ihscoutlover

Its great to see an old military truck get repurposed for something different. Hopefully all the door dents get pushed out, and the rest of the sanding goes well. Its interesting just what kind of stories it would tell of where its been and what its done. Mechanically speaking the diesel is an interesting beast, as I thought it could be run on diesel, waste oil or JP, but don't hold me to that, at least the military version should have been able to. Automatic tranny should be the TH400, which is dependable. If I were doing lighting on it, I would put strobes in the tail lights and backups, as well as the front turns. You could also put strobes into the side marker lights if they have the space to allow for the strobe tube. I did a set of tails and turns on a Chevy Caprice and my Jeep Cherokee. Light housings are cheap at the JY, and you could get a set to practice on if needed.

Jeff

bheath

The door dents are staying for the most part along with any other non major dents as we are trying to keep it as cheap as possible. Since this truck will be in the woods 99% of it's life from now on we're not spending a fortune on paint/body work.

As far as emergency lights the truck should be getting a lightbar on top, two grille lights, two lights just above or below the tail lights and 4 corner strobes.

Plus we'll need area/scene lighting and bed lights. Im thinking either pod or bar LED floods for area lighting and Olympus Offroad bolt rock lights for bed pump gauge lights.

bheath

Another small update, as if anyone is actually watching this... lmao

The truck is very close to being ready for paint. I've got everything except for the door jambs sanded and all that is left is to go over the entire truck with the scotch brite pads and soapy water to scratch the surface so the paint will stick.

Large side note, I removed the brush guard because I want to paint it black but I want the bumper red. Took me almost 3 hours to remove the damn thing. I've been doing all this work at the FD so I have min tools compared to if it was at my shop. The guard was held on by 6 carriage bolts with the small square shaft at the bottom of the head of the bolt that is suppose to fit into a square hole on the bumper to keep the bolt from turning but guess what,... the brush guard holes were round and the bolts spun in place. yay! needless to say, I tried holding the bolts with pliers, I tried copious amounts of WD40 rust penetrant (like pb blaster), I even tried welding the bolt heads to the brush guard but I left my helmet at home so all I was able to do was spot welds on each one which failed horribly as every single weld broke. It came down to my contemplating rolling the truck out on the apron at the FD and setting it on fire then self-dispatching the firemen to the station to extinguish it because I was seriously tired of messing with it. Then I tried one last thing, sawzall... Success!! after two blades later and alot of cussing, I cut the bolt heads off and off came the guard.

I will re install with legit grade 8 hex heads...

Hopefully after Christmas I can get back to it and get it to the paint shop. After paint will be bedlining the bed of the truck and the inside lower portion of the cab, then installing all the hardware, tools, pump, tank, lights, siren, etc...

pics will be posted soon, I have to post them from my cellular device...

bheath

Oh and the cables were kept on the truck for possible future winch use...

andrewmp6

If you want to see what that truck will do stock first 6 mins is them trying to get it to start.He did 3 more shows with the truck lift bigger tires and a engine swap later on.

bheath

I'll watch this tomorrow. I thought about a mild 2-3" lift but I don't think the women of the dept would like that. Lol it has to be very user friendly.

bheath

Truck has been completely sanded and scuffed and is ready for paint as of two weeks ago. It's been sitting in the bay waiting for the paint guy to come pick it up since Jan. 1st.. He's not charging us anything to paint it so I cant ***** but so much. In all reality I'm about tired of waiting on him. Time is running out very quickly.

In other news, ive been really busy with other more pressing matters so I haven't ordered any lights for it yet. But I will be getting some free stuff from the Sheriffs Dept.

I'll update when It's painted.

bheath

Paint guy FINALLY came and picked the truck up. But it might be awhile before we get it back. We just lost a fireman a few days ago so alot of things have been put on the back burner until the funeral has been handled along with all the other million more pressing issues. Sorry for the delay guys, I'll get back to it as soon as possible.

salad

My condolences. Did he not make it out of a fire or unrelated?

bheath

Thank you. He died of a heart attack less than 24 hours after a fire call so tech it still counts as a line of duty death. we won't know just yet if it was stress related or what. He was only 65. One of the hardest working men I know. Member of 2 depts with a son on another dept.

salad

Wow. That really must be a shock.

Danimal94

I work on these constantly at work. We have a fleet of 12-15 in operation and they're great. They all have issues though. Glow plugs, tranny shifting issues, and general wear items like starters and alternators. They get their abuse running around the landfill though. Fantastic pick ups!

bheath

it was/is. he was very active, ran all the calls, worked at the station alongside everyone.

I'm sure this truck will be a great truck, it runs like a champ now. I'm just ready to get it back from paint so the real work can get started.

bheath

truck is back from paint. it's red, very red. lmao pics soon.

bheath

RED