2000 HMMWV M1123 Project

[mow***com]

Time for another update... Well, life is still funny sometimes.
Not too long ago, I noticed the truck getting harder to start. Mind you, I plug my block heater in for a couple hours each morning.
So, I was a bit puzzled as to why it wasn't starting. Until, I figured out that my Zerostart 1000W block heater had shit the bed.
Being me and enjoying doing jobs multiple times, I headed over to the local auto parts store for some type of immediate replacement.
Sadly, they only had the Katz and I just had a feeling it was gonna fail. Two days later, it failed....

So, I ordered yet another Zerostart 1000W block heater and will give this another shot. It just isn't fun draining the coolant, just to do it all over again.
I've had enough older diesels to know that my 6.5 doesn't like sub freezing weather.
Even an hour on the block heater and it starts right up.

Anyway, that is the fun that I've been dealing with at the moment.
That and I've started to test my wiring for my 24/12-70 converter.
I ultimately decided to just run my signal wire to the ignition switch. Since, I already have a keyed set up, I've got threaded studs/lugs on the back of the switch.
With no load, it reads 13.5 volts. With the stereo hooked up, it reads 13.3 volts. I can adjust that as I need.
I still don't have speakers for the stereo. But, I'll probably just construct a temporary speaker box until I can think about it some more.
That's about it for now. Hopefully, it will be driving again in the next few days. Until then, maybe I can get the wiring dressed up and possibly get amplifier/subwoofer wired up. Anything is possible.

 

[mow***com]

Another update...

Okay, amplifier is wired up and subwoofer makes some noise.
The front speakers are in a cardboard box and it is better than nothin, probably.
I picked up some MDF for the rear speaker enclosures and I will just make basic speaker box, until I can design sort of what my mind sees and my hands can build. Somedays, I wish I had a plastic mould, or was better at fiberglassing.
I've decided that I will mount my rear speaker boxes to the front of the hard top "C" type piller. For the Plan B hardtop, it bolts together with the slantback portion, to create a "C" type pillar, instead of having a traditional C pillar in place. Essentially, the boxes will angle down slightly to the center of the cab. It will take time to get the angles matching, given that I am cutting them them by hand and eye, with basic cutting tools.
But, it should all fairly line up, creating a loose cental listening point.

The subwoofer is in the rear passenger seat box. But, only using a fairly shallow subwoofer will allow me to keep my pump jack in the same box. If not, the pump jack has to get relocated.
The bright side is, if I go shallow mount, I could probably fit a 10" subwoofer in each of the rear seat boxes.
Oddly, as much as I'd like seat bases, the seat boxes allow a little anonymity to the subwoofers for when the doors will be off.

Okay, so the stereo system is slowly coming along. But, the other day as I was driving, my voltage gauge dropped to the yellow area and shortly to the red. I had time to get it back to house, so I could change cars and get to work.
However. Today, I will do some testing and see what readings I get.
Although, I have a feeling that it may need a new regulator. The alternator is dated 1999 and I bet it is original to the truck.

This is where timing and fate sort of come into play. The other day, someone local listed a 200 amp HMMWV alternator that they had picked up a couple years back for a project. The regulator looks to be dated 2016. It came in a big barrel and I am hoping this keeps me on the road, if my alternator shit the bed.
So, I'll stay in touch in the next few days. Part of me can't believe that the alternator shat right after installing a converter.
It is hard not to make a relation between the two. But, maybe time did the alternator in and that is what there is to it. Time will tell.

*Bonus: The other day, I picked up a 4x8 section of MDF and it fit in the truck, with the slantback closed*

 

[mow***com]

Another update... Alright, since the stock market is closed and I don't know what to do with my time, why not write a post. Plus, 4 days ago.... I either strained, or pulled a muscle in my back. I've been barely able to stand, or sit much.

The other day, I used my 24v jump box to start the truck. The batteries had just depleted enough to not turn the starter.
For the last few months, I've slowly* become more intuitive with the M1123. Some things start to stand out and something that I swear I've noticed, is that the front 24v set up battery usually seems lower in voltage than the 12v rear battery, if I toss a multimeter on both batteries.
Sometimes, I will switch the places of the batteries, trying to combat the fact that the front battery is usually on the low end of the 12v range and the rear battery is around 13v.
This is where I thought my alternator troubles were beginning. Before I saw the voltage gauge drop into the red zone. That is what told me to find a spare alternator and let me know that time was on loan( and overdue).

That being said, today is the day for some testing. But, I will be also preparing to just remove it, since plenty signs already point to it.
All cables feel tight, including battery cables. Gauge jumps around, but I will pull the panel and check my wires. I'll get output voltages and battery voltages while running.
Feel free to let me know if there is a better way, or if I am missing anything?

Lastly, I have nearly finished my temporary speaker box for the truck and have come up with the design for the rears/front speaker boxes. It will require a lot of free routing/sanding, to round them off and get them in the high corners. But, in the end, it will be worth it.
The passengers(dogs) wont have to worry about wires, or hitting their heads on the speaker boxes, hopefully.
Oddly, I have a preference to JL thin subwoofers and want to try and fit a 10" TW3 woofer in each seat box. Will there be exactly enough air space to perform? Who knows yet. Will the box fit, maybe. To me, it is worth trying.

Bonus: I started to add a 12v LED dome light/w switch. It took me longer than it should to route the wiring. Plus, I wired up a 12v cigarette lighter and dual port USB charger. Today, I will try to get things finished up and take some pictures.
Slow going. But, if the truck is ready around spring, I'm in.

 

[BLK HMMWV]

If your modifying your HMMWV please post in the modification section that's why there are 2 sections in the HMMWV section

 

[mow***com]

If your modifying your HMMWV please post in the modification section that's why there are 2 sections in the HMMWV section

I am just continuing my thread. Do you want me to start a separate thread every time I want to either modify or restore something on my truck? Not too sure why you can't just scroll on by?

 

[mow***com]

Okay... Small update.

While making one of my speaker boxes in the cold weather, somehow I had gotten injured. It hasn't been an easy road and I haven't been able to stand for more than a week now.
Oddly, I am very active and am sort of just in a daze about how it all has happened.
Now, I've finally been able to stand back up for a couple days. But, I need to rehab my body, before I can continue with the project.

Okay, with that out of the way... I did get the alternator changed out, before I got injured. The battery is charging. But, I am getting a voltage surge at start up. It settles where it should after a little bit. But, it definitely is something I will keep an eye on.
I finally got the USB/cigarette port installed, plus wired up the position for the dome light.

This weekend, I am going to try to pick up some thin woofer subs for the rear seat boxes.
Still need to finish some of the routing of the wiring into the fuse box.
But, it should all come together in the coming weeks.
Well, maybe spring is a better goal. We'll see how my recovery goes.

 

[Thunderbirds]

Okay... Small update.

While making one of my speaker boxes in the cold weather, somehow I had gotten injured. It hasn't been an easy road and I haven't been able to stand for more than a week now.
Oddly, I am very active and am sort of just in a daze about how it all has happened.
Now, I've finally been able to stand back up for a couple days. But, I need to rehab my body, before I can continue with the project.

Okay, with that out of the way... I did get the alternator changed out, before I got injured. The battery is charging. But, I am getting a voltage surge at start up. It settles where it should after a little bit. But, it definitely is something I will keep an eye on.
I finally got the USB/cigarette port installed, plus wired up the position for the dome light.

This weekend, I am going to try to pick up some thin woofer subs for the rear seat boxes.
Still need to finish some of the routing of the wiring into the fuse box.
But, it should all come together in the coming weeks.
Well, maybe spring is a better goal. We'll see how my recovery goes.

None of us are getting younger, take care of yourself and keep us posted…

 

[SCM35A2]

Subscribed for updates!

 

[mow***com]

None of us are getting younger, take care of yourself and keep us posted…

Thanks... My MRI scans are back and I'll learn more this upcoming week.
Just trying to take it easy until then. My body has taken quite a toll over the last couple weeks.

 

[mow***com]

Small update... Okay. So, I got some pictures of my USB/charger port mounting, plus my dome light mounting( I still plan to make a shim that angles the light a little more downward).
The dome light is wired down the B pillar on the passenger side. I still haven't figured out my route into the battery box quite yet.
The USB/charger port and stereo wiring will just get bundled in a loom that will use the hole that the original HMMWV radio set up uses.

On another note. I decided on some RF 10" P3S woofers for my truck. It just wasn't worth it to run JL TW3's, when above 40mph, I can't hear much.
Originally, I was thinking of making some custom boxes, to go underneath the rear seats.
But, part of me wants to build a custom ported thin box, that doubles as a removable/ bolt in partition.
So, I'll mull this idea around more, until I decide.

Still haven't made the custom speaker boxes. I plan to get started on that today. I made a prototype out of cardboard and I will see how it turns out.
One of these days, I need to clean the truck out. It is starting to look like I live in the thing. Until then, enjoy.

Oh.... Lastly. I have made the decision to cut my braces out of my truck.
Eventually, I will get proper rock sliders that bolt to the entire rear section and just remove the braces entirely.
Until then, I am just going to trim the braces down. I am not the tallest guy on the block. But, I need my seat back a bit more. It is too cramped.

 

[mow***com]

Oh hell... Why not. This morning, I arose with the decision that I am going to trim the braces.
So, I got to work with a plan and got to cutting. Oddly, I had read enough threads and seen enough videos where I pretty much just decided to free cut it, with one measurement.
I don't have the inserts and will have to likely create my own, to box the section that was trimmed.

You can see, I can remove a little more material near the seat bracket if needed. But, it definitely is a slight improvement. The greatest improvement would be to remove them entirely. However, I will just leave them for now.
I decided to cut both sides and just get it over with and am glad I did.

This isn't really much. But, I took some pics of the end result. Again, I left a little meat on the brace and will trim it to fit later on.
On to the next part of the project for now.

 

[mow***com]

Small update... I finally decided that I would make a subwoofer cargo divider, rather than build individual boxes under the rear seats.
If I had used 1/2", it could have been a little slimmer. But, I prefer 3/4" and 4 1/2 inches is as slim as I could make the divider, given the mounting depth for the subwoofers. The box hasn't been final sanded, or finished yet. But, hopefully it can be my weekend project.

Now, to fashion some brackets for the divider. I was just going to cut down 2 1/2" angle iron and weld the center.
However, I am considering two piece, aluminum brackets. Or, I could just get a better welder for aluminum and get better at welding.
We'll see. I didn't expect to buy a bunch of equipment, solely to build the divider.

Lastly, I was invited on an overnight trip, with some guys who enjoy military trucks in March.
It would be nice to tidy everything up by then and make the trek with everyone.
There is a local guy who organizes a lot of stuff in Utah and I was fortunate enough to cross paths with him last year and actually stay in touch.
Oh... Plus, one of my LED headlights went out. Can't believe it could be my wiring. But, of course.... All you can do is check and go from there.
The headlights came to me used and I wired them in myself. So, who knows, until I know.

Bonus. Snagged a 3rd gen 4Runner to have another vehicle to run around in and work on.
We've got another 3rd gen 4Runner, so it is a welcome project. That is all for now.

 

[mow***com]

Quick update... Not much to report. I got the cargo divider box and temporary boxes finished up.
Had I spent a little more time on prep, it may have come out a little nicer.
However, I fought winds that kept adhering leaves and debris to the cargo divider box and I did what I could to keep it clean. Plus, the bedliner seemed to change consistency based on any little thing.
Not to mention, my back is still very much in recovery and the loaded cargo divider is actually a bit heavier than I realized.

The rear box could have been single boxes. But, I used existing mounting holes and created my own brackets. So, it mounted very nicely as a single box with separate housings.
Now, I just need to create brackets for the cargo divider box. I had planned on 1/8 to 3/16 inch interior mounted brackets, that wrap the exterior of the cargo divider, with tamper proof bolts for the box and woofers.

Honestly, the sound from the cargo divider exceeds my expectations. I wanted to build a ported cargo divider. But, I didn't have the energy to build the porting the way I desired. So, I get what I get.
Even the sound from the little boxes exceed my expectations.
So, I imagine the individual boxes that I build will be pretty decent.

So, now I have some sound and the seat position is a little better than it was.
Things are slowly working towards some success.
The list is still quite long for the things I plan to do. But, my body isn't 20 anymore and hopefully the pace that I am working won't break me.

Some of my projects probably aren't typical. But, they suit the outcome I need out of the truck. I haul 8ft whatevers often enough and am thankfully for the slantback set up. It keeps me warm and my cargo mostly dry.
Until next time....... Grrrrrrr.

 

[mow***com]

This week, I decided to go over the engine bay fluids again. Of course, knowing I burn a little oil, it is important that I check often enough.
Coolant was a tad low. But, I changed out my engine block heater recently enough and expected it.
Power steering fluid was a little low, mostly due to my cap being a vented cap and I "adapted" the cap to being sealed, since I didn't have all the deep fording stuff.
I probably should just get a sealed cap though and move on.
Brake fluid was a little low on the front reservoir. I'll keep and eye on it as I filled both evenly in the last 5 months or so.
Transmission fluid was a little low. But, one of my smaller hoses on the passenger side area, near the transmission likes to drip, regardless of the type of clamp I use, or how tight I tighten. Maybe, I just need a new hose. But, it has been quite cold as of late.
Air cleaner area seems completely dry and filter looked very clean.
So, there is always room for improvement. But, the truck passed initial engine inspection.
Onto the hubs and diffs again next week, plus anything else I can think of.

Lastly... I made some brackets for my cargo divider. They still need to be final ground, welded and mounted. But, they are taking shape.
I could have used 1/4, but just decided on an 1/8 inch steel, since it is already a pretty tight fit on the sides of the divider.