Yukon Men Show and CUCV

[Trailboss]

Stan... oh my gawd.. I have never laughed out loud so hard at any T.V. show in recent memory. Don't take this the wrong way & I realize you're new around here, but most of this crowd is.... well I guess you'd call them purists (that's no doubt why no one has posted to this post). You know how corvette , or 69 chevelle people are about restorations where everything has to be just exzactly like it came from the factory, right down to the chalk marks on the fire wall & the valve stem caps on the tires?? To them it's total sacrelidge to do any modifications or changes that are not 100% the way those green fellers made them. Lets see... it's akin to stomping on the flag.. or bbq ing a bald eagle. A lot of members have come right out & said they think they are pieces of rolling history & a tribute to all of the brave souls who defended this country. I'm laughing so hard that my eyes are tearing up & I can hardly see the keys to type. Why I wouldn't be at all surprised if there's not a convoy of duece & halfs, full of pissed off purists headed towords Tanana right now. Theres probably wanted posters with Stan Zurays picture on them, posted on every other telephone pole halfway thru Canada, heading towords Alaska as we speak (well.. maybe not halfway, as those deuces are pretty darn slow). if we weren't so far away.. I'd set you down & buy you about 11 beers . I guess you can tell that I'm not one of the purists. I worked at flint assembly in 1983 - 84 - 85 6 & 7 & saw quite a few go down the assy. line. I almost peed myself when I saw you take that sawzall to that truck. Unfortunately I got called away to cut up a deer that one of my neighbors hit about 35 minutes into the show, & didn't see the ending, but my satalite network repeats an awful lot. (so I'll see it) Keep up the good work, & this was definitely the most entertaining episode yet. A HUUUGE fan. John

I think you have Steel Soldiers confused with MVPA. While there are many here who wish to preserve unique representative models, there are also a lot of members with modified MVs. Everyone is welcome here.

While I was sorry to see such a nice mechanic box get tossed, shipping would be prohibitive to the lower 48. I was glad to see the old girl still pulling her weight in her new life as modified by Stan.

 

[Foxtrot Oscar]

I think you have Steel Soldiers confused with MVPA. While there are many here who wish to preserve unique representative models, there are also a lot of members with modified MVs. Everyone is welcome here.

Hear Hear !!

 

[rustystud]

I think you have Steel Soldiers confused with MVPA. While there are many here who wish to preserve unique representative models, there are also a lot of members with modified MVs. Everyone is welcome here.

While I was sorry to see such a nice mechanic box get tossed, shipping would be prohibitive to the lower 48. I was glad to see the old girl still pulling her weight in her new life as modified by Stan.

No he has it right. I had posted last night about Stan's disregard of that really nice equipment box but the system froze and deleted my whole post. I am glad the CUCV has a second chance on life but that was hard to watch ! Also that bed you put on is a Chevy bed. The announcer said it was from another make of truck like Ford. It looked like a 1983 or 1984 Chevy truck bed. That's why it fit so well.
Don't get me wrong, I too have heavily modified my Deuce and CUCV but I would never just toss away an equipment box like that !

 

[stanzuray]

Got the greatest kick out of JunkYardJohn's comment. I was actually also laughing to myself reading it. With no disrespect to our military who I hold in greatest regards. I realize some do not like to see the trucks cut into, much like our flag . Hope I'll be forgiven though as I love the truck so much and need it to work for me.
In the show they did not have the time to go all through how I bid on it and worked on it to move it for days and worked for weeks on it to get it ready to work for me. Just not the time to do that all in a hour long TV show. Next Friday evening it does some cool off road traveling with a big load.
The maintenance box I took off the back is my new cache so it's being put to use. By the way I kept all the electrics and generator out of it and will keep it covered with the idea to give it to someone some day - so hard to get stuff out of the village here but maybe someday with this new road coming to town. Hour meter said it had 29 hours on it so should be pretty good. Show said truck had 175000 miles on it but speedometer had 7,500. Always can enjoy someone getting a laugh at my expense - glad some enjoy the show and the truck. Stan

 

[stanzuray]

No he has it right. I had posted last night about Stan's disregard of that really nice equipment box but the system froze and deleted my whole post. I am glad the CUCV has a second chance on life but that was hard to watch ! Also that bed you put on is a Chevy bed. The announcer said it was from another make of truck like Ford. It looked like a 1983 or 1984 Chevy truck bed. That's why it fit so well.
Don't get me wrong, I too have heavily modified my Deuce and CUCV but I would never just toss away an equipment box like that !

Couldn't believe my luck of finding a good condition truck pickup bed at the town dump (lots of trucks there but most pretty beat up) but when I measured the bolt holes etc and it seemed to be the same mounting as the CUCV maintenance box I was even more happy. In the show My son Joe and I actually, for the first time see it really fits perfect. As it should because as you note it's off a 1985 Scottsdale. Stan

 

[rustystud]

I'm glad the box will be put to good use. Those are getting so rare to find in good condition like that one.

 

[reaper556]

truck is looking good and no doubt will be more useful with the bed. The box that came off it may make a decent storage box. I think someone on here uses the 1010 ambulance box for storing his lawn equipment

 

[JUNKYARDJOHN]

Hi Stan.. believe me Stan ... I sure wasn't laughing at you. I have the utmost respect for YOU & for EVERYONE else in Tanana. I've had a ton of medical problems & can't get around in deep snow, or I would be living up in the Yukon someplace. It has been my dream all of my life. There is identical fourum on this sight called HOT RODDING & MODIFICATION where people like you & myself that try to make these great old heavy duty trucks usable and modify them to fit our personal uses are supposed to be able to post there actions & get advice from like minded individuals, without being critizised or looked down upon. (It doesn't work out quite that way because all of the fanatics for lack of a better word just can't seem to help themselves from pushing they're views on anyone that doesn't totally agree with them) I posted recently about how after 5 or 6 years of constantly trying to get it to perform adaquitly in it's mostly stock configuration, I finally decided to go with brand new gas engines & complete painless wiring harnesses, to make these fine heavy duty trucks usable in my life. (see my recent post in that fourum) Not everyone can afford monetarily to afford to buy a $60,000 or $70,000 truck (or even want to) & these are great & affordable platforms to build a vehical to fill the needs for me. I enjoyed it so much. I see them as not museum pieces, but trucks that I otherwise would never be able to have. Heck I couldn't possibly afford a car payment or any kind of house payment of any type. I live below what is considered the poverty level down here, but consider myself a rich ,lucky man. I'm rich in ways that most people wouldn't understand, or even try to. With that program you gave me the GREATEST GIFT I've had in quite some time. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. I truelly meant it in a very positive way when I said you are my new hero. I've built hotrods & specially type vehicals all of my life, because that is the one & only way that I would ever be able to have them, & I certainly don't try to push my ideas on anyone else. Keep doing what you are doing & don't change one iota to fit other peoples snobbish views. Heck who really cares what other people think anyway. It would be a very boring world if we were all the same. I hope to meet you sometime & sit down & buy you a beer (or soda or coffee) & one day maybe I'll be able to drive & travel up to Tanana. It sure seems like my kind of place full of my kind of people. THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH John Riley

 

[silverstate55]

Thoroughly enjoyed that last episode! Stan, I'm just glad that your truck ended up with you, you'll give it a new lease on life instead of it ending up just sitting & rotting away in a salvage yard somewhere. I'd much rather see it modified and put to new uses! And I'm sure that the maintenance box will be put to new uses as well, Tanana is a place where little to nothing goes to waste. Repurpose, reuse, recycle...

A good friend of mine has family that is wrapping up filming of a new reality series with a cable channel; early on they actually sat down with a well-known reality show star and they were "schooled" on how reality shows work. I got to hear first-hand of how a lot of it works, it was very interesting and eye-opening to say the least. But I still enjoy some of them, minus the made-up drama.

I enjoy watching Yukon Men because it reminds me of my younger days, spending time with both of my grandfathers...they would show & teach me how to reuse/repurpose/recycle things that others would just throw away. Great show, watched it since Season 1, Episode 1; keep up the great work Stan! Thanks!

 

[silverstate55]

I think you have Steel Soldiers confused with MVPA. While there are many here who wish to preserve unique representative models, there are also a lot of members with modified MVs. Everyone is welcome here.

While I was sorry to see such a nice mechanic box get tossed, shipping would be prohibitive to the lower 48. I was glad to see the old girl still pulling her weight in her new life as modified by Stan.

I think you mean "The G," as in G503.com. I learned the hard way early on how that site is dedicated to preserving MVs as much as possible, which is great for those interested in stock restorations; there are some great fellows over there with tons of good knowledge, and it's a great place to source hard-to-find & NOS parts. To each their own.

 

[tbearatkin]

Yes I cringed when you cut the box off, thinking that a rack on top would been able to carry your wood and still have storage inside. But also realize you are kind far off the beaten path so you have to do with what you have. Being a retired Seabee I understand that Can do adapt and overcome attitude. If the generator was a PTO driven one can you adapt it to drive a winch?

 

[Jericho]

Hello Stan, Form the wilds of New Hampshire. I spend a lot of time in Alaska and love you attitude, Your a great role model for the youth of today. Andy.

 

[stanzuray]

Yes I cringed when you cut the box off, thinking that a rack on top would been able to carry your wood and still have storage inside. But also realize you are kind far off the beaten path so you have to do with what you have. Being a retired Seabee I understand that Can do adapt and overcome attitude. If the generator was a PTO driven one can you adapt it to drive a winch?

I had been trying to think about ways to mount a winch. I've had winches on the front of trucks before (my last truck had an electric one) but this PTO faces backwards. Sure be nice to utilize the PTO. Stan

 

[silverstate55]

I had been trying to think about ways to mount a winch. I've had winches on the front of trucks before (my last truck had an electric one) but this PTO faces backwards. Sure be nice to utilize the PTO. Stan

Any chance you can scrounge parts to make the PTO drive a pump, which in turn can drive your winch(es)?

 

[stanzuray]

Any chance you can scrounge parts to make the PTO drive a pump, which in turn can drive your winch(es)?

Good idea - that seems like a much better idea than trying to route reverse drive lines and u-joints to a front mounted winch. Can get pumps and lines etc. if I look around. Thanks, Stan

 

[tbearatkin]

This site has some ideas on rear mounted PTO's Jeeps used to have them. May be a rear mounted could be handy. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-technical/49306-jeep-pto-units-winches-generators-etc-3.html

This one came from this site http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-technical/49306-jeep-pto-units-winches-generators-etc-3.html

 

[silverstate55]

Good idea - that seems like a much better idea than trying to route reverse drive lines and u-joints to a front mounted winch. Can get pumps and lines etc. if I look around. Thanks, Stan

Early Mile Marker winches used to use the power steering pump to run off of; with your ingenuity I wouldn't think it would be too difficult to make something work.

 

[tim292stro]

I got a kick out of that episode - I think the show producers may tend to over dramatize some of the stuff you did. It's nice to do a project like that with your kid, I'm just getting to start doing that stuff with my oldest (4-1/2), but I don't have a film crew around to save it for posterity... You have the good fortune that your kin will be able to refer to this story going forward for generations. I hope that truck continues to serve you well

 

[stanzuray]

I got a kick out of that episode - I think the show producers may tend to over dramatize some of the stuff you did. It's nice to do a project like that with your kid, I'm just getting to start doing that stuff with my oldest (4-1/2), but I don't have a film crew around to save it for posterity... You have the good fortune that your kin will be able to refer to this story going forward for generations. I hope that truck continues to serve you well

I do enjoy being able to work with my kids at real things that hold meaning to our lives. I have had the good fortune to work with many great camera people who lives revolve around the outdoors also. Most often I travel with one camera guy and we travel like two normal people just he's filming stuff here and there and I'm running traps and we're both working together. Pretty cool really. Drama gets added later but without it the show would have few viewers I'm afraid. They say without a compelling story moving along nobody would watch. The way TV is. I can live with that. It shows a good life behind that drama. Stan

 

[JUNKYARDJOHN]

Stan.. I've got a m1031 same as yours with a pto. I even have a 20,000 pto driven winch that I got in a partial swap for the box & generater. but I bought a couple of 12,000 lb winches from harbor freight for less than $300 each. I'm putting these on for just ease of installation. (one on the front & one on the back) I realize there not factory & nowhere near as strong or well made as the winch that I have off of a deuce an a quarter but will do the job for me just fine. What I plan on doing with it, is to make a cage to fit on my three point hitch for my john deere tractor & run it off the pto on it, just to use around the homestead here. (simple is good for me) Neccesity is the mother of invention. John p.s. My son is 30 now & my best friend. He won't lie cheat or steal for any reason from anybody, & I am as proud of him as anybody has ever been proud of their son. I really feel for people that never get that feeling. I'm truelly a rich individual. John