M135
 

Hello All

I now have a M135 GMC 6x6 that I recently aquired and was trying to find any site on the net that had a forum dedicated to the M135 and have had no such luck in finding one. There are ones for most military vehicles out there including the M101 CDN 1/4 ton trailer.Does any one know if any such site exsists out there? As I have some questions regarding the truck ECT.


Thanks Dave

I drove them as a militia for 3 years, and then worked on them until for 6 years until we retired the last one from Wpg in 86. I know there are others on this forum who had similar experiance. So you could just ask here.

There is a 2-1/2 ton section on the G503 forum, where the M135s are occasionally discussed as well.

You have to be from Alberta....certainly no one out east could still operate one...they would have to make another pipeline to keep it fuelled up.

m135
 

Thanks for the info Rob. I will post a few pictures soon. What was the max speed of the trucks as I have heard from 55 to 65 MPH on the flat? The book says that it is governed at 3600 RPM no load and 3500 with load as this truck governs out at 3100 RPM with no load and max speed at 55 mph.


Dave

As I recall, 55 to 60 range. Actually, all the SMPs from back then were pretty much at this speed. They were all programmed to go roughly 200 to 220 miles on a tank of fuel as well. That way, nobody got anywhere early, and everybody got to stop for gas at the same place.

m135
 

Picture # 1

m135
 

picture # 2

m135
 

picture # 3

Very nice.

One of the rarest items I ever saw on the duece was the rear view mirror in the cab. I had actually never seen one until I worked in Penhold for the summer, and had to move the 2 dueces from their compund for disposal. One of them had a tiny rear view mirror in the cab which was a whopping 4" long by about 2 inches high. Rediculously small, I could see why they had all been removed over the years.

Towards the end, metal fatigue was setting in on these trucks. Seemed like everytime you would take one on a roadtest, either a differential would self destruct, or an axle shaft would break. Add to that the joys of changing the 12 wheel cylinders frequently, and forever replacing cracked manifolds. Transmissions were a common failing item as well. Still, I must say I had a fondness for them, and always appreciated the similarities (and improvements) of the MLVW replacement.

m135
 

I have the interior rear view mirror in my M135 and it may appear usless after the trucks were refitted with the west coast mirrors. The original exterior mirrors were the stadard 5 inch round mirror on a post mount like the jeeps and dodge trucks. Now imagine that panoramic view and the interior mirror almost starts to look usefull with no tarp mounted on the bows.

The truck also appears to have a shifter lever lock out to hold it in the neutral position when starting. I have only seen one other truck with one of these and I have looked around for a lock out for my M135.

If the cost of gasoline and milage is even a concern when buying a military vehicle then it will take some of the fun out of owning one. They are all fuel pigs no matter how big or small. I find that the M135 with the automatic transmittion is the easiest and most fun to drive of all the vehicles I have restored and running.

Who ever did the restoration on that truck did a hugh amount of work and an excellent job. Take very good care of it, not many of the G749's have found good homes.
Gord

M135
 

Yes he did a lot of work to it. The whole drivetrain from the motor down to the diffs were replaced with goverment rebuilt units. The rest of the truck was finnised off with NOS parts including the roof of the cab. The only parts that were not replaced I believe was the frame,box lower cab and the hood as it was blasted, primed and the whole truck was painted with acrylic enamel. The only finnishing touches I want to do is to find the cab heater and any other arctic related bits for it. As for the fuel consumtion it did not realy have any affect on the purchase as I guess I am a sucker for the big trucks.

Dave :cool:

Gordon, only one more fun than the M135. That is the M35A2.
I kind of wish I still had mine, turbo multifuel, 5 speeds high, 5 speeds low, air locker, wow. Lots of power, lots of noise, what a truck should sound like!

M135 vs. M35
 

I used to love passing the local militia in their M35s on the local highways in my M135 (when I owned it, since sold when I had a responsible fit to pay down the mortgage). They seemed insulted that their wonderful new toys could be beaten by the old clunkers that they had gotten rid of. Official top speed for the M135 on 11.00x20 tires was 58 mph while the M211 on 9.00x20 were listed as 55 mph. I wonder whether the same happened when CMPs were replaced by SMPs?

The Ol' Duce
 

The pics bring back some memories of a particular night move in a foggy and marshy section of Pet when I took my sand filled eyes off the truck in front of me.....do you know how far a duce towing a deuce trail can get pushed into a swamp when being followed by several others crunching in turn behind you......did quite a detail on the flying kitchen after that oops.

:salute:

Deuce heater kit
 

Super dave:

I will look in the depths of my barn... I think we have a complete cab heater kit for M135.

It'll take some time as we are just opening up after a long winter.

Cheers! Mike

That will be just fine as I hope now I won't need to heat the cab untill fall.

Thanks Dave

Now that I have the truck I would like to stock a few parts for spares. Does any one know who still has parts for these trucks?

Dave

parts source
 

Try this guy for parts. He runs a military parts business in Demaine. The last time I was there he had stacks of new or rebuilt trannys, rear ends, steering components, etc.

Houben, Bob
Demaine, Sask S0L- 0R0
(306) 858-2001

Thanks for the number. I contacted the son after 2 other contacts as the number that you gave me was the wrong person but knew who I was talking about. In the end it is a good lead. Thanks

Dave

Glad you found the right number. You should post it so everybody can access it.I wasn't sure of his first name. Everybody just calls him Shorty. He had rebuilt winches for them too. He had a not running but complete F60L with box and an F15A chassis there too.

I have a couple boxes of rotors, and a couple of military rebuilt distributers kicking around for them. I don't think I will be ever getting one of these trucks again in case you are interested.

My understanding of the transmissions at Beachy ( I used to deal with John, his Dad) was that they were all N/S trannys. He had a couple of good ones, but had installed them into trucks.

Hi Dave

Nice Truck. :)

I see that I still have these at home:
http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/sh...&threadid=5891

For you, my UN friend, special price: $40 plus shipping however you want them.

regards
Darrell

Thanks for the offer Darrell but I have that manual. His number is 306-858-2610 and by the sounds of it he does not have a lot of items left for them but he is checking for me. I have a friend with a M135 that has a desert camo pattern on it and wondered where they used them that they would need that type of camo color.

Picture # 2

Dave
The off white was used in the 60s and early 70s, before the 3 colour cam (black, olive and forest green) came out. Not sure if thats the case with the duece you are showing. Some of the early releases (from the big round of army cuts around 72) sported the earlier cam patterns.

The one you show would have been an early release (I believe) because it was not fitted with the west coast mirrors and roof mounted beehive clearance lamps, which were mods added in the later 70s/early 80s.

Sorry I have not got back to you about those parts, but I buggered my back doing carrier track, and haven't been able to go out to the shed and see what I have for you.

I will look forward when your back gets better. here are a couple of pictures I took of one a few years back and looks to have blue camo color and I am not sure that it was from the military or by civilians after the fact.

Picture # 2

Those parts will come in handy Rob as I just aquired another M135 that will need some TLC when I get it home.

Picture 2

Sorry, Picture 2

That one has potential. Origional paint (instead of the multi layered brushed on camoflauge) and also an early release, so it won't have as many hard military miles on it.