• Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!

  • Microsoft MSN, Live, Hotmail, Outlook email users may not be receiving emails. We are working to resolve this issue. Please add support@steelsoldiers.com to your trusted contacts.

Why the fuss?

Disciple

New member
247
4
0
Location
Eagan, Mn
I sold a 1008 to a friend who put his teenage daughter in it.
Great idea! What better way to guarantee she never hits anything going faster than 55 mph!?! I suppose it wouldn't matter a whole lot though. Can't imagine the carnage it would create if I T-Boned a Smart Car or a Prius P.O.S. in my M1008 at just about any speed! Would be cool to see, but I won't be volunteering my truck any time soon.

Takers?

Come on guys, there has to be some pics floating around here somewhere!
 

flighht2k5

Banned
322
5
0
M1009's have an extra rear leaf, the J code 6.2, and the TH400 was not available for a civi K5. The C code 6.2 and 700R4 was all you coiuld get for the civi Blazer...
Wry diesel blazer I've seen have came with a turbo 400. An extra leaf doesnt really make it more robust when the same drivetrain is being Used which is mediocre.
 

Cucvnut

Well-known member
3,804
61
48
Location
Carver, Oregon
its got a dana 60! and no smog in cali. i hate the diesel, 454 some day. Its almost to the point where my M1008 is no longer daily driver easy. But I still love my truck I do want a M1009 for a DD with a SBC. I just wish they put NP205's in them instead of NP208( crappy )
 
Last edited:

transman

Member
102
0
16
Location
mildred Pa.
Great idea! What better way to guarantee she never hits anything going faster than 55 mph!?! I suppose it wouldn't matter a whole lot though. Can't imagine the carnage it would create if I T-Boned a Smart Car or a Prius P.O.S. in my M1008 at just about any speed! Would be cool to see, but I won't be volunteering my truck any time soon.

Takers?

Come on guys, there has to be some pics floating around here somewhere!
If you saw many of the roads around here 55 is flying.especally since the influx of a couple thousand water truck and other natural gas support rigs.
 

condor16

New member
34
0
0
Location
Charlottesville, VA
For the M1009, the drivetrain might not be anything super-special, but it's hard to find a similar-year K5 that isn't either:
1. Lifted 8" with worn-out 38" boggers
2. More rust than metal
3. Both of the above

At least that seems to be the way it is around here. It's not a deuce, but then it isn't supposed to be.
 

67_C-30

New member
645
3
0
Location
Sweet Home Alabama!
Wry diesel blazer I've seen have came with a turbo 400. An extra leaf doesnt really make it more robust when the same drivetrain is being Used which is mediocre.
They were put in there if they were, because the TH400 WAS NOT available in a 1/2 ton truck or a K5 Blazer after '81. The 6.2's came out in '82. Look it up.

BTW, I have ran those "crappy" diesels for over 15 years I've had one that had 339K and 2 others with 280K+ on the original engines. All while getting more than 20 MPG.
 

91W350

Well-known member
4,414
57
48
Location
Salina, Kansas
I know of several area ranches with the 6.2 still working after 25 years, hauling feed and fixing fences, everyday economical work horses. They are great in that application. They just cannot stand a lot of rpm, especially for extended periods. Glen
 

cfish

New member
173
0
0
Location
Eastern/NC
New to owning an MV. In todays modern car world its **** near impossible to work on the vehicles without spending an arm and a leg on specalised tools. That said, my son is turning 13 and as every boy should know, atleast the basics of mechanics. So I bought this vehicle as a project car for my son and I to work on. It gives us something fun and educational to do together and over the next three years as we work on it he will learn it inside and out and this will be his first vehilce when he turns 16.
 

flighht2k5

Banned
322
5
0
They were put in there if they were, because the TH400 WAS NOT available in a 1/2 ton truck or a K5 Blazer after '81. The 6.2's came out in '82. Look it up.

BTW, I have ran those "crappy" diesels for over 15 years I've had one that had 339K and 2 others with 280K+ on the original engines. All while getting more than 20 MPG.
Awesome for you :)
 

cucv1833

Member
533
4
18
Location
Lake Charles, LA
I love my Cucv im still new to it and its my first diesel my freinds dont understand they said i wasted my money I like tinkering with it s old school no nonsense. deuces are cool but a little too big for me.
 

bkwudzhom

Member
322
1
18
Location
ga
I love my m1008. It has no lift, trimmed fenders with 33's, the exaust is loud cause the drivers side pipe needs replacing, the passenger side cab corner is bondo and needs replacing and the heater sucks, but....
When I drive it to the city no one tries to cut me off-or push me around. Even the bullish drivers in their F-350 crewcab King ranch Fords make room for me. I can pull into the ambulance bay to pick up the wife in bad weather or get a cube of block set in the back or a bucket of gravel/sand if I need to. A full sheet of plywood fits flat in the bed and I can haul a bundle of it or a bundle of 2x4's and unload it by hand with out climbing in and out of the bed. Driving over a few saplings don't hurt it when I cant easily reach the deer I shot. If I do bend it up bad I can get parts at the junk yard pretty easy. I talked the power company into leaving the poles they replaced beside the road near my house and I was able to load a 20 foot length and the 15 foot length in the back with the help of a floor jack and my wife, drive it up out of the ditch, and take them home. Try doing that with a deuce! I would like a deuce for when we build cause I can save some on the delivery bills-but the CUCV is more practicle for my everyday uses.
 

344lbsofgetdown

New member
84
0
0
Location
NEWARK Ohio
i am new to this hobby to i bought a new car for the wife and did not want one more car payment but needed a truck that i could work on and drive daily and carry my familey around in real bad weather so i was looking the price of a S10 4X4 was still more then my M1009 so i bought the CUCV plus its cool i do get some looks from people drivein newer chevy and ford trucks but its cool i love my CUCV would not traid it for nothing my 4 year old son loves it due to its camo he tells everyone about it yes at time a radio and A/C would be nice but hay the top comes off so its all on what u like and what you want i would love a duce but right now with a 4 year old not in the books will get one when i get the harley also as of now the boy helps me fix it it dont have a shiney paint job so scratches just seam to faid away not like on the new car
 

Recovry4x4

LLM/Member 785
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
34,012
1,808
113
Location
GA Mountains
That doeant make it more robust. J code? Its still a crappy diesel.
It does exactly what it was designed to do. Crappy is your opinion and opinions are like a$$holes, everybody has them. Please enlighten us on your real world hands on experience with the 6.2? I've owned and driven many for hundreds of thousands of miles. Most folks who have a negative opinion of them, got their opinion from a book or website. My experience is hands on!
In my real world experience, the J code is more robust!
 

Barrman

Well-known member
5,254
1,761
113
Location
Giddings, Texas
Back when all I had was my M715 and a pair of Gasser M35's. I had the same wonder as the original post in this thread. "Why do people want a CUCV for anything other than the axles out of a 1008 to put under a M715?"

I had seen a few 6.2 powered M715's. They did great off road, but couldn't do more than 45 on the street. A few of them were on their second or third engine too.

I passed on a pair of running M1009's for less than $400 total back then too. "Why would I want a weak 1/2 ton with no a/c and a junk engine?"

Then fuel hit over $4.00 a gallon for gasoline. Then Ethynal started getting added to my fuel. My 396 big block M715 no longer got 12-13 mpg because the fuel was junk. I couldn't let it sit for a week or two or more while I drove my whistler multifuel around because fuel for it was cheap. I still wasn't a believer though.

I passed on another pair of M1009's for a bit more money, but nowhere near todays prices just 18 months ago. I knew better. After all, does a day ever go by here on SS when somebody isn't posting about a broken CUCV starter, fried up alternator or glow plug problem? Nope. I didn't need that extra hassle and money drain in my life.

I did start asking around though about them. My Gaurd unit way back when still ran around in M151's or M35A2's. I never had military experience with CUCV's. Another teacher here at my school is still in the Reserves. I asked him. "Yeah, we got two of those turds. Never start, always something wrong with them. Give me my Duece back." I started reading all the threads on here about them and realized it was the same problems people were coming up against and once fixed, it was fixed. I also read about the great economy the trucks were giving the drivers. Hmm....

I started looking into the 6.2. Once I understood that Gm wanted an engine that could fit where a SBC was, bolt up to the same parts as the SBC, give the same power as the base engine of the day (2 barrel 305) but give double the fuel economy. A 6.2 is all mechanical with nothing electric to fail once it has been started. People were getting 300K -500K out of the engines with maybe a $500 IP rebuild along the way and a balancer replacement.

Things started to click in my mind. 300,000 miles means at least 6 sets of plugs, wires, cap, rotor and probably a few coils in a gasoline engine. If it lasted that long. About the same as an IP rebuild. Double the fuel economy in ideal conditions and realistically figure 1/3 to 2/3 better mileage. Add in the fuel injection so I can do more off road without messing with the float and flooding out on hills. Diesel is more stable and won't turn to varnish if the truck sits for a month. Any CUCV will seat at least 3 full size people, will have a heater, roll up windows and doors that lock. No other MV I own could do that. Normal parking spaces and better than my accepted fate in life of 54 mph top speed everywhere I go. Maybe I should get one?

I did. Spent the first few months fixing all the stuff that a 25 year old truck needs fixed and then I started using the M1009. It will go just about anywhere my M715 will and a few places the M715 can't. I can go 70 if I want, but 60 mph with the 33" tires gives me 22-25 mpg and dragging the M101 trailer I still get 17-19 mpg. That is with my entire family and dog along. Out of the weather too. Scout camp outs are better for everybody now because the maxmum convoy speed to a camp out isn't 54 mph because of me. I can carry 4 Scouts along which helps the other parents out. The boys all want to ride in my truck too.

Then there is the big positive for me. My wife will not only ride in it. She wants to drive it even! She has never even sat in one of the Dueces. She has driven the M715, but it was only because the Suburban was dead and she had to be somewhere. She didn't like it.

Summing up. For those of us afflicted with the green iron disease. A CUCV opens up new worlds we can enter like no other MV. Both travel wise and family wise. I am so far over into the dark side of CUCV's that I dragged another one home last week.

It all comes down to what you like and want. I want a 4 door 4x4 turbo diesel 1 ton truck. Have for years. I don't want a computerized plastic machine that cost more than a lot of houses however. Now I have the multifuel for the hauling/towing, the M1009 for diesel ecomony family trips and the M715 for off road family fun. It works for me. Which is really all this thread comes down to.
 
Last edited:

dragon1124

New member
67
1
0
Location
schiller park il
I bought my m1009 for a few reasons.
I support the Armed Forces, I've seen a picture here of a steel soldiers t-shirt that said "we support the troops by preserving their past" That's one of the reasons I bought this m1009. While I cant join the military for health reasons, I can still support them, any way I can.

I even have this m1009 in the classified ads here, which I am seriously considering removing it. I've had my frustrations with it, ever since I purchased it. I am second guessing myself if I really do want to part with her or not. I am even making a pro/con list lol.

Another reason I bought her, was of the clearance. This was a replacement for an 03 cavalier that got flooded out during a 3-day rain storm. While looking at used car ads, my wife showed me this one, and said "hey look at this, it's a baby suburban" lol I said "wow that's a camo K5 blazer, of course I didnt go through GL so I over paid, and then the troubles started, but so what, I would have the same thing with other used vehicles, everything breaks sooner or later. Not to mention I love these old metal body styles, Big metal boxes. I've owned an 88 suburban, with the gas engine, and this m1009 is way better on the MPGs

I live in Chicago, I have not seen any deuces or other cucvs driving in the city. I've seen "newer" K5 blazers around, and all rusted. I'm sure a lot of users get lookers while driving. I notice people looking at my m1009 all the time. People come up to me and start conversations. Also the best thing about this m1009, it cured my lead foot syndrome.
 

OL AG '89

Member
743
9
18
Location
Kingwood, Texas
Forgive me my ignorance, but I have watched with amusement, as well as puzzlement, the nearly fanatical following that the CUCV's enjoy.

To me, one of the unknowing, these are merely simple pickups and big SUV's in military clothing. I am gathering that this is not the case.

Please enlighten those of us with question marks flying about our heads....

Barrman hits the nail on he head...

to which I add
They are FUN vehicle!
They are a practical vehicle!
They area a forgiving vehicle!
They are a piece of History!

I spent 21 years in and never got the opportunity to work on an M1009. I now own 2.
The interesting statement from the original post is that MRs Gamilis got "AMUSED" and "PUZZLED" that we would care to own a vehicle other than a BMW 750i or a Mazda 6....
I think she would be "AMAZED" if she ever got the opportunity to ride in one of these "Modern Marvels".
If she ever gets to the Houston area maybe I can oblige. We don't have a lot of ofroad area, but even a drive through the city streets would certainly help her form a different opinion, for the better.2cents
 

flighht2k5

Banned
322
5
0
It does exactly what it was designed to do. Crappy is your opinion and opinions are like a$$holes, everybody has them. Please enlighten us on your real world hands on experience with the 6.2? I've owned and driven many for hundreds of thousands of miles. Most folks who have a negative opinion of them, got their opinion from a book or website. My experience is hands on!
In my real world experience, the J code is more robust!
I have many friends that work in our csms and I often visit them. They are very frequently replacing engines in the humvees. When I was deployed a majority if our trucks went down for engine issues. A majority of the mechanics Ive spoken to do not like them.
 
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website like our supporting vendors. Their ads help keep Steel Soldiers going. Please consider disabling your ad blockers for the site. Thanks!

I've Disabled AdBlock
No Thanks