Re: [MV] HELP! Reality check on M8 Greyhound Purchase

From: David Brubaker (b52d@southwind.net)
Date: Wed Mar 08 2000 - 06:06:54 PST


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Broadway title is not an option here in the county where this guy
lives. The county treasurer will not recognize a title from New Hampshire
and Alabama that includes your current in-Kansas address. They know what
is going on and refuse them. You would think that they would want the
vehicles on the tax rolls, but not so. I have had several people from the
list offer me advise on how to deal with the problem and none have
worked. The same holds true for all of the surrounding counties, they
follow the lead of our county. Actually I am currious how he did what he
did, and got away with it.

On Tue, 7 Mar 2000, JOHN SEIDTS wrote:

> *This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(tm) Pro*
> FORGET IT! Too much money for too little vehicle, and a squirrelly owner at
> that. Bide your time. The M8 is not rare - the M20 is.
>
> And if the owner is not conscientious enough to go to Broadway Title and get
> a title in his name for $145.00, I'd really be suspicious.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dean L. Kellogg, Jr <kelloggd@uthscsa.edu>
> To: Military Vehicles List <mil-veh@uller.skylee.com>
> Date: Tuesday, March 07, 2000 10:32 AM
> Subject: [MV] HELP! Reality check on M8 Greyhound Purchase
>
>
> >*This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(tm) Pro*
> >Hi Listees,
> >
> >I have need of your sage advice once more. I have been looking into M8's
> >for several months and have gotten some GREAT suggestions from
> >ya'll...(Doug Greville, Claude Vaughn, John Steids, Mel Miller, and more).
> >I have read loads on the vehicles and studied all the manuals I can get. I
> >went to College Station, Texas and inspected Brent Mullins M8 (NICE!). I
> >thought I had one last week, but I am not so sure now. SO....I need a
> >reality check on this......ya'll are learned....so....let me have it!
> >(fitting for the day after the Alamo fell!)
> >
> > Over the past 2 months I have been investigating an M8. It can be
> >viewed at http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Lane/9475/ (or I have more
> >photos if interested that I can email to listees). This is the story.....
> >
> > It is a 1943 model...(hull #6700). It was brought back to the US in
> >the early 1990's from Italy by a Mr. Allen Cors of Virginia and "restored".
> >It was traded to the current owner for a beautifully restored M5A1 Stuart
> >in 1991. The only modification was the conversion from the hydraulic
> >throttle to a "boat cable" system (not an uncommon modification that was
> >picked up by Doug Greville in a photo I emailed to him). It was repainted,
> >but was not sandblasted prior to this.
> >
> > I corresponded with the current owner and had him take 56 photos of
> >the vehicle (interior and exterior....though he did not take too many of
> >the interior despite my requests). The current owner characterized it as
> >restored with no mechanical problems and lots of extras. The owner had
> >"mechanically maintained" the vehicle and had done no further restoration
> >work. He said that he is getting older and wants to concentrate on his
> >Model T's. Everything was reported to be fine...not perfect, but fine with
> >the M8. No mechanical problems. The photos looked great...even Brent
> >Mullins thought it looked good from what he could tell in the photos.....SO
> >I told the owner that I'd take it if all checked out on a visit to
> >Kansas...which happened 3/4/99......
> >
> >THE FIRST REALITY CHECK:
> > SO, what did I find.....Well, it does need to be repainted. There
> >is some body filler in parts of the sand skirts. There are lots of modern
> >nuts and bolts on the vehicle. The brakes pull hard to the right when
> >applied. Shifting into second gear is hard. The gears do not clash at
> >all, but a lot of force needs to be applied to shifter in order for it to
> >go into gear. The other gears take only a "moderate amount" of force.
> >Break fluid was spilled from the brake master cylinder and it has blistered
> >most of the glossy white paint under the driver's feet and on the area in
> >front of the driver. The boat cable throttle works fine, but the
> >reservoir, elbow, and lower half of the throttle master cylinder are gone.
> >The hydraulic lines for the throttle seem to be there; however, there are
> >some cut hydraulic lines barely visible near the gas tank. The
> >transmission leaks loads of oil when it sits....a seal probablly. The
> >water pump leaks probably because of the teflon packing used in a rebuild.
> >There is some surfaace rust at scattered places around the vehicle that
> >should not be too bad to fix. It does not have the correct front bollards
> >and lacks the correct tow cable. There are some other minor issues, but
> >those are the main ones with the vehicle. It is an older "restoration". I
> >would really consider it more of a "motor pool" level vehicle.
> >
> >On the good side it has lots of extra parts. It has a working radio
> >(SCR-508) and interphone system (the wires for the interphone are modern).
> >It has a nice 50 and 30 cal machine gun set. It has all the extras for the
> >turret (37mm shells, etc.). In short it has good potential, but does need
> >the work as outlined above. I managed to argue the owner to....$40K. He
> >would not go lower.
> >
> >REALITY CHECK #1-does the above make you think that I am an Alzheimers
> >Patient or does this sound ok?
> >
> >NOW FOR THE SECOND REALITY CHECK.....
> > The owner never had a title for the vehicle.....so he has had a
> >friend write out a bill of sale and is using that to get an antique vehicle
> >title. It has always been insured, but never officially titled.
> >REALITY CHECK #2-does this sound ok?
> >
> >NOW FOR THE THIRD REALITY CHECK.....(saved the best for last)
> > After we agreed on the price, I went to pull out a check to put
> >down a 10% deposit with the rest to follow by cashier's check. The owner
> >stated that he will only accept CASH.....greenbacks....the real thing. NO
> >CHECKS OF ANY KIND. He stated that chasiers checks could be canceled by
> >the bank so he did not want that. He says that cash is how it is done in
> >the "old car" clubs, and that is how he wants to do it. He figures that I
> >show up with cash and just take the 7.5 ton vehicle.
> >REALITY CHECK #3-does this sound ok? Sounds dangerous to me.....
> >
> >SO...pour on the reality......I need your experience and advice... I am
> >really interested in getting an M8, but maybe this one is not it.....POUR
> >ON THE REALITY.
> >
> >thanks,
> >dean
> >
> >
> >
> >I
> >
> > ****************************************************************
> > * Dean L. Kellogg, Jr., MD, PhD *
> > * Department of Medicine *
> > * The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio *
> > * 7703 Floyd Curl Drive *
> > * San Antonio, Texas 78229-3900 *
> > * (210) 617-5311 FAX (210) 617-5312 e-mail:kelloggd@uthscsa.edu *
> > ****************************************************************
> >
> >
> >
> >
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>
>
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