Can't get no respect- the G749

[Bob Phillips]

Here are some ads I unearthed as I start my cleanup around here (again).
I remember when Levy's had these new trucks but they were out of my price range in those days. There were lots of low miler units available cheap around. In spite of being specifically designed for military use and being far ahead of their time with auto transmissions- they just never got any respect. They were underpowered and needed regular maintainance to keep on the road. But I liked em, and still have one to get running one of these days!..BP

[Ed Storey]

Fantastic documents!

[Dan Martel]

Originally Posted by Bob Phillips

I remember when Levy's had these new trucks but they were out of my price range in those days.

Bob, there's no date on any of the documents. Do you recall when this was taking place?

Cheers,
Dan.

[Bob Phillips]

Hi Dan, I am thinking mid 1980s...

[Dave D.]

Originally Posted by Bob Phillips

Here are some ads I unearthed as I start my cleanup around here (again).
I remember when Levy's had these new trucks but they were out of my price range in those days. There were lots of low miler units available cheap around. In spite of being specifically designed for military use and being far ahead of their time with auto transmissions- they just never got any respect. They were underpowered and needed regular maintainance to keep on the road. But I liked em, and still have one to get running one of these days!..BP

Attachment 114714 Attachment 114715 Attachment 114716

Thanks so much for taking the time to post the pictures. It's the first 'documentation' I've seen that states "these trucks were stored on blocks".

We know the stories about 16 target cities in Canada having support areas nearby where we kept rescue vehicles in the event of a nuclear strike. Across Canada, stories are told of the fleets of deuces lined up that no one could touch, except for maintenance. The G749 appears to have done her job to the satisfaction of most, then quietly took retirement.

The after service life of the G749 will never be completely known. With stories of radiated trucks being buried in cement after cleaning up our nuclear problems to Dewline loaded barges being pulled onto the dock at Hay River with modified M135's, her accomplishments will remain, unknown by most.

I drove my first M135 in the 80's. The company I worked for mounted a 1200 gallon hydroseeder to the back of an M135 and I managed not to flip it over or break it for years. It was 8000 lbs of hydro-seeder with 12,000 lbs of water, seed, mulch, fertilizer and sometimes tacifier, ...... on the back of a deuce. I was just a youngin' trying to make a buck so never questioned the boss about weight. The truck drove heavy but always got me home.

Many of the G749 adventures are nearly 50 years old now. It's time to remind Canada about them! From Chalk River to Operation Morninglight, the deuce earned her recognition!

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Anecdotally, it was understood the government sold most of their deuces to Levy's but kept a bunch, no doubt for the well neglected reserves. Then the government had to buy back transmissions at grossly inflated prices.

[maple_leaf_eh]

A few months ago in an installment of the MLU Express, I got to fly with Bob Bergeron looking for a mythical fleet of surplus Israeli halftracks. Nothing found, but the story was debunked from armour to 2 1/2 ton trucks. It seems an enterprising fellow used to buy surplus vehicles at the auctions on Nuns Island, Montreal and use them as snow ploughs. The fleet was 12 or 15 M135s and a handful of 3/4s. He also bought just about everything that he fancied. The sawmill yard where they were parked was cleared in the first part of this century and as many as 50 40' scrap metal bins went to the shredders. The old fellow is now in a home and his son told me the story. He has a Studebaker M35 wrecker in his yard and a variety of parts in a couple of falling down sheds. He didn't quite know what he's got, except that they are truck parts. I have begun to cultivate a friendship. Who knows what will emerge?

[rob love]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

Anecdotally, it was understood the government sold most of their deuces to Levy's but kept a bunch, no doubt for the well neglected reserves. Then the government had to buy back transmissions at grossly inflated prices.

There was a large release of trucks in the ealry 70s when Trudeau senior cut the military. That included deuces, 3/4 tons, Jeeps and trailers. The next large release did not happen until the MLVW entered service in the 1984/85 time period. None were held back for the reserves...there were MLVWs for everybody. Well almost everybody. We still had one on the base in 1987 with the sigs. They did not get a replacement, so simply held theirs for as long as possible. It came in for a rear main seal leak, along with a few other minor problems. The control office dug out a recent message that ended with "nil sine labor", so off to CADC the truck went. The message mentioned there were still a few positioned with AMF in Norway at that point, but they would be replaced soon.

I have always used the features of the deuce to determine when it was released. If it had the large West coast mirrors and the beehive clearance lights installed, then it was late release. That also usually included several brushed on coats of camouflage.

Conversely, if the truck still had the small round mirrors, and no additional clearance lights, then it was an early release from the Trudeau era.

I did work on many of the deuces that were in long term storage while I was in Winnipeg. None were on blocks.

[Ed Storey]

These SMP vehicles at Hagersville in the 1950s are up on blocks.

[rob love]

Holy Christmas....that is a lot of wheel cylinders in that picture!!! (that is what a mechanic sees).



Those are the nicest roofs and hoods I have ever seen on an old deuce. It's as if nobody ever walked on them. It is also a good reminder that I need to tape up the exhaust pipe on my deuce.

[Dave D.]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

These SMP vehicles at Hagersville in the 1950s are up on blocks.

Attachment 116759

Hamilton would have been the City these M135's were dispatched to after a nuclear exchange. Thank you so much for that photo. Can we use your deuce pictures for future stories over at www.civildefence.ca?

In the 1960 Survival Operations Handbook, the 2 1/2 ton would have been used to transport wounded civilian Canadians to 'reception towns' around target cities.

The trucks would pull up in front of a federal building with a surgical ward set up in the basement, offload patients and treatment would begin. In Alberta, 19 underground hospitals were set up through the 50's with some stock still stored today. Old's near Calgary and Wetaskiwin near Edmonton would have had similar stockpiles of deuces. Wainwright also housed a fleet of EMO equipment.

The other support cities were Holyrood, Windsor, Camp Gagetown, St Jerome, Almonte, Newmarket, Welland, Centralia, Chatham, Portage la Praire, Chilliwack and Duncan.....if we're looking for stockpile pics.

[Ed Storey]

This image shows a M135CDN that has been converted to carry casualties by strapping in approximately 16 stretchers. This configuration was not only employed for Civil Defence casualty transportation but also in the late 1950s and early 1960s by RCAMC Field Ambulance and Hospital units.

[chris vickery]

Here’s a pic of mine, always wanted one now I have one.
M35 is next...

[rob love]

That one should be very economical to drive, since it looks like it is on a 90° slope.

Here is a photo of mine from a few years ago. The paint has since faded a bit, but it was a nice clean truck that spent most of it's life in war reserve storage.

[Bob Phillips]

I thought I would resurrect this thread because I found another flyer from Levy's, advertising G749 trucks. This flyer IS from the time I was buying there in the 1980s and as some others have suggested my first and original posting is probably from an earlier time..say the 1970s. And back in the day when I was buying CMPs for 1-2 or 3 hundred dollars, $2995 was a lot of cash!

[chris vickery]

And they really haven’t gone up much in value since then.
Take a look around and most crapped out M135 trucks are about $3000 these days. Finding good clean runners now is almost a miracle.

[Bob Phillips]

Chris is correct. I remember a roadworthy M211 sold at action a couple of years ago for close to the same price (mid 2ks) and there are lots of junkers on kijiji for 1500- 3000. I also admit my bias because I just like the old GMC s having owned and driven a couple many miles in the old days. They had a few faults that doomed them in the commercial market; they were underpowered, the front axle tended to slip before the axle drive engaged and by that time you might be stuck and the biggest issue was the automatic transmission that needed regular tinkering to stay functioning. Still, overall, a well designed and purpose built vehicle that was too many years ahead of the rest of the pack to find acceptance.

[Jon Skagfeld]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

These SMP vehicles at Hagersville in the 1950s are up on blocks.

Attachment 116759

While training at Camp Borden, I often passed by 43 COR (Central Ordnance Railhead) where many deuces were up on blocks.

[Perry Kitson]

Just west of London is situated a wrecking yard that ended up with about 200 M135's that were disposed of in the early 80's. Quite a number ended going south of the border to farmers and had bins replace the cargo beds.

[Ed Storey]

This photograph taken at CFB Petawawa in 1984 shows a large number of G749 vehicles that have been earmarked as range targets.

[Darrell Zinck]

Hi

Nice photo, Ed.

In 1985/86 I was occasionally tasked with towing them from behind the Range Control bldg out to the various ranges. Usually Juliet/Hussars Tower Range for direct fire destruction but sometimes to way out in the back 40 for the Engineers to blow sky high.

The task was for x2 Troopers to use a Lynx from Recce Sqn 8CH. Every time I did it was an adventure since all we had were x2 tow cables. In many cases, one of us would drive the track and one would be in the cab to keep it on the road. They didn't like us "dragging" them around the trg area roads!!

Good times.

regards
Darrell

[rob love]

I have a message in the file cabinet somewhere that was talking about the various fleets, and mentioned the sales of the old deuces. In the beginning, they were fetching a good price that the army was happy with. But, in this area at least, prices had dropped to around $600-700 towards the end. I, and a few friends, moved a batch of 12 or so out to the surplus guy's yard. He even sold one while it was still in the supply lot. It was to an Indian band, and he had to go pick up a cheque from the Department of Regional Economic Expansion downtown for the payment. The $635 dollar deuce had turned into a $3250 deuce with no real work done to it.

The majority sold over the years, but he still has a short lineup of them for sale at his yard. Two of them left last year for a Halloween display. There remain several M135s, a couple of the shop vans, and an M211 with the flat cargo box. The amazing thing is that with some work on the fuel system, they will still run after all these decades.

[m606paz]

The first time I paid attention to this truck, it was in the movie Rambo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__QyvnqBW-c

[BCA]

A great action shot of an ex-Canadian army G749 (note the hardtop). It was filmed in British Columbia and maybe are some MLU’ers from the west coast who can fill in details of that stunt. Amazing how the truck recovered its balance.

[rob love]

From the web: http://www.firstbloodfilminglocations.com/army-truck.html

Yes this is one of he original four trucks used in the movie (Serial number matches jump truck (IMS) International Movie Studio records)

From what I've been able to research there were 4 'Rambo' trucks Two were
rented from a local militia unit (15 Fd Arty), And two more were purchased
from the logging company Macmillan Bloedel having acquired them in a
surplus sale a decade or so prior to filming. (My truck) The vehicle which
did the jump suffered only minor damage to it's front grill, gas tank and
suspension. It was also the truck that side swiped the cop car and was set
on fire at the end of the movie.
3 trucks were given to Don Harris as partial payment after production. My
truck that was burned in Hope BC and was the better of all four trucks. Don Harris wasn't thrilled about the director setting it on fire! It was actually still in pretty good shape after the fire, a front tire, interior"

If you watch the jump scene, you will note the fuel tank actually detaches on landing. You will also see the differences in the movie between the in service trucks and the early release trucks, most notably the mirrors.