Looking for some insight on a M1008

Hello! I found a pretty clean looking CUCV M1008 online and I am interested. It seems the guy is asking quite a bit. around 14k. Can anyone Help me out as to if is really worth the price?
I understand an item is worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it....but if you were in the Market what would you pay?

87' M1008

Also assuming the engine is solid. I am a 1st time CUCV buyer, but I do have a civilian K5.



Thanks for any insight

It depends what your looking for.
Were you wanting all that stuff on it?

I personally like mine stock and wouldn’t give that truck a second look.

Look for a all stock one and do exactly what you want to it.

Welcome to the site. That looks like a nice truck.
However... if I'd ever pay 14k for a CUCV (and I wouldn't) it would at least be an m1028 with the limited slip in the front end. It definitely wouldn't still have a 6.2 NA diesel or a 3 speed turbo 400 either. I think I'd also want the NATO slave port cover and some blackout lights that aren't painted over for 14k.

What it has i like, minus the lift, but thats fixable. Other than that i like it...

onemorevictim said:

What it has i like, minus the lift, but thats fixable. Other than that i like it...

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Then BUY IT. By all means. If that's what you want buy it. What it is worth is between you and the seller. I buy and sell things all the time. Some people think crazy others come with cash in hand. I just sold Terminus M1009 for $2500.. Why because I could and some one wanted it. It ran it was all there and stock. No hacking and not all jacked up. Just a plain old 35 year old completely operational CUCV complete. Dents, Rust, and all. Including the slave port cover cap. Have a great day. The best time to buy something that you want is when you see it For Sale. Price is what ever you are comfortable with. Some one will always say they got the BBD. (Bigger Better Deal)

At least your at the right place to ask.
Welcome to the site.


It makes me wonder if the seller can’t even buy a simple and readily available slave port cap, what other “simple” things were skimped on?
The devil is in the details and the pics show the seller isn’t concerned about them.

No Slave port cover.
Painted over BO lights.
Bed liner but didn’t do tailgate
Who knows what else.
........Trivial I know, but for that price it should be an obvious fix.

Like cucvrus said, if you want it and like it.......Buy It.

For 14k?
Sounds silly to me but I don’t like CUCVs modified like that.
Totally personal preference.
I know not everyone has the skill to install and fix stuff and a shop to do it in.
Some do not want to invest the time involved to fix up a truck and want a turn key truck.
In Alaska I’m sure CUCVs are scarce.
All those things make a difference.

For that kind of cash, I would rather have something of my own creation, not someone else’s.

$14,000 for a 34 year old Chevy pickup?

If it were not painted green and said CUCV would you even give it a second's consideration?

Please understand, it's not a super-duper military combat vehicle, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

It's just a 34 year old Chevy pickup, with a weird 24/12v system, a few military doodads like a brush guard, pintle hitch, and blackout lights. It's got some tie-down rings in the bed, too.

That's about it. The rest of it is just a Chevy pickup with a not-particularly-impressive diesel engine.

Is it a good, useful truck? Sure is. Easy to work on, and a lot of help available right here on this site. Good military TMs available for FREE download, too.

Oh, and it's got a cool military history factor that some of us like enough to put up with their idiosyncrasies and the maintenance of a 34 year old vehicle.

If that sounds $14k good to you, go for it, but do pay attention to those details like Tinstar mentioned.

A couple of other things to look at:

1. From a quick look at the pic of the engine compartment, it looks like some of the wiring is not stock. That might be a problem, it might not.
2. Check out that hitch installation. It can be done right, but it's not straightforward. Some people hack the bumper bracing to install a hitch. Look into that.

There might be others. Take pics, post them here, and we'll opinionate.

14K seems a little steep, but compared to what comparable truck near your location? These are great basic, local work trucks, durable and easy to work on. Remember they do not really like to go much over 55-60 MPH. If it runs great, and you like it, it is not a bad buy, as others have noted.

MarcusOReallyus said:

$14,000 for a 34 year old Chevy pickup?
If it were not painted green and said CUCV would you even give it a second's consideration?

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I personally would not.
I like my trucks all stock with extremely few exceptions.

Now if the truck was in great, rust free condition and the seller didn’t do any permanent damage/modifications and had
all the original parts.......then most likely yes.
Lift kits can be taken off, etc.
Wiring hack jobs, cut holes, swapped engines/trans/gears/axles, etc then no.

But for 14k?
Not a chance.
That’s just me. I don’t care what others would do.
Like I said......Personal Preference.

I could buy three decent auction M1008’s for that.
Could certainly fully restore one.
But I also have two other complete, all stock, rust and damage free CUCVs in long term storage.
Luckily I can afford to be selective.

But
Location..Location...Location.
Alaska is a different world so that does matter.

I really appreciate your insight, everyone. Thanks for taking the time.

I do really like the vehicle. I am partial to the older square bodies. The truck's final destination will be Alaska which is very scarce for CUCVs. Especially this clean.
I will continue to persue the vehicle at the lower price. Although the modifications to the truck do not bother me at all.

Looks to me like a $7k-$9k truck. That's what I'd expect to get for it if I were selling it.

onemorevictim said:

Although the modifications to the truck do not bother me at all.

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Good! Feel free to ignore Tinstar. Your truck, your choice.

Looks like a rattle can, used car salesman restoration, done just to get it sold for profit. I just don't see 14K worth of truck? The engine looks crusty and neglected. Goofy front bumper, missing brush guard, goofy clunky receiver hitch. I think you could find a truck with much more focus on mechanicals for half the price.

Drock, I had the same thought about the rattle can. Lots of spray paint to make it look clean.

But lay off the engine, willya? It looks about as crusty as mine. I don't know what kind of mud mine got into, but that stuff is like epoxy. Won't even come off with a pressure washer. One of my alts was full of it at one time.

If that hitch was done correctly (not butchering the bumper mounts) it's a good thing. Not every trailer you might need to haul has a pintle eye. I plan to put one on mine.

MarcusOReallyus said:

Good! Feel free to ignore Tinstar. Your truck, your choice.

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Ignore Away!

Wasn’t telling him what to do.
Guess you missed the personal preference comments.

Hello! I have some pics prior to being painted. According to owner it was professionally painted...Im no expert.

Now that looks like a 14K truck. I like it better like that. Minus the lettering. I have a few plow trucks that look like that. A few door magnets and I would be in business. Good deal.

Yeah that red truck is way sweeter than the green one, I have to say.

MarcusOReallyus said:

Drock, I had the same thought about the rattle can. Lots of spray paint to make it look clean.

But lay off the engine, willya? It looks about as crusty as mine. I don't know what kind of mud mine got into, but that stuff is like epoxy. Won't even come off with a pressure washer. One of my alts was full of it at one time.

If that hitch was done correctly (not butchering the bumper mounts) it's a good thing. Not every trailer you might need to haul has a pintle eye. I plan to put one on mine.

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HA!, a muddy engines fine. But judging by the rusty bolts in the pictures it hasn't had even basic maintenance in decades. I'd rather buy an ugly faded paint truck with fresh head gaskets and injection pump.

One good thing about former fire service trucks is they are often stored inside and taken good care of. I have bought a couple from gsa and govdeals. They are often cleaner, less rusty and with similar mileage to the ones that have been sitting on a back lot on a military site for a few years.

Sometimes there is a hacked up electrical system though. This is not a deal killer at a $2-3K, as it is not too hard to swap out the wire harnesses if they are too bad. Of course at $14K, or even 7, the wires should be all sorted out.