Successful trip.

[Cougar_ml]

So to resurrect this thread, which I can do because it's my thread anyway (or at least the space for this thread is on loan from Eric).

 

After 5 months and several conversations with the company I bought it from, the paperwork to obtain a title arrived by Fedex yesterday.

Today I went down to a DMV office known to have their act together when it comes to military vehicles.

Something popped up in the computer, lady behind the counter had to call the state office.

2 hours later different lady (first was on lunch break at this point) got tired of me sitting around in the office (or thought the state was taking too long and decided to check up and make sure they hadn't forgotten), so she called back to the state office.  Whatever it was got sorted out, and I got the plates and registration for my truck.  I can now (legally) drive it on public roads. 

Then I got to looking at the engine in it.  Odometer said 32 miles when I picked it up.  Truck was originally built in 2000, which was not a good year for the GM 6.5l diesel engine.

Turns out when they rebuilt my truck in 2010 they put a newer (rebuild tag on it) 6.5l engine made by Navistar in 2005, which is considered to be very far superior to the GM 6.5l.  

So I'm currently a VERY happy person.

 

And hey, if anyone is in Western Washington, on the 8th-11th of November the Lacey Cabelas is doing a "Legendary Salute" event for military/veterans/hometown heroes and my truck will be there from 9am-1pm on the 9th.  (someone mentioned free donuts if I take my truck, that's all I needed to hear)

Edited October 30, 2019 by Cougar_ml

[tadbart]

19 minutes ago, Cougar_ml said:

So to resurrect this thread, which I can do because it's my thread anyway (or at least the space for this thread is on loan from Eric).

 

After 5 months and several conversations with the company I bought it from, the paperwork to obtain a title arrived by Fedex yesterday.

Today I went down to a DMV office known to have their act together when it comes to military vehicles.

Something popped up in the computer, lady behind the counter had to call the state office.

2 hours later different lady (first was on lunch break at this point) got tired of me sitting around in the office (or thought the state was taking too long and decided to check up and make sure they hadn't forgotten), so she called back to the state office.  Whatever it was got sorted out, and I got the plates and registration for my truck.  I can now (legally) drive it on public roads. 

Then I got to looking at the engine in it.  Odometer said 32 miles when I picked it up.  Truck was originally built in 2000, which was not a good year for the GM 6.5l diesel engine.

Turns out when they rebuilt my truck in 2010 they put a newer (rebuild tag on it) 6.5l engine made by Navistar in 2005, which is considered to be very far superior to the GM 6.5l.  

So I'm currently a VERY happy person.

 

And hey, if anyone is in Western Washington, on the 8th-11th of November the Lacey Cabelas is doing a "Legendary Salute" event for military/veterans/hometown heroes and my truck will be there from 9am-1pm on the 9th.  (someone mentioned free donuts if I take my truck, that's all I needed to hear)

way cool! hopefully, the worst part of ownership of this basically brand new monster ride will be the DMV! If I didn't live in Humid Hell, I could see owning one.

here's to taking that brute all over the place! I work the 8-11, therefore I believe it would be a perfect occasion to skip town and head to the PNW. Boss thinks otherwise.

[Cougar_ml]

10 hours ago, tadbart said:

way cool! hopefully, the worst part of ownership of this basically brand new monster ride will be the DMV! If I didn't live in Humid Hell, I could see owning one.

here's to taking that brute all over the place! I work the 8-11, therefore I believe it would be a perfect occasion to skip town and head to the PNW. Boss thinks otherwise.

it's disconnected right now, but I have an air conditioner system for it as well.  The Red-Dot brand air conditioners for these things are reputed to be VERY effective.

Don't need it much around here, but I might install it for next year.

[tadbart]

wow. that thing just got a LOT more impressive! an old coworker had a Ford Fairlane from way back, and he installed an aftermarket AC in it. down here, it's just not practical to own a vehicle without it.

[Cougar_ml]

yeah, they kind of had to install aircon in these when the desert they're operating in is hitting 130 degrees, and there's armor so you can't just open the window.

 

[Fnfalman]

Sweet!!!

[Cougar_ml]

So to give a little more info on the actual truck:

The original HMMWV model is the M998.  Over the years it's gone through some revisions and upgrades, and currently is the M998A2.

 

Mine is a model M1123.  This is roughly equivalent to the Army's M1097, except the M1123 doesn't have the Airlift bumpers on it.  It also has almost everything from the "deep water fording kit" already installed, and I added the last couple components.  My truck should be fine driving through up to 60" (5 feet) of water without damage.

It's labeled as a 4400 lb truck, instead of the 1 1/4 ton (2500 lb) payload that the M998 has.

The suspension under it is mostly the same as the newer up armored units.  The early trucks max gross weight was 7700lbs, so the componenets are referred to as 7.7k for the springs and half shafts (axles).  Then the upgraded M998A2 trucks used 10k components.  Most of mine is rated to 12k lbs, so much heavier and less prone to breakage.

 

Surprisingly, most parts are readily available, mostly through surplus routes, but some distributors buy from the OEMs.  All the manuals to work on these are unrestricted distribution from the government, and most of it is standard hardware, not metric except the newer engines.

 

Right now it has a hard shell top on it, a member of a local military vehicle group I'm in had it and decided not to use it, so he sold it to me for cheap.  I managed to get it installed by myself.

 

Here is how she currently looks.

well, other than she now has a license plate.

[janice6]

17 minutes ago, Cougar_ml said:

So to give a little more info on the actual truck:

The original HMMWV model is the M998.  Over the years it's gone through some revisions and upgrades, and currently is the M998A2.

 

Mine is a model M1123.  This is roughly equivalent to the Army's M1097, except the M1123 doesn't have the Airlift bumpers on it.  It also has almost everything from the "deep water fording kit" already installed, and I added the last couple components.  My truck should be fine driving through up to 60" (5 feet) of water without damage.

It's labeled as a 4400 lb truck, instead of the 1 1/4 ton (2500 lb) payload that the M998 has.

The suspension under it is mostly the same as the newer up armored units.  The early trucks max gross weight was 7700lbs, so the componenets are referred to as 7.7k for the springs and half shafts (axles).  Then the upgraded M998A2 trucks used 10k components.  Most of mine is rated to 12k lbs, so much heavier and less prone to breakage.

 

Surprisingly, most parts are readily available, mostly through surplus routes, but some distributors buy from the OEMs.  All the manuals to work on these are unrestricted distribution from the government, and most of it is standard hardware, not metric except the newer engines.

 

Right now it has a hard shell top on it, a member of a local military vehicle group I'm in had it and decided not to use it, so he sold it to me for cheap.  I managed to get it installed by myself.

 

Here is how she currently looks.

well, other than she now has a license plate.

Sooo Cool!