Older Models Of Army Surplus Vehicles
When I was growing up, my dad actually bought an army vehicle once. It was a jeep from the Vietnam era, and in pretty bad shape when he got it.
Most army surplus vehicles have never actually seen combat, but many of them have been through some pretty tough terrain. This one had been used in a training facility, and had driven over rocks and craters until it was completely smashed up. There was a hole in the bottom, the transmission needed work, the brakes were shot, and one of the wheels was broken.
Fortunately, an army surplus vehicle like this can be had for next to nothing, meaning that you can afford to spend the money it costs to fix it.
Nowadays, it can be hard to find replacement parts for these old and aging army surplus vehicles. Back then, however, it was pretty simple. Army outdoor surplus gear, no matter if it was a Jeep or a sweater, was affordable, practical, and well built. We ordered some of the parts from a mail order catalog, found a few more in the local army surplus store, and traded with a friend of my dads for the missing wheel. A few months later, we had all the parts we needed and were ready to get to work.
Today, army surplus vehicles are huge hummers and troop transports, but back then many of them were rather humble. This particular jeep was quite small, and easy to hoist up and work on.
We could fit the whole thing in the garage and have plenty of room to move around and access our automotive tools. We worked on it all summer that year, and by the end we had a running, working jeep. There was still some body work that needed to be done, though we were able to take it out on a test drive before the beginning of winter.
I would not say that it ran like a charm, but it definitely ran. As a matter of fact, we had that jeep running for another 15 years.
