what you do with it.

Huge respect to the engineer that designed the dip stick to not pop out under battle conditions AND made it so it is not damaged when a newbie goes and tries to pry it out with a crowbar.

I still have the Army drivers license from 1968 for this truck. It was a beast I loved to drive, very rugged and reliable. This model was commissioned in 1950 as successor to the wartime GMC CCKW. During a Reforger maneuver here in Germany in the middle of nowhere the V-belt ripped off. With a rope and some duct tape as a makeshift belt we made it back to camp. During one of my transportation assignments I got pulled over by the MPs for a roadside check. My unit later awarded me a plaque and an off-duty day for passing the inspection 100% flawlessly. The recommendation plaque still adorns my wall.

Congratulations on the army truck and the channel growth, Matt! Both well deserved!

DEFINITELY want to see an update on this. See how your engine runs after looking into the fuel system, and the brakes of course. I do love me some Deuce and a Half. Hopefully one of these days I might get one.

Beautiful Deuce. There was one of these abandoned at a small Army outpost up here in the Santa Cruz Mountains (thought they finally cleaned up that site and removed the truck about 15 to 20 years ago). There's still a bunch of abandoned military buildings and concrete buildings/ foundations hidden in the forest and barbed wire and chain link fences around the site (which was called Peanut Hill), and was a support site for Nike Missile Bases and other Military infrastructure (communications and Radar/ Microwave sites) during WWII in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Matt, I spent nearly 20 of my 32 years in the Army around these. Although I was not a mechanic I did have an HHC and was signed for 10 of them. And again as a Battalion Motor Officer. And, of course, when I retired from the Army I bought one, because they are useful and very, very durable...if you know what to do, as they are different than most modern vehicles. So, yours *might* be a REO, but it is not a 1953. In 1953 there were still M135s. The M35s hadn't been fielded yet, and they were all 427 C.I. gas engines. In the 1960's they came out with the first LDS465 Engines in the M35a1s, followed a couple of years later with the addition of a turbo to clean up the coke from the exhaust (LDT465) in the M35a2's. A data plate on the passenger side of the engine, towards the front will tell you which engine you have. But it sounds like an LDT465C, a.k.a. "The Whistler". The year can be tricky because power packs and transfer cases were changed out regularly. Also, don't believe the mileage. When a speedometer broke they would replace it. No one would set the miles on the new one most of the time. So, the first place to look is on the data plate just to the left of the glove box. The top line will be the stock number. The bottom line will be the contract number. In the middle there will be a registration number and a serial number, that may be displayed on one line separated by a space, or it may be on two lines. One of the numbers will probably be 6 or 7 characters, and alphanumeric. That's the registration number. The other will be 9-13 numbers and is the serial number. The contract number line should say who manufactured it. If it is REO then it was likely a 1950's vehicle. Some did get updated to the LDT 465 in later decades. If it was built in the late 60s-70s, then it is probably a Kaiser Jeep. Kaiser Jeep was spun off to AM General in the Chrysler bankruptcy, I believe. So beginning in the late 70's through the last contract in 1987 they were made by AM General. For the Kaiser Jeep and REO vehicles you *might* be able to put in the combination of the registration ID and the Serial number into a VIN decoder. Usually the Kaiser-Jeep vehicles had a 7-digit Registration number, and the last two digits were the year. In the AM General Vehicles (which were made in the same plant as the Jeeps, just under different management) the first two digits are the year. For instance my Deuce's Registration Number is 83K658. 1983 was the year it was made. Now, cab data plates often were broken or illegible. So if it doesn't look old, its not. But you can look on the drivers side of the frame near the front wheel. The number will likely be buried under paint. And you can check the axles. Each will have its own data plate with the registration number and serial number on the front of the front pumpkin or the back of the back two.
Sorry to be long winded, but I'm going to make some hard recommendations right off the bat in priority: 1) Check and replace your soft brake lines for all three axles if they look anything less than new. Its not worth guessing if they *might* be old. 2) Bleed out all the brake fluid. People will add DOT 3. But there will have been DOT 5 from the military. STRONGLY recommend you just bleed out all of what's there and replace with DOT 5. They're not compatible. 3) Bypass your FDC. It is a wearable part that was not maintained after 1995 or so. When the seals go it will leak diesel into the engine oil. Bypass is a 15-minute job. I can send you instructions if you like. 4) Replace soft fuel lines from high pressure pump on the side of the Injection Pump just below the Hydraulic Head to the secondary filters, to the hydraulic head. This is best done when bypassing the FDC. The function of the FDC was to modulate fuel so that the engine would have similar power with any of the fuels, though all but jet fuel had less energy than the diesel. It is still a multi-fuel without it. The multi-fuel part is in the design of the piston cup and compression ratio ... 22:1. 5) Re-pack your axle hubs. The Army uses "Grease, Army-Artillery" or GAA. It is animal fat. It goes rancid and should be replaced annually. Do yourself a favor and just buy a 5-gallon pail of a good moly-lithium heavy duty bearing grease, and re-pack them all. Those are most of the out-of-the-gate "Must Do's". Your radiator is separating from vibration. Just solder it back on. But under it you will find a couple of very flattened square rubber pads. If they were still good your radiator would not be coming apart. You can buy new ones cheap from BigMikesMotorpool.com. If you want to know how to do anything else, just contact me and ask. If you give these trucks any love at all, they will outlive you.

Hey Matt don't forget to check the flexible brake hoses right behind the front wheels. They come loose and rub against the inner wheel hub . There was an MWO in early the late 70's where the original brake hoses were too short and they were replaced with longer ones.

We had a lot of these in the Norwegian Army as well. They were retired late 80s / early 90s, some then were painted white in UN colors and shipped to Africa. Others were sold to private hands. Not uncommon to find these used as a farm truck in Norway. I heard they would run on almost any fuel. Thanks for the video!

This really took me back! I was Army 75 -78 and Army Reserve 80-86. I was never in combat so I had a lot of fun driving Deuce and a halfs.

More of these, yes please! Can't wait to see you tackle one in the dead of winter inside your heated shop. How great will that be, especially with the crane to move heavy stuff around.

Thanks for the video, Being a mechanic in the ARMY and working on them over 30 yrs ago. this took me back and I was glad i could remember what was needed and what was wrong. Thanks from an old 63 B

My father was in the US Army Transportation Corp. In 1957 he went on a mission above the Arctic Circle to supply "The DEW Line" He said that from the time they left the LST to when they departed three weeks later, they were never turned off once. He said that if he had a choice between the the Deuce or a Weasel, he would take the truck because... It could outrun the bears.

Hi Matt. I am thinking that looks like one of the 2.5 tons we had in a Care-In-Storage unit at Camp Hansen, Okinawa in 1973. I don't believe they could have been older than 10 years at that time. I worked accepting TERO's (Tactical Equipment Repair Orders) for repairs on these trucks in a Maintenance shop a couple years later and I do not remember any manufacturing dates - course my memory is getting fuzzy on some of the details. The units would give us all the paperwork they had just in case we "Code-H'd" the truck or they were given a replacement from storage, which the repaired truck would then return to. For example, a unit going on float might get a replacement so they would not be short the truck. Code H meant it was beyond repair to our unit and it would be stripped of useful parts and be sent to a salvage site - for example we had a 5 Ton tractor and trailer take a nose dive off of a Japanese bridge and the tractor and trailer both had bent frames.

It's brilliant ! Congratulations Matt. A great example of American military history. Thanks a lot. Colin UK 🇬🇧

Love seeing people bring older military trucks and vehicles back to life. Great job and look forward to seeing more.

When you lifted the canvass to see the bed, I flashed back to sitting on the left bench of this model truck on my first day in the Army in February, 1967. A drill sergeant put his face into the face of the recruit next to me and screamed at him louder than I have ever heard coming from a human being. He was as close to my right ear as he was to the face of the recruit. I jumped out of my skin!

Ive also done the battery terminal seating the way you do for years without issue as well. Don't forget to keep some roofing nails around in case one of the terminals is loose that way you can drive it in between the lead and terminal ring to take up slack. That should get you lots of comments too lol

I have an M35a2. It’s an amazing vehicle to say the least. I have the C-turbo (whistler).
When I was going through my divorce I was daily driving it for a long time before I could afford a car.
When I was really hard up I ran it on 100% waste motor oil. People told me it would hurt it running waste oil but I never had a problem. The truck still runs great to this day. You will definitely have some fun with it.
Remember a M35 won’t get you anywhere fast but it will always get you there.

Old diesels had a fuel cut off to shut them down. I’d check that out since you aren’t getting any fuel on crank also.
She sounds phenomenal!! Hope to see more of the General Patton!!
Also you can add a hoist under the bed for dumping capabilities. The list of what to do could be endless. Such a great vehicle on the property

Awesome find, awesome truck and awesome video! I love the sound of that diesel. Thanks for your videos, Matt.

My first Army MOS was 63H, and I spent several years pulling these beasts apart and rebuilding them. Gotta love that LDS 465 motor!

There is nothing, quite as infectious as Matt’s enthusiasm!!!
Keep up the great content.

I love your posts and how thorough you are. You have lots of knowledge. Your father has to be extremely proud of you!

Hey Matt, great video, and welcome to deuce ownership I've got one over here in the U.K. try taking the fuel shut off cover off of the side of the injection pump. There is a small lever under it that should move freely from side to side,they tend to get gummed up when they sit for a while this may be your problem. Try checking out steelsoldiers forum for advice, and they also have all the technical manuals on the site

Really enjoyed watching, man, this was authentic, I remember those days when U didn't know what the hell U were doin but had enough basics to eventually arrive at the results or close enough for satisfaction in order to get it all figured out! WTG man, loved it!

I can't tell you how many miles I've clocked riding in the back of the deuce and half in my US Army days. I would agree these things are essentially bulletproof. Thanks for sharing.

I love the sound of that engine. It brings back a lot of good memories.

Discovered your vids a couple weeks back and have watched quite a few since. You are vert good at what you do, and especially at putting the videos together. Great camera placement and editing. Makes a great show.
In my early 20's. fresh out of college I went to work in a commercial boat yard in Maine. The yard had a contract with Bath Iron Works, the company that built Navy destroyers and now builds guided missile frigates. They also overhauled numerous Navy ships. Those ships had small boats, 30 ft or so long, some bigger some smaller to take crewmen ashore when needed. We had the contract to rebuild all the diesels in those small boats. When we got one put together we would set it on blocks on the shop floor and start it up. Many of those engines were 4 and 6 cyl Continentals. To start it is nice to have 2 guys. One guy operates the starter and works the throttle. The other guy has the wrenches to open bleeders and injector lines. Once we got 3 injectors bled it would usually run and you could then get the others easy. I am 75 and of course you are much younger. Your legs can stand getting in and out of the truck lots more than mine can. But having another guy around when go to start one can save an awful lot of physical work. When you get older you will see what I mean! We also overhauled a few Waukesha 6 cyl engines too. I have a 1750 Cockshutt tractor, which is a 1750 Oliver in orange paint. It has a 90 HP six cylinder in it. All those old 6 cyl inlines were a pleasure to work with. I can run my tractor all day in a hay field, and do that a lot in the summer and everyone who has worked with me just loves the sound and how easy that tractor does it's work. There is a reason that many large truck engines today are 6 cyl inlines. That is a great design that can now develop tons more power than we ever dreamed of in 1970.
Keep up the great work, I love old machinery. They dont make them like that today. And keep on making those great videos.

Great memories!! I drove those in the Army from 75-82 I remember the multi fuel but seem to remember running gasoline only in these, we power shifted and drove em hard and as fast as we could get with the speed limiter. Thanks for the memories.

THIS is the kind of video that built this channel. Awesome old equipment being brought back from the dead. The excitement when it fired up! WOW Love it!

Absolutely love how the battery tray slides out. What a novel concept for any vehicle 🤯

Brings back memories. I was told I got one of the first of this model. We called it the whistler. It was around ‘63 in Schwabish Gmund Germany. I was in s4 (battalion supply) and drove it thousands of miles across Germany making pickups. It went through hip deep mud and 3’ of snow in the tank trails in Graff. Never let me down. But…there was no heater.

I LOVE your channel and this truck! When I was a teenager, a friend had a WWII halftrack. It could pull hell out by the roots! Have fun and keep us posted. 😁

Really enjoyed the video. I just restored a 1941 M2A1 Half Track. Funny how some of the dash and lighting looked very familiar to both the Half Track and the 1955 M38A1 Jeep I restored. Guess they found something that worked and stuck with it. I'm a newcomer to your channel and am really enjoying watching this old iron come back to life. Nothing beats the feeling!!!! Take care!!

Hey Matt, thanks for sharing! Those trucks brings back memories! Learned how to drive a stick on those. Very easy to work on overall. That fuel tank neck you looked into is removeable. It is actual the first "fuel filter" used to filter fuel that had junk in it. Once you remove it you basically can see into that whole tank. Just twist and pull. As for the air gage I was always told that you need a minimum of 90 lbs/psi for the brake drum to release. Also you really don't need that heater unless it is super cold because you are literally over the transmission which gives off a ton of heat. Thanks again for bringing back the good memories!

I drove the 2 1/2 in the early 70;s mostly in Europe during the Vietnam war,it was a very dependable vehicle. The sound of Matt running this deuce and a half made old memory’s that been locked up in my mind for 53 years come flooding back! Thanks Matt for the wonderful memories you unlocked!

Great story Matt! Thank you for sharing it and I’m looking forward to seeing more of that truck. I like the idea of putting a big winch on it.

Interesting truck you have there. I drove these in the army and in 1972 I bought 3 of these and turned them into tundra buggies. However ours were 1953 GM gas engines and they were automatic transmissions.

This is so cool! I used to drive one of those in the Canadian Military... Bringin' back some memories man! Would love to see more on it!

Hey Matt! Love the truck and noticed it had a Tooele army Depot sticker on the engine. Yeah that's in Northern Utah where they stored chemical and biological weapons until they were incinerated. Would love to have one of those trucks myself.

It's great that you buy one of these trucks and everyone is giving good advice and encouragement. There's always someone around who has spent a life time in the army fixing them. Have fun.

The most important thing to know about driving one of these offroad is to keep your fingers on the *outside* of the rim of the steering wheel. Since this doesn't have power steering like the 813 series 5-tons, if you hit a bump or a rock or something, the wheel can suddenly and forcefully turn and it will break your thumb if it's in the way.

I have been enjoying your videos Matt. Thanks and keep up the great work. I was in the Navy stationed in Iceland in the early 80's working with the Seabees in the phone and cable TV shop. We would need to use a 4 wheel drive end loader set up as a forklift on occasion. (I remember one of your other videos strolling through Ritche brothers yard and seeing one). They are nice with a automatic transmission, 2 and 4 wheel steering and could crab walk as well. We had a basket that we would put a couple of people into to work on phone lines above when the forklift would pick it up and move it into position. Normally you would use a bucket truck, but there were only two of those and the power shop had priority on those, so this was the next best thing they came up with. We also used it to pull large trunk lines since you could ride the brakes and creep with the automatic transmission. At any rate, the forklift was equipped with a ether can much like this truck where you just pushed a button inside the cab to use it. I know several pieces of equipment they had in the yard had built in stuff like that. Extremely handy for sure.

23.5 years in the Army and rode or drove a 2 1/2 a lot of miles. Never had that sort of a problem. I always liked a 5 ton over the 2 1/2. Even like a 20 ton dragon wagon. The old jeep M 151 was a lot of fun. Actually the M 109 with a 10k generator in tow was my favorite to take out for a field exercise. Now in Nam I liked taking either an M88 or M113 to be safer and to make the enemy a little nervous!!

Can’t wait to see more on this truck !

This would be the ultimate overland vehicle if updated/modeled accordingly. Excellent video

My duece and a half from 85-87 was C-416 with a box of parts on the back and a trailer of parts behind it. It was fun to drive. When I wasn't in convoy I would use the throttle lock lever on the dash for cruise control. I learned to back a trailer in that truck when my Chief yelled at me to 'chase that mf' and it all just clicked. Good memories.

Don’t park it in the woods Matt, come springtime you’ll never find it 😲🍻

I bought a 1966 deuce recently myself. Remember to use DOT 5 brake fluid. I’d drain all that old fuel too. Just ordered two oil and three fuel filters for mine. 22 quarts of oil required. The small primary fuel filter looks like a pain to change. You have to pull the alternator out of the way. Good luck with your deuce. Mine has a 900 gallon water tank and pump making it an awesome off-road fire truck.

The sound is epic, totally what a military truck should sound like with the diesel turbo whistle!

Matt, I love it too! 1972, I joined the army and was sent to Germany. I wasn't in country for a month and the Army assigned me to this truck. I was 19 and they let me drive this truck all over Germany, even autobahns. When I graduated high school, the only thing I drove was my Mom's old Toyota Corolla. Thanks for the memories.

Cool truck!!! When you said "fuel density compensator", I immediately imagined a big old thick book for maintenance and calibration - scary! Ever heard of the "deuce and a quarter"? I worked with a guy that drove one. It was a mid to late 70's Buick Electra 225! Very popular amongst the used luxury car crowd back in the day.

Nice truck, would love to see a full restore

Matt I can't imagine how busy you are right now with the new building going up and everything else you've got going on and you still manage to put out some great content for us to enjoy . Those of us who always look forward to your videos appreciate you brother.

What an awesome sound, engine sounds healthy. Good buy sir.

I used to work on those in the army. They are unstoppable! I also drove a lot of miles in one. Oh my aching back. I love those trucks

Great video. First time I've come across your videos. I drove deuce and a halfs and 5 tons. Tags on most were from the mid to late sixties. I joined in 1980 to the late '80s when they phased them out. Drove many trips from Camp Pendleton to Twentynine Palms traveling with troops pulling equipment At 45 mph. I've Loved These trucks ever since for seeing them in the early sixties.
I still love these trucks. I was kind of cloudy trying to remember maintenance on these as I've been thinking about getting another one. But your video was very clear easy to follow and brought back many memories.. I will be following your Channel to see how it goes.

When you get a chance take a look at the Wiring Harness where it comes out of the main light switch ,I found a few where the Insulation would crack and short out on the switch housing and knock out the lights. I worked on a lot of these trucks in the Army and National Guard.

Hey Matt, more on this deuce and a half please. Been loving all your content since I found your channel but we're up to date now and looking forward to more on this one.

I drove and worked on those for the fire dept I was with. We had two that were water tenders. The biggest problem I had with them was fuel contamination. I suggest draining the fuel tanks and looking inside to make sure there is no corrosion. If there is there are several fuel tank interior coatings and it would be to your advantage to do that. I put dual fuel filters and a water Seperator on ours and that took care of a lot of problems. You got a very nice truck in great condition. I had a chuckle with you yanking on the oil dip stick, I did the same thing the first time I changed oil, like the first time I was told to gas up a 55 Cadilac when I worked at a gas station and couldn't find the gas filler. Check the fuel filters, always have extra filters in the cab. All the manuals are available on line also.

I had a 1945 and a 1944 GMC CCKW deuce and a half nearly 50 years ago. WW2 surplus. They were fun in many ways and yours brings back good memories. But they were basically fuel destroyers even then and replacing tires were expensive. I had relatives who drove them in the Red Ball Express during the war. Wish I had kept one, but a local collector could and did restore them better than I could and it is good to see them in parades. Feels good to have played a small part in their preservation and restoration.

Awesome truck. Look forward to more videos on this one. I love all your videos. Thanks for your work on these. Happy New Year.

I drove those whislein duce and 1/2 trucks on maneuvers many times and loved that turbo sounding off. I remember having issues with the brakes was always a leaky air line or the hydrovack valve. That truck will amaze you in the rough areas low range 1st gear 6 wheel drive at idle it will climb a rock pile. Keep posting about it .

We used to call them 'multi-fuel dragster'. Your video brought back some memories. They were great to drive.

Awesome Deuce! I would love to see more on these vehicles.

We had these trucks in the Greek Army back in 1988 🙂 They are undead! I believe some of them are still in use today. Cheers for the video!

You know the sound of the super charger has always been music to my ears. I drove one while I served in the US Army. I also had a 5 ton M181. With a super charger on it.
And while out driving and something went wrong, if there was no one around, we used to put a rock on the accelerator to keep it running.
Love the sound of the engine.

To Matt, Austin Borow, and all the Deuce and a Half experts. Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to you all from England. What a great response to just another old truck Matt tried to save, .... WHAT! ... How dare you, that's not just a 'some other old truck'... Still great to read all your contributions about a very special 'four wheel friend', such passion and obvious enjoyment. Found your comments very inspiring at a difficult time, and Christmas can be a very difficult time for many people. Thank you all, have a great 2023

I just love how it sounds!!!! That's how a truck should sound!!!

I've only watched 3 of your videos. Happy to say I am hooked. Lots of fun to watch, you truly know you machines, thank you,

That was a great truck. Go anywhere, haul and tow everything, tough as hell and easy to work on.

Helped a friend move his a while back, I remember his girlfriend at the time was concerned that we would get going too fast and get a massive speeding ticket. We had to explain that the only way that the truck could break the speed limit was if it fell out of a plane and even then the headwind it would have might shave the speed a little.
He sold it to a guy that offered five times what it was worth plus a four door square body Chevy. The part of that trade deal that makes me laugh is how much those old square body trucks are going for now.

keep finding and resurrecting them Matt, love all your videos, Randy a retired Pa.- Fl.
farmer/heavy equipment operator heavy/highway/golf coarse housing development /clearing and underground

The truck caught my eye, but the PA plate kept me here. Always love to see the hills of home. Been living overseas for 20+ years, haven't been home since Xmas 2006. Great to see these kinds of vids. Best of luck!

I always wanted 1 like that. Move the tandens forward for little easier turning ability, good updated heater system, good hyd winch that would handle it, FM sound system, street legal, just maybe a cab roll cage for cool looking & just incase. Turn it into a winter driveway snow plow/ fall & spring hunting & trout fishing, General Fun Tough Tk. A scratch or dent? No problem.
I am jealous now.

Man I love how excited you get when an engine fires up. Hell I get exited with you. Lol

Excellent video; love watching you bring this (old?) Vet back to life.

A piece of advice on something to look at is the shutoff like you said but if it doesn't move freely then you'll need to replace the o rings on that shaft in the pump. I have an AM General m35A2 and had the same problem with the loping and not wanting to start. Also that truck should have an electric fuel pump in the tank to prime the system. Hope this helps

I believe every vehicle should be loaded with data plates like this instead of vague minimal stickers.

Matt, your smile when it started was worth the price of the truck. This truck is your early Christmas present to yourself. Blessings to you.

Matt, thank you for sharing it brings back so many memories the 2 1/2 ton work truck.

I just stumbled on your channel and am now subscribed. Thoroughly enjoyed your solving process.

What a gem for 3K. Looks like you won't have to do too much to it except maybe cosmetic. Thanks for sharing.

It is likely a '53. Remember your revision is an "M35 A2". That means that it has the second revision with updates. In the service I started with the M35 A3, which was a Cat turbo diesel, an Allison transmission and a CTIS tire system. You could actually see where they cut the hood down the middle and widened the hood to fit the new engine. I did have some A2's until they got updated later.

Awesome, sounds great! I’ve always wanted a deuce and a half also, someday when I have space ;-)

I spent a great deal of quality time in the back of a duece & 1/2 booming around ranges on Ft Lewis. Just the smell of the canvas in back is really awesome. Our first shirt got our deuce unstuck in 2.5 feet of snow & mud by putting it in 6x6 and out we went. They’re loud, cranky but a good time all around. We had to start all the trucks at the same second in case we were being ‘observed’.

Great video, you lucky dog! I've always wanted a deus and a half (drove them on Navy active duty!) You take good care of the beast!

Brings back many fond memories (and a few not so fond) memories behind the wheel of these unstoppable beasts. Great find you have there...

Drove one of those 85-90. Great video! Brought back memories. And yeah, we used to tap the battery terminals the same way.

I am not a mechanic but enjoy watching you troubleshoot the old equipment. Never too old to learn something about engines. Thanks.

I worked on them in an armored unit in the ‘60s. Used to put M60a3 engines in them. They weigh 5 tons.

Love this... my dad and his hunting buddy bought a duce and a half 50 years ago when I was 15. They bought it to go moose hunting in Northern 0ntario Canada. The trips we would take to the end of the old logging roads we wouldn't see another hunter for 10 days. Those trips will be with me till I die. Have fun brother

Love your work Matt , great channel

Jealous! I have always wanted one of these, don't know if I'll ever get the opportunity, but at least I can live vicariously through your channel :D

I used to drive these back in 1977 and they are fun to drive . You can take them any where and they keep on going and going . They were not the fastest but dependable . like a good woman . I would love to be able to drive one of them again , what a TRUCK ! Hope that you have fun with it !

Always love to see you stick your head out and laugh and smile when you finally get those engines to start. Love watching you work!

Beautiful truck Matt I've always wanted to get me one but could never afford it

I bought my Duse in 09 all on the road and now having breaks sticking. I also am looking for a good tire for a steer . I'm hoping to have it going for the veterans day parade.looking forward to seeing your next video on your truck. Also you have a electronic fuel pump I don't think you had to keep cranking it over.

Never drove one but always so glad to see them pull up with chow on board. Than and grasping my M-14 as me and a squad of soldiers moved down the road, not having to walk or double time to the rifle range. Nice video.