Homebrew Duece

For years I have drooled over the concept of getting an M35A2 Duece and a Half.

1975 M35A2 "Duece and a Half"

I figure, yeah, it’s overkill.  But, what better way to move 2+ cords of wood at a time than on a Duece?  The issue is, they are almost impossible to find and even harder to find parts for.  And at a cost of $5,000 or so for a mid 1970’s version, I figured there must be another alternative.  Turns out there is.  Chevrolet and Ford both made excellent 2 ton rigs in the mid 90s.  Both can be had for the same cost (sometimes less) than an M35A2, and parts are plenty abundant.  The only down side is they don’t quite have the same “cool factor” and also, almost all of them are 2wd.  For me that isn’t a big deal though since I wasn’t planning on doing any offroading with it and with knobby duallys in the rear, any 2 ton truck can go through quite a nasty logging road without much hassle.

So, here are the candidates:

Late 80’s to Mid 90’s Ford F-600:

1989 Ford F-600 Diesel

Mid 90’s Chevrolet C6500:

1995 Chevrolet C6500

Both frequently have dump bodies or dump flat beds.  With a few modifications, I would be quite happy with one of these “Deuces”.  Here is a list of must haves:

Knobby 9×20 tires.

Custom military style bumper
Custom all steel grill
Steel “cage” around blinkers
8 x 12 flatbed
Stack exhaust
Custom military style paint job

And of course, it will need to be a diesel with a 4spd or 5spd stick and 2 speed rear end.

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