Im looking to buy a m1008 cucv

[due duecer & a rider]

I'm looking to buy a m1008.... what would be the safe top speed for this model? Can I daily drive it? Going to the store, home depot, lowes, pulling 12-16ft cargo and utility trailers? What would be some horsepower upgrades for the motor?

 

[CARC686]

The M1008? It can drive 55. Sing it. If you daily it, you'll be fixing it. It's a bit unreliable because of the bean counters at GM, but it's mostly unreliable because it's 40 years old. If it's rubber, it's rotten.

Most of them have been sitting for a long time. You'll have fueling issues almost immediately and will replace everything but the injection pump because you don't want to pay to fix it. The problem will be the injection pump. Just deal with it when it happens. Yeah, they're expensive. They'll be more expensive later. You can take that to the bank. Just fix it ASAP. You can spend a lot of money putting a turbo on it and breaking it. Maybe it would be fine. People are safely running like 3 PSI, so I reckon why bother.

Put some turbo mufflers on it. They're lighter and only louder than stock when you floor it. You will feel the difference. Stack two intake filters in it and put extended all-thread in the intake manifold with new butterfly nuts. Immediately able to return it to stock, but there's room under the hood and you can decide if you're into the noise to power ratio, because an open intake on a 6.2LD sounds like a mutant Quadrajet.

Also, an open intake on a 6.2LD lets the tuna can puke exhaust into your windows when you roll them down. I solved that with a draft tube, which had a low spot that was its own problem. I have a venturi to weld into the exhaust for this, but it's not installed yet.

If you want a reliable work truck you don't have to think about, get a Tacoma or a Tundra. If you want to tinker for the rest of your life, get the M1008.

 

[CARC686]

Disregard. Accidental comment.

 

[LT67]

Be prepared to spend lotsa money lol

*IF you decide to buy one, swap out the harmonic balancer with a new one asap. That is a known weak spot with a 6.2 diesel. It may look okay, but that rubber is hard n dry and it can fly apart.... and when that happens there goes your engine.

 

[nyoffroad]

The M1008? It can drive 55. Sing it. If you daily it, you'll be fixing it. It's a bit unreliable because of the bean counters at GM, but it's mostly unreliable because it's 40 years old. If it's rubber, it's rotten. Most of them have been sitting for a long time. You'll have fueling issues almost immediately and will replace everything but the injection pump because you don't want to pay to fix it. The problem will be the injection pump. Just deal with it when it happens. Yeah, they're expensive. They'll be more expensive later. You can take that to the bank. Just fix it ASAP. You can spend a lot of money putting a turbo on it and breaking it. Maybe it would be fine. People are safely running like 3 PSI, so I reckon why bother. Put some turbo mufflers on it. They're lighter and only louder than stock when you floor it. You will feel the difference. Stack two intake filters in it and put extended all-thread in the intake manifold with new butterfly nuts. Immediately able to return it to stock, but there's room under the hood and you can decide if you're into the noise to power ratio, because an open intake on a 6.2LD sounds like a mutant Quadrajet. Also, an open intake on a 6.2LD lets the tuna can puke exhaust into your windows when you roll them down. I solved that with a draft tube, which had a low spot that was its own problem. I have a venturi to weld into the exhaust for this, but it's not installed yet.

If you want a reliable work truck you don't have to think about, get a Tacoma or a Tundra. If you want to tinker for the rest of your life, get the M1008.

Wait, why am I laughing? Lot of truth in that humor.

 

[Sharecropper]

I'm looking to buy a m1008.... what would be the safe top speed for this model? Can I daily drive it? Going to the store, home depot, lowes, pulling 12-16ft cargo and utility trailers? What would be some horsepower upgrades for the motor?

First of all, welcome to Steel Soldiers, the world's greatest knowledge depository for past & present military vehicles. With over 113,000 members and over 2.3 million posts, you can usually find on this site any information necessary for the care, repair, and maintenance of these vehicles.

Before you dive into the obsessive ownership of a CUCV, I strongly recommend that you expend plenty of time (weeks, not days) scrolling & reading the various threads in this forum to understand the nuances (and costs) to bring one of these 40-year-old vehicles to a reliable condition for daily use.

If you purchase an original, non-altered and non-adulterated CUCV, you can be assured that every piece of rubber on the vehicle will be dry-rotted and will need to be replaced. This includes most seals, gaskets, windshield rubber, bushings, and hoses. In addition, ancillary devices such as fuel pump, water pump, alternators, power steering pump, fuel injection pump, etc. will all be at the end of their service life and will, sooner or later, need to be replaced.
The drivetrain will probably have many miles on it and there will be no way to determine how close the engine, transmission, or transfer case is to major malfunction. In essence, these vehicles are a major repair bill going somewhere to happen.

I really regret having to rain on your parade, but I must be honest with you and say that, unless you are prepared financially and mentally to embark on a major project, don't start down the CUCV path. If you are looking for a daily driver which will provide reliability and extra traction, buy a good, low-mile late-model used truck and enjoy it. Just my 2 cents............

Hope this helps.

 

[CARC686]

I'm probably $30k into my unexceptional example, making it the most expensive vehicle I have ever owned, and I have owned a lot of vehicles. This is the only one that managed to leak engine oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, brake fluid, gear oil, coolant, and fuel, acing the bingo card.

Guys on Steel Soldiers are pretty casual about what I'd call one catastrophic failure per 12 months. I've seen guys change engines like underwear on this forum. Costs will explode if you can't DIY everything, but you can console yourself by living in imagination land and telling stories about EMPs.
The upshot is when you have them running right, they can't accelerate much, but they're slow too, saving money on all the speeding tickets you won't get, all the fuel you don't burn, and the air conditioner you can't buy, so you lose weight in the summer.

Study up on that 12/24v system, because it helped me let the magic smoke out of some expensive stuff and it can help you too. Cool truck, though. People will try to buy it from you when you're out and about. Lots of masochists in this world. If I knew then what I know now, I'd have probably bought it anyway. Same reason I got a stupid puppy.

Unnecessary problems give me something to do in retirement. I like my truck, even if I could have bought a Tacoma, a Tundra, and a Sequoia with the same money and never had to fix any of them. Where's the fun in that?

 

[vanaisa]

Well, not all that bad as previous guys wrote. It is usual, that nobody write aboutmostly-trouble-free wheeling, forums are for seaking help, problem solving etc. My 1009, i owned some 8 years, bought from our USA embassy at auction 33000miles. Now it has 56600miles and those are been more or less trouble free miles. Last winter bodyshop changed inner fenders, rocker panels and exhaust. Plus smaller rust points here and there.

Oh yes, redid dash pad and drivers seat ass-pad. Otherwise usual mainenance - fluids, U-joints, brake pads/shoes, batteries, tires. I use my truck mostly in woods, wood hauling and some mud fun. And on highways ca.80mi trips. 120km/h of course.

In winters (and ours are cold, sometimes -13...-18F) too. Otherwise everything is working fine. Owning for daily driving - i dont know, but for second or third car, workhorse or just for fun - why not.
My

 

[Sharecropper]

My 1009, i owned some 8 years, bought from our USA embassy at auction 33000miles. Now it has 56600miles I use my truck mostly in woods, wood hauling and some mud fun. Owning for daily driving - i dont know
My

Vanaisa, the OP indicated that he wanted a M1008 for a Daily Driver and to pull 12-16 foot cargo trailers. That is entirely different than your situation with your M1009. You indicated that you put 23,600 miles on your vehicle in 8 years. Hmmm.... that means that you are averaging Twenty-Nine-Hundred-Fifty (2,950) miles Per Year.

In my opinion, that milage does not constitute a Daily Driver. Heck I put that much on my daily driver (Avalanche) every month. Plus, I doubt that you are pulling a 12-16 foot trailer (loaded to the hilt) with a GVW of 7,000 pounds.

Regarding horsepower, I can't even imagine how a stock, original 6.2, even with a turbo, could even get that trailer through the Eisenhower Tunnel. Ask me how I know. So please don't try to squash what I and others are trying to convey to the OP.

If he wants to go forward with an acquisition of a M1008, it would be a disservice in this forum not to at least inform him of what he's about to get himself into. If he is not mechanically inclined and cannot do his own work, he will need deep pockets and a very, very understanding wife (assuming he is married).

 

[vanaisa]

Oh, i did not somehow seen this M1008. Also i did not reccommended even M1009 for daily driver.
My bad.

 

[CARC686]

Won't hold prime - bang shifting at redline - it starts, but just randomly dies - bubbles in my return hose - my injection pump is bad, can I fix it by replacing everything but the injection pump? - Every injection pump rebuilder has bad reviews! - won't shift out of second - the gushing lift pump explains the smell - now it won't shift out of first -

NOS vacuum pumps are absurdly expensive - breathing all this exhaust has damaged my brain enough that I don't mind owning this truck - I don't have a spare cooler to send a kidney to the only man on earth with NIB throttle position sensors - oh, the wheel fell off -
NOS vacuum pumps are 40 years old too! - I need to reseal the valve covers but I'm not a panel beater - there goes a ball joint - if you drink water as fast as you can the whole time you drive this truck in the summer, you can narrowly avoid urinating dust - these window rubbers fit like garbage, but I'll worry about that when the cranks break off in my hand - holy crap, the webbing in my block is full of cracks! -
how complicated could rebuilding a tailgate be? - so that's why they call this differential the "gov bomb" - huh... looks like it's leaked out the whole 10 gallons of Dex/Merc I bought last year - who knew an engine could evacuate its oil through the front main even quicker than it can through the drain plug?

To be fair, I did drive a few thousand miles in this time. Great daily. Highly recommended.

 

[nyoffroad]

Won't hold prime - bang shifting at redline - it starts, but just randomly dies - bubbles in my return hose - my injection pump is bad, can I fix it by replacing everything but the injection pump? - Every injection pump rebuilder has bad reviews! - won't shift out of second - the gushing lift pump explains the smell - now it won't shift out of first - NOS vacuum pumps are absurdly expensive - breathing all this exhaust has damaged my brain enough that I don't mind owning this truck - I don't have a spare cooler to send a kidney to the only man on earth with NIB throttle position sensors - oh, the wheel fell off - NOS vacuum pumps are 40 years old too! - I need to reseal the valve covers but I'm not a panel beater - there goes a ball joint - if you drink water as fast as you can the whole time you drive this truck in the summer, you can narrowly avoid urinating dust - these window rubbers fit like garbage, but I'll worry about that when the cranks break off in my hand - holy crap, the webbing in my block is full of cracks! - how complicated could rebuilding a tailgate be? - so that's why they call this differential the "gov bomb" - huh... looks like it's leaked out the whole 10 gallons of Dex/Merc I bought last year - who knew an engine could evacuate its oil through the front main even quicker than it can through the drain plug?

To be fair, I did drive a few thousand miles in this time. Great daily. Highly recommended.

I think you forgot to mention the noise. WHAT?? IS MY HEARING LOSS FROM YEARS OF FIELD ARTILLERY OR FROM MONTHS OF DAILY DRIVING A CUCV?

 

[CARC686]

I think you forgot to mention the noise. WHAT?? IS MY HEARING LOSS FROM YEARS OF FIELD ARTILLERY OR FROM MONTHS OF DAILY DRIVING A CUCV?

What?

 

[CARC686]

Something with a Vortec would blow cold air in your face while playing music over cupholders with cruise control and overdrive, a dome light, and legible night time gauges and it would handle better than a covered wagon, even if you never upgraded the suspension. It would make three times the horsepower and if you wanted to put a turbo on it, it probably wouldn't break. Since the AC would be going, the windows would be up, and you would never even appreciate all the mosquito bites you didn't get. There'd be no hunting for exotic alternators or finding that the aftermarket dried up 10 years ago.

...or you could have rifle holders and the ability to jump start a tank. Your call.

 

[deank]

Something with a Vortec would blow cold air in your face while playing music over cupholders with cruise control and overdrive, a dome light, and legible night time gauges and it would handle better than a covered wagon, even if you never upgraded the suspension. It would make three times the horsepower and if you wanted to put a turbo on it, it probably wouldn't break. Since the AC would be going, the windows would be up, and you would never even appreciate all the mosquito bites you didn't get. There'd be no hunting for exotic alternators or finding that the aftermarket dried up 10 years ago.

...or you could have rifle holders and the ability to jump start a tank. Your call.

View attachment 950040

OMG, So true!

 

[CARC686]

OMG, So true!

My god, I think I just talked myself into buying a truck and promoting my CUCV to lawn ornament.

 

[Sharecropper]

Guys, by now we've probably scared the OP to death. The reference about sending the kidney probably finished him off. Y'all might have noticed that he hasn't re-posted beyond his original post. I regret having to subject a potential new CUCV owner to such stark comments, but the harsh reality is, most of our comments are actually true in some degree or another.

I was fortunate to have the financial resources to fully fund my 15-year-and-counting M1028 rebuild. And at 74, I am also fortunate to have a lifetime skill-set and be able to perform my own work. I also enjoy owning almost every tool imaginable. But most folks are not so fortunate, so I think it is time that we cease and desist having fun at the OP's expense and offer true, sincere encouragement. If he (we are assuming he is a he) wants to get into the CUCV game and is willing to go slow and learn how to do his own work, I believe we should help him in any way we can.

Your thoughts?

 

[Barrman]

I agree totally. I logged in just now to say the same basic thing you did. Well put!

 

[CARC686]

Here to help. Just figured I'd have the relevant perspective as someone whose only vehicle is a CUCV. Short story long, it has been inop and in pieces about 10% of the time. That's a miss your appointments and lose your job level of reliability.

 

[nyoffroad]

CUCV's are unusual and attract a lot of attention, they're also loud, tough and fun BUT they're also expensive to buy and maintain. If you're not already into wrenching and are planning on having all work done at a local garage, well you're in for a shock!
I think we've all seen folks come and go here, buying something that many times is a basket case and no idea how to put it back together. How many unfinished project trucks do you know of? How long have they been sitting since last worked on? ahh hell, I'm rambling again.