My second M715 build. What was I thinking?

[jeeper]

Not really sure where I should start this thread. But since I will likely make some modifications to the original design I figured it should be in the modified section.

I haven't really got a plan yet. I'm still trying to determine exactly what I want to end up with.

What I do know is I need to repair the significant rust damage before I have to worry about how stock to keep it.

Here it is the morning after I got it home.



It has a little over eight thousand miles on the odometer. The title was assigned to the owner in 1984. It has sat a long time unused. The previous owner did say he tried to get it going last year but gave up because his health was failing.

My first task was to see if I could get it to drive off my trailer. I checked the oil and saw it was low but actually looked fairly new and clean. I attached some new fuel line from the pump to a gas can in front of the truck and from the pump to the carb.

The engine had no generator attached and some of the wiring has been cut out. So I temped a couple batteries and ran a jumper from the coil to the positive side of the battery. There is no foot switch but there was a starter relay mounted to the fender. I wired to that and cranked it over. It fired up and ran great in just a few minutes of trying.

I was able to drive it off the trailer and onto my driveway. The brakes were not working so I didn't try anything crazy but was excited to hear it run so smoothly after sitting for so long.

[jeeper]

Some additional photos to show what I am starting with.



And also some rust damage or "iron moss".

[jeeper]

Started removing the rust today. I will be needing some floor pans soon. I'm not sure if I want to really torture myself and build my own or buy some pre-made and fit them in.

[md1970]

i was thinking about redoing my parts truck. who makes floor repair sheet metal ???????

[jeeper]

Classic 2 Current Fabrication is probably where I would get mine if I don't end up making my own. There are other places too but being from Michigan I will try to support a Michigan company first.

[Flingarrows]

Looks like a fun project Paul

[Flingarrows]

Any pictures Paul?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[jeeper]

I seem to be forgetting to get the before pictures lately. I will be getting some during and after pictures though.

[jeeper]

It's been a while since I've worked on the truck. Today I decided it was time to move it into the garage for the winter.

I rigged a couple batteries to the front bumper and tried to start it. No spark. What I failed to notice when I got it running the first time was the 12 volt civilian coil pack. I must have fried it when I drove it to where it has been parked all summer.

I do have a stock distributor on the the engine I removed from my first M715. As far as I know it is still in working condition. I would also need to swap all the brackets / accessories from that engine to this one. For now I will probably get the engine running using the parts I already have.

What I am thinking about as a long term plan is putting in a 6.5 turbo and making the truck an automatic with power steering and power brakes. I am also thinking of making it dual voltage. I need to study up on how the CUCV works. I think I want to have both 24 and 12 volts on this M715.

[jeeper]

I decided to try a new 12 volt civilian coil instead of bothering with swapping the ignitions around from my old engine to this truck engine. It works. I got the engine fired up in no time.

I started out by running the coil from 12 volts on one battery just to see if I could get it running. Then after I heard it run on the new coil I added the bad coil in series with the new coil.

The windings on the primary side (12 volt side) of the bad coil are still intact. So when I put the two 12 volt coils in series I can run 24 volts through both and not have a problem. (At least that's the theory).

With the old coil wired in series ahead of the new coil I started the truck. It purrs like a kitten.

Everything is just cobbled together right now but I will probably get everything cleaned up and connected a little more permanent after I get the new floor in.

I will probably build this 12 volt regulator (or actually a 9 volt variant) and run the 12 volt ignition while I have the stock engine in the truck. To make it 9 volt you would substitute a 7809 in place of the 7812. The new 12 volt coil I put in is supposed to have a ballast resistor so I'm pretty sure I will burn it up if I continue to run it at 13 volts.