my current government vehicle build

[army_nurse]

Well its not od green or tan (yet) but i picked this up super cheap. I have replaced all the breaks, switched to a 258 intake and exhaust manifold and a motorcraft 2100 carb, fixed the electrical, and lifted the rear and soon to lift the front. I will be switching it over to right hand drive and adding a bigger alternator and 2 5kw ac/dc converters. it will get 235/85r16 tires with 2 inch spacers and a rapco tan paint job. as well as a roll bar. i will be coating the underside with por 15. i have a good start but the difficulty i have is the doors i think that hmmwv doors will work but one i need the measurments on the doors. (i have looked and cant find them, and 2. i need to source some place to find the doors. with any luck i can find 2 tan front doors i think that will be the closest fit. any help you can send my would be great and mods i couldnt find any other place that this seemed to fit.

 

[army_nurse]

and by the way i plan to pull this in the back of a 923 for trips but my wife doesnt know that yet. Feel free to offer up your advice. this is a budget build but i want it to have a military look. i will be converting it over to left hand drive as well. the body is in good shape with the exception of just under the wipers. i plan on using a m series gauge cluster and aircraft type switches for my misc. off and on stuff. no a/c planned. front 5000 lb winch and if i can find one a 4bt with a 400 turbo trans. but that will be last and only if i can find one cheap. (like that is going to happen) thanks for your input and God bless

 

[onegmjack]

Looks like a good project.Wish they were some affordable one around hear.

 

[Recovry4x4]

FWIW I really love the right hand drive. I'd love to have one just for that. If I ever get one the first place I'd go would be the Checkers/Rallys drive thru (left side) and ask why the speaker is on the wrong side.

 

[army_nurse]

i go to sonic and reach under the call box to the drive next to me. the first few times i did it they thought i drove off. Now they know its me. i am going to convert it because of the price of the right hand drive steering box. about twice what i can get a regular cj box for. one of my goals is to keep everything as mechanical as possible. the little jeep is small and can go places my bigger trucks cant. its light as well so it doesnt tear up some of the places i dont like driving the bigger trucks just due to that fact. as i said the doors are on my list. wont be long and it will be cold. I had one of these in high school and i am going to do all the stuff i wanted to do to that one to this one. its been fun and i cant wait to see it finished with the paint and all. i think i will have it complete by spring. Maybe sooner depending on time and if i find the parts i need.

thanks for the input and God Bless

 

[army_nurse]

this is the look or at least some what i am trying to achieve. it will be solid tan and i think i will call it desert mail call. it already has these same lines and with some work i think it will be a one of a kind that isnt odd or silly looking. What do you think?

 

[chevyCUCV]

Its worth way more as right hand drive,
Just saying people in US convert to right hand drive to be different, so there might be a market for it as is.

Still it is a cool project and it looks good., love to see it in the back of a 5 ton

 

[Warthog]

There was one of the postal jeeps at the OKC Pull-A-Part. It may still be there. The doors may still be there.

 

[army_nurse]

the doors that come on the dj5 are sliders and they run on a track at the top of the door. i took them off, cut off the tracks as well at the front metal pieces and the goal is to get soft doors. the stock doors are very heavy (over 90 pounds each) and rattle as well. not at all the look or function i am going for. you can see in the pics i attached the cutting i have done around the back wheel well, and all the metal i took off of the doors. so far i have taken off over 300 pounds with most of that being the doors. i think it looks more like a jeep should not just a box on wheels. i think the finished product will be nice. and as i said a one of a kind

 

[eagle4g63]

I have to say....thanks for posting this. The BEST vehicle I ever owned was one of these postal jeeps.......It was also the first vehicle I owned. You know they wouldn't let me take my driving test with it The instructor said it would be too hard for HIM sitting in the drivers side!!!!

I would leave it right hand drive.......I have always told my wife some day I am going to get another one........man I miss my old jeep

 

[MidnightDuramax]

I would deffinately pay the extra for a right hand box. In my mind it is way cooler as a right hand drive. Looks good.

 

[Stretch44875]

I've got one sitting in the garage. Put a postal jeep body on a cj-5 frame and drive train. Still need to put it all together.

 

[shenkmen]

FWIW I really love the right hand drive. I'd love to have one just for that. If I ever get one the first place I'd go would be the Checkers/Rallys drive thru (left side) and ask why the speaker is on the wrong side.

Drive through backwards!

 

[maddawg308]

Find a junker CJ-5 and rip the 4x4 parts off it, swap onto yours. My opinion.

 

[indy4x4fab]

I have a couple hummv soft skin doors I'll check to make sure they are matched pairs. Pm me and we can work out the rest. Great build.

 

[army_nurse]

Ok i might leave it right hand drive. that will save me some time anyway. does anyone know where i might get some hmmwv doors? i also would like to find a set of 5 m151 wheels they are 16 inch and would give it the correct look. i think they will hold the 235-85r16's even though they are narrow wheels. any other mods you can think of let me know. i will be keeping it 2wd however it will get full time posi in the rear via a spool on the dana 44. lots of plans and soon to be working some overtime to have the funds i need to do said plans with. my wife has been way more cooperative with this as compaired to the last m35a2 i had. as i said keep the suggestions up and God bless.

 

[maddawg308]

One thing I have found in offroading with all sorts of things, I had a couple friends with 2wd vehicles, and have found that when offroading in 4wd, wide tires are better. However, you'll find that in 2wd, wide tires (in front) will act as a drag, and more of a hindrance than using narrow tires up front. You might not want to go with mixed size tires, though, instead opting for something a bit narrower for both axles.

When I had a CJ-3A jeep, it had narrow 9.00x16 tires on it, and believe you me, it was very capable with the front axle disengaged with those narrow tires. I firmly believe it would be much worse in 2wd with wide offroading tires on there.

 

[army_nurse]

my plan is to run 235-85 r16's they are tall and narrow they are aprox. 31.5 inches tall but only about 8 inches wide. the wheels and tires you see on the jeep now are ones i got off a ford 3/4 ton on the ranch just because the little tires looked odd. i do believe that the 235/85 are similar in size to the 9.00x16's. this will be a mostly highway vehicle with an occasional hunting trip or repair job. the wide tires on the highway tend to road walk as well so they are on the chopping block soon. another of the features i have planed is a pair of 5,000 watt ac/dc converters in a mount under the seat. that will be enough power to run many different power tools and even a small cooler. i do understand that this will require a bigger alternator and maybe a dual battery setup. keep the suggestings and lessons you have learned headed my way, and thank you & 73

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

I may be severely flamed for what I'm about to type here, but if it were mine, I'd get my hands on some 1/8' aluminum diamond plate and fab up some custom doors on a steel framework and hinge them. The OEM sliding doors just scream "HERE COMES THE MAILMAN!". I'd also be enclined to set the body on a CJ5 chassis with a small diesel. You can't beat a diesel for torque and fuel-flexibility. As long as you don't try to get too intricate with it and follow the "KISS principal", you could have one wikked little demon of a Jeep and it would be super easy to keep somewhat of a "military vehicle" appearance.

 

[army_nurse]

here is a little cut and paste i did to see about how the hmmwv doors might look. as you can see they bottom will have to be altered however i think that is not going to be to hard.