M35 Hood Fit

[GPappy]

Phillip,
If your still with me, I have another one for you.

The M35 that I just got appears to be a frankentruck. The truck has a Van body on the back but the condemnation paperwork said that the dataplate on the dash said M35A2 wo/w although the military was calling it an M185A3. Here is what I know/believe:

The truck is a 1967 Kaiser Jeep M35A2 wo/w which probably came as a non turbo truck. I say that because the engine is a 1989 LDT465-1D and they had to cut the inner fenderwell out with a torch to get the exhaust out to the fender. The truck was condemned in November of 1998.

The Cab is painted OD but the doors, the air inlets in front of the doors, the fenders, and the hood are painted camo to match the van body. I believe that they might have been put on this truck from the one that the van body came from which would explain the cab and hard top not being painted to match.

When I bought it the grill was misadjusted and stuck out about 0.75 inches from the front of the hood. Because of this, the hood latches did not work and the hood was held down by wire. At some time after it left the military it flew up and was creased by the hard top. I figure it was done later as the condemnation papers mentioned the grill problem but did not mention any damage to the hood. I fixed the grill by removing the frame mount bolts and moving it rearward to another set of bolts. Seems to fit fine now.

Now for the question. The hood on this truck had to have about 2 or 3 inches of the rear brace flange on the passenger side cut away to clear the air cleaner and the hood has about a 3/4 inch gap between it and the side access panels on both sides. I have never seen a truck with this big clearance so I am trying to figure out what does not fit? Did the non turbos or gas trucks have a different hood that did not come down the sides as far and have a different rear brace? Are the side panels different on different trucks? I really could use some assistance from someone who really knows the diffent configurations on these trucks.

Thanks
Greg

[IrishEKU]

Greg,

In my experiance there has always been a gap there though 3/4" does sound rather large. You also stated that the hood doesn't latch. It sounds like when the hood flew up that it "creased" on the cab. You will have to pounf the brace and material out in order to fix that. I'm sorry but with out looking at the truck I can't really tell if it's the hood or if something is amiss under it propping it up.

If you can get some digital pictures to me and I'll take a look. Primarilly the hood up, down. Gaps, cut aways etc. Also a shot from the top of the engine would be helpful.

Phillip

[GPappy]

Phillip,
Thanks for the response. I should have updated this to say that I had figured out what the problem is. It would seem that the truck was originally a gasser and the Turbo Diesel Radiator and Grille are taller than the gasser. Since this was obviously upgraded to diesel, that is what the issue is. I have been told that the side panels on the diesel are taller to make up that difference. I have bumped the hood out but it is still not perfect. I would like to find a diesel hood and side panels to correct that problem. I also now have to figure out what year and manufacturer my truck really is. The axels are all 1958 and the frame number is M152??. My research so far is pointing to a 1958 or 1959 Studebaker but noone seems to have any production information to confirm this.
Regards
Greg

[IrishEKU]

Greg,

Give us an update man! How is the old girl working out and what work have you done to her?

Have you taken a look at the trunion berings and how are the seals on the hubs?

What do the front and rear main seals on the engine look like and how did you search go with the filters?

Details big guy, details!

Phillip

[GPappy]

Phillip,
Sorry about the delay in getting back but work has been hectic.

I haven't been able to do much other than add a new strap to the fuel can holder, straighten out the tool box door and replace the fuel filters. I ended up buying new filters from White Owl which were just commercial filters but with a set of military replacement gaskets. The fuel filter replacement is what did the most good. I now have the power that I had when I started the long drive back from New York. It will now pull 2400+ RPM in 5th again and accelerates past 2500rpm in 4th

I really don't have any visible drips at all. I have not had the wheels off to check the seals but there is nothing visible on the hubs or tires. I did get 11 new take offs (95% or better) and will plan on looking at the brakes and seals when I put those on.

So far everything seems to work ok including all guages and lights. I have been amazed at how easy it is to hammer out the dings and dents in this heavy metal. Much easier than working on a car. I will try to update you when I get a chance to do more work.

Regards
Greg

[Hannibal]

Hey!

So when are we going to see some pictures of this beast??

Upload them to the gallery if you can, I think its pretty interesting!

-Jason

[GPappy]

Jason,
I wasn't quite sure how to do it but I think I uploaded a couple of pictures. My wife almost has me convinced to turn this into a camper for our trail ride trips. It really is a pretty cool truck.
Regards
Greg