Steve Turchet

Articles From This Author

After warming-up the engine — the oil pan should be hot to touch — remove the oil pan plug and drain the oil into a suitable container. While this is going on, open the oil filter’s case by unscrewing the large bolt on top. On some filters this bolt is removable from the cover, but on others it isn’t, so don’t try to pull it out if it doesn’t want to come out. Then remove the cover. Oil shouldn’t pour out when you do this, but it’s wise to be prepared. If the cover is stuck, tap it gently upward with a wrench or small hammer. For a minimum of mess, don’t remove the filter element yet. Instead, get a coffee can or other container — one that’s obviously large enough to hold all the oil in the filter — remove the drain plug from the bottom of the filter case, and let the oil drain into the can. Wait awhile so most of the oil drains out of the element. Five minutes is usually sufficient.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Servicing Your HMV Oil Filter

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4. 1 to 2-ton Vehicles (M715s,CUCVs, HMMWVs, GTBs, G-506s, etc.)

HMMWVs in the Hobby Part I: Have you considered your own surplus HUMVEE?

Tech tips Jeep
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Tech Tips 2020 no. 5

Tech tips Jeep
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Tech Tips 2020 no. 4

Tech tips Jeep
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Tech Tips 2020 no. 3

Tech tips Jeep
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Tech Tips 2020 no. 2

Tech tips Jeep
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Tech Tips 2020 no. 1

There are two basic types of lighting systems found on most common U.S. military vehicles in the MV hobby. These are the WWII type (shown here) and the post-war, or M-series, systems. Although the systems themselves are similar, many of their components and switches are different.
MV 101: Military Vehicle Hobby Info

MV Lighting Systems

Tech tips Jeep
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Military Vehicle Tech Tips December 2019

A typical single-circuit master cylinder as used on many MVs with “suspended” clutch and brake pedals, such as M151s and M715s. To ensure long life of both master and wheel cylinders, brake fluid should be drained and renewed every two years.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Brake Systems Basics

Some MVs, such as the CCKW, have a strainer screen in the oil pan. This screen should be removed and cleaned every time the oil is changed.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Changing Your MV’s Oil

There are two basic types of mechanical parking brake systems used on most vehicles with hydraulic service brakes, as well as on many vintage vehicles equipped with air brakes. The first type, shown here, uses a drum or disk on the transmission or the transfer case output. When the brake is applied it locks the drive shaft so the vehicle’s rear wheels can’t turn. This system is used on many common collector military vehicles, including most jeeps, Dodge WCs and M37s, Kaiser M715s, some early model HMMVWs, most deuce-and-a-halfs, five-ton trucks, and also on many larger vehicles and construction or material-handling equipment. This CCKW example uses an external contracting band type brake.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

MV Parking Brake Service

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

Tech Tips: September 2019 Edition

The M38 was a Korean War-era Jeep built from 1950 -1953. Approximately 60,000 were built, many of which continued into service well into the early 1970s.
2. Quarter Ton Military Vehicles (Jeeps, etc.)

Military Vehicle Profile: Willys G-740 M38

Optimal vehicle operation results from optimal maintenance. Follow the 13 tips in this article to avoid a vexing breakdown somewhere down the road. John Adams-Graf collection
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

HMV Maintenance

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

Tech Tips: August 2019 Edition

Motor vehicle transmissions may be divided into two basic types: manual and automatic. There are three basic types of manual transmissions: the sliding gear, the planetary, and the friction disk, though the sliding-gear type — such as this three-speed — is the most common today, and is what most people think of when manual transmissions are mentioned.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

HMV Transmission Basics

Engine stopped while you are in the field? Don’t worry—it’s usually one of two things: Fuel or spark. This article will show you the steps to diagnose and, hopefully, repair your vehicle so that you can get back on the road! Photo courtesy of The Furious Fourth WWII Living History Group
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Did you just roll to a stop? No problem!

Just about any barn find is trailerable, and many barn finds are towable, while a few can actually be driven home after fairly simple preparation. However, sometimes what is towable or trailerable (and maybe should be) is transformed in the field into drivable.
1. Military Vehicle Buyer's Guides

Discovering a 'barn find?'

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

Tech Tips: June 2019 Edition

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

Tech Tips: May 2019 Edition

The Soviet Union had a relatively standardized military vehicle fleet at the outbreak of World War Two and the invasion by Germany, consisting mainly of GAZ and ZIS vehicles. These trucks were inexpensive to produce, and simple to operate and maintain.
4. Military Vehicle History and Research

Military Ambulances of WWII

Bendix drive starters such as this Prestolite, (as well as many made by Autolite) were fitted to Willys MB and Ford GPW jeeps, the GTB Burma Jeep, as well as most International and Studebaker vehicles. Bendix drive starters also went in and out of fashion on CJ-2s, CJ-3As, CJ-3Bs, CJ-5s, and most Ford cars and trucks well into the 1960s.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Starting Something

Although not originally designed or intended for use as an ambulance, the jeep’s small size, low profile, and capabilities in rough terrain made it an ideal vehicle for evacuating wounded soldiers from front-line combat areas.
2. Quarter Ton Military Vehicles (Jeeps, etc.)

Jeeps that served as military ambulances

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

Tech Tips: March 2019

Experience may be the best teacher, but it’s often a hard way to learn and requires being lucky enough to survive the mistakes you make. My first experience with air brakes was in a U7144T similar to this. My truck was a closed cab model. It had a Hercules RXC 529-CID gasoline engine, a five-speed non-syncro transmission with 5th gear overdrive, a two-speed transfer-case, and an early style air-brake system with a mechanical parking brake.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Air Brake Basics

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

Tech Tips December 2018

One of the most common reasons a parking brake won’t hold is that the mechanism that applies the brake — the handle or lever in the driver’s compartment, and/or its connecting linkage — is worn-out, broken, or out-of-adjustment.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Hold it in place!

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

Tech Tips: More Bleeding, No Bandages

The G-749 family of vehicles—including the M211 and its 6-wheel variant, the M135—were painstakingly designed and engineered by General Motors in the hope that these trucks would be a permanent replacement for the CCKWs of WWII. General Motors pointed out that the vehicle’s similarity to the CCKW would make the M211 easily maintainable and repairable for motor pool personnel who were already trained on the G-508 (CCKW) family of vehicles. Further simplifying maintenance, the M211’s transmission operated on engine oil (OE) rather than automatic transmission fluid (ATF).
5. Two and a Half Ton Military Vehicles (CCKW, M135, M211, M35, etc.)

The “Cadillac” of Deuces

During the post-WWII years, Reo entered into a competition between Reo, Studebaker, and General Motors to design a new 2-1/2 ton tactical truck to replace the U.S. military’s fleet of GMC CCKWs, I.H.C. M-5-6s, and Studebaker US6s. General Motors wanted to hang on to the deuce-and-a-half market, and even though the military seemed to favor Reo’s design—first called the M34 (shown here), then the M44 Series. While both the Reo and G.M. trucks were accepted for production, the Reo M35 and its six-wheeled variant, the M34 (shown here), with its more powerful Reo Gold Comet 331 cid. engine and five-speed manual transmission, proved to be more durable and dependable, probably due to its relative simplicity, and went on to become one the most successful military vehicles in the world.
5. Two and a Half Ton Military Vehicles (CCKW, M135, M211, M35, etc.)

M35: A “Deuce” of a Truck!

Historic military vehicle hobbyists come in as many shapes, sizes and ages as the vehicles themselves. Many start out by purchasing smaller vehicles, such as a Jeep, M151 MUTT, or an M37. Many are satisfied with these small vehicles and enjoy a lifelong association. On the other hand, some folks start out with a Jeep and work their way up the scale.
6. Wheeled Military Vehicles Larger than 2-1/2-tons

Now that you have adopted a LARGE, Historic Military Vehicle...

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

Tech Tips with Steve Turchet

Looseness or wear in a vehicle’s steering knuckles may often be discovered while performing a lube job – assuming you’re paying attention – but a more thorough inspection can be performed by jacking your vehicle’s front end off the ground by its bumper or frame so the axle hangs from its springs.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Steering knuckle service on your HMV

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

Tech Tips - December 2016

Distributors are the hearts of battery ignition systems. In many ways they’re like magnetos in that they have breaker points, a condenser (capacitor), and use a coil to boost the vehicle’s low voltage – 6, 12 or 24 – up to the 15,000 or 20,000 volts needed to fire the spark plugs, they just don’t generate their own power to do so, but use the vehicle’s battery instead. Like a magneto, a distributor is usually turned by the engine’s camshaft, which on a four-stroke engine rotates at half the engine’s crankshaft speed. And, like a magneto, a distributor must be “timed” so that it fires each spark plug in each cylinder in the correct order and at just the right moment to ignite the fuel and air mix and produce the most power in the most efficient way.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Historic Military Vehicle Ignition Systems Part I

This hows all the components of a pre M-series ignition system. This is the system used on virtually all WWII U.S. military vehicles, such as MBs, GPWs, GTBs, WCs, G-506s, CCKWs, DUKWs, etc., including most heavy trucks and special vehicles of that period: Studebaker, I.H.C., the Weasel, and so forth (though some tanks and amphibians had magneto systems). Most of the time, the only difference between WWII military systems and their civilian counterparts is the military versions sometimes have “splash-proof” distributors. This splash-proofing is generally just a Bakelite shield that fits into the distributor underneath the rotor and protects the points and condenser from... well, splashes.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Historic Military Vehicle Ignition Systems Part II

Engine oil doesn’t only break down and become dirty from use, it also gradually breaks down over time. And, in vehicles that aren’t driven much, or are not driven long distances so the engine never fully heats up, moisture forms in the crankcase. Moisture also forms in engines, axles and gearboxes simply because of temperature changes. Water not only dilutes engine oil, it also reacts with the oil to form acids that soften and eat away bearing material. Therefore, you should change the engine oil at fairly regular intervals whether or not the vehicle is driven a lot.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Historic Military Vehicle (HMV) Maintenance

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

Tech Tips

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2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

MV maintenance: It’s time to spring ahead!

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

MV Tech Tips with Steve Turchet

Complete diagram
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Transfer Case Basics

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

Tech Tips - December 2015

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4. 1 to 2-ton Vehicles (M715s,CUCVs, HMMWVs, GTBs, G-506s, etc.)

HMMWVS in the Hobby - Part II: Buying tips

The HMMWV’s body tub, rear fenders and tailgate are made from heat-treated aircraft-quality aluminum, with the panels bonded and then riveted together. The hood is hinged at the front to swing up and away from the windshield, and is made from a composite of fiberglass and plastic.
4. Military Vehicle History and Research

HMMWVS in the Hobby

The cooling systems of most common HMVs have three basic parts: 1) A water jacket cast into the engine block that surrounds each cylinder with liquid. 2) A radiator where most of the heat from the water is transferred into the air as it flows through the radiator core. This air is either pulled or pushed by the engine’s fan at low speeds or when the vehicle is stationary. or is forced through when the vehicle is driving down the road. 3) A water pump, which is the heart of the cooling system. The pump circulates water through the engine block, where it picks up heat, and then pushes the hot water through the radiator tubes where the heat is transferred into the air. The cycle is completed when the cooled water—which has given up its heat to the air—is pulled back into the engine for another go-around.
2. Restoration & Maintenance of Military Vehicles

Don’t blow your lid. Stay cool...

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

Tech Tips with Steve Turchet

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Military Vehicle Tech Tips

MV Tech Tips, with Steve Turchet

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2. Quarter Ton Military Vehicles (Jeeps, etc.)

It's a MUTT! Background and History

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2. Quarter Ton Military Vehicles (Jeeps, etc.)

M151 Maintenance: That jeep's no mongrel — it's a MUTT!

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