Bought myself a project! 1997 M1081

[seanwmurph]

Hello, this my first post and I'm excited to be here!

I somewhat impulsively bought a 1997 Stewart and Stevenson M1081 with the hopes of getting this thing setup as a phenomenal off road camping rig, while respecting it's origins as best I can.

I know the newer models don't have the same historical significance of the older Deuce's, but I'm hopeful to still find a helpful online community as I know very little about these trucks... I'm a practicing Mechanical Engineer so at least I have that going for me.

Here's a couple photos attached. Transportation to my home in California has been arranged, and I expect to be seeing it for the first time in a few days!

 

[Karl kostman]

Sean congrats on the truck it looks like you have a good solid base to start on! As far as the historical side of the Deuce yes you are right but on the other hand you have a lot more user friendly versatile vehicle here and the parts needed to repair are going to much more common while you are on the road, there are CAT dealers all over the US along with Allison dealers so in my eyes your much further ahead with the 1081! The truck should give you many years of very good service. ENJOY

 

[dmetalmiki]

Welcome to the site and the hobby, Age?, It's and Army truck. If you don't think so, watch the neighbors expressions when you go to the local supermarket.
And,,,the..children.

 

[BKubu]

Welcome and good luck with your new truck!

 

[NDT]

Looks good. I think it went right from a unit to DRMO and bypassed the usual CANN POINT cannibalization we see on the Bragg trucks. I assume you realize your truck is a special airdrop version and may have served with a distinguished airborne unit. Plan on some new MVT tires for the front asap. Is yours really a 1993? That is as early as they come.

 

[BT3583]

Very nice! Welcome and enjoy the ride!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[seanwmurph]

Looks good. I think it went right from a unit to DRMO and bypassed the usual CANN POINT cannibalization we see on the Bragg trucks. I assume you realize your truck is a special airdrop version and may have served with a distinguished airborne unit. Plan on some new MVT tires for the front asap. Is yours really a 1993? That is as early as they come.

I mistakenly called it a 1993.. it's a 1997. That's embarrassing... not sure how that happened!

Thankfully it appears the only cannibalization that has occurred is to the door latch mechanisms; so that is high on the repair priority list - along with new tires. I thought I'd try my luck at getting some lightly used tires at auction.

The truck was auctioned out from Fayetteville, NC so I'm assuming it served with the 82nd Airborne. Given the overall decent shape of the vehicle (from photos still) it's hard to imagine it was deployed overseas. There seems to be very few photos/videos online of these airdrop versions and showing the cab being broken down for air transport, so I'm very curious to see how that looks and operates; might make a good convertible!

Thanks for all the well wishes!

 

[M37M35]

For most people, an impulse buy is a candy bar in the checkout line. If you impulse buy random old vehicles, you'll probably fit in around here!

Welcome from Oklahoma!

 

[FloridaAKM]

I enjoy mine very much & it is a 1996, but was missing the drivers window & the turret top when I got it from Ft Bragg a few years ago. It does not get around as much as I would like, but I have two other Deuces to keep me entertained!

 

[wheelspinner]

Wow that’s a long haul for sure-I hope you got a good one. Seems like I bid on that one too. Air drops are definitely interesting cabs. Big pain to knock them down so I doubt you’ll want to do that very often. Also check the cab good for rust, a lot of these Bragg A/D cabs are pretty rusty. Good luck!

 

[ArmoredCTP]

Late to the discussion, but congrats on the truck!

As far as not being historical, I would absolutely disagree. The LVADs are naturally very capable cargo trucks by design, and were more likely to be sent overseas than a standard truck. They were used heavily in Iraq, and even the oldest ones are still used for airdrop training, long after similar 1078s and 1079s were retired. You also have the M1081 War Pig card you can deal if someone doubts you!

Yours looks like it's in beautiful shape. Mine also came from Bragg and had serious rust issues in the cab from smashed out windows and a horribly sealed ring mount cover. Definitely check for rust along the bottom lip of the roof panel where the inner and outer pieces are spot welded, as well as the footwells, particularly underneath the throttle pedal bracket and along the seam between the doghouse and footwell.

 

[wheelspinner]

Did your truck make it home yet?

 

[seanwmurph]

Did your truck make it home yet?

It sure did! It was a bit of an adventure with the shipping logistics, and the semi broke down part way but it finally made it on Mar 17. So that was about 4 months from when I bought it.