After our initial recommissioning of the 715 we were able to drive to a few local events during the summer of 2021. These tentative steps as we added miles since getting it up and running gave us more and more confidence in the truck, and that buying it was the correct decision. As always, there is a but, and as we continued to use it other notable problems raised their head. The first was after driving the truck back to the house and parking it on the drive overnight, the following morning there was evidence of a fuel leak. On closer inspection we found the fuel line where it ran along the top of chassis, just ahead of the fuel tank, had been flattened and with that the pipe had got a tiny fracture in it. First things first the damaged pipe had to be removed and replaced, which we did using a length of flexible rubber hose which meant we could slightly re-route the pipe to avoid the pinch point. Taking a closer look, we discovered that the spacer blocks between the back bed and chassis had compressed over time, and there were no spacer blocks right at the front. Having found this out we realised the back bed had been bouncing up and down and had been compressing the fuel pipe. With some blocks of wood and a jack the back body was raised and heavy rubber pads were inserted under the body mounts, and new ones inserted where there had been any. By doing this we have now removed any chance of the fuel line getting trapped again.
Next, we decided that although the replacement modern aluminium radiator and electric fan worked well there was the human element of switching the fan on when it was necessary. This could lead to problems if it was forgotten to switch the fan on. Fortunately, we had the original radiator which had been badly damaged a few years earlier when the fan let go from the water pump. To remove the human element in the cooling system I decided that the radiator needed to be repaired. Talking to a friend of mine, who has military vehicles, recommended a small firm locally to us. I decided to give them a go. I took the radiator and placed on the counter and the owner came out. Before I had said anything he said to me not to tell him anything about it as he liked the challenge of seeing if he could work it out what it from.
I could have been there some considerable time but he concluded it was off an American vehicle but had to admit defeat at to what make or type. I then put him out of his misery, and in anticipation of him admitting he had not idea what an M715 Kaiser Jeep looked like, I showed him a photo of the truck on my phone. Three days later I got a phone call to say the radiator was ready. Needless to say, the following day I was over to the unit and the radiator was fitted. Another problem solved we were able to drive with the knowledge that the engine would be keep cool enough without relying on manually switching the fan on.
There were just a few events to attend before winter set in, after that it was just local runs out as and when. This gave us the opportunity to remove the fuel tank to a) check and clean it out and B) repair the broken wire from the fuel gauge sender unit, only accessible with tank removed. With a transfer pump hooked up the tank was emptied of all the fuel. Once that was done the tank was supported with a jack, and the pipework and retaining straps were removed. I had been warned that the truck might have to be jacked up to extract it, but after some measuring, I reckoned it could be done without the need the raise the truck. Once on the ground, the tank just slid underneath the chassis. The fuel gauge sender unit was removed and the cable repaired. The inside of the tank was remarkably clean with no rust and there was no debris in there either.
The exterior of the tank was cleaned and rubbed down and given a good coat of stonechip paint. Left to dry the gauge was remounted and the tank offered up for remounting with rubber strips positioned to stop the straps and tank rubbing. This proved impossible so thinner strips were found and with the help younger stronger arms the retaining bolts were slipped into position. Everything tightened up the new replacement filler neck was fitted and some fuel put into the tank. The moment of truth would the gauge work? Battery isolator switched on and then the ignition switch, the fuel gauge twitched. Some more fuel was poured in and the needle rose. Job sorted.