At $20,000, Would You Enlist This Restored 1977 M151A2 'Jeep'?

Today’s the day we thank a lot of folks for giving us our independence. A lot of those people thank workhorses like our special 4th of July Nice Price or No Dice M151A2 for keeping us so. Let’s see what freedom might just cost.

Mitchell Slaggert’s Rainbow-Colored Jeep Wrangler

Variety, it has been said, is the spice of life. The 1980 Mercedes-Benz 300SD we looked at yesterday offered both diesel and bio-diesel (used french fry oil) fueling and hence was very spicy. At just $5,200, it didn’t leave a bad aftertaste either. At least that was the takeaway from the spicy 75 percent Nice Price win the car captured.

Happy July Fourth to all my American compatriots and a heartfelt raspberry to the Brits who still refer to our great nation as the “Colonies.” In my neck of the woods, Independence Day festivities include fireworks and flags, with things kicking off with an early afternoon community parade. Participants include kids on bikes festooned with red, white, and blue streamers and older folk cruising in convertible cars or the occasional ex-military vehicle like today’s celebratory 1977 Jeep M151A2. Fully restored and packed to the grilles with military memorabilia this MUTT (Military Unit Tactical Truck) would be perfect for that parade duty. It would be equally at home on weekend reconnaissance missions to the local cars and coffee.

The M151’s layout is as interesting as its history. It all began in the early 1950s, at which time the U.S. Army sought to replace its WWII-era Jeep with something more modern and capable. The winning bid for the successor came from the Ford Motor Company, and while the truck may have looked like its predecessor, mechanically and structurally, it proved vastly different. The most obvious difference is the M151’s unit-body construction and four-wheel independent suspension which serves in place of the original Jeep’s body-on-frame construction and live axle setup.

The Ford design is also bigger in every dimension than the OG Jeep. That’s not obvious at first glance since it does maintain similar proportions. While the Army gave Ford the nod for its design, the company wouldn’t be to only one to produce the M151. Additional contracts went out to both Kaiser and AM General for the model, with the latter producing the final run. AM General would eventually segue into producing the M151’s successor, which we all know to be the HMMWV “Humvee.”

One obvious feature of the M151—in addition to its independent suspension—is the truck’s grille. It uses horizontal slots since Kaiser had already trademarked the vertical design for its civilian market Jeeps.

It was the M151’s independent suspension, however, that would prove to be the design’s most vexing feature. A rear swing axle created challenging handling under light loads, so much so that the model was never able to be certified for civilian use by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Much of the M151’s handling gremlins were addressed with the A2 edition which switched to a fully independent swing arm suspension. Still, it’s probably best to keep trucks like these away from Sweden’s Moose Test.

In fact, it would be a shame to mar this M151A2 in any way. From its appearance, there has been a lot of care and effort put into its restoration. It does go over the top with all the military badging and regalia, but that’s the kind of thing that kids totally go bonkers for, making this the perfect parade car.

Power here comes from a 2.3-liter OHV four which is good for 71 horsepower and 128 lb-ft of torque. That’s mated to a four-speed manual gearbox and two-speed transfer case for the part-time 4WD. Deep dish steel wheels fill each arch and are fancied up with a bit of paint that makes it appear the truck is wearing white-wall tires. Everything looks fresh and the seller claims it all to be in “Excellent condition.” A mere 10,134 miles show on the odometer and the truck comes with a clean title. The asking price is a flat $20K.

What’s your take on this celebration-ready Jeep and that $20,000 asking? Does that seem like a fair deal for a restored bit of military history? Or, does that price pee on your parade?

You decide!

Richmond, Virginia, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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