White M3A1 Scout Car

1943 White M 3 A 1 Scout Car. Genuine WW 2 Survivor! Most WW 2 vehicles in the US never left local bases before being sold. Its rare to find one that had actually been in Europe. was used in the war. and survived. My classic armored vehicle was part of the Budge Collection in the UK. ( warrelics. eu/forum/after-battle/budge-collection-retford-long-ago-far-away-24267-2/) . before being imported back into the US by the owner of local business that specialized in selling used military vehicles. This was in the early 1990's when it was still allowed. The owner kept it for his own personal use until I purchased it from him when he retired and closed up shop in around 2005. You can see a picture of the same Scout Car in the link I provided. It was one of the largest European collections at the time. The Scout Car is an older restoration with many of the hard to get parts attached. Look at the waterproofed ignition and distributor. Look at the three machinegun dollies ready for you to mount your dummy Brownings. Look at the White horn button. Look at the original Zenith carburetor and air cleaner fittings. These are usually missing and difficult to obtain. I have used my Scout Car for parades. car shows. public displays. and military reenactments. You can too. The benefit of owning a Scout Car is that it is the most economical piece of WW 2 military armor that you can own AND afford to keep. It fits in a garage. Its rubber tires means it can drive on roadways. At just under 10. 00 lbs it can be loaded and towed on a smaller HD trailer by a three quarter ton pick up. Try that with any other US armor and you may wind up in a ditch.

The hard work has already been done on my Scout Car. If you wish to freshen it up it would be the equal of any exhibit piece in the USA with the advantage of having actual been used overseas in the war. My loss will be your gain as collectible armor pieces of quality rarely trade hands and appreciate in value. I have included many photographs and a video of the vehicle running. The previous owner installed an electric fuel pump which makes starting a breeze. This is a large. heavy armored vehicle with limited sight lines. Use caution while operating.
No warranty is implied or offered. Sadly no title is available for this vehicle since it was imported from Europe. It will trade on a Bill of Sale. There are ways to obtain a title but that will be on you. A $1. 00. 00 deposit sent via Pay Pal is required with in 48 hrs of the auction closing. Cash or Cashiers Check or wire transfer payment of balance in full will be made within 7 days of auction end. Shipping is the buyer's responsibility but I will assist with loading. No International sales or exports. Domestic purchase only! Questions or arrangement for viewing will be cheerfully accommodated and encouraged. The vehicle is located in Moorestown. NJ. Thank you for looking and good luck!
M 3 Scout Car USA (1940) Armored car – 20. 18 built

Design and construction Being based on a commercial truck chassis. the hull could sustain some armored weight. This consisted of face-hardened plates. ranging from 6. 4 to 13 mm (0. 25-0. 51 in) on the later M 3 A 1. This was deemed to be enough. as it could deflect infantry fire. Speed was also seen as active protection. Protection was well distributed around the hull. The radiator was shielded by opening armored shutters and the windshield was made of shatterproof glass. The latter could be covered by a 0. 5 inch (12. 7 mm) armored plate. which could be swung in place. with two vision slots. The hood could be opened from both sides. and the frontwheels were covered by heavy sheet metal fenders. equipped with standard military taillights coupled with blackout lights. An ax. shovel and pick were mounted under the doors. themselves equipped with folded protective panels pierced with vision slots. Some storage was installed above each rear fender. The rear open-top compartment received 6 bucket seats. The forward compartment was also open-topped. A tarpaulin cover for these was provided.

Leaf-spring suspension. non-synchromesh transmission. four-speed manual constant-mesh with one reverse speed and no disengagement were some of the features of White's civilian truck. However. the vacuum-assisted brakes were new. The generous. three meter (9. 84 ft) wheelbase was completed by a 1. 67 m (5. 48 ft) tread. The wheels were 220 mm wide. with military 12 ply non-directional tires. The engine was also a standard White Hercule JXD 320 cu in L-Head. water-cooled inline six-cylinder. capable of delivering 82 k W (110 HP). with a 6:5:1 compression ratio. and fed by a Zenith model 29 carburetor. Power-to-weight ratio was 19. 4 bhp per ton. Fuel capacity was 110 l (30 US gallons). with the fuel tank under the driver seat. Road speed and endurance were good. but off-road capabilities soon revealed to be average at best. So. during its entire career. M 3 s were usually kept on roads.

The M 3 A 1 In 1940 came the much improved M 3 A 1 main production variant. Several modification were implemented. The hull was lengthened. and to prevent bogging down. an unditching roller was mounted in front of the bumper. which remains a trade mark on all the White military vehicles afterwards. As armament was also a concern. three machine guns were mounted on skate rails . one forward central heavy M 2 50 cal (12. 7 mm) and two 30 cals (7. 62 mm) at the rear. They could all be fitted on tripods. A radio was fitted. either a SCR 506. 508. or 510. with an antenna base at the center of the rear section. Production started in June 1939 and lasted until early 1944. Total figures differs. from 20. 56 to 20. 18.

The M 3 A 1 became the main road scout in the US Army. serving actively in the Philippines and North Africa. Many were delivered to the Allies. especially the Free French and Russians. However. by 1943 they were seen as obsolete. Critics pointed out the open top compartment. light armour not immune to machine-gun fire. and old-fashion rigid suspension which never allowed them to be fully all-terrain vehicles. Normal duties were rear area road patrols. convoy escort. screening. and. sometimes. advanced scouting parties. All served in various cavalry units throughout the war. but in mid-1942. many were relegated to supply and ambulance work. MP and rear echelon vehicles. By 1943. they had all been replaced by M 8 Armored Cars and M 20 Utility Cars in their former roles. However. some limited numbers saw action in Normandy and in some /pacific islands. but only for secondary duties.

White Scout Car M 3 A 1 specifications Dimensions 5. 6 x 2 x 2 m (18. 37×6. 56×6. 56 ft) Total weight. battle ready 4 tons Crew 1+7 Propulsion Hercules JXD 6 cyl gasoline
5200 cc. 110 hp – Zenith carburetor Speed 55 mph (89 km/h) road

36 mph (50 km/h) off-road Range 400 km at cruise speed Armament Main: M 2 50 cal. (12. 7 mm) machine-gun

Secondary: 2 x Cal. 30 M 1919 A 4 machine-guns

Armor From 6 to 13 mm (0. 25-0. 51 in)

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