Anybody Know What This Is?

[glcaines]

I found this in my M151A2. I have no idea what it is or even if it is actually a part from a M151A2.

[D Pizzoferrato]

I'll make a guess. If you uncurl the end and make it flat, do the holes mate up to a license plate? Will the tab insert into one of the footman loops on the rear of the body?

[glcaines]

I'll make a guess. If you uncurl the end and make it flat, do the holes mate up to a license plate? Will the tab insert into one of the footman loops on the rear of the body?

A very good suggestion, but the distance between the holes doesn't line up with a license plate if you straighten out the piece.. Additionally, the end that appears to be flatter was obviously bent at the same angle as the other more curved end. I'm thinking it was some sort of bracket to hold a container of some sort in place. The bottom tab on the piece was obviously designed to slide into some sort of slot or a footman loop as you suggested. It is the correct size to slide into a footman loop.

[Mark]

Would it be part of a gas can holder?Wasn't there gas cans mounted on the side of rear front fender?

[glcaines]

Would it be part of a gas can holder?Wasn't there gas cans mounted on the side of rear front fender?

It actually looks like some type of holder, but it isn't large enough for a gas can.

[rickf]

The fact that it looks like it will fit into a footman loop makes me think it was probably made by someone after it got out of the service. Since that would not be a real secure mounting it would never pass mil-spec. Also it is pretty light for anything military. They are firm believers in overkill. I would guess it was made to hold a metal box, maybe ammo box? But whatever it would not have been real heavy.

[glcaines]

This M151A2 has been in storage after leaving the military decades ago.

[rickf]

I may be wrong then but most, if not all, military parts have a part number stamped on them somewhere.

[Mark]

Was this just lying in the mutt or bolted to something?It probably is something someone put in the mutt for possible use somewhere.Another essential use item for something.It is not organic to the vehicle, if it was, the experts would know.Unless it is part of a secret weapon then no one would know!!

[rickf]

I enlarged the pic and here is what I can offer. The screws (I say screws due to the round head) went in from the inside of the bend. The tab facing down is slightly concave and has a wear mark slightly to the left side which matches a similar wear mark on top. This would lead me to believe that this was a bracket for something that was not flat but slightly rounded. I can't see the outside of the bent tab where the screw hole is but I would guess it might look like it was worn from pivoting on another bracket? And what you said before about the other side being bent in to match the 90 degree bend on the left side looks to be correct.
So I do not believe it was designed to go into a footman loop, I think it was designed to hold a rounded part of some sort hanging from the sides. I can't think of anything that fits that bill on a 151. It could have just been tossed in there before disposal. I have come home with all kinds of interesting things found in equipment bought from the military that didn't belong to that particular equipment.

[m3a1]

I know what that is. I also know how to solve world hunger, drought, and lumbago...

AND.... I know how to keep a secret.

[muttguru]

Hello Folks,
I'm glad to be back and taking an interest in life once again.Many Many thanks to all of you for the prayers, well-wishes and thoughts.
I saw this a couple of weeks ago and i've since been pondering what it may be. Here's a suggestion.

On very early Ford-built plain M151 vehicles, the left hand rear bumperette had an attachment. A hole was drilled through the bumperette and a bracket was attached. The purpose of the bracket was to hold the gas can securely in place and it was shaped to follow the curvature of the bottom edge of the can. This was dropped fairly quickly from production and as a replacement, PS Magazine suggested that a piece of heater hose could be slit along its length and then placed on the top edge of the bumperette. I copied that idea and I know many other owners did likewise.

The bracket that member Glcaines has is not identical to the early cinch-plate, it is bigger but it could probably do a similar job of retaining the gas-can in place. especially if the hole in each end of the bracket had a rubber bumper attached. And the hole in the central bracket could have allowed the bracket to be attached to the rear bumperette. That's my best guess, nothing else in the parts TM looks anything like it.

Here's a couple of snaps of the real cinch-plate for comparison.
Ken

[glcaines]

Thanks for the write up on the fuel can bracket. I was totally unaware of that and it was very interesting. However, the bracket I have is too small to serve that purpose. There is also no P/N stamped on it. Since the A2 was originally a TOW Launcher, it could be something left over from those days, but I believe it is likely something totally unrelated to the truck that was left inside by the military.

Unknown Part 4.jpg

[rickf]

Now that you have it positioned like that I see the wear pattern on the outside of the bracket at the hole that I was talking about earlier.