jeeps of Ford Part 4 The M151/M718

Michigan Military Technical & Historical Society
Michigan Military Technical & Historical Society
15,826
0
Published 2020-05-13
Walk around of the museums M718 ambulance and Ford M151 exhibit
All Comments (5)
  • @LongBinh70
    I drove M151s nearly every day for my 1-year tour of duty in Vietnam in 1970. We had two assigned to our crypto comm center, and every morning we would have to load up with our 1911s and wooden box of crypto code key cards and visit all our "subscribers" and change the codes in their machines. I can attest to the "swing axle" rear suspensions being squirrelly. One day, after a monsoon cleared and the asphalt road began to dry, I went around a corner a little too briskly, hit a patch of dry pavement and put my vehicle up on two wheels! It got my attention. Never had a problem off-road. That suspension, by the way, was also found on Triumph Spitfire sports cars, and in the US racing organizations would require limiting straps before allowing them to race. One of our troops had served in Germany prior to serving in Nam and rolled his M151 on a tank trail, giving him a medical "profile" for a back injury. Believe me, the last thing that medic's seat needed was a seat belt! If you want to give an true appear of a Vietnam-era M151, you will need to weld a length of 5/16" chain to the floor, just ahead of the driver's seat. Since they don't have ignition keys, anyone could jump in and drive away. The way to secure your "jeep" (yes, we called them that), was to loop the chain through the steering wheel with a padlock. One other difference between the MB and M151 was the starter button. On the former, the button was above the gas pedal. On the latter, the clutch needed to be depressed and your clutch boot toe extended.
  • @John-pc3cx
    I drove an M151A2 for three years at Fort Cavasos (Hood) back in the 70s. I don’t remember anything particularly squirrely about the drive. On rough terrain it was tippy which is one of the reasons they got rid of them and cut them in half. They were retrofitted with roll bars for a while until the HUMVEE was introduced. Great video on the Ford Jeeps. I own a 45 GPW that is just about done on a lot full restoration.