M1009 Decals

[Bigmick]

Can anyone help please.
I'm in the UK and have just finished a full restoration of my M1009, I'm just adding the finishing touches now like, brackets for the jack and handle, spare etc.
What I need for the back is the jacking instructions decal, it normally goes behind the spare on the inner rear bed, either where I can get the decal or if anyone has a really good clear picture so I can get it printed.
The other things are the small reinforcing brackets for the rear tow pintle assembly, they bolt to the transverse reinforcing bar.
As you can imagine finding parts in the UK isn't easy.
I hope someone can help me.
Many thanks.
Mick.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

congrads on the restore, post some pics of it when you can.

The reinforcement brackets might be found at boyce equipment co. in Utah.
The decal I'm not sure of, but I think there are a few places that make up all the decals.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

I'm pretty sure I saw some of the bumper brackets and such on eBay the other day. Do a search for "CUCV" and poke around in what it brings up.

 

[Bigmick]

Thanks for the help guys, I have emailed Boyce and a couple of people on Ebay to see if they can help with the brackets.
I have posted some pictures in the photo gallery under 'My CUCV'

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Looking good.

Can't see from the photo...is it still LHD or did it get converted to RHD?

 

[Bigmick]

Still LHD, everythings still as standard, restored back to original, all brackets have got things in/attached/dangling from, I took pictures of the decals from other vehicles and redid them on the computer, decal for the jack, hidden bolt warning for the back, under hood decals etc.
Was fun when I first got it, never driven LHD, never driven 4x4, column shift, and had to drive back 160 miles, freeways all the way, in at the deep end, but soon got the hang of it.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

I find your review funny because I'm currently trying to convince my wife to drive my pickup. She just keeps saying how big it is and just different from the little cars and Suzuki 4x4's she's driven before.

Did the US military sell it over there or did someone buy it elsewhere and import it to England?

 

[Bigmick]

I bought it through a military vehicle dealer, where they got it from I'm not sure.
I remember going to look at some M1009's years ago, the place I went had a shipping container delivered while I was there with 2 Blazers inside, I helped pull them out, I looked round one, with deposit in my hand, until I looked at the back and saw the someone had used a gas axe to remove the rear tow hitch assembly, and some off the rear fender, it wouldn't start and had bits missing, that kinda put me off buying one.
This guy was there looking at them as well and introduced himself he was a vehicle dealer as well and I started keeping in contact until he had a good example and I had the money to buy one outright.
When I bought it I saw that a section of front fender had been welded in the rear fender, so I knew this Blazer had been the one I helped pull out of the container 2 years before.
I won't go into all the problems I've found along the way as it'd take pages to describe, I paid £5,500 for the Blazer and I've spent around £15,000 on it over the last 9 years. It's on engine number 3, EVERYTHING has either been replaced with new or refurbished parts, found out it'd been on it's side sometime in it's life, so none of the new panels would fit properly, you know, minor stuff lol.
Anyway, get your wife to drive it, maybe offroad before letting her loose on the highway, it's fun, look down on Range Rover drivers and other 4x4's that never see dirt, remember, it's not the chrome that gets you home.

 

[gasser]

... remember, it's not the chrome that gets you home.

Dude, you couldn't have said that better .... today, my M1009 pulled through for me once again. I was helping one of my wife's friends move (Bah ... dont' get me started, I missed the GA MVPA meeting), but this chick has a very bad driveway, and she wanted my hauling trailer backed-up this steep, gravel and mud side pathway in between her house and this bankment .... I locked the hubs, threw the truck in 4L and backed my trailer (loaded with approx 1,000 lbs) up this wicked and crazy driveway ... it was awesome.

And to top it all off, a neighbor drove by just a few minutes later, giving me a thumbs up!

Once again, you don't need the fanciest or the prettiest truck. O.D. Iron always does the job, right. (well, with a little help from the driver too )

-graham

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Actually she just drove it a few miles down the road to pick some stuff up with me. She likes it and how big it is but the steering is throwing her off a bit. The stock so-so GM steering is now compromised by some worn components so it's not the tightest or straightest steering setup there is. Told her I'd fix it. Also had to move the seat WAY forward.

I hear you on the "little" things. I bought my truck through a company called Alfa Heaven and they have quite a reputation for "over representing" the condition of the trucks they sell. Do a search for them, you might find some of the reading familiar. Mine's a work in progress but I can't make myself sell it and start over...it's mine.

 

[Bigmick]

Excellent...
Glad she enjoyed driving it, a lil daunting at first maybe but like I said you soon get the hang of it.
I let my girlfriend drive mine for the first time the other day, she was scared to death, so was I lol, so let her loose off road to start with, I don't know what she was worried about, she's been driving horse transport trucks for years, I think it'ss the whole LHD thing.
We've got the 'War and Peace Show' coming up in 3 weeks over here, so she can have a drive round the arena, not much to hit there apart from the tanks.
I replaced some of the steering, the tie rod ends were shot and I got new shocks, enough to get it through the MOT (the Ministry of Transport annual test) the rest can wait till I have more money.
Just had to re seal the windscreen as that was leaking, but it's developed a leak somewhere under the dash now, and bought new exhausts yesterday, so it's still an ongoing project, the light bar will go back on next week and I've got to rewire the sirens then I'll be show ready.

 

[maddawg308]

That's a beautiful looking CUCV bigmick. Your pics in the photo gallery she a lot of hard work that you put into it to get it restored.

 

[Bigmick]

Hi maddawg...
Thank you very much, always nice to hear compliments, especially from people who have a whole lot more experience with these vehicles than I do.
I can't claim credit for all the hard work, that was down to two guys I first met 2 years ago who have been working with American and miilitary vehicles most of their lives and luckily live 30 minutes from me. I've picked up some knowledge along the way, I can take it apart easy, it's the putting back together with no bits left over that's the trick.
I was left to do most of the smaller jobs, dismantling and refurbishing smaller parts, sanding down all the panels by hand, front grill, preparation for painting, masking up, making tea etc, things not even I could futz up, come to think of it I got landed with all the really crap jobs lol.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Nothing wrong with doing the putz-work if someone's willing to do the hard work for you. I can't weld and my father-in-law just built a hitch for my CUCV that doesn't interfere with the d-rings or pintle mounts. What'd I do? Grind off slag, brush rust off, be the second set of eyeballs, get this, pull that, hold this, etc etc etc...

Nice looking truck man! What kind of tires are those?
Another dumb question but when you got those tie rod ends and other "common" repair parts...how much work is it for you over there?

Just wondering as I used to frequent a New Zealand based 4x4 forum a while back and a Kiwi on there had a K5 Blazer (RHD converted). He could get most parts through his favorite auto parts stores but might have to wait sometimes...then he needed a piece of the interior door trim and ended up having to have me get it here in the States and send it over to him. I was amazed he could get anything at all for it.

 

[Bigmick]

The tires that were on it when I bought it were 33x12.50 R15 BF Goodrich mud terrains, boy did they ring at speed, but I had the 31x10.50R15 all terrains put back on. The mud terrains threw the speedo out by a country mile, I had to have a buddy follow me in his car, he called out the speeds on his mobile, then I marked the true speeds on the dial. It was out by 5mph below 40, then 15 mph as you reached 60, after that it was pure guess work.
I towed a Toyota Rav 4, toy 4x4 lol, out of deep mud with the mud terrains, almost pulled the front off it, straightened out the towing loop and totally obliterated the front with mud
As for spares, I haven't had a problem yet, when all the US air bases in the UK stopped using CUCV's a military vehicles dealer went round and bought up all the spares he could, unfortunately he passed away a couple of months ago and the new owners threw out all the parts as they didn't know what they were, D'OH, so my source of cheap parts has gone. The rear bumper was the last thing I bought off him, only a couple of weeks before he passed away, a brand new unissued rear fender for a 1986 M1009, not the most common part in the UK.
The guy who's been working on mine breaks CUCV's and has a pretty comprehensive stock, so I got all the parts from him, 2 doors, 2 wings, inner wings, battery trays, batteries, new bonnet, fuel pump, fuel lines, extinguisher, decontaminating apparatus etc etc I'm the only person he knows that's ever wanted to fully restored a CUCV lol
There's a few good parts dealers over here, normal delay is 2 weeks, I got the exhausts from Belgium, took a week, most of the other parts came from LMC Trucks, mainly all the vehicle rubbers, for the top, doors, windows, tailgate. I've got a few more parts to get, but they're detailing stuff, new turn signal stem as the plastic chrome's come off mine, things like that.
I managed to get hold of all the manuals in the UK, off Ebay I got the GMC Parts and Illustration Catalog for 1984-1986 CUCV's, that's been a godsend, as all I have to do is find a picture of the part I need, ring up the dealer and quote the GM part number.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Sounds like a good deal.

You need to regear if you want to run those 33's again. GM geared those trucks high from the factory. Even without having an OD gear in the trans your 3.08 gears are high for even the 31's.

Mine's off a bit as well, going to be replacing the speedo drive gear to correct it. 49ish = 55ish and about 63mph = 70 mph or so...

 

[Bigmick]

Nope, never going back to the 33's, too much hassle, too big, too expensive at £110 each, don't want to be clocked by a speed camera, plus I want an M1009 not a military monster truck.
I'll keep the standard sizes now, as I can get them for £65 each cash.
Also mom finds it easier climbing in and out when I take her shopping lol
New exhausts go on next week and I'll be ordering the spring leaf bushes, change out the brake pads and shoes and get ready for the big military show in July.
Picture is from the helicopter last year, looking down on the living history area, our camp is circled, my M1009, an M55, Spartan and Sultan APC, couple of Landrovers and a Rapier ground to air missile system the army lent us lol.
It's the 25th anniversary show this year, so should be around 4000 vehicles there.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Hey, I can see your truck from here!
I wish they had stuff like that around us. The nearest is far enough way that it really can't be fit in our schedule.

Sometimes I forget that this is a restoration sight and not an enthusiast site so please bear with me. That said...it's doubtful...but if you ever run across a set of axles for that truck with a gear ratio in the 3.42-3.73 range you'd be much happier with those. The truck would actually be geared appropriately for the tires. US Military convoy speed is 35mph so the ability to go faster than that wasn't a priority. Hence my truck was geared really low and yours was geared high. The military didn't care as long as it would go 35mph...

Just a word but consider SOME upgrades for the truck. www.OffRoadDesign.com makes a steering box brace to fix the weak frame around the steering boxes. The frame has been known to crack around the box even with stock trucks.
Also consider poly spring bushings if you plan on keeping the truck a long time. Do it once and never have to do it again.

 

[Bigmick]

Thanks for the info, I'm gonna get poly bushes as I'll be keeping it for a while, too much money has been spent on it to ever sell it.
I'll ask my buddy about the axles, you never know he might actually have one, he's got some weird and obscure parts hiding in the back of his store room.
The main show we go to is The War & Peace show
http://www.thewarandpeaceshow.com/
The other is Military Odyssey
http://www.military-odyssey.com/
This last one is a multi period show, from a guy making stuff out of flint to modern day.

 

[Bigmick]

Here's some decals I did on the comp, that's if anyone else is mad enough to do a full restoration lol.
I'll measure them and get the proper dimensions.

Mick.