Please see the photo from a 1965 Guns and Ammo ad before you chime in with "these were never made". Lots of stuff was "maybe made" when advertised and maybe a few were actually made. Any info on this would be appreciated from someone who has actually seen this in person.

They're commonly referred to as "Tanker" Garands, a few different companies made them over the years. They were based on a experimental prototype carbine made by Springfield called the T26.

I'd blow my whole savings account on stuff at that price.

National Ordnance

Western was one of several cottage industries who built these things or bought them from shops building them from surplus and Berretta BMB or BM59 parts. Wasn't that hard to do if the shop had a good machinist and mill available. They are still phonies. There are reports of some being field converted by overseas arms depots on a trial basis, late in WW-II, for potential paratrooper use. The original Springfield Armory build a couple of T-26 shortened Garand prototypes, but the were never put to use and are in museums. There is no standard design and no specific parts for these rifles. They are guns with no real heritage behind them. However, some were made that worked really well, except for severe muzzle blast from a 30-06 cartridge.

Here is some more reading:
CMP Discussion thread on "Tanker" Garands

Fulton  $2399.95

Back in the 90's I bought two Tanker Garands from Federal Ordnance, one in 308 and one in 30-06.  They even had "Tanker Garand" engraved in large letters on the left side of the receiver. The functioning always was iffy, and the fired brass nout of the -06 was so expanded that I couldn't resize it - at all.  The 308 with the milled trigger guard would pop open and drop the trigger guard in the dirt every 5-6 rounds.

I finally sent both off to Shuff's Parkerizing to have him go through them and rebarrel/revamp them.  What I got back was two perfectly functioning Tankers, which have become a couple of my favorite firearms.  For most circumstances short of SHTF, I would feel perfectly fine with either one and a Olongapo Outfitters "grab and go" pouch filled with 12 enblocs.

A lot of these were commercially made by several companies and also basement gunsmiths. Many were made with welded receivers and did not function correctly. As stated Shuffs is the go to guy today for these builds

I have one of those made by Arlington Ordnance.
It was family owned for maybe 50 years.
It shoots swell.

If I could time travel... case quantities would be in my future.

I also have an 18" A/O 'Tanker' M1 in .308,  and two 16" Mini-Gs (a 308 & a 30-06) that Shuff converted from donor CMP Field Grade M1s.  ALL of them run without issues and are quite accurate.

The Mini-Gs are actually the true 'carbine'-length M1s, not the Tanker, despite what that ad in the O.P.'s post says.

The older Tankers are somewhat a dangerous item to buy and you must carefully inspect it before picking one up. What a lot of companies did was take two demilled receivers, and simply weld them back together and made the "Tanker" model.

I recommend buying from Fulton Armory as another person suggested. Also, Shuff makes something he calls Mini-G and takes your existing Garand and converts it to a Tanker. The trick is the bending of the op-rod. A lot more pressure is common back on the op rod, and manufacturers have to bend the op-rod into shape. This causes the ammo selection to be limited and somewhat hard to get down to science. You have to figure out what ammo works best, and it may not. A huge negative is that you cannot swap out op-rods or the guide spring or guide. It's all proprietary and you might have to swap out a lot of parts if something breaks. To replace the springs, you might have to take a garand spring and chop down the coils until it cycles. Basically it's going to be a major pain to maintain parts for.

None are "official" products and the "tanker" was never meant for tank crews. It's pure commercialized ads.

wow, a $100 in 1965 is like $810 now.

Some companies, not all.

My A/O 18.5" 'Tanker' was built on a 6-digit WW2 S.A. receiver (7/'42), which my gunsmith checked over prior to firing, as well as for headspace.

F.A. is pricey, but over the years I've seen a few of their Tanker M1s, and they do run.

No, Shuff's conversion gives you a true 'carbine'-length (16.1") Mini-G, not an 18.5" Tanker.  Different build, different weapon.

And the way F.A. sets-up their Tankers is different from how Shuff builds his Mini-Gs from his customers' donor M1s.

Dude, ... wut?

On the Mini-Gs, Shuff does shorten and modifying the op rod to fit and run with a 16.1 barrel, but the key to his build is the use of a Schuster Mfg. adjustable M1 gas plug, a Wolff' 'Tanker'-size M1 XP recoil spring, and a modified follower rod, all of which work together to control gas pressure and the op rod's reciprocation speed so the Mini doesn't beat itself to death during firing. Basically, his set-up 'tricks' the gun into believing it's still firing mil-spec M2 ball ammo (if it's a 30-06, or M80 ball if the Mini is chambered in 7.62/.308).

But Shuff's Mini-G builds are also fully restorable to original configuration. He can re-assemble your Mini back to a 'full-size' M1 by re-barreling it with the original G.I. barrel, re-installing a full-size op rod and op rod spring, then attaching the upper hand-guards, and replacing the Schuster adj. plug with the G.I plug (if you want).

All that said, there's really no reason anymore to get a 'Tanker' if what you want is a 'shorty' Garand.  Just get a Mini-G.

I have two - one in 7.62/.308, and the other in 30-06. The latter is a dedicated hog/deer 'carbine,' for which I handload the heavy 200gn & 220gn .30-cal hunting bullets, and then regulate cycling with the Schuster plug.

But for an all-around, handy, portable M1 'carbine,' for use as a truck gun or camp/woods gun, I can highly recommend the .308 Mini variant, which runs a Criterion barrel. Love mine. Great shooter.

What Nick said is spot on.  A mag-fed mini-g is a superb addition to any collection and very handy in the woods or deer blind.

I have a DCM Winchester still in the box  that was only $89.00.  That was about 30 years ago.  LOL

Shuff's makes one now.  Not cheap, but hey.

I had one built by Fulton before they productized it.  Was a fun shooter, but a buddy made me an offer I couldn't refuse on it, so it has since moved on.

I have one in 308, bought it from the son of a guy who probably bought it from an ad like that.

So, dumb question.   How is that different than a M1a SOCOM?

I bought a CMP in .308 with a centurion barrel, and it's quickly becoming my favorite Garand to shoot.  I also have a M1 SOCOM, and a few CMP Garands.

Would donating one and making it a mini G get me anything I don't already have?

no not really , just something not everyone else has and a rifle with all USGI forged parts

For folks who live in mag-restrictive states (e.g., New Jersey),  an 8-rd clip-fed 16" Mini-G in .308 gives you a handy, portable 'carbine' that's legal to own.

Even if mag-fed semis are still legal in your state, the clip-fed Mini is just a really cool fun carbine to shoot, not to mention hunt with.

As far as a mag-fed .308 Mini-G versus the Springer SOCOM, I agree with M1G. They're pretty similar, but your Mini will be running on USGI parts whereas the SOCOM is built on commercial parts.

Cool, thanks.

I kind of wanted the Mini G a while back (pre-owning a Garand) and ended up with a SOCOM as a bit of a compromise.  Kind of went about it backwards, I guess.

I've had a few shortened garand that were done many years ago by a gunsmith in Houston tx. He did them because there was too much muzzle erosion due to improper cleaning and wanted to make them somewhat accurate again.  Usually from about 16 1/2 to 19 inches when he was done.