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Anybody besides me disturbed by all the bobbed deuces that are popping up on the auction sites? Some are really crappy and appear to be dangerous.
Just my 2 cents,
Gary

Look at all the deuces in general popping up for sale. The market is so flooded with them right now that the value has fell to a point that if you bought one for 4-5K a few years ago, you'll be lucky if you can get you money back if you had to sell it now. The 5 tons are starting to drop in value as well.

The market is flooded as a result of the gov liquidating all that are left. This too brings crap jobs out of the wood work. I've seen a number of the bob jobs that I wouldn't drive 10 feet. The issues I've seen is with the redone rear suspension to accommodate the single axle. Many times suspension is the area that goes lacking in make overs like this. Suspension systems get paid little attention by many buyers who simply don't realize the huge risk when suspensions are not done correctly. A quick buck is the aim, buy cheap, sell cheap; quality, who cares about that? Buyer's who make purchases based on the cheapest price as many do, don't realize until it's too late that they got exactly what they paid for. All I can say is look closely, buy smart so you don't get burned.

When I bought my deuces from Gov liquidation I decided to make something different out of them , just too many basic cargo trucks out there so I bobbed one and made a semi tractor out of the other one. I average 4000 miles a year on the bobbed one, its a joy to drive (now that I have taken care of the head gasket issue). The rear suspension is the front suspension from another deuce with shocks, moved the rear axle back approx. 5" , new balance longer driveshaft with new u-joints, the pinion angle parallel with the transfercase output shaft , original deuce tires (so not to over tax the brakes) and all grade 8 bolts. I used a m105 trailer box mounted to the frame with 8 tensioned mounts just like the original deuce bed. I have seen some bobbed ones with bad pinion angles, frame flange welding ( big no-no), m105 trailer springs mounted to the frame with grade 5 bolts and whimpy spacer blocks, cut and rewelded frames (because the builder didn't want to have to redrill the holes for the bumperettes and "k" frame member). Will I sell it, no I am having too much fun with it . I have been working on semi's and dump trucks for almost 30 years and I have seen my share of scary things out there that others have done to trucks (not just military trucks) and it makes you wonder what they are thinking. I figure Dang, that's a lot of weight going down the road and you had better make it safe otherwise someone is going to get hurt or worse. We don't need that bad publicity ,not in our hobby, there are too many people against us driving these vehicles down the road in the Department of Transportations in this country. Here in Wisconsin, while we were fighting to keep our trucks on the road, I personally heard one of the WisDot people say that army vehicles were made to kill people (we won't get into that one again).
Paul in Janesville, Wis

Paul,

How about some pics of your bobbed Deuce??

thanks,
bob

Thanks Everyone for sharing your thoughts!
Gary

As an over the road "truckdriver" (not a trucker) I too have seen a few of these abortions I wouldn't drive across a parking lot. On the other hand I've seen a couple that made me drool!
My "M" is far from perfect, or finished for that matter, but it's close to original and it's safe!
(Thanks to many of you-all for your extra parts, advice & help.)