G749 Picture and info thread
 

I started this thread looking for pictures of the inside of the M207 Command truck. We can continue the thread by posting pictures of all the G749 series of truck. From the M133 to the M222 water truck, show us your deuces.

We're hunting for all deuce stories and pictures ncluding the deuces that cleaned up Kosmos 945 and hauled the radioactive debris to two locations for storage. It's not too early to talk about that is it?

I have some information that a few of the M207 CDN Shop Vans would have been set up with a bed and communications and I want that. Any interior pictures of the back are appreciated. My M207 Shop van has a bell mount in the cab with a cable running to the box so any insight on it's use is also appreciated.

With pictures, size does matter.

One field dental van, the other a command wagon, my tractor and the M211's

Attachment 91694

Attachment 91695

Attachment 91696

Attachment 91697

I only have one runner, and a parts truck not worth taking a photo of. Still lots of them available in this neck of the woods, some untouched since release at the local military scrapyard including a couple of the van type.

Mine sat untouched with the valve cover off for almost 30 years. It was a low mileage war stock truck that had a new engine and the valves stuck back in the day. Two weeks after I got it, it purred like a kitten. Since then, new tires, brakes (seals and bearing repack at the same time of course), a quick paint job and the truck happily goes through a liter of fuel for every mile the truck moves.

G749 m135
 

John, were the van trucks complete inside and did you ever snap pictures of the rear interior?

We're real curious about the entire G749 story including their after service life. The G749 had many configurations in service and must be one of the most modified after service vehicles in Canada. From barge pulling, manure spreading, firefighting, rutabaga hauling, Maligne Lake ship removal truck, coal mine service, well drilling trucks, the G749 has a story to tell!

Recently inquiring with GM Canada to help research G749 NO. 1, we're hoping they respond soon with more cool information. We all love the stories of those who peddled the Deuce so all pilot stories appreciated.....if you want to see more of the ladies!

This little lady is stepping off the M211 CDN that resides at our G749 farm. Thanks to one of the greatest troops I've never met, I know it served in Penhold and has a cold war past. "Attach Stuck White Knight Here" is painted on the back so this truck may have pulled on an ambulance.

The other truck is Goose the M135 CDN in front of the M1010. Goose served Wainwright, went to Calgary and is now a parade queen.

M135
 

The date of delivery on Goose is March 16, 1956 which is the same day as my Dad's birthday in 1927. That's how I got away with dropping the first 6x6 on the farm.
I found Goose in a salvage yard, from a gentleman who would recover deuces with his wife. It had a modified service box on the back, was painted white and needed what most 60 yr old trucks need.

Dad turned 90 in March and now loves our fleet of Deuces.

Do you know what year it left Penhold?

I was a mechanic, and sent there in 1984 in support of the Air Cadet Camp. The base was having an airshow, and I got tasked with dragging an old forlorn deuce out of the disposal compound so the Chinook could have something to lift and carry. Possible it was this same truck. Too many years have passed for me to remember the paint scheme on the one I worked on, but I did salvage the interior rear view mirror from it. I had never seen the mirror installed on any other Canadian deuce. The mirror still resides not too far from me.

The dental van is factory outfitted with sink, water heater, cabin heater, various cabinets and drawers. It looks like there was one dentist chair bolted about center in the floor. It also has the cable bell setup so you can get the drivers attention. The command wagon has benches, fold up tables etc. They are both packed with various other vehicle stuff right now but when I get a chance to begin cleaning them up I will get detailed pictures.

John

M220
 

M220 Dental unit specs...

Wow what a great find Wayne, thank you

G749 info
 

Wayne, you're in Water Valley,...... I apologize. I spent 4 winters at Old's College and helped Bruce Smith spill so many peanuts on the floor at your bar I still feel guilty!

Thank you for the links, every byte of info helps!

We lost an M133 CDN to Washington and unless someone beats me to this post...I'm the first one to talk to the owner of an M133 CDN. Now that I said that, more M133's will show up, I hope. This M133 went to the right guy who rebuilt the motor, transmission, shaved the head and tweaked the 302 to its optimum performance.

Rob, some real nice fella pulled this info for me back in 2013. I'll find a way to really thank that guy someday!

More the M211

53313 belonged to CFB Penhold from 1955 until 1979. From there it was transferred to HQ and Sig Calgary until retirement in 1984. It's last recorded work order had the mileage at 72289 miles.

Goose the M135

53714 Was in Wainwright from 1956 until 1980. It went to Edmonton for 80-81, back to Wainwright for the summer of 81, then off to Calgary until retirement in 1984. On release it had 15835 miles.

The museum I work for (RCA Museum Shilo) also has an M133 with winch. I assume they were cab/chassis initially.

There is one of the line trucks about 15 minutes from here that is single wheeled as opposed to the dual wheeled version which was more common. I had expected it to originally be an M133 however the data plate on it showed M135.

Re: Dental vans...

There is/was a pristine one in the Base Borden museum.

IIRC, it had plexiglass cover so that the interior could be viewed.

Its CAR was 52-50000.

Jon
I have not been to the Borden museum in at least 25 years, but the few cells of grey matter that still work tell me that 52-5000 was a cargo. It is the kind of number you remember. Also, it is likely that 50000 would be serial no1 (or very close).

A quick google revealed I am right.

Well, Rob, you're absolutely correct about 52-50000 being a cargo with an RCASC unit sign.

I have that exact same picture from the same angle.

WRT to the dental van, I have a shot from behind showing the interior through the plexiglass.

Dunno what got it into my head about the CAR for it because the side shot I have of it shows no CAR at all.

Borden is only ~1 1/2 hrs away...I'll have to slide down some day and refresh my memory.

Apologies to all for posting misleading info.

Jon can you post the pictures of the inside of the dental van you have?

Thanks
John

Not at all Jon....it made me think for a minute.

If you could talk the duty staff into it, how about taking a photo of the serial number plate on 50000?

G749, the real story
 

Having truck No.1 in a museum would be nice. Keeping you guys around so we can lock all the history down is better so thanks for the info.

Did Canada's G749 manufacturer stamp each frame consecutively as they came out the door?

The truck on the right is Gizmo the Nov. 22, 1956, M135. 113506074 is stamped in the frame.
Does that mean we had at least 6074 M135's manufactured in Canada?

The middle M135 is Goose, the March 16, 1956 baby with 113504873 stamped in the frame.

Does that indicate Canada built 1,201 M135's in roughly 8 months and 5 days?

My BATUS truck is July 11, 1956 and is stamped 5503. That suggests 630 units from mid March to Mid July, 571 more units to Nov. 22.

I think we need to find the last Deuce we built for a museum project.

M133
 

The M133 Chassis and Cab is as unrecognized as Early Deuce mufflers so we need to tell that story. Is the M133 the cab and chassis they added cranes, augers, spotlights, cages, flying kitchens and other oddities on?

It shows up in the operators manual but I'm sure it has a bigger story?

This one had a box added at some point and is the nicest M133 I've seen.
Need to get to Shilo one day.

My M135 was made on 23 Nov 1956, and bears serial number 6078.

The history on mine is pretty bland: CFB Calgary until about 1980 and then it went to CFB Winnipeg. I almost suspect it was in war storage at both locations. The truck only had about 23,000 miles on it and never saw camo or a paintbrush.

There were also some US trucks that made it into the Cdn system. I saw the remains of a XM216 with a very low serial number, crossed cannons, and a 1954 Cdn CFR number.

More on my deuce restoration can be seen at this link: http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=19471

Rare Operators Manual
 

After seeing the earlier post with a picture of the operators manual for the 6x6 Canadian GMC I thought i would mention that I have a operators manual dated 1951 CDN-0M9-819A Operators Manual 2 1/2 Ton 6x6 GMC ( Canadian ) . The interesting thing about this manual is that it lists the M218 Light Wrecker Truck but there is no picture of the M218 in the manual. I have been in this hobby for quite some time and have owned a number of The M series GMC 6x6s but this is the only manual that I have seen that mentions the M218. I wish I knew how to post pictures on this site. If anyone is interested I could scan the cover and send it to you.

Dan Jahn

Picture tutorial required
 

Well then, we CAN learn something new everyday. An M218 sounds like another truck that could tell a story. Thanks for sharing and I'd save anything you'd provide with a copy for my Canadian Civil Defence Museum Association.
Volume Warning http://civildefencemuseum.ca/

We'll need to poke around for pictures of that truck.

Quite often the manuals were slightly modified reprints off the American manuals. After all, why remake the wheel from scratch when you are still going to end up with a wheel? I suspect that is why the Cdn manual has reference to the light wrecker.

Dave, this is turning into an interesting thread with all the info and photos of our deuces over the years. Its nice to see that some examples have been preserved and that now many are being saved. Here on Vancouver Island, there a few running survivors and likely many wrecks sitting in logging boneyards spread across the north Island and coast. When surplused, many went to logging shows and were worked to death.
Thanks to Rob and everyone else for adding their photos and information. I have a few pictures from years ago that I want to add but my scanner isn't cooperating right now. I'll try again once I figure out why.

G749 Early Deuce
 

Good reading you Jes, we still need to follow-up the Emergency Management / Civil Defence story on both Civilian and military trucks. Seeing your photos,,,,, once you beat up that scanner, will be a treat. Don't you have a 5 year old or youngster around that can fix electronics?

When the Waynes, Dans and Robs of the World start filling in the blanks, the story only gets better. Being a civilian has it's disadvantages so learning about the military aspect of Early Deuce service is amazing. It's a story that needs to be told, soon. Some of the kids that started driving those Deuces in 1952 could be 83 years old. These guys,,,,,all those who served Canada, are the big reason we're all here talking about it. Thanking our servicemen, never forgetting, is the least we can do and will only get better if we digitize as many stories as possible.

I can, almost without a doubt, (I wasn't there)... testify that I heard,,,,, the owner say, "This truck was part of the recovery of Kosmos 954 when it crashed in 1978."

One day we may confirm this story because we have some evidence. The license plate matched the number stamped into the top of the frame, drivers side behind bumper plate. 53/51732
Passenger frame stamped 113501589

The boys that own this M135 started buying fleets of military surplus vehicles back in the late 70's. They were very clear on the details of it's history.
""It's the M135 Flying Kitchen that started on fire while feeding the Canadian/ U.S. military teams."" Trust, but confirm!

I'll post a link if anyone is interested. Do you think any of boys that spent time picking up radioactive pieces of Soviet Satellite are around to tell the story?
Operation Morning Light

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.c...morning-light/

"""""Debris was sent to Edmonton and then to Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment in Pinawa, Manitoba, for analysis and final storage.""""""

Canadian GMC Operator's Manual
 

Here is an example of an early Operator's Manual from 1951. 52-50000 was the first Canadian production M135CDN.

Attachment 92086

First Production Date G749
 

That is remarkable Ed. Book # 1 essentially. Thank you!

The data plate for 52-50000, if authentic, would reveal the 1st Date of delivery so .....who wants a race to the museum?

Batus
 

There's an old thread on BATUS here somewhere where I outright stole a photo from so I could add it to the story of George and Gracie.

The M207 radio van, Gracie... and George, the BATUS coloured M135 came to me in a 5 truck deal. A neighbour started naming the trucks after comedians so the pattern stuck.

There are public details online about BATUS but in general, the British trained in Alberta, nabbed some of our CDN gear, painted them odd colours and said WE have funny accents in Canada.

....and I'm real proud to own the 1956 July 7, 56-54341 Ser, 113505503
BATUS M135

1954 Manual
 

It seems there were many runs of the Operator's Manual. My copy is dated June 1954.

Dave: sounds like you are due for a road trip to revisit the WV Saloon. Every Wednesday is wing night!

Notable that on Wayne's, the reference to a medium wrecker is gone.

At that point in time, the CF was still using the Diamond T, and I believe continued to do so as the main wrecker until about 1960 when the M62 was introduced. So perhaps somebody in Ottawa realized that a SMP medium wrecker would be fairly useless.

I had a Sgt in MooseJaw who related drawing a Diamond T out of Edmonton depot as late as the early 70s for some operation.

Manuals
 

There were indeed several print runs of the Operator's Manual 2½ Ton 6x6 GMC (Canadian), which makes sense as the fleet was very big and they were handed out during driver training. I believe the light buff coloured cover version was the final print edition of this manual. I have yet to find one in French.

Attachment 92095

Attachment 92096

Regarding the M62 5 ton Wrecker, they were introduced in 1953; the earliest vehicles were Korean War vintage machines that had been shipped back to Canada following the end of hostilities.