Civilian editions of defense rides are as old as the military-industrial complex itself. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe M35 looks to be a Defense Department hand-me-down, but will its price prove something worth fighting for?
Fully 77% of you thought yesterday's 1969 Pontiac Custom S - which was a one-year wonder - was priced too high for this, or any year. A lot of money seemingly had gone into that car's sound system, and while it may be loud and proud, the added equipment didn't sound too good to the car's critics.
War, HUH! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing… Well, not to cast dispersions on the musical musings of Norman Whitfield, but there is at least one positive thing that comes out of war, and that's war surplus. How many of you, as kids, ever went into an Army Surplus store and dragged your jaw around looking at all the cool stuff your dad wouldn't let you have. Tents, canteens, bayonets!
Today's 1978 Jeep M35 looks to be one of those military cast-offs. In fact, if you were to throw a pair of lawn chairs into its 8-foot dump bed, you could call it an Army Brat. Ha, ha, ha. The Military M35 debuted in 1949 as a design from the REO Motorcar Company, and was constructed in 4-, 6-, and 10-tire configurations. If you've ever seen the Army moving some big stuff, they possibly were using one of these.
Inexplicably existing, this 1978 crew cab monster 4X4 has gotten out of the service, has freaking EVERYTHING. Let's start up front where there's LED lights and a 10-ton winch with handy PTO. Behind that is a Hercules LDT465 multi-fuel 6-cylinder that will run on anything from straight kerosene to your own condensed farts.
That 134-horse mill is backed up by a 5-speed gearbox and separate two-speed transfer case. Out back, the rear wheels are steerable, making for a little bit easier parking and for people pointing at you and saying "your truck's broke." All of that stuff is claimed to be new here.
Also new is the cab, which is Rhino-coated inside for easy cleaning and macho-ness. Behind that is the aforementioned 8-foot bed which does do dump duty, you know, in case you need to take a dump. The whole thing is painted in 10-gallons of Camaro fly yellow.
That paint ensures that you'll never be mistaken for a weekend warrior, however should you need to go in-country, or deep in the bush, or whatever the guys with the guns are calling it these days, this bad boy should get the job done.
Of course, it's up to the eventual buyer to decide just what that job might be. After all, there's probably not a lot of uses for a 9-foot tall, 23-foot long four-door pickup truck that weighs more than a small house. Still, there's an ass for every seat, and this one seems to have four or five of those.
Can you think of a use for this ex-military monster? More to the point, can you see a point in paying its $125,000 price tag to do whatever it is you come up with?
What do you say, is this amazing veteran worth its military-grade budget? Or, does that price make this truck 4F?
You decide!
Detroit Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to James for the hookup!
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