$24,000
Post Falls, Idaho
Category
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Engine
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Posted Over 1 Month
1960's AMC M422- A1 Mighty MiteUp for auction is an extremely rare "Mighty Mite" that was manufactured and used for a brief time during the early 1960's of the Vietnam War.This vehicle has been sitting in a garage for the last 30+ years. It would need the gas tank cleaned, brakes, head lights, exhaust, windshield and all fluids replaced before it would be a driver. We had the engine running and it sounded great. This is a very rare and great piece of history. It has a lot of great visible, original markings around the body. The only things I see missing are one chain hook for the tail gate, the windshield and one of the reflectors is cracked. I don't know if anyone will ever find one this original considering how very few were ever made. Bellow is some brief history on the vehicles. Please email me with any questions and provide your phone # if you would like a call. Thank you, Kevin The M422 “Mighty Mite” was built by AMC as a light weight truck for “vertical envelopment operations,” i.e. parachuting, for the U.S. marines. An aluminum body helps keep the weight down to 1,700 pounds. The truck came in three models: the M422, M422a1, and M422a2. The M422ai has a 71" wheelbase. It is 6 inches longer and 80 pounds heavier than the M422. The a1 uses the spare tire and windshield from the M38a1. Designed as a combat vehicle suitable for airlifting and manhandling, it can operate on all kinds of terrain. This vehicle has a fording depth of 21 inches, although it can drive in water up to 60 inches with a special kit. The suspension is mounted in a unique way which virtually eliminates roll-overs The bullet in the Mite’s chamber was one of its most unusual features: an aluminum, air-cooled, 107.8-cu.in., 55-hp V-4 engine built by American Motors and used exclusively in the Mite. (Early prototypes are said to have been powered by Porsche engines, but off-shore components wouldn’t fly with Uncle Sam.) The body, too, was fabricated from aluminum, which helped the Mite tip the scales at less than 1,800 pounds. The quarter-ton-capacity rig was built from mid-1960 through 1963 for the United States Marine Corps. It’s diminutive size and feathery weight allowed it to be easily airlifted by helicopter into action and maneuvered through rough terrain by troops. Mighty Mites are relatively rare today, since only 3,922 were reportedly built. The initial 1,250 were the 107-inch-long M422, M422A1s—a virtually identical variant that was 6 inches longer and was said to be much preferred by troops. It’s also said that the Marines appreciated the Mite’s ride, which came courtesy of four-wheel independent suspension sprung by quarter-elliptic leaves.
Trim AMC 422A1
