Related to another thread, possibly the "doggiest" vehicle I ever drove was an M38A1 jeep. (The link to the other thread is that the second was a 1951 Plymouth Valiant.)

The Army had started an "endurance test of a modified brake fluid" and about a third of the way through the test the M38A1, according to regulations**, was "required to be scrapped." The only way to keep it in the test was for me to "volunteer" to take it as an "administrative vehicle" in place of the Scout I had been assigned to share.

I was somewhat reluctantly declared to be a volunteer.

It required a rather exotic starting procedure, but never failed to start for me. It was incredibly reliable, in that despite my warnings to the dozen or so associates who asked to "borrow it to run up to the track" I could rely 100% on my expectation that NOBODY WOULD EVER DRIVE IT BACK, even after I'd explained the starting procedure required before letting them take it. (Only a couple of them actually walked back the 7.5 miles to the office. I usually had to hitch a ride to get them and it.)

The shop refused to work on it, but out of curiosity I pulled the plugs and did a compression check once. MAXIMUM compression I could squeeze it up to was about 18 psi on one cylinder. The others were lower.

Fortunately I only had to drive it for about 4 months. The others quit asking for the loan after about the first month, so I did have my own "private" vehicle for a while.

** Regulations at the time required that when the cost of parts replaced equalled the original cost of the vehicle the vehicle had to be scrapped. Now you have some idea of what kind of shape all those real "Army Surplus" ones you drooled over were likely to be in?

John