secordj7
New member
- 7
- 0
- 1
- Location
- Gilmer, TX
First off I'd like to thank everyone here for making this a great site, lot's of useful information here that has helped me with my new toy!
I won the M998 on Govplanet auction back in May this year and that's when I found this site, signed up and started researching. EUC took 3 months, title work another 2 after that which actually gave me enough time to get some work done in preparation for TX state inspection so I could hopefully register as a regular road vehicle. Everything went fairly easy at the DMV since I had all the documents ready ahead of time; but back to the build!
The HMMWV was listed on GP as a non-runner, had electrical issues and no power to the starter. So I really had no idea if the truck was going to be a complete POS or if it was going to be something simple to fix. Luckily, all it needed were both batteries charged up and the battery cables tightened down correctly. The ole girl fired right up and purred like a kitten! From there on it was pretty smooth sailing. I gave her a new paint job (yeah yeah I know, I didn't keep the original military look), ordered some new mirrors, top and rear curtain and replaced a couple light bulbs. I applied bed liner to the inside tunnel, bed and tops of the rear fenders and that was pretty much it for body work. I needed to install reverse lights and reverse switch (both off ebay) and license plate light/bracket. That allowed me to pass the TX state inspection and from there apply for a normal TX registration.
Up until last week I was still running the stock rims and tires which had decent tread, but I had a feeling they were unbalanced and were the cause of my "death wobble" I was experiencing at around 50 mph. I had a nearly new set of 37" Nitto ridge grapplers on 20 rims that were on my 2008 Chevy 2500, and I wanted to go down to 35's on the Chevy, so I swapped the Nittos over to the M998 and that completely cured the wobble/shakes I had at 50 mph. Now she drives like a dream, actually better than the 2008 Chevy drives- just not as fast. I really like the way these wheels and tires look and handle on the humvee, BIG difference on how the rig handles now!
I just ordered some new canvas doors from Breton Industries and also plan to build a windshield light bar and rear roll bar for the bed. On the interior, I replaced all the seats and plan to build a console over the dog house to house radio, light switches, cup holders and storage. I'll post up pics on progress, but for now, here are some pictures of the "journey" thus far.
I won the M998 on Govplanet auction back in May this year and that's when I found this site, signed up and started researching. EUC took 3 months, title work another 2 after that which actually gave me enough time to get some work done in preparation for TX state inspection so I could hopefully register as a regular road vehicle. Everything went fairly easy at the DMV since I had all the documents ready ahead of time; but back to the build!
The HMMWV was listed on GP as a non-runner, had electrical issues and no power to the starter. So I really had no idea if the truck was going to be a complete POS or if it was going to be something simple to fix. Luckily, all it needed were both batteries charged up and the battery cables tightened down correctly. The ole girl fired right up and purred like a kitten! From there on it was pretty smooth sailing. I gave her a new paint job (yeah yeah I know, I didn't keep the original military look), ordered some new mirrors, top and rear curtain and replaced a couple light bulbs. I applied bed liner to the inside tunnel, bed and tops of the rear fenders and that was pretty much it for body work. I needed to install reverse lights and reverse switch (both off ebay) and license plate light/bracket. That allowed me to pass the TX state inspection and from there apply for a normal TX registration.
Up until last week I was still running the stock rims and tires which had decent tread, but I had a feeling they were unbalanced and were the cause of my "death wobble" I was experiencing at around 50 mph. I had a nearly new set of 37" Nitto ridge grapplers on 20 rims that were on my 2008 Chevy 2500, and I wanted to go down to 35's on the Chevy, so I swapped the Nittos over to the M998 and that completely cured the wobble/shakes I had at 50 mph. Now she drives like a dream, actually better than the 2008 Chevy drives- just not as fast. I really like the way these wheels and tires look and handle on the humvee, BIG difference on how the rig handles now!
I just ordered some new canvas doors from Breton Industries and also plan to build a windshield light bar and rear roll bar for the bed. On the interior, I replaced all the seats and plan to build a console over the dog house to house radio, light switches, cup holders and storage. I'll post up pics on progress, but for now, here are some pictures of the "journey" thus far.
