My '68 M-715 suffered from a rusted out fuel tank and a wasted Chevy 350.  At least now it's only got one of those issues. -Hey, what's that white thing lurking in the background?  You'll find out later in '07.

Our Publisher and fellow M-715-ophile, Jeff Nasi gave me the stock fuel tank from his nearly mint and restored M-715.  At least it was mint and restored before he dropped it off at Off Road Unlimited in Burbank to be built into a trail killer. 

I went to start my '68, unaffectionately dubbed "The Evil Truck" the other day only to find it wasn't getting fuel to the carb.  I messed with a lot of stuff, blew air into the lines to clear a rust clog, swapped fuel filters, checked the fuel pump, etc.  All to no avail.  I knew there had to be fuel in there because the last time I drove it I put 15 gallons in the tank just 5 miles from my house.  Turns out my stock tank had a quarter-size rust hole in the bottom that somebody had patched with bathroom caulk and window screen.  That is to say, it leaked 15 gallons dry in about a week.

After dropping the stock tank and installing Nasi's in short order I pulled the sending unit out thinking I could give it away to somebody in need of the factory 24V unit.  Nope.  Rusted solid and even the float was full of gas.  Both the tank and the sending unit are now comfortably in the steel dumpster of a local off road shop.

I'll get around to building a small block Chevy for it one of these months.  I'm still wavering between a standard stroke 350 and a 383.  I only want about 400hp, so either is a possibility.  However, I don't want to regear the axles or run an overdrive, so I think the standard 350's 3.48-inch stroke will have an easier time surviving sustained 3600rpm freeway cruises than the 383's 3.75-inch.  Since Cappa is planning a Glamis run someting after Christmas I'll have to make a decision and pull the trigger pretty soon.  Stay tuned.