Operation AWOL

[ZEUS]

This project may be beyond understanding for some, but Operation AWOL is under way... AWOL is an '84 CUCV M1008 Chevy 5/4 ton Army truck honorably discharged from use in the "original" Gulf War. This 6,000 pound hunk of metal came back to The 'States to do ranch work in Wyoming for a couple years until it was retired to a storage unit for a couple more years until I found it and brought it home for $600. It is now in SLC with me... let the work begin...

Additional Specs:
Detroit 6.2 Liter V8 Diesel
TH400 Automatic Transmission
NP208 Transfer Case
Dana 60 Front Axle w/ 4.56 Gears
Corp 14-Bolt Full-Floating Rear Axle w/ 4.56 Gears & Detoit Locker
24/12 Volt Hybrid Electrical System







The '95 Wrangler will be at the frontline and will most likely be the 1st casualty in this operation... Zeus is safe at the HQ for now...

[pbkid]

dude justin...my dad has that EXACT same truck...
diesel was starting to go out...so he replaced it with some big gas motor that runs like a champ...

uses it to plow snow...
thing is a freakin TANK!

i've always wanted to inherit it from him to make into an offroad toy

[nfpgasmask]

Nice, Justin! AWOL actually looks to be in pretty good shape! What are the problems she has that need fixing? I don't any serious rust or anything, so your project should be pretty straight forward, eh?

What are your plans for the final paint job? Are you going to keep the tried and true OD Army feel or go with a Desert Storm flat khaki?

Gotta love a new project.

Bart

[nfpgasmask]

BTW, what kind of locking hubs are those?

Bart

[kodiak]

Finley!! I was wondering if I’d ever see that thing. Looks like it’s in really good condition. Does it have the mil spec 24 volt electrical system in it?

[kodiak]

Oops. I see you posted that it is. That’s going to be a really good crawler.

[Joe_Black]

Looks better than mine right now! However, I do have an '87 Silverado with factory air that's going to donate it's cab and twin-tank bed. It also has a 700R4 but I'm going to hold off for the manual 5-speed in that department. Currently 3-color woodland but I want to go sand like yours, much better for the Florida sun.

[ZEUS]

dude justin...my dad has that EXACT same truck...
diesel was starting to go out...so he replaced it with some big gas motor that runs like a champ...

uses it to plow snow...
thing is a freakin TANK!

i've always wanted to inherit it from him to make into an offroad toy

No kiddin!? What a trip, Joe Black has one too... mostly. I'd like to see some pics of your dad's truck! I want to keep mine a diesel for the decent mileage, but researching has shined some light on the 6.2 motor in a way that I don't like. For now, I am going to keep it there though.

Nice, Justin! AWOL actually looks to be in pretty good shape! What are the problems she has that need fixing? I don't any serious rust or anything, so your project should be pretty straight forward, eh?

What are your plans for the final paint job? Are you going to keep the tried and true OD Army feel or go with a Desert Storm flat khaki?

Gotta love a new project.

Bart

Well, in the 1st wave of attack, I need to rebuild the king pins on the front end because there is a serious (yet fun) death wobble around 30 mph. So when I do that, I will remove the 500 lb Dana and rebuild the entire axle as I install these parts: (Dually hubs, axle shafts...)


...For the intent of installing these: (HMMWV 8-Bolt {bias-ply only} Beadlocks)


...For the intent of installing these: (RARE brand new HMMWV 36" Goodyear Wrangler RT II OZ bias-ply tires)


Then I'm going to have to find a 3/4 ton van to donate the widetrack Corp 14-Bolt to match the width of the dually setup... and may have found one already... then I will have to rebuild that axle with the gears and locker from the truck... and then convert it to disc brakes.

Then I need to change all fluids, drain the tank, and make sure the fuel lines are clean, get 2 new deep-cycle batteries, and change out the flywheel and starter gear (PO didn't install the starter correctly and stripped the gears).

Then I should be good to go! I hope to have all that done by August 15th for a full test trip to Moab.

As for paint... beaters don't need paint!

BTW, what kind of locking hubs are those?

Bart

I'm not really sure, but I think they are Superwinch.

Oops. I see you posted that it is. That’s going to be a really good crawler.

It should be a freakin blast to wheel! As a sidenote.. it will crawl on the highway too - top speed will be around 65. The wheel and tire combo is about 100 lbs each and if they get too hot the tire pressure increases and... the bead locks have been known to blow apart!

[ZEUS]

God I hate that pic! I was so nervous when the truck was on the way to Utah from Wyoming on a trailer just like yours! My donor truck is setup like yours too with power everything, A/C/ cruise, dual tanks, insulation... and everything that is NOT Army issue! Now I'm not so sure I want to use a donor truck! I was thinking about swapping an NV4500, 6.5 TD, and NP241... so I have been searching for a '94 3/4 ton as a donor...but like I said...

Looks better than mine right now! However, I do have an '87 Silverado with factory air that's going to donate it's cab and twin-tank bed. It also has a 700R4 but I'm going to hold off for the manual 5-speed in that department. Currently 3-color woodland but I want to go sand like yours, much better for the Florida sun.

[nfpgasmask]

As a sidenote.. it will crawl on the highway too - top speed will be around 65.

Yup, I'll be right there with you in the Trooper. Man, with the 33s and the roof rack back up top, getting up the long hill to work on the hwy is pretty horrible. I can have the skinny pedal pegged in 4th and I am at like 50mph if I am lucky. With 170k on the ticker I am scared to keep it in 3rd and rev it over 4000 RPMs too, so until I get a 3.4L in there, it'll be easy does it. I don't even wanna think about how slow she will be once I am loaded down with camping gear and ammo.

Bart

[ZEUS]

You need gears, my friend!

[nfpgasmask]

You need gears, my friend!

Yeah, I want to upgrade the rear, I just haven't done enough research to even begin to understand what I need to buy. What on this page would help me???

Bart

[ZEUS]

Yeah, I want to upgrade the rear, I just haven't done enough research to even begin to understand what I need to buy. What on this page would help me???

Bart

You need to figure out what gears you have now - if you have 4.56's you may want to step up to the 5.38's: https://www.independent4x.com/mercha...roducts_id=369
.or: https://www.independent4x.com/mercha...roducts_id=225

You will be hard-pressed to find the 5.38's for the front tho. Missed that window... Unless of course you are thinking about the SAS...???????

[nfpgasmask]

You need to figure out what gears you have now - if you have 4.56's you may want to step up to the 5.38's: https://www.independent4x.com/mercha...roducts_id=369
.or: https://www.independent4x.com/mercha...roducts_id=225

You will be hard-pressed to find the 5.38's for the front tho. Missed that window... Unless of course you are thinking about the SAS...???????

Well, wouldn't upgrading the rear still help a lot?

The SAS crossed my mind, but this truck is not intended for a serious rock crawling. My Trooper will be my daily driver and expedition rig. With the 33s I am pushing it, but I don't think a SAS is really necessary until I get over 35s. I am thinking about Joe Darlington's diff drop and some upgraded (beefier) components for the front end.

So much to do, such little time and money.

Bart

[tom4bren]

Man, that looks just like the one I used to drive around Ft. A.P. Hill alla time. It was even in similar condition. IIRC mine was gas tho - they had prolly already run outta spare diesel engines.

Don't know if the story is true but I'd heard that GM took such a bath on the diesel engines that the Gov't bought the CUCV to bail them out & the engines were so bad that part of the contract was for a spare engine with every unit produced.