Mystery holes (to me anyway!) and muffler question

[CVRTkid]

I've just started cleaning up and treating a bit of rust on my Blazer rear floor; the previous owner had fitted carpets from a civvy Blazer and they got damp and nature has been taking its course. I wondered if anyone on here knows what the extra holes in the floor might be for? They were covered in tape in a vain attempt to keep water out.

I should mention that my vehicle seems to be a mish-mash of civilian K5 and military M1009 parts, but as it came from a scrap yard in England (UK) this is hardly surprising. I've not yet identified the chassis as military or civilian, but as per my introduction the bulkhead and doors are from the same vehicle, while the VIN suggests an M1008. The tailgate, motor, radiator and bonnet are also of military origin. Although my interests are mostly military vehicles, the origins of my truck don't bother me, I love driving it. Its unusual over here, and there aren't that many CUCVs (or K5 Blazers) in the UK.

Also can anyone recommend an aftermarket muffler (and ideally a part number) that would fit straight on and sound a bit better than the stock items? I'm not looking for OTT loudness (as I sometimes have to drive the truck at 5am and have neighbors to consider!), but something that sounded a bit better would be welcome.


Thanks,

Vince (Surrey, England)

 

[ODFever]

It looks like the floor was patched. The rear seat attaches to the recessed pins. Could you please post more pictures of the truck? It's hard for me to determine anything further. Thanks!

 

[joshuak]

I recently installed a Walker 22329 muffler on my '09 and it is working well for me.

 

[CVRTkid]

It actually looks like whatever was bolted on the floor there was painted around in black, as the whole floor is green under the black.

Here are some more pictures; some have been posted on my intro last year. The spare wheel carrier, civilian front wheel arch panels, front storage bin and 12V conversion were added by the last owner. Interestingly there is no evidence of the 24V radio wiring or jump start socket wiring ever having been installed. The inside of the rear top is white if thats any significance. Likelihood is it is a mostly civilian vehicle with some military parts added. The scrap yard it came from dealt with a lot of vehicles disposals from UK USAAF bases.

 

[GunnyM1009]

Looks like the previous owner had some type of storage box mounted there at some point. I haven't seen those holes on any other M1009's

 

[GunnyM1009]

By the pictures it looks like you have a M1009 that has been almost completely civilianized.

 

[CVRTkid]

Previous owner was a truck mechanic and had about 4 Blazers which he swapped parts on (hence the odd wheels - they had his best set of tires on). I suspect the chassis may be civilian as it doesn't have the lift points on it.

It's not unusual for to find civilian Land Rovers in air base use in the uk, albeit with some military parts fitted and also "interesting" local modifications installed. My rear bumper could well be an example of this as it's very heavy duty and has both civilian and NATO lighting sockets. I'm not trying to justify my vehicle as a true military machine, it's interesting to me just as it is and suits my purposes.

Thanks for the tip on the mufflers. Next job is a repaint into NATO green and get the rear springs repaired as she's sitting a bit low at the back.

 

[ODFever]

I know what you have - a FrankenCUCV!!! It's still highly possible that it was a military vehicle at one point in its life. The military used civilian K5 Blazers as support roles on base (someone please correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[reaper556]

very interesting blazer, keep us updated with you find

 

[48cj2a]

With all the mods, the only way to know for sure if it was a CUCV is by the VIN number on the dash and also stamped in the frame rail on the passenger side.

CUCV M1009 (D10) vs Blazer K5 will have different VIN prefixes.

Example of a 1984 M1009 VIN: 1G8ED18J3EF168713
Example of a 1985 K5 Blazer VIN: 1G8EK18H9FF201377

Fifth digit will be a D - Military 4x4
Fifth digit will be a K - Civilian 4x4

Don't know what year they stopped production but there was also a "C" for 2wd Blazers

 

[86m1028]

Military blazer frames will have an extra plate riveted to frt frame horns for the tie down mounts.
Easier than finding the vin on the frame.

 

[CVRTkid]

I did find the VIN number, and the tale of that is here:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?143458-UK-Newbie-factory-paint-finish-question/page2

 

[CVRTkid]

The 2nd coat of POR15 bed liner should be going on tonight. With the carpet up, I can see I have a few leaks mainly around each side of the tailgate seal (sometimes I can see daylight, other times not which is I guess down to body flex) and a couple immediately behind the door pillars (at bed level) which I have no idea of the source. The underside was waxoiled by the previous owner, so I'll reapply some this summer.