So in today’s version of “things I want to own right now” I found myself seeking out cool 5-ton army trucks to drool over and that’s how I ended up with this 1970 Kaiser M809 series rig on my computer screen staring back at me. The truck is in amazing shape with nary a scratch on it, great 53-inch tires, an upgraded interior that features all of the spartan army stuff along with a pair of air-ride buckets that likely increase the driving enjoyment of this truck by 100,000%, and a 250hp Cummins engine that will operate until glaciers once again cover the Earth.
The M809 series of trucks was a huge success and as noted in the title, this one was made under the Kaiser banner but the reality was that the M809s were part of an important transition period for Kaiser and their military division. Kaiser melded into AMC and then AMC spun off the military stuff into a wholly owned subsidiary known as AM-General. Of course that division went on to create the Humvee and a load of other cool and functionally bad ass vehicles over the years. They built about 11,000 of these trucks between the years of 1971 and 1982. This 1970 model was part of a short run the company made during 1969 and 1970 before they got the big contract to crank the trucks out in significant volume.
To me, the looks of a bobbed 5-ton are perfect. The big long version of the truck is cool and all but when you whack one of the axles off, take feet off the bed and frame, and then stand back, the proportions are freaking great. This truck, sitting up on 53″ tires is just pugnacious looking and as mentioned above the thing is in killer shape. With the big tires and the five speed the truck will roll at 55mph all day long and with the air ride buckets it would be relatively comfortable! The cold weather grill cover rules, the look rules, the capability rules, and the fact that I do not have $15,000 is the only part about this truck that stinks!
Big Truck Find: This 1970 Kaiser M809 truck is a zombie killer for sure
Reatively comfortable to a empty cement truck on an unmaintained rural road, but still fun as hell to drive, Second on my list of mil-sexy vehicles to own, right behind the US6.