my old conversion to bbc 402

i ask a while ago about a change to my m 715 i don t think i got the right answers or I am a retard no offence. It was converted to a bbc 402 as far as i can tell about 10 + years ago as far as i know untill i got on the net no one had these i ve seen local ads for m 715 z that said they were just released from the last know companey <ie> fire forest ect mine thanxz to you guys is for sure from a fire department no thanxz to the guy i got it from so the net has so far fed me with info saying these have only been pop for at least a few years my ? z are could a person have converted one themselfs a long time ago? if not how long have these been pop? can one that has been converted this long ago be converted to a sbc 350 or would it be a pain sorry i also have all military running gear beside the bbc and 12 volt bench seat radio and key start <ie> to make it civileran or the fire department did all this i have pics on the sight of my 715 sorry my spelling sucks can any one help me i of course need all the help i can get

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I can't answer that, I've had mine over 20 years. There are F.D.'s here that still have them, sooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Conversions have been done since at least 1974. Leo Porter in Texas converted over 400 for the Alaska Pipeline construction back then...which included 350 Chevy engines...a 402 not being much different of a swap.

This site has been around 10 years and there were tons of conversions done before that and many more since.

As was said before, . they have been around a while, . . some converted by individuals, others by fire depts. etc. As far as swapping out your 402 for a SBC, that should be relatively easy. Your bell housing and transmission adapters will work, you may need to adjust motor mounts, and your exhaust manifolds will be different. You want to make sure you get all the pulleys and brackets for the SBC, because the ones for the 402 are different.

My truck had the engine removed at least 10 years ago in preparation for a swap which never happened when he had it. It seems that the M715's were put out of Military service pretty quickly and sent off to fire dept's and other government agencies who did what they saw fit to them when necessary.

It looks like what I have seen is that in the mid or later 70's these trucks went to auction to the public, but I am sure Jon would know the answer to that definitively. That leaves a lot of time for plenty of mods to have been done.

I'd wager a bet that some individual did the swap in yours either as a private owner, or possibly even for a fire department. There is a local fire company here that has a 715 brush truck, and a local mechanic keeps it going for them. He did a Dana 60/14 bolt swap, and small block chevy in it 10 or more years ago.

I dont know when the trucks first exited mil service for the auction block but I know by 1977 they were being auctioned...could have been earlier.

cool thanks for all the help was not sure if the motor mounts were diffrent they look stock have not taken a real good look at it sorry i did not relize so many had been converted so easy wish i had more history on it or to know if the f.d in my state had it so i can talk to them i picked this 715 up almost 20 years ago does anyone know why the f.d did not want to keep it prob becuse they get so much cool stuff p.s the locol 715 i saw for sale had the 6 in it it looked all most all stock exept for the red color

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Originally Posted by jaychevy420pitbill

does anyone know why the f.d did not want to keep it

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Most fire departments these days use much more modern equipment. In short, they don't want anything they cannot totally rely on the moment its needed, and a 40 year old truck doesn't fit the bill......Not that the 715 isn't a great truck, but in todays context of fire-fighting, its a dinosaur.

In addition, there are the newer chevy CUCV's coming available through surplus and they are much easier to find stock parts for. There are still some fire departments that like the 715 because they will go places other trucks won't, but that kind of terrain issue is less common. The way the system works, generally, . . . is that when the military decides it is not needed, it makes it available to other government agencies, generally through GSA. After GSA shuffles it around until noone wants it anymore, . .then it goes to auction. In general, most of the time if a fire dept. gets a truck "free" if they decide they don't want it anymore, they are supposed to give it back to GSA, but after a certain amount of time, as I understand it, . .GSA will release it and let the FD sell it themselves. . . .FWIW, that is my understanding of how the system runs, . . .feel free to correct me if I have been misled. . .

Jay, mine was converted/butchered by the fire dept. They cut the original frame horns and welded in some from a chevy pickup. But, they got them in the wrong spot and one's higher than the other. They welded in some motor mounts on top of the horns. Other mods include the copper tubing fuel line and holes cut for the tranny shifter and T-case shifters with a torch. I had to replace the bed alltogether. All this was before my dad got it in the early 90's.

I purchased my truck from a fire department in April 2008 and they bought it from the Strategic Air Command in May 1976. Luckily it was all there and still 24 volt. I know of at least one other truck still sitting in a small fire department that they use, so they are still in service. One good thing is at least these trucks where inside out of the weather.

One of my local FD's has a 715 brush truck. It has had a D60/14bolt conversion, a hard top and cage, but all in all its very good condition. They still use it on a regular basis.