Gamma Goat

Military vehicles other than M-151s that might be of interest to our members

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m3a1
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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by m3a1 » September 19th, 2020, 8:55 pm

de officiis wrote:
September 19th, 2020, 8:59 am
m3a1 wrote:
September 17th, 2020, 5:32 am

So, tough or not tough, I have to practice some conservation.
I completely agree. Used to be nonchalant about this, but not anymore!
Yep. That is exactly why I now have dedicated, on-board ear-pro. It's far too easy to just blow it off. Once you're in and seated and ready to go, the last thing anyone wants to do is climb back out and hunt around for protection. Now, it's always on board and ready for use. I'll probably also grab some disposables for those folks who are too self-conscious to wear over-the-ear protection.

And yes, the Gama Goat does have a muffler which is located under the hood and just forward of the hinge points of the hood.

But, like the M151, the Gama Goat possesses a large number of surfaces through which noise resonates....just the nature of the beast.

Comments about the level of noise made by the Gama Goat are sometimes made rather tongue-in-cheek and yes, even sometimes OVERstated but it is astoundingly loud when the engine is wrapped up and pulling (which is almost all the time when in motion). After a few minutes it begins to feel like the old drill instructor is back. You know, the one who puts the garbage can over your head and beats on it with a baton? Yeah. THAT guy.

These older Detroits are an antiquated system. They use their engine oil as a method for cooling and the jackets aren't wet (exposed to normal coolant) but instead, are sprayed with oil as a means of removing heat and that, dear friends, requires RPMS and a lot of oil (one of the major reasons we Goat owners so faithfully check fluid levels).

Cheers,
TJ

de officiis
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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by de officiis » September 19th, 2020, 9:07 pm

m3a1 wrote:
September 19th, 2020, 8:55 pm
de officiis wrote:
September 19th, 2020, 8:59 am
m3a1 wrote:
September 17th, 2020, 5:32 am

So, tough or not tough, I have to practice some conservation.
I completely agree. Used to be nonchalant about this, but not anymore!
Yep. That is exactly why I now have dedicated, on-board ear-pro. It's far too easy to just blow it off. Once you're in and seated and ready to go, the last thing anyone wants to do is climb back out and hunt around for protection. Now, it's always on board and ready for use. I'll probably also grab some disposables for those folks who are too self-conscious to wear over-the-ear protection.

And yes, the Gama Goat does have a muffler which is located under the hood and just forward of the hinge points of the hood.

But, like the M151, the Gama Goat possesses a large number of surfaces through which noise resonates....just the nature of the beast.

Comments about the level of noise made by the Gama Goat are sometimes made rather tongue-in-cheek and yes, even sometimes OVERstated but it is astoundingly loud when the engine is wrapped up and pulling (which is almost all the time when in motion). After a few minutes it begins to feel like the old drill instructor is back. You know, the one who puts the garbage can over your head and beats on it with a baton? Yeah. THAT guy.

These older Detroits are an antiquated system. They use their engine oil as a method for cooling and the jackets aren't wet (exposed to normal coolant) but instead, are sprayed with oil as a means of removing heat and that, dear friends, requires RPMS and a lot of oil (one of the major reasons we Goat owners so faithfully check fluid levels).

Cheers,
TJ
You should post a picture of the engine, I'd like to see it.

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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by m3a1 » September 21st, 2020, 10:35 am

Small victories every day. If you can achieve that, everything else falls into place..

Here, we have a little something new on the Goat....
62223180005__D8667E01-B670-4248-A5A4-D321DE84F2DA.jpeg
Cheers,
TJ
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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by 12Bravo » September 24th, 2020, 1:08 am

Name of my first Goat back in 81 was Ugly, 2nd Goat was Pug, 3rd Goat was you Bi-ch and the one TJ has never got a name for it was street driven only and never had off road use to earn a name. Ugly , I got her hung up crossing a ditch down in the bottoms where the troop carrier was at its most upward position against the bump stops on the tractor. It was slick and it was in just enough of a bind the center wheels would come up off the ground and the front and rear wheels was not enough to pull her up and out. Pug ,I hung her up crossing a drainage ditch in between two corn fields down in the river bottoms. I didn't get 6 wheel drive engaged all the way and she got stuck coming up out of the ditch, when we stepped off the front fender the ground was right there. That is about 4 feet in the mud. That was a long night ,had to call someone to come and pick us up ,go get the deuce and winch her out. We ran out of beer that night. She was pushing some mud until it was just too much in 2 wheel drive which was amazing how much she had pushed forward. I don't know of any vehicle that will follow one except a track. A tree 5-6 inches in diameter if you can't push it over the tractor will go up it and when your looking at the moon and with the weight of the tractor the tree will bend over or break and it will wallow right on over it. Had to explain a couple of times why there was a half moon shape dent in the front of the tub.
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Horst
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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by Horst » September 24th, 2020, 10:57 am

enjoying that thread. I realize that I start to like the Goat and would love to have one. I have seen a few of them in Germany but naturally the number is quite low. Fortunately my new money situation prevents me from doing it.
Horst

1972 USMC M151A2 w/ROPS (ex Barstow) and M416
1962 M201 and trailer
1966 GTO,1982 E350 Skoolie, 1987 SJ413, 1987 911
Gone: 2xM35A2c, Unimog 404S, Hanomag AL28, DKW Munga

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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by m3a1 » September 24th, 2020, 4:00 pm

Xloflyr came by today to admire my new gun mount. Weather was beautiful, temperature just right.

Me - Wanna go for a ride?
Him - Yeah!

Once around the pea patch and we return to the house.

Me - Wanna drive it?
Him - Oh, heck yeah!

Driving the Goat is fun. Being chauffeured around in the Goat is even more fun. I may have to bring him on, full time! :lol:

Cheers,
TJ

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Re: Gama Goat

Unread post by 12Bravo » September 24th, 2020, 5:38 pm

Don't forget to bump that 353 up on the governor until she quits winding before you shift gears ,do not lug her. Make her scream . Was thinking today I probably have over 80,000 , might be closer to 90,000 combined miles in all my goats. I've been there done that with a Goat. I've had people tell me stories with a Goat and shake my head thinking, yeah right, your blowing smoke at the wrong person. I hauled drilling mud in to an oil rig one winter , the Cat got stuck pulling the float in and nothing could get to the rig. They loaded the Goat down ,went in low range 1st gear and crawled her in. The mud was over the tracks on the Cat, drove right by it. The mud was slick as glass where I had been, the smooth belly of the Goat did a mighty find job of putting that finish on it. A concrete worker would have been proud . None of the rig hands thought it would make it. They were probably doing side bets.

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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by m3a1 » September 24th, 2020, 11:11 pm

Yeah, we 'met the governor' on every shift today. :lol: :lol:

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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by m3a1 » September 27th, 2020, 10:40 pm

I liked the first set so much I got another set for the back.
IMG_3490.jpeg
Cheers,
TJ
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m75
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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by m75 » October 11th, 2020, 11:19 am

All quiet on the Gama Goat front apparently
Jim Peterson
SGM, 31B Retired 2015
1961 M151 -Sold
1974 M151A2, Working It!

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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by m3a1 » October 11th, 2020, 7:00 pm

Not exactly. But we're havin fun!

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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by m3a1 » October 12th, 2020, 10:09 am

Saturday was Boerne Texas' first official car show; The Hill Country Rod Run. With the Covid still going strong, all the pent up gear-head energy was released on our Hauptstrasse and town square.
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Not having a street rod (and not wanting to water down the mix on all those beautiful cars) I showed up with Dirty Gertie and we took a space on a side street at the invitation of The Black Rifle Coffee Co. Xloflyr was there with his M37 doing the VFW thing and it was really nice to be able to interpret them together since the Gama Goat and the M37 are historically linked.
IMG_3611.jpeg
Unfortunately, as the day wore on and the crowds gathered, it became clear it wasn't going to be possible to avoid getting too close to one another. I bailed at noon but had a great time right up until the very last moment.

Got home and found out the mailman had delivered a Squadron Signal publication on the Gama Goat that I ordered from eBay on the cheap. Turned out it was hardbound! BONUS!
62404350629__FDCB04E8-D7D4-49AD-B6BF-ABFB72367AD1.jpeg
One of the things I love about this hobby is that every day can be just like Christmas morning if you want it to.

Cheers,
TJ
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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by m3a1 » October 12th, 2020, 10:24 am

By 10AM, crowds are beginning to gather. The photos are a little deceptive when taken at this angle. But, around all this automotive goodness, people are beginning to forget themselves. Some, not masked up. I'm not pointing fingers. We're only human, with herd instincts. When I saw it getting a little hairy, I bailed out. It was becoming a scorcher of a day, anyway.
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EVERYBODY loved the Goat. When it was time to leave, a lot of people just stopped and stared. You simply cannot ignore that Detroit Diesel! Some had cameras up as I wended my way through the crowd to an exit. Big grins all around.

Cheers,
TJ
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Mark
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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by Mark » October 12th, 2020, 11:22 am

Looks like a typical town in South Dakota, being in Texas it should be bigger/better LOL The cars look good and none will be cheap.Makes me wonder if my word is still legit?
Last edited by Mark on October 12th, 2020, 6:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
mark


1968 m274A5
1960 m151
1981 m151A2
1964 m416
1971 m416

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Re: Gamma Goat

Unread post by rickf » October 12th, 2020, 6:25 pm

Yup, Covid is soaring and not a mask to be seen for the most part. We will never learn. In that last pic the black Caddy Looks almost like Cadzilla owned by Billy Gibbons from ZZTop and I know he is a Texas boy. Cadzilla has more rake to it and different tail lights but he may have built a more sedate version? Then again, Gibbons, Sedate? Naaaa!
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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