My 1987 M998 "restoration"

Hi,
I have been documenting my M998 purchase and repaint and other things related to it in multiple threads both here and over on G503.
I have not put together a single start to finish thread and thought that may be helpful to anyone that reads about what other people did for their projects (such as myself).

So here goes....

I bought the truck in August from GP at Ft. Bragg. This was not the first EUC I have had done so the paperwork process was very streamlined. I had just had a EUC on a trailer back in April. I was able to get the truck in September and immediately began working on it.
I started as a 2 man setup in all tan. I removed all of the 2 man stuff and then gave it a very long and well needed pressure washing.
I scrapped the paint where it needed to be scrapped and primed with rattle can aluminum primer. I then got Behr paint from Home depot and painted it in the 3 color NATO pattern. I installed the rear seatbelt stuff and the 4 man soft top framework and cover, as well as new seatbelts in the front.
I already had 2 high back seats up front so I got the correct high back seat bases for the rear seats and bought 2 seats on epay for the rear.
I knew I had a ticking noise in the flex plate area and ended up dropping the transmission to find a still usable but badly worn flex plate and broken torque converter. I replaced both and put it back together. This did not make the noise go away, and I am still looking into it.
I have replaced some of the lights around it with LED's and will do the rest of them in the future, as well as putting JW Speaker headlights in.
I have installed the radio antenna mounts and 1 antenna. I have also Installed all new insulation and floor mats in it as well as NOS wood on the tunnel.
I did some digging in the old paint before I painted over it and found the unit and bumper numbers. When I repainted the truck I went back with those numbers to keep the history of the truck. In digging in the paint I found plenty of evidence to show me that my truck had been painted over to be tan and was CARC'ed in 05/06. This is also when the unit it was assigned to would have had equipment going through reset. I cant tell for sure but it is plausible that my truck spent some time over seas, but I'm not sure. Most units around that time were rotating into equipment that was already in theatre, not bringing their own. So who knows.
I also found evidence that my truck had not always been a 2 man setup, much of the seatbelt MWO had already been done on the rear seats.

So that's where I'm at with it. In the next year I plan to install a 100 Amp neihoff alternator that I have and get a radio shelf and put a AM/FM type radio in it. I will also finish changing over the lights to LED's and maybe a few other things like a airlift rear bumper or reddot AC.
Thanks,
Corey

Nice work ! Thank you for sharing.

Great job! It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do

THAT IS SWEET! Nice job!

Good looking job..

Thank you all. This has been a very fun project and my f am only has even enjoyed helping me with it and the kids love it!

Looks great. I wish I had your shop and skills!

Thank you! I don't think my skills are all that great. I just try to make it look correct to an extent. I'm not afraid to paint these vehicles but clearcoats are completely different story...
That's my dad's workshop. We have added on to that building twice since it was first built and we still need more room!
When it comes to workshops and shelters think about how big of a space you think you'll need and then double it. You will still run out of room.

Just came across this and this is what I want to do with mine, except I want to keep mine tan. You said you scrapped the body but did you do any sanding?

Mine is also coming from Fort. Bragg, so seeing as you picked yours up did they do any misrepresentation on the ad when you placed your bid. It would be nice to know how accurate the descriptions and stuff were.

I did do a little sanding but not much. I didn't want to disturb the old CARC paint a lot, that's some nasty stuff. And it was holding good and makes for a good primer. Remember that these are not smooth paint jobs, they're supposed to be a little textured looking.

The guys at Bragg are great to work with, but they do handle the load out on hmmwv's for the most part. The hmmwv's have been removed from base and are located at AAA towing on the East side of town by the Cape Fear river. The people at AAA will be the ones you work with about picking it up. They then forward the paperwork over to GP/IP.
My truck was spot on with the description and representation. My one issue is that when I got the truck home it had a ticking noise to it after it warmed up. I ended up going the iron clad assurance route and after a re-inspection it was determined that they would pay me $750 for the damages. I used the money to take the trans out and replace the torque converter and flywheel and do a full system fluid change, to which the noise is still present.
I will end up just driving the truck until the motor fails and then replacing the motor. They agreed with me that the noise should have been caught and included with the inspection but didn't elaborate beyond that.

04mustang said:

I did do a little sanding but not much. I didn't want to disturb the old CARC paint a lot, that's some nasty stuff. And it was holding good and makes for a good primer. Remember that these are not smooth paint jobs, they're supposed to be a little textured looking.

The guys at Bragg are great to work with, but they do handle the load out on hmmwv's for the most part. The hmmwv's have been removed from base and are located at AAA towing on the East side of town by the Cape Fear river. The people at AAA will be the ones you work with about picking it up. They then forward the paperwork over to GP/IP.
My truck was spot on with the description and representation. My one issue is that when I got the truck home it had a ticking noise to it after it warmed up. I ended up going the iron clad assurance route and after a re-inspection it was determined that they would pay me $750 for the damages. I used the money to take the trans out and replace the torque converter and flywheel and do a full system fluid change, to which the noise is still present.
I will end up just driving the truck until the motor fails and then replacing the motor. They agreed with me that the noise should have been caught and included with the inspection but didn't elaborate beyond that.

Click to expand...

Spot on with what I was looking for. Thanks for the in depth review as I will be picking it up at that location when my EUC finally clears. Nice to know ironclad actually pays out. I have heard both positive and negative stories about them so if anything not described comes up I can hold them accountable.

From the pictures of mine, it's green in the interior and tan outside. But it's not a true tan and looks to have been sprayed over the original color of green but I'm not 100%. I plan to respray the whole vehicle tan after stripping it down. Good to know to save it and use it as a primer. How was stripping the vehicle down to spray? I'm assuming taping took the longest.

Iron clad works, it just needs to be a legitimate issue, and you must have realistic expectations if you do end up using it. You cant expect to get 5k for a new motor when you only spent 7.5k on the truck at auction.

All of these trucks came as green/ woodland camo when new. so just about all of them that are tan have been painted over to be that color. The newer trucks may or may not have been tan from the factory. but the ones currently being released is a definite on the green. It is also possible that they have multiple layers of green, tan, green, and tan. due to the different conflicts. when trucks came back from desert storm they were painted back the green or woodland colors, for the most part.

Sergeant Major,
That is an excellent job, congratulations for the great restoration.
By the way, Lumberton is a good place to live and raise children. I used to travel a lot around there, town of Laurinburg, when I was active.
Hope the noise from your truck goes away as you drive it for years.

Thank you very much!
I like Lumberton, even if the crime is as bad as they claim. My family has been here for over 200 years.
I'm still working at the noise, but I'm not digging into it as much anymore.

I plan to keep this truck for years and enjoy it.

Thanks, that's good to know. I thought it looked green underneath the tan. So when I pick mine up how much to help paint it full tan?