? about a 1952 m135, what to look for

[newbe]

Hi All
I have a chance to buy a 1952 M135 with the gm motor and winch. Every thing look like it is there except for the front drive shaft. The owner says the drive shaft is in the back box.
The owner of this truck own a junk yard that he is cleaning out. He siad he bought it from a local county and drove it to his site. Of course i do not know how long that was. He had plans on making it a drag line truck and said he has a title to it.

Like i said everything looks to be there except for the front drive shaft.
My question are:
1: how much would a person pay for something like this?
2: are parts hard to find?
3: will towing this truck hurt it in any way? I live just 4 miles away from it.
4: i think these trucks have air over hydraulic brakes. If this is true will i have brakes if i tow it with the motor not running?
5: is it still posible to get an ownes manual for it?
6: if anyone has any informantion about these trucks i would like to here it.


My plans would be to gradualy restore this truck back to its original condition.

I should mention that the guy wants 1000 dollars for it.

Thanks In advance
Newbe.

[m38madness]

These trucks have a bad rep because of the automatic trans. dont let that turn you away. My Dad has a m211 and they are a joy to drive as long as every thing is kept it tip top cond. do you have any pics as that would aid in judging the price.

[David_4x4]

Only problem I've had was finding a transmission for mine. And that has now been resolved, hopefully.

From what I've seen everything else is pretty cheap.

I got my truck for free, so I guess I also could have a different perspective on price also.

[newbe]

I will try to get some pictures tomorrow.
I stopped and looked at the truck again tonight. It sure looks tempting.
The through of having 6 wheel drive, a winch, and be able to carry 2.5 tons across country sound like fun.
Although i do not believe i would every have a need for all those features.
But when my buddies come over and see that truck sitting in my garage, the look on there face would be priceless.

If i buy this thing i will more then likely have to tow it to my house. I live 4 miles from its current location.
will towing this truck hurt the tanny in any way?

Did the auto trannys have a clutch. This truck looks like it has a clutch pedal. If some-one has a picture of the brass tag inside the cab of the truck, could you please send me a pictue of it?

This truck has 3 levers below the seat. 2 are short, and one is longer and looks like a hand brake.
What do these 3 levers do?


Also if the truck is not running does it still have brakes?

does anyone have any pictures of there truck they would like to share?
If so my e-mail address is:
craj@butler_bremer.com
thanks in advance
Newbe.

[butch atkins]

from tm 9-8024,which yuou will need tooperate and drive this truck,when sitting in drivers seat look down between your feet,you will see two levers,the one on the right is for the transfer case,lift it up and let it drop all the way to the bottom of the slot in the control plate,yopu may have to pull vehicle slightly forward toget lever to drop ,DONT TRY TO FORCE LEVER DOWN YOU WILL BEND IT DOWN AND YOU WILL NEVER GET TRANSFER CASE OUT OF GEAR,this is how you tow the truck in gear to try to jump start it,get some one to pull truck slowly forward whiole you push down on the lever,i bent mine tried to straighten it and ended up breakig itputting it back in gear is also easier if you have some one pullig truck,its a large unsynchronised gear so it is a bit tricky to do,also when you use winch control leveryou have to take trans case out of gear,to use winch control lever ,but that is another story,get a tm 9-8024 manual ,its the only way to adjust all the tranny ,trans case ,and front wheel drive,and throttle linkages to work together all these are all in the tranny control tower,good luck

[newbe]

Hey
If i leave the right side lever at the top will i be able to tow this truck to my house with out hurting the tranny?

How does the automatic work? Does the automatic tranny have a clutch pedal?

The shifting lever feels alot like a 5 speed lever in a manual tranny. What i mean is the lever can be moved left to right as well as up and down.

Were can i find a copy of the tm 9-8024 manual either hard copy or electronic? I would prefer an electronic copy of the manual if i can find one.

THis truck has the GMC overhead valve 6 cylinder in it. any idea on how much horse power it is?

I can turn the motor a little by had by grabbing the belt and moving it. So the motor isn't stuck.

How about the winch controls. How does the one below the seat and the one on the winch itself work?

How do i tell if i have the automatic or manual tranny?

Once again thanks for the help.
Newbe

[Nick Bombini]

Here is what the automatic transmission shifter looks like.


Picture taken from http://1944willysmb.homestead.com/7.html


I assume the manual transmission would have a convenional shifter stick that goes all the way the the floor but I really don't know as I know nothing about these trucks. I had nothing to do so I decided to do a little of research on this.

Here is another picture from the same site.


I don't see a clutch pedal in this picture with the automatic transmission which makes sense as auto transmissions do not have clutch plates but work off of torque converters.

--Nick

[newbe]

Thanks Nick
After looking at the pictures you posted i can now see that the truck i am looking at has a manual tranny. That makes me feel a hole lot better. I have herd from everyone around me that the automatic tranny had its share of problems.

Hey Nick, do you have any more pictures of these trucks to share.


Has anyone had any experience with a m135 with a manual tranny?

Does anyone have any website of a duece and a half they would like to share?
And how about parts? Is there a website devoted to military parts?


Thanks In advance
Newbe.

[butch atkins]

again DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TOW TRUCK WITH OUT DISENGAGING TRANSFER CASE,if you cannot disengage trans case removethe 2 rear drive shafts as you saidfont shaft is already out,portrayal press sells repro manuals,www.portrayal.com,tm9-8024 is the one to start out with,www.alfaheaven.com has alot of these trucks for parts ,neat website,www.steelsoldiers.com has a website with a thread devoted exclusively for gmc m135 m211s, the thread is called THE EARLY DEUCE, a m135 has 11.00-20 tires six of them,an m211 has 9.00-20 with dual rears,has 10 tires, i have put 33k miles on my m211 since 1992 it has the auto tranny and has never given a problem,get a sevice manual,i dont know of anyone making an electronic copy ,it is 688 pages long,IT IS A GOOD INVESTMENT IF YOU HAVE TO WORK ON THE TRUCK,DRIVE IT BY THE BOOK ,SERVICE IT BY THE BOOK,good luck keep posting

[tony fucci]

Newbe,
You should do better that 1000, you haven't ran the engine, when was it run last, does the engine turn over when you crank it, does the fuel pump pump when you turn the ignition on, you can hear it if the buzzer is disconnected,,if the buzzer is on, you can disconnect the fuel hose and see if it is operating,,new fuel pump ,rebuilt is about $110.00.
Tires, if you need them, about $110.00 plus shipping..I would not attemp to change them my self, very dangerous, could really mess you up if the lock ring snaps off. A truck tire shop will charge about $28. to dismount and mount a tire, here it is $28.00, was 25 until Jan 1..also you may need a new flap and tube, they are about 22.00 each.

You still will have brakes with out air , the air is an assist, you will stop but you will need a lot of foot power, I would not advise to drive this way.
I would use a tow bar to tow.

Portrayal Press in New Jersey has all the manuals you need, I would buy all of them, you certainly will be useing them. 973-579-5781, call only in the am eastern time..also <info@portrayal.com>
NEVER PUT THE TRANS IN HI-RANGE REVERSE, I put a bolt with a washer and nut to prevent me from putting in that position.
I would suggest to join the Military Vehicle Preservatio Assoc ( MVPA) they put out two good magazines , one has many aricles about mv's the other is called Supply Line, it has many vendors and private parties that sell all kinds of parts. If you are interested I will sent you the info.
One vendor that I've bought many perts for my M-135 is from Antelope Valley Truck parts , 800-521-8518, very satisfiied with there service, also helpful info. Most part are available.

Good luck to you

[m38madness]

this is my Dads 1952 m211. He bought the truck for $500.00 did a brake job replaced the fuel pump cleaned it up and painted it. The truck runs and drives well but still needs a few things. Lowell

[Dr Deuce]

I know someone who had an M215 (10 wheeled dump) and he put in a GMC 305 V6 from the 60-70's with the manual tranny that came with it from the school bus that donated it. It looked like it was made for it! The 305 is a SUPER angine and if you want more power, you can do the 351, 401 or 478 cid versions or the 478 diesel.

The OTHER thing you would want to do is to change the xfer to a CCKW banjo transfer so that you could then have high and low range and an in and out lever for the front axle.

[Nick Bombini]

Sorry, I don't have any more photos of them. I did a search on Yahoo for "GMC M135" and "GMC M211" to find those ones.

--Nick

[newbe]

hi All

i have taken several pictures of the M135 and would like to be able to post them for all to see. However I am not that good at doing such things.
Could some-one give me some guidence with this?

Thanks

[David_4x4]

hi All

i have taken several pictures of the M135 and would like to be able to post them for all to see. However I am not that good at doing such things.
Could some-one give me some guidence with this?

Thanks

Find an image hosting site. I usually use www.imageshack.us.

Upload the image through the site, copy the image link the hosting site gives you. Once you have the link copied, start a post and insert the image tag by clicking the "img" button. Insert link inbetween the image tags. ie: [img]IMAGEURLHERE[/img]