Another HMMWV build, BUT.... this one is going to be the guinea pig for developing all our new parts :)

Howdy all!

Well I figured Id dive right in. Heres my 2001 M1097. Im sure youre sick of seeing these things, but this is my first one, so im in it up to my elbows. Ive been a fabricator for a long long time, and Ive worked on the usual street rods, off road trucks, Heavy equipment, you name it. So as Im working my way around this HMMWV, Ive got quite a list going of things I want to make/change/modify.

To all you purists, much respect!. But Ive never been a leave it stock kinda guy. So if I can make it better or more suited to what Im using it for, out comes the tube bender, plasma cutter and welder.

Ive got a shop out here in Flagstaff at my house which I run a metal fab shop, Buckshot Garage. As I come out with new products, Ill be sure to let you all know. I mean we are all in the same boat, right? Im not looking to get rich. I just want to do my part and possibly come out with some new or improved parts for those who are interested. My main focus is always quality, and safety of course. So if I can sell a few things, help some folks out, and keep the doors open, win/win!

When I bought this thing, I had a few items on the list right off the bat. I need a roof, cab back wall, and Hard doors. Im hoping to plow some snow with my rig, so soft doors and soft top, no bueno when its zero out. Then once thats handled, the dash needs a makeover, and heat and AC would be great. So we will see where we go from there!

First thing I always do is strip a vehicle down, no sense tripping over all the stuff Im going to take off anyway, so just get down to a clean sheet right off the bat. This way after a couple beers and much staring, I can get down to designing and fabbing. The drive train and running gear all are in great shape, so I dont have any plans right now to mess with any of that.

So lets see where this all leads.. hopefully not the poor house or divorce court.

Sooo first thing to address, DOORS! I figured Id take my time and do my best to get rid of the nasty gaps Ive seen on some of the aftermarket doors out there. Definitely not the easy way, but who needs doors that fit like crap. I made the decision to try and keep these doors as economical as possible, so thats the first criteria. Its easy enough to add stuff later on like regular windows, power motors, different handles etc, but for now Im thinking I cant be the only guy who just needs something better than soft doors.

With that in mind, I decided to make em out of steel, strictly for the cost savings. I know Aluminum is light and all, but I dont suppose this truck cares if something weighs a few more pounds . For me, if I can save a few $$ thats a few more I can allocate somewhere else. Another thing I had to weigh out was what type of window to use. Im not really a big fan of the sliding window, but in the interest of time, budget and simplicity...Sliding window it is. Ill probably work on another design down the road using regular door glass, but thats way, waaaay down the road.

I started with patterns, lots and lots of test patterns. When I was happy with the fit, I then measured and drew the doors up in CAD off of my patterns. Then load em in the plasma cutter and see how it all goes. Nothing is ever perfect the first time, so a couple tweaks here and there, and we finally have some doors.

Woohooo!

So now Ive got the doors taken care of , next on the list is someplace else to put the batteries. I wanted to use some aftermarket seats, so keeping those enormous batteries under the seat just makes mounting the seats too hard. Ive decided to use 2 12v group 24 batteries. Mostly because thats what I run in all my other equipment. Out here in the sticks I dont always have access to fancy stuff. So any time I can consolidate and run the same parts in more than 1 vehicle, thats a win for me. Plus group 24s are cheap, and I run em in my loader, generators, trucks, everything.

Ive decided to mount the batteries under the hood. But unlike the other mounts Ive seen, I want to mount one on each side of the radiator, This is something still in the works, but Ive got the idea penned out. So from here I make some prototypes, and see what we have to change and keep going until we get it dialed in.

And just because I had some spare time...lol (Ok i ran out of material for battery boxes, so Im stuck on that for a minute) I decided to get going on the rear cab wall.

Same recipe as everything else. Measure, measure measure, templates, then test cut and adjust.. I wanted to make this one pc. My thinking is, less leaks, but at the expense of being a real pain the measure up.. But hey who doesnt love a challenge.

This actually came out pretty close for as complicated as the drawing is.

I actually was in such a rush to cut and bend it I forgot to bead roll em, DOH! so I could only get the ribs in a couple spots as the throat in the roller is too shallow to reach around all the bend... Oh well, next time

Looking forward to following the build!