There were 3 names kicking around for the M151A2s out in this neck of the woods. 74 pattern jeep was one of them. The other two were "disposable jeep" (since many guys thought that the Americans just threw them away when they broke them) and also rollover jeep, for obvious reasons.
The term mutt was a US acronym for Military Truck, Utility Tactical.
My old alma matta (the FGH) had 3 of the M151A2s for the officers in HQ, and the fighting troops all used the M38A1 cdn2 and 3. While the M151s were better suited for highway use, the did not have great gearing for cross country work. The sheet metal on them was also not heavy enough to support the GPMG swing arm mount, although I did see one of these mounts on a M151 when I did a short stint in Gagetown back in 80.
The M38A1s and the M151s both were subject to rollover when put into a full turn at speeds of around 25 or 30 mph. The difference was that on a M38A1 it took almost 3 turns of the steering wheel to get there, while an M151 could do it in 1-1/2 turns. Also, the suspension of the M151 did not give the driver the feel of just how fast he was turning.
I have owned a number of M38A1s over the years, and also had an uncut M151A2 for about 10 years. Quite frankly, the M151A2 sucked when trying to climb a sand dune. On the other hand, the engine was far superior to the Willys F head. I did not like the transmission on the M151s (weak) nor the 12 universal joints on the prop and axle shafts.
|