bheath

This is going to be a short and sweet build of an 87 Chevy military truck. My fire dept received the truck through a deal with the NC Forest Service and DOD, the deal was they would give us the truck as long as we turned the truck into a usable fire truck and go it 'In Service' within 6 months. We then have to keep the truck operational and 'In Service' for 2 years min. After the truck has been 'In Service' for two years they will sign the title over to us at no cost.

We have had the truck now for almost a month getting the engine worked on.

This truck will not be lifted or slammed or anything stupid like that, it will simply be turned into a usable fire truck and I'll be posting the progress here for everyone to see. I'll be overseeing the build on the FD side and I'll be fabricating for it.

Specs:

87 Military Spec Chevy single cab.
14 Bolt rear/ Unk front at the moment
Leaf sprung all 4 corners
'Cat eyes'
6.2L Diesel Non-turbo
3 speed
Posi-Trak in rear
Locking Hubs in front

Truck will be getting, strobes, scene lights (possibly LED's), body work and new red paint job, possibly tires, a 250 gallon water tank and a 250 GPM pump along with other minor details.

It's been in the shop for the past 2 weeks due to some moron hooking the batteries up wrong and melting the glow plugs to the head. That and it had a fuel leak by the pump. We are about to start sanding the pain off soon.

andrewmp6

Are you sure its dana 44s?The gm 10 bolt looks just like one and gm stopped using the dana 44 in 74 and never used one in the rear.That truck should have had a dana 60 and 14 bolt unless someone swapped in the 10 bolts from a blazer.

salad

No turbo and a 3-speed? This travesty must be dealt with!

bheath

I have not looked at them yet so I can't be sure. That was what I was told by DOD. I will peek under there as soon as I get time.

Lol it was free! Besides it'll bark 2nd!

bheath

I managed to get a friend to snap a pic of the rear end. I'm at work.

14 Bolt FTW!

Damn DOD...

bheath

thanks for drawing my attention to that matter. I'm not going to go by the DOD's spec sheet as they obviously don't have a clue. I'll be checking everything now. lol

so I'm betting 60 front...

andrewmp6

Yeah its m1008 cucv the dana 60 and 14 bolt are stock in them,It should have a Detroit Locker in the rear of it also.The t case is a np208 unless it has a pto then its a np205.They are strong trucks but a little slow and max speed is 55mph in one tho.They are rated as a ton and 1/4 and have a gvw of 8,800 lbs.If it has the stock paint in it i would wear a respirator sanding it.It has CARC (Chemical Agent Resistant Coating) paint on it.Look on the inside of the drivers door see if it says CARC or not on it.

bheath

The rear is deff locked. I can honestly tell you the truck will do more than 55. Lol but It don't like to.

I love the truck and we are not looking for speed as we are looking for capability and strength. The truck will be all we need for what it'll be doing. Some new tires and rims might be in order pending what the budget looks like.

secret ingredient

Looks awesome for its age. I'm not surprised at all the DOD didn't know much about it.

bheath

Besides a few dents and dings it's in great shape body wise. Interior leaves a bit to be desired but thats a military vehicle for ya.

Yea the spec sheet almost seems like it was for a different vehicle. Lol

secret ingredient

The interior probably is on par with current military vehicles. Actually, come to think of it, I bet those Chevy seats probably lasted longer than some I've sat in here at Bragg. I swear half of our vehicles have rags for seat cushions. I don't know how people destroy stuff so fast. You find anymore fun stuff besides melted glow plugs?

andrewmp6

As a basic truck they are great and will run forever with the diesel in it.The interior was basic in the normal ones,The military ones you got a heater and and steering wheel pretty much lol.If it has a radio not a delete plate its full options lol.Only must have upgrade i know of is a steering box brace,They like to crack the frame around the steering box.Look at http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/steeringkit.htm they have a bolt in brace or a weld in one if its cracked.Be sides that drive the tires off it.

bheath

the seat material is actually in good shape with minimal cracks and tears. the springs inside the seat on the other hand have taken a crap. Besides the glow plugs, not really. the fuel leak and now we are having a battery drain issue. the truck didn't come with a receiver for a hitch so I made one and bolted it to the bumper utilizing the same bolts that mounted the pintle hitch.

no radio. heat and steering wheel only lmao. we could care less about a radio or a/c. we only have one truck with a/c anyways. i'll look into the brace. i might head to the FD today to start sanding and to inspect with my own two eyes the frame rail and tires and axles and all that good stuff and snap some more pics of the interior and under the hood.

I did notice this thing has some strange steel c-channel mounted to the corners of the bed with a hoop on the end and a bolt on the other. somebody tell me what in the hell they are there for?

bheath

Pics

andrewmp6

I think the thing in the bed was for a S250 communications shelter to hook up to.