First we had the Dodge M37 and now we have this 1968 Jeep M151! The Jeep has been a familiar site on the battlefield for decades now, but this vintage of light utility vehicle would have served during the Vietnam War. It was very similar to earlier Jeeps, but was the first to use a unibody design instead of the traditional body on frame construction. Ford actually spearheaded development on the new MUTT (Military Utility Tactical Truck), but Willys ended up producing them. You can read more about all that here on Military Trader. Just think how different things would be today if the Jeep wore a blue oval on that iconic grill! This particular one is a little rough, but is claimed to have been found in a barn with only one previous owner! It runs and drives, but will obviously need some work. These are simple and rugged vehicles so the process shouldn’t be too complicated. This Jeep is located in Homestead, Florida and is listed for sale here on eBay for $3,500 or best offer. Anyone have any memories of driving one of these around while in the military?
Somebody liked it — it’s already sold!
I wanted one when they were new. Imagine, all-independent suspension, so I was sure it wouldn’t be as hard-riding a beast as my dad’s IH Scout. It would have been tempting to up the horsepower a bit to make it more fun on the road…I was thinking of a 289 Ford instead of the inline-four (not many available V-sixes back then).
Sadly, these were sold only to the military. You couldn’t go get one at your local Ford dealer. I’ll bet they cost Uncle Sam a few bucks more than the Jeep versions, though.
These probably killed and maimed more US service men than the Viet Cong ever did. Swingaxles. They were the topic of a congressional investigation. You don’t see them around much because the order was given to cut them diagonally so that civvies wouldn’t try to use the surplus ones on the road. Even an old m38 was safer.
I rolled one of these in Korea and I flew about 20 feet in the air and when i landed it was on concrete around the man holes over there and busted a sliver out of the base of my spine.
Memories…..Early ’60’s. our unit got a shipment of six M151’s to replace our M38’s. I was the duty driver one night while stationed at a signal company in Pusan, Korea. I was driving at night during the curfew to the downtown railroad station to pick up a new officer, then it happened. I entered a traffic circle and skidded sideways on and off an ice patch, wheels folded in, jeep landed on drivers side. I seemed OK and climbed out the passenger door. I was greeted by some taxi drivers who could not stop laughing, They helped me right the jeep, it seemed OK except some oil on the street from the engine. What to do? The engine started and all seemed well so I continued on the pick up my rider, said not a word, returned to our compound and dropped him off at the BOQ.
I told the first sergeant the next day what had happened, I was thinking court marshal, he was thinking how best to cover this up, thank God. They sent the M151 up north to a field unit and probably claimed shipping damage. I never heard about it again.
I drove one of these while in the National Guard in the 1960s. Very complicated rear suspension. Two u-joints in each axle with a sliding spine. Unfortunately it was not truly independent as there was a fixed assembly with a pivot at differential housing with the hub fixed in position resulting in it being no more than a complicated swing axle. It was so unstable that when going around a highway curve one needed to be doing less than the posted advisory speed. I don’t know that the earlier poster is correct, but I do know that it was one treacherous ride for the inexperienced driver.
$3500 for that rust bucket? Somebody has money to burn if it is already sold.