New to hmmwv's, trying to figure things out to get the right one

[blutow]

First post, thanks for all the great content on this forum. I'm looking to get a humvee from gov planet and trying to figure things out. I believe I'm getting a handle on the general process (bit of a crap shoot), but want to make sure I'm looking at the right model/options when deciding what to bid on.

I know I want a truck body and I'm leaning toward M1123. It seems like the sweet spot with 6.5 NA and 4 speed. I'm looking to keep it pretty original, I don't mind an old vehicle showing wear/patina and I'm not looking to create a garage queen. This won't be a dailey driver, just a fun extra vehicle, but I also need a truck for hauling stuff (I recently sold my F150 and I'm truck-less after having trucks for most of my adult life). With that, I'll probably go 2 door to get the cargo room. I prefer the look of the 4 door, but it seems that's an easy change if I want to go 4 door later.

My general plan is to go after a low mileage truck that has a good body and appears complete and clean and pay a little extra (I'm hoping I can win something for ~$15k or less). I usually have a pretty good eye for vehicles that have been "screwed with", but the GP pics are not great. Missing stuff is fine, I just get worried seeing stuff disassembled or monkeyed with. I"m a pretty handy guy and can rebuild motors and stuff, but I'm not looking for a huge project at this time and I'm hoping I can turn something into reliable operating vehicle without a huge project.

I've been reviewing this forum quite a bit and trying to get educated. A few things I've confused about:

It seems like some of these M1123's were rebuilt around 2009 and some are "original" older models. There are also a buch showing armor and AC added at some point, but I think this is separate from the rebuild process? If I'm understanding that right, what exactly is the rebuild process and should I have strong preference either way? It also looks like there are some engine variations (GEC?), not sure about that or if I should care. Are there other things I should care about with variations/options?

Soft top vs open - I ultimately want a soft top and soft doors. I assume anything I buy will need a new top and door materials, so is there any big advantage to buying one with a top? When I buy a new top and door material, are there other parts that I'd have if I had bought one that already had a top/doors or am I buying everything new either way? The ones with tops seem to have less sun damage to guages, etc., so I'm leaning that way but want to keep options open if I see a nice one without a top/doors.

Exhaust style - I prefer the version with the exhaust that exists by the tire (no stack). If I get one with a stack, what needs to be replaced if I want to switch to the other style with the downward exhaust exit? I don't want to just put on some cheesy aftermarket exhaust tip, but I"m also hoping this isn't $1k+ thing to do it properly.

I like the side stakes and I think they make the 2 doors look better and would help when hauling stuff. What is the approx cost to add these to a truck if I get one without stakes?

My preference is to get one that hasn't had the armor conversion. I can do without the extra holes and stiffer suspension. It also looks like many of those also have AC systems (most broken) and it just adds more holes and takes up bed space. Not a deal killer, but just a prefernce. Any other factors I'm not thinking about with the armor update trucks?

Anything else Important I should be looking at from a condition/options standpoint? Sorry to bombard with so many questions at once, thanks for any feedback.

 

[Milcommoguy]

Sounds like you have / are doing your homework. Not going over the top, plain and simple... Which IMO is the smart line to take. M1123 gets all the goodies to do the job and keep up with most traffic. Top down in summer best way to cruze. Who can do that in a picky up truck, LOL

If I was to do it over.... M1123, Find one without all the armor bolt holes, troop carrier model gets all / most of the parts for rails/fill in doors. Exhaust is no biggie. Sell the stack and money left over, LOL. Look closely at the starting video, and the spinning parts. Tires are problematic likely setting for years. Gauges ? cheap fix, change as needed. Seats YEP...Repair, replace, recover, after market. Radiator nice and not ripped up with a pressure washer. Watch for wires cut, hanging, and the usual part removed, missing, tossed in the back, Underneath too. Leaks, dents, rust, all of it.

Lots of good ones to be had. Yemo or a Georgia peach?

Sizing up an old girl on-line not that easy, CAMO.

GOOD LUCK

 

[TNDRIVER]

First post, thanks for all the great content on this forum. I'm looking to get a humvee from gov planet and trying to figure things out. I believe I'm getting a handle on the general process (bit of a crap shoot), but want to make sure I'm looking at the right model/options when deciding what to bid on.

I know I want a truck body and I'm leaning toward M1123. It seems like the sweet spot with 6.5 NA and 4 speed. I'm looking to keep it pretty original, I don't mind an old vehicle showing wear/patina and I'm not looking to create a garage queen. This won't be a dailey driver, just a fun extra vehicle, but I also need a truck for hauling stuff (I recently sold my F150 and I'm truck-less after having trucks for most of my adult life). With that, I'll probably go 2 door to get the cargo room. I prefer the look of the 4 door, but it seems that's an easy change if I want to go 4 door later.

My general plan is to go after a low mileage truck that has a good body and appears complete and clean and pay a little extra (I'm hoping I can win something for ~$15k or less). I usually have a pretty good eye for vehicles that have been "screwed with", but the GP pics are not great. Missing stuff is fine, I just get worried seeing stuff disassembled or monkeyed with. I"m a pretty handy guy and can rebuild motors and stuff, but I'm not looking for a huge project at this time and I'm hoping I can turn something into reliable operating vehicle without a huge project.

I've been reviewing this forum quite a bit and trying to get educated. A few things I've confused about:

It seems like some of these M1123's were rebuilt around 2009 and some are "original" older models. There are also a buch showing armor and AC added at some point, but I think this is separate from the rebuild process? If I'm understanding that right, what exactly is the rebuild process and should I have strong preference either way? It also looks like there are some engine variations (GEC?), not sure about that or if I should care. Are there other things I should care about with variations/options?

Soft top vs open - I ultimately want a soft top and soft doors. I assume anything I buy will need a new top and door materials, so is there any big advantage to buying one with a top? When I buy a new top and door material, are there other parts that I'd have if I had bought one that already had a top/doors or am I buying everything new either way? The ones with tops seem to have less sun damage to guages, etc., so I'm leaning that way but want to keep options open if I see a nice one without a top/doors.

Exhaust style - I prefer the version with the exhaust that exists by the tire (no stack). If I get one with a stack, what needs to be replaced if I want to switch to the other style with the downward exhaust exit? I don't want to just put on some cheesy aftermarket exhaust tip, but I"m also hoping this isn't $1k+ thing to do it properly.

I like the side stakes and I think they make the 2 doors look better and would help when hauling stuff. What is the approx cost to add these to a truck if I get one without stakes?

My preference is to get one that hasn't had the armor conversion. I can do without the extra holes and stiffer suspension. It also looks like many of those also have AC systems (most broken) and it just adds more holes and takes up bed space. Not a deal killer, but just a prefernce. Any other factors I'm not thinking about with the armor update trucks?

Anything else Important I should be looking at from a condition/options standpoint? Sorry to bombard with so many questions at once, thanks for any feedback.

Want to make life simple??? Get in touch with Retired WarHorses on this site. See if Steve can set you up with something. IMO. A J

 

[blutow]

Want to make life simple??? Get in touch with Retired WarHorses on this site. See if Steve can set you up with something. IMO. A J

Thanks, I'll give him a call tomorrow.

 

[Maxjeep1]

I’m really happy with my choice so far. Probably paid a little more than I should’ve but so far all it needed was a fuel sending unit and a fuel gauge, Oil and filters and a parking brake adjustment to get the light to go off. I didn’t care about seats, top, doors and lights. I have spent a lot on stuff that I wanted but didn’t really need. My advice is to get your parts from AmGeneral, Macmotors, Kascar or somewhere similar oh Hummer parts guy. I learned the hard way where not to buy but I will not list them in the open. I thought I was getting oem parts and that’s really how they were being advertised but they were not. I looked at the condition of the exhaust and the fasteners on every picture they had, fins on coolers and clamps and hoses. That’s just stuff that you can’t hide. Miles can’t really be trusted but in my case I believe it to be accurate after further review. I have a new air filter tagged 04/02 and tires are dated 2002 and still have tits on them so I’m pretty sure the 132 miles is accurate. Sounds like you have a good idea what to look for and I think you will get a nice truck for what you have budgeted. Oil pressure and blow by was my main concern and next was the holes from the up armor and that was a dealbreaker for me. Sounds like I got exactly what you are looking for and if I can do anyone can do it. None running trucks can be a great deal but you can get upside down in it quickly and I didn’t want to take the chance on my 1st one. Good luck with your search!

 

[blutow]

Sounds like you have / are doing your homework. Not going over the top, plain and simple... Which IMO is the smart line to take. M1123 gets all the goodies to do the job and keep up with most traffic. Top down in summer best way to cruze. Who can do that in a picky up truck, LOL

If I was to do it over.... M1123, Find one without all the armor bolt holes, troop carrier model gets all / most of the parts for rails/fill in doors. Exhaust is no biggie. Sell the stack and money left over, LOL. Look closely at the starting video, and the spinning parts. Tires are problematic likely setting for years. Gauges ? cheap fix, change as needed. Seats YEP...Repair, replace, recover, after market. Radiator nice and not ripped up with a pressure washer. Watch for wires cut, hanging, and the usual part removed, missing, tossed in the back, Underneath too. Leaks, dents, rust, all of it.

Lots of good ones to be had. Yemo or a Georgia peach?

Sizing up an old girl on-line not that easy, CAMO.

GOOD LUCK

Thanks for the response. Any thoughts on blow by and how concerned I should be about it? This seems like a debated topic and I couldn't really find anything specific to the humvee motors. In the video's I've seen, some of the blow videos definitely show some vapor coming out. Maybe just coindidence, but it seems like blow by is more common when they are taking video of a hot engine vs. cold (based on starup video and looking at temp guage), so maybe that is a factor?

 

[Milcommoguy]

Going to be a bit hard to tell with the "blow by"check. Cold engine, possible CDR valve removed, engine hasn't ran in month...years?? I would look for... and
It's a crap shoot... WAIT light cycled before start, a quick cranking cycle to running, oil pressure comes up and holds around 40 PSI, voltmeter in the green and no clanky clonky noise. Again, no guarantee. Almost a blind date LOL.

My bud at USMC Yemo shops say a lot of those trucks were refreshed and just setting (years). Look at the low mileage Barstow tagged rigs. We all have seen some fresh looking one and then those that have been around the block more that a few times.

Test drive would be nice... but those days are over. CAMO

 

[Elijah95]

Pm inbound


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[98G]

My opinion- GP's blowby assessment doesn't yield any useful data.


Picture of my truck, just because -

 

[Milcommoguy]

My opinion- GP's blowby assessment doesn't yield any useful data.


Picture of my truck, just because -

That's a truck with purpose, CAMO

 

[blutow]

My bud at USMC Yemo shops say a lot of those trucks were refreshed and just setting (years). Look at the low mileage Barstow tagged rigs. We all have seen some fresh looking one and then those that have been around the block more that a few times.

Is there a standard list of stuff that the refresh normally included? Any specific parts replaced? From what I've seen, a lot of these refresh jobs happened on trucks with very few miles to start with. Was the refresh to bring things up to a higher spec or just replacing items that deteriorate over time (tires, hoses, belts, seals, etc.)?

 

[Milcommoguy]

Is there a standard list of stuff that the refresh normally included? Any specific parts replaced? From what I've seen, a lot of these refresh jobs happened on trucks with very few miles to start with. Was the refresh to bring things up to a higher spec or just replacing items that deteriorate over time (tires, hoses, belts, seals, etc.)?

That's going to require a phone call sometime next week, CAMO

 

[98G]

Something to consider- if you don't need a cruising speed >55mph the 3speed trucks aren't nearly as expensive.