Henry. My 1968 pickup truck.

[BMCTED]

Well, he came home looking like this:

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... then I did some of this:

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... and then THIS happened:

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Henry is a 1968 M35a2 Deuce and a Half. He went in the US Army 2 years before I did. I bought him about ten years ago when they were relatively cheap. I cut 4 feet off his back end, got rid of one of the rear axles, 6 rear tires built a rear suspension for him and even painted him in the privacy and comfort of my own back yard, all by myself, in a little less than a month.

I think of Henry as my old army mule and I love him to death. He's named after an old New Riders Of The Purple Sage tune, about some fella who makes a wild run down to Mexico back in the day. I call him that because he is big, green and hilarious. For a long time he was my daily driver, I put over 20,000 miles on him until I had both knees done and and rotator cuffs overhauled in both shoulders. I never put a drop of diesel fuel in him, Henry runs on any petroleum product ... including old motor oil, atf, 90 wt gear lube ... some airport gave me 300 gallons of out of date JP4 that I use for thinning the heavy stuff. Henry has a top speed of just over 60 MPH and gives me 13 to 15 MPG's ... no matter how fast I go or how much we're hauling. We've been just about everywhere, camping, bike runs whatever.

Henry has been in a number of parades ... he likes to blow his airhorn at kids and pretty girls (I don't think Henry has ever seen a gal he didn't think was pretty) and LOVES it when they wave back.

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[Vaquero]

Cool.

RP

[JEBar]

OUTSTANDING .... truly outstanding

[BrokenolMarine]

Love it. Chick magnet.

[Hatchdog]

Man, that was some pretty intense modifications you made. Nice work.

[BMCTED]

Man, that was some pretty intense modifications you made. Nice work.

aaaawwwww shucks ... 'tweren't nothing. I did the whole thing with a Harbor Freight engine hoist, a 1/2 ton chain hoist, some lengths of chain and line, a couple jack stands and various hand tools. The hardest part was aligning the bed from an M-105 trailer in such a way that the cab - bed spacing was correct and the rear tires were centered under the bed's wheel arches. I spent the better part of 3 days and plumb wore out 2 Stanley Powerlock 25-Foot by 1-Inch Measuring Tapes getting that all worked out and lined up. Not to mention the sleepless nights.

The best part of the whole thing was the cost. I bought the truck from a guy up in West Virginia for $1,500. As I remember the M-105 trailer that donated the bed cost about $500. I don't recall all the miscellaneous expenses, but call it $500.

I sold some of the take-off on ebay, and what I didn't sell I took over to the local scrap yard and cashed it in.

By the time he was painted and sitting out in front of the house, looking pretty, my total out-of-pocket was about $800.


Below is the aforementioned M-105 trailer.

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[BMCTED]

Now Henry just ain't another pretty face. He's a workin' mule and he earns his keep.

Like the time he hauled an entire jeep, less the seats and engine, home from Alabama.

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Henry ain't never refused a load. I took the axle and spindle from that M-105 trailer, cut it in half, welded some angle iron on it and mounted it on the bed. Then I took the hydraulic ram and lifting arm from that Harbor Freight engine hoist ... and made Henry a bed hoist. I'm not sure what those tires weight, but its a lot.

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Henry will pull stumps and haul firewood all day long ... and he don't ever ask for nothing extra.

[clovishound]

Cool

I've loaded a couple duece and 1/2s onboard a C-141.

[BMCTED]

Cool

I've loaded a couple duece and 1/2s onboard a C-141.

Although I've never seen it done, its my understanding that these trucks were designed to be stacked in various a/c.

The USAF actually had their own M35a2. The difference between the ones you guys had and the ones everybody else got ... Power Steering!

When I was a grunt, they told us it was ALL about logistics. Bullets, beans, band aids and trucks to haul all of it around ... but you got to get it there before you can use it.

That would be you!

Are they still lifting stars with those things? What's it ... like 50 or 60 years now?

Not to change the subject, but I always loved the C-7 and thought it was the best looking cargo carrier in the air. If they were coming in or leaving, I would always stop what I was doing and just watch. For a time way back in the day I was stationed at Fort Dix in NJ, right next to McGuire AFB. There was a short runway next to the fence that separated the two bases, and scores of Caribou would run a racetrack and shoot T&Gs all day long. I would skip lunch just to go stand by the fence and watch. If they had asked, I would have flown that thing for free.

[clovishound]

Not sure what you mean by being "stacked". You couldn't put one on top of another for a lot of reasons. I remember sitting in front of one of them as a new loadmaster, hoping that the tie down I had put on it was sufficient to keep it from rolling over the top of me. I was a pretty much by the book guy, and never had a piece of cargo come loose. It's one thing for a 25 lb piece of luggage to come loose on landing. It's quite another for a 25,000 vehicle to come rolling down the cargo floor at you. I took my job seriously.

Sadly, the c-141s are no longer in service, although there were a few that were upgraded to glass cockpits and some were used strictly for medical air evac I don't believe those are still in service, but I'm not sure. The Starlifter entered service in 1965 as the A model and delivery continued through 1968. The airframes were stretched in the late 70s, early 80s as they were able to carry much more weight than the size of the cargo compartment would allow. They literally cut the aircraft into 3 pieces and installed two plugs to lengthen the fuselage. They were phased out in 2006. I flew on them as a loadmaster in the AF Reserves from the early 80s to late 90s.

[BMCTED]

Not sure what you mean by being "stacked". You couldn't put one on top of another for a lot of reasons. I remember sitting in front of one of them as a new loadmaster, hoping that the tie down I had put on it was sufficient to keep it from rolling over the top of me. I was a pretty much by the book guy, and never had a piece of cargo come loose. It's one thing for a 25 lb piece of luggage to come loose on landing. It's quite another for a 25,000 vehicle to come rolling down the cargo floor at you. I took my job seriously.

I'm not doubting you ... and you load guys know what you are doing, no doubt. A loose M35a2 at 30,000 feet could just ruin your whole day!

And I know I'm getting old ... but I just can't shake the feeling that shipping them was part of what was on their minds, like the multi-fuel engine, when they designed these things. That was the reason for the fold down wind screen, take down exhaust and etc.

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I read at least *something* along these lines, so I'm not throwing in the towel just yet.

I know they can be stacked. They did that back in WW2 with Jeeps and trucks. I'm going to keep digging around for post war M35a2 specific info.

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[clovishound]

They may have stacked them like that for ship, or perhaps, rail transport.

[BMCTED]

They may have stacked them like that for ship, or perhaps, rail transport.

My guess is both. We shipped thousands of Studebaker trucks to the Soviet Union. I don't know anything about trains, but loose cargo on a ship is a real problem.

I'm calling off the search. I'm almost 100% certain I saw pictures of M35's being stacked and shipped by air, but I looked and couldn't find anything on it ... Maybe I dreamed the whole thing. If I come across it some day, I'll post it.

Hey, nice talking with you CH!

[RetiredSeabee]

Thanks for sharing your unique pick up. I rode in and drove a bunch of deuce and a half’s back during the twenty years that I wore od green every day. Good to see yours modified and getting work done for you. I miss those days and even the less than comfortable rides in the big green trucks. I must say that the deuce and a half did ride better than the five tons.

[BMCTED]

Hey there Seabee, I could have used you during the build. I had line and chains and hoists slung EVERYWHERE, not to mention the slope I was working on. Some of the stuff on them old trucks is heavy and awkward. That ain't nothing to you guys.

I'll have to look to see if I still have some photos of the build.

[Mike_S]

That is a very cool build! Nice job!