I have 2 m1008's, both are daily drivers. They do break down from time to time but overall they are pretty reliable. one of them has the 700r4 swap done, it gets about 18-22 mpg. other still has the turbo 400 and gets about 15-16 mpg.
As for the 6.2........well lets me start first with I have been die hard cummins for 20 years now, and most everyone I talk to bad mouth's the 6.2, having said that I started doing my own research about 6 months ago. After countless hours reading books studying gm tech manual's and and reading information on the internet, I have come to the understanding that these engine's where in fact designed to be work horses. the early years of the 5.7 diesel are the starting point of the gm failures with diesel's and by the time the 6.2 came out the reputation had been set. Then in 1995 with the introduction of the electronic injection pump and all its short commings, it set the stage for the reputation of all the 6.2's and 6.5's. After reading several articles on a turbo 6.2 diesel, these engines where beating the early dodge cummins in Horsepower and torque, beating it in the 1/4 mile and the hill climb with a 8000 lb. trailer, they where only 2 seconds behind the power stroke in the hill climb but 6 seconds faster than the dodge(early year of dodge).
From what I have read these engines are very reliable and can handle up to 20 psi of boost (with arp head studs), and 400 HP. the only downfall is bad harmonic balancers, this should be the first thing you check and repair if the rubber ring looks dry rotted or is squishing out. This is the only reason the cranks break is due to bad harmonic balancers NOT pulling heavy loads or increasing power. Also the cooling passages on the back of the block cause poor cooling when MORE power is added or HEAVY loads are towed, but there are higher GPM water pumps to solve this problem.
So my point is your getting a very reliable engine, that should last many hundred's of thousands of miles!!!!!!
As for the rest of the truck, its basically a K5 chevy blazer, I have owned several blazers that never let me down, like stated before it is still always good to have a back up vehicle!
