If you read Cappa's "Impulse Deuce" story elsewhere in this issue (page 48), you probably got most of your Cappa/Hazel long-distance, nonessential vehicular purchase fix, so I won't go too heavily into why or how I drove 2,200 miles to buy a derelict '68 M-715.
As usual, I didn't need another Jeep, I didn't have room for another Jeep, and I didn't know what I was gonna do with another Jeep. I only knew the $800 asking price was under a grand, the rig had paperwork, and it was a Jeep. That alone was enough to activate the portion of my brain that overrides all reason. Before you could say "stupid idea" I had borrowed an '05 Power Wagon from the DaimlerChrysler press fleet, hooked up my trailer, snatched Cappa from his plastic above-ground swimmin' hole, and was speeding 1,100 miles to Boise, Idaho.
Once again, the empty wallet rears its ugly head. I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels a bit shaky when the vehicle count gets below 10, am I? | 
Once parked at Cappa's house, we gave the truck a quick once over. The driveshafts, hundreds of bolts and parts, an old World War II PTO winch, and other assorted trinkets were in the bed. The interior was pretty disassembled, but all of the parts were found scattered somewhere on the floor. |
The leaky manual-steering box is stock, but the scary home-hacked lift shackles aren't. Thankfully, the swapped-in Chevy V-8 engine mounts, T98-to-Chevy bellhousing adapter, and exhaust were usable. | 
Since the seller had yanked the old NP200 T-case and tossed it, Jp Associate Editor Pete Trasborg donated the old NP200 from his M-715, while Jp Publisher Jeff Nasi donated the T-case crossmembers from his M-715. I bought the passenger T-case mount from a member on www.m715zone.com, while another member, Mark Everhart, donated the driver-side mount. Apparently, it takes a village to resurrect one of these trucks. |
A mere 28 days before the date of departure for Ouray, Colorado (see "The Trip That Never Was," page 78), I got to spinning wrenches. First on the to-do list was rebuilding the factory driveshafts with new NAPA heavy-duty U-joints. In all, the buildup consumed about 25 trips and $1,500 at the local NAPA. | 
The rear shoes were coated in a thick and saucy mixture of gear oil, grease, and brake fluid. I thought I ordered front and rear shoes from Memphis Equipment, only to laugh out loud when the box arrived a week later. Apparently, Memphis sells the shoes individually and not as pairs, so keep that in mind when ordering. The axle is disconnected from the springs so I could remove the springs and flip the shackles back down like stock. |
Here's the reason I couldn't get a firm pedal no matter how many times I bled the brakes. The factory wheel cylinders were corroded solid. I got info from Trasborg and www.m715zone.com on how to slightly enlarge the cylinder mounting holes in the backing plates so you can use '93-'94 Ford E-350 van wheel cylinders. | 
Allow me to introduce you to the nail in the coffin. Hot Rod's Editor in Chief David Freiburger gave me the incredibly skuzzy Chevy 350 out of the magazine's Project F-Bomb '73 Camaro. He probably thought I'd at least rebuild it, but I'm apparently not that bright. |
I had a Centerforce Dual Friction clutch assembly on the shelf from a past project. A new Centerforce neutral-balance flywheel went on, and I sank the engine into the chassis with little drama. Outside temperature averaged a brisk 112 degrees for most of the two weeks I actually spun wrenches on the truck. | |