Help me ID new MUTT in the dog pound

[mutt and jeff]

Fellow club member picked up this barn find and we are going through it right now. Clutch stuck to flywheel, but starter Bendix is at the shop before we can solve that problem. In the meantime, could use some help to find out exactly what this is. It is represented as a 74 AMG. CARC stencil on dash says applied in 91, so definitely a later MUTT. A2 data plate, but no serial number on hood or any other data plates on dash. No body tag on trans hump. A1 gas tank? Three belt engine, so a@ under the hood. No snorkel set up but has snorter connected. USMC lift rings on rear bumper. Looks like military wire cutter remnant on front bumper. No unit markings. ROPS kit and webbing. Composite tail lights. Fibreglass strips to repair rust through on floorboards, battery box and tool box, so Bubba has had a hand on this one, IMO.

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So going with A2 with A1 gas tank unless otherwise directed. Army? USMC? How to get some serial number or DOD info?

All help greatly appreciated.

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[mutt and jeff]

Two more pics.

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[rickf]

It could well be a 74. I think 74 was went they went to emissions controls so it could be an early version. The pics are too small to see any detail and none of the side panels. Where are the front floor drains? Are they in the side panels near the front of the floors? If so then it is an AMG 72 to 74. If scuppers in the floor it is Ford 70 to mid 72. Look over top of the valve cover on the cowl for evidence of a BUDD tag that may have been there, just a couple of faint welds. If side drains the tag will be on the transmission tunnel above where your right ankle is when driving, behind the lines. If it is still there. Some, not all, had the numbers stamped into the spare tire carrier.

[mutt and jeff]

Two identical mystery o clips on either side cowl. One broken, one intact. Bubba or military? Side drains from front floor come out side of cowl, one is under the shovel blade, so I did not notice them before. Some sort of paper thin tag on firewall under hood right behind rear of valve cover, will have someone look for numbers or lightly sand for same. Will this be serial number or body number? Where is the data plate located on the ROPS?
Something about a tag on the horn that might have a date?

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[rickf]

No data on ROPS that I know of. The numbers for that year of A2 will be on a tag on the trans tunnel or possibly stamped on the face of the spare tire carrier.

This may give you some guidance.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10358

[Horst]

as said gas tank is a normal A2 non emission set up.
No fording valve, that could indicate that it is not a USMC jeep.
Please check the drive shafts, they have a casting date which could help narrowing down the year.
My 1972 A2 does not have that often mentioned tag on the tunnel. I’m not sure if the number behind the spare wheel will actually help so look for the other cues.
When ROPS was retrofitted, an overlay plate was added to the tag on the wheel arch. No date however on that one.

[rickf]

The date on the horn is on the horn data plate at the bottom of the horn. You really can't depend on that for an exact date but it might get you in the ball park. The older wiring harness's had dates on them but not sure about the newer ones. The engine will have a contract date on it but as we all know they changed engines just for the hell of it sometimes. Backs of gauges could be dated, Some are and some aren't.

[mutt and jeff]

Located just above two bolts
The number is 51074
Another number on horn is 8625

I saw a listing for a ROPS data tag, so presumed they came with one on it, but may be just part or contract numbers, no date. And, I presume all ROPS kits were motor pool applied, not factory fit, so the date on the ROPS would always be later than the actual jeep. Boy, this CARC paint is just flaking off in chunks, applied very thick, probably with a brush as this was a NATO four color pattern. I'm wearing respirator when I mess with it.

[rickf]

Flaking paint is not toxic, it is only if you are sanding it and making dust.

[m75]

The tie-down loops located on the rear wheel well flares are a distinctive feature of all A2s, not just USMC, The straight 151 and A1s used with USMC had a similar tie-down point added, setting them apart from Army trucks.

The upside-down hooks on the cowl sides are, I believe, a local modification, to provide an anchor for the FM radio antenna tie-down kit ropes. Otherwise, there was no standard tie-down point for the rope that was in the kit.

Horn data looks to indicate manufacture date in May 1974 (for the horn itself).

Rick, good to know about the side scuppers date span. Mine was titled as 1970 to avoid CA smog, but I believe it's closer to 1974. And although Ken has the tunnel tag info, it doesn't fit into any series that he has records on.

[rickf]

My info on the floor drains is only what I have learned from the years I have watched the posts and pictures of hundreds of 151's and the associated dates of them as verified by Ken. The one thing I have learned about 151's is never say this is a definite! I think the 151 was the definition of cost saving for the government and they did everything they could to save money with them. Which would include using up old stock until it ran out before transitioning to new stock except maybe when transferring to a new company like Ford to AMG. If the parts were a different fit then new parts would be used but if they were the same then old stock would be used up first. Horns are probably going to be close to correct since they were the same on just about every vehicle in the inventory so they went through a LOT of horns. Hence the turnover of horns would keep the stock up to date.

[mutt and jeff]

Well, right now the consensus is the body number on the stpare tire mount indicates an early 73. Yet, the horn number is for a 74, so it may be we have the front end of one MUTT and the rear end of another..

Interesting....

[Mark]

Just the horn, which I am sure they change them out alot

[rickf]

Was it cut? If it was that is possible but as Mark said you cannot go only by a replaceable part. Did the spare tire mount have the serial number on it? Or just a part number? I don't know when AMG went to the serial numbering in house, I do know that not all A2's have the number stamped on the spare tire carrier. Which leads me to believe it was not done at the factory.

[mutt and jeff]

Turns out numbers on horn were part numbers and not date codes, and the way it was cut and rewelded leads us to believe that the front and rear are from the same original 1973 AM General MUTT. Body number was stamped on spare mount per pic. And, not USMC as no other fording equiptment and rear crossmember lift rings were A2 variants, not just USMC. No registration number on dash, hood or under hood that we have discovered so far.
Got two starters up at the shop trying to get a Bendix that will slide up and down the shaft so we can get this thing started, and, hopefully, the clutch unstuck from the flywheel.
Probably could drag it up and down the street and get something loose or even started, but it's too bloody hot and humid for that kind of work, so I'll wait for a working starter to do the work.

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