[maple_leaf_eh]

Jason:

In my youth, I watched a succession of light trucks come through 'the Pearly Gates' of the William Street Armoury. The Sherbrooke Hussars had M37 3/4s, which were getting pretty tired by 1976. Then there were Dodge 1 tons for the summer Olympics. These were followed by GM 5/4 tons maybe two years later. Certainly we had 5/4s by 1978.

I recall the Dodges weren't much help. For example, 12v systems meant no chance of mounting our tactical radios. The solution was to hang a manpack on the back racks and carry on. There was no SMP lighting or slave cable plug. The chrome trim wasn't very practical, and it probably was just painted over. I really don't remember. The 4wd was done with front locking hubs. The interior wasn't outfitted for any practical purposes. For some reason, I remember the bigger boys saying the bench seat was handy for entertaining girlfriends. All in all, the Dodge "Powerwagons" were a really interim step between proper military trucks, and the military needed reliable vehicles during the Montreal Olympics. Full stop.