My M-151 Rock Buggy Build

M151 modifications, sugestions, and ideas, official MWO's and unofficial field mods

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custom500
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My M-151 Rock Buggy Build

Post by custom500 » Fri Aug 07, 2009 6:51 am

Howdy Yall,
I'm new to this forum, but I thought you guys might like my current project. I would love to hear comments and suggestions from fellow M-151 fans as this build is far from complete. I think my Mutt is an A1, the data tag on the dash said 1964, and it had the double bumpstops on the rear suspension arms.

I have a full build thread on Pirate4x4.com that yall can check out if your interested: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=805076" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Disclaimer: I am building my M-151 into an extreme rock crawling rig, which involves extensively chopping it up - with the intent to drive it hard. So if you're a military vehicle purist, hit the back button now.

When I bought the Mutt about 5 yrs ago, I knew virtually nothing about them, but I have always been an avid offroader, so I quickly learned to appreciate the awesome offroad performance of the M-151's. The Mutt was amazing offroad even in stock form, but being the type that can't leave anything stock, I knew it had more potential.

This is pretty much what I started with (except the snorkle). It actually looks decent in the pics, but believe me it was far beyond repair. The only thing connecting the front half to the back half was the upper "rail" of the transmission tunnel, virtually everything below that was gone, not rusted out, but gone. Half of the pinch welds on the unibody were busted loose, the bed was rusted out, and of course every bushing and bearing in the drivetrain and suspension was worn out or missing alltogether. After a few mild offroad trips I realized that with 6 inches of flex in the unibody, it was only a matter of time before the thing buckled in the middle, so I started modifying it.
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The first set of mods was to replace a few major components in the suspension and drivetrain, build new floorboards, install a ROPS, lift it enough to clear 36" double beadlocked, hummer wheels and tires, and swap the crappy rear suspension for another front suspension assembly (like they should have been originally). I welded the diffs and wheeled the piss out of it, but soon realized the factory suspension and gearing didn't like the hardcore rock trails and big tires (big suprise).
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I scored a D44 and 9" axles from a '78 Ford f150 and decided to do a solid axle conversion for better articulation, durability, parts availability, and gearing. The axles are running spools and 5.43 gears, and if that isn't enough gear I'll build a 9" front axle and run 7.50 gears. I kept the engine and transmission because they are compact, light, and well - I already had them. The Zenith carb was nothing but problems and I didn't like sitting on a leaky gas tank so I converted it to propane with a Got Propane(brand name) kit for a Suzuki Samurai, which suprisingly bolts right on, and can support up to 100 hp. There is no comparison between the carb and propane, now I have perfect throttle response, smoother idle, and reliable starting in any weather. An added bonus is now I can store it for 100 years and fire it up with the same fuel. It is also obviously converted to full hydraulic steering (using a GM Saginaw pump), and I plan to swap the points for electronic ignition. I previously converted it to 12 volt, then realized 24 volt is better all around, so I will be running a one wire, 24v delco alternator.

Here are a few older pics of the current build. I decided to go with a one link suspension with a transverse leafspring to locate the axle side to side. The suspension is my own design and should allow for mucho articulation and should be able to absorb big hits when I catch air. Everything is just tacked together for now.
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The one link suspension has the added benefit of protecting the driveshafts. It will eventually have full leaf spring packs, I am using the main leaf only for mockup.
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This is a drawing I did of the front and rear suspensions(not exact), this will help show how the springs keep the axles centered, as it is difficult to see in the pics.
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Here you can see the 7" section of the windshield frame I cut out. Trying to keep the center of gravity as low as possible.
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As you may have noticed, this is an extremely low budget build that will be completed for far less than $5000 counting the initial purchase of the Mutt. The chassis is 1.25" SCH40 pipe, and the suspension is 1.5" SCH80 bent on a $79 Harbor Freight pipe kinker.This is basically where I am at now; I am currently mocking up the rear suspension and finishing up the cage/chassis. It will have about a 106" wheelbase and is 78" outside of tire to outside of tire. I will build a 2 peice rear driveshaft with a carrier bearing to keep the belly flat.
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Now lets hear what the M-151 guru's on G503 have to say about it.


Rickf
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Re: My M-151 Rock Buggy Build

Post by Rickf » Fri Aug 07, 2009 7:10 am

That was a straight 151 so it was probably earlier that a 64. Since the underbody was gone I have no problem with what you did. I am glad to see that you saved the body. I like the frame you have built and I am really intrigued with the monoleaf suspension. I do see a little problem on the front three link though. The left side radius rod has multiple bends that will be a weak spot when you push hard on a rock and I notice where it attaches to the frame you are using a bushing. The bushing will allow side to side articulation but when the front drops it will bind. You will be better served with a high angle Heim joint. Then you could straighten out the radius rods and have compound articulation in one joint. Overall it looks like a neat project though. I want your flag in the dark picture!!! 8)


Rick
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

custom500
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Re: My M-151 Rock Buggy Build

Post by custom500 » Fri Aug 07, 2009 7:58 am

Thanks for the compliments Rick. By "strait 151" you are referring to the front fenders, correct? The suspension is technically a one link as the link tubing is welded directly to the axle housing - the only things connecting the axle to the frame is the one link arm going back to the crossmember under the trans. and the center leaf spring mount. Both of the front "radius rods" have bends in them which will be plated and braced; the driver side is bent down to protect the d-shaft, and the pass. side is bent up to increas ground clearance. The tubing is almost 2" O.D. and .25" thick so even with the bends I believe it will be strong enough; I have wheeled with 6000 lb. rigs with 2.5 ton Rockwell axles with their link tubing bent for clearance. I seriously considered a big heim joint for the one link pivot, but the bushings were only like $13 for two. The bushing are Ford TTB radius arm bushings, so they are designed for twist and droop on a vehicle that weighs 3X what the Mutt weighs, and since my one link arm is longer than a TTB radius arm it won't even deflect as much as the stock Ford application. The bolt through the bushing is a 7/8" grade 8, and if I ever destroy the rubber bushings I can get poly ones that are a direct fit. As for the flag - I gotta have Bocefus watching over me while I work.

Rickf
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Re: My M-151 Rock Buggy Build

Post by Rickf » Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:14 am

A straight 151 is 1960 - 1962 or 63 before they came out with the A1. There are no turn signals on the front fenders. How many vents are in front of the windshield on the cowl? I am guessing one on each side.
That is an interesting setup, Keep us posted. That is some really thick tubing! Most of my builds were .120 wall DOM tubing with short gussets and geometry for strength. If I needed a lot of strength I would use 2 X 3 X 3/16 box. Most of what I was building was for fast vehicles so you want to keep the unsprung weight down.

Rick
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

custom500
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Re: My M-151 Rock Buggy Build

Post by custom500 » Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:59 am

There are no vents on the cowl, but the tops of the fenders had small raised mounting holes for somthing.

The thick tubing is just for the suspension links that will be smashing into rocks, the square tubing on the "boatsides" and transmission tunnel is 2 "x 2" x 3/16", all the other square tubing on the front "frame" horns and upper sides of the cage is 2" x 2" x 1/8", and the rest of the cage/chassis is 1-1/4" SCH40 which is about 1-5/8" O.D. x .140 wall. There will still be quite a bit of tubing added, it will basically be a full tube chassis - drawing no strength from the unibody. I am probably going to do an X behind the seats and some more triagulated bracing on the front and rear once I get the tube fenders built.

At a previous job I built and maintained Super Late Model asphalt race cars. Those chassis were only required to use 1-3/4" x .083" wall tubing around the driver, and pretty much everything else was 1-3/4" or 1-1/2" x .063 wall tubing, it wasn't chromoly, just mild steel DOM, and these cars were running into concrete walls at 120mph. I was originally going to use .083 wall tubing to save weight, but that thin tube dents too easily on rocks, and dented tubing loses a lot of it's strength. But, I have to admit that the main reason I went with pipe is the cost of the bender. What can I say? I'm poor, it was either build out of pipe or don't build at all.

custom500
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Re: My M-151 Rock Buggy Build

Post by custom500 » Fri Aug 07, 2009 11:50 am

Soon I will be buying some general tune up parts like an ignition coil, dist. cap, rotor, spark plugs, spark plug wires, and the electronic ignition conversion. I have searched a little bit, and the best prices I have found are from Saturn Surplus, but they do not have any ignition coils. The Mutt runs fine now, but I'm sure most of this stuff is pretty much worn out. I would like to get it running at it's full potential, and keep the old stuff for spares. I was hoping yall could point me in the right direction for the best place to get parts, and I remember seeing a civilian parts cross reference somewhere but for the life of me I cannot find it. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Rickf
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Re: My M-151 Rock Buggy Build

Post by Rickf » Fri Aug 07, 2009 1:11 pm

Sent you a PM. The coils on these are known to go bad so having a spare is a good idea. Make sure the vacuum line going in and out of the distributor is hooked up. It serves two purposes, one is to remove the ozone produced by the high voltage spark at the cap and second it cools the coil.


Rick
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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lten1063
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Re: My M-151 Rock Buggy Build

Post by lten1063 » Fri Aug 14, 2009 7:48 am

Its a M151A1. Look at the first pic again and you will see the BO Brake light eg the 3rd light and also 1964 was the last M151's and in 1965 the M151A1s came out.

Later Joe
"Apply The 5 "P" theory" (Previous Planning Prevents Poor Performance)"
"When something becomes FUBAR We Blame it on SNAFU Then Try to SWAG Our Way Out of it"
"My Wooden Nickels Worth"
"If ur Running Late, slo down & Walk Early next X"

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Re: My M-151 Rock Buggy Build

Post by Hummerkiller » Mon Sep 21, 2009 10:22 am

Nice project, a man after my own heart who loves to try new things and see if they work...LOL I have also deleved with the leaf spring mods and came up with something quite similar, great idea I must say, The articulation should be great for rock crawling and will highly reduce roll over issues. Their maybe a reduction in uni-body vibration as well, the only set back I considerd would be heavy deep mud resistance if you bottom out in a mug bog or deep water passage with heavy sand. Also must be careful of logs and jutting outward rocks that may colide or get trapped into the cross bar open space access areas of the leaf springs.

This set up would be ideal for desert racing and is what I considered in my design efforts.

Thanks for sharing I very much enjoyed the shop pictures.


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