Hi everyone! Glad I found this site! I'm looking at buying one of those 80's ex military CUCV's. Either a 1008 or 1028. So far all trucks I've found have the 6.2 diesel engine. They seem to be mostly the same as the civilian trucks with engines converted to start on 24 volts. Other then that the trucks appear to run everything else on the regular 12 volt system. They seem to be low miles and setup for some serious hauling and (albeit) slow travel.

I'm thinking of using one of these trucks as a platform to build an expedition rig. Add some 37 inch tires, convert the engine back to 12 volts, add a service body and pop up camper and hit the road. Nice simple and easy to repair in far off places and not a bunch of computers to fail like my current junk of a ride!

So what should I be looking for, watching out for and double checking to make sure the deal is good?

Thanks a bunch for the help!! Jim.

 

those trucks might have low miles but they were idled most likely for long times and beat on in those few miles. i would check for any blowby coming out of the oil dipstick. check oil for any coolant or anything like. check to see how well it starts cold

 

Hadn't thought about checking the dipstick but that's a good tip! I had an old International Harvester that would do the same thing when rev'd to high. Will do those checks!
Thanks, Jim.