goldneagle's M923 recovery and modification thread

[Rmtaunton]

Very nice !

 

[goldneagle]

Today I didn't do much on the truck. I drilled 2 holes in the front bumper in front of the winch and installed 2 LED 27 watt 24 volt spot lights. They are not wired in yet. Will take pictures tomorrow if I have a chance.

 

[goldneagle]

Ordered 72" x 1/2" aluminum solid round rod today. I will be using it for bumper marker poles. I will thread the end so I can install (2) 1/2" nuts on the one end to secure to the bumper corners.

I may install additional storage in front of the truck, but that can wait until cooler weather at the end of October. Hopefully this year we will not have so many rainy days.

 

[goldneagle]

Well cooler weather is here! Installed some long M931 tool boxes on my truck in place of the spare tire carrier. The 395s do not fit in the original tire carrier so I keep it int he back of the truck for now. Here is a picture of the boxes.

 

[srodocker]

You have a ton of those boxes heheh

 

[goldneagle]

You have a ton of those boxes heheh

Yes I do. The scrapper had scrapped a bunch of M931 trucks at Camp Shelby. I was able to get about 8 or 9 of these tool boxes cheap. So I grabbed them. Sold a couple to a local pickup customer in the Summer. Used the 6 out of 7 for the 2 trucks. The M820 had a double tire carrier behind the cab. When I upgraded to 14.00 super singles the spare carrier were no longer usable. I now have 2 tool boxes on each side.

There is enough room to stack 3 on each side, but I would need a ladder to reach the upper one! So no on the triple stacks...

 

[srodocker]

Yea love the tool storage. On my 928 im adding the second fuel tank to the passenger side so im moving the toolbox to behind the tandems and I also have another full size box for the other side to match.

 

[goldneagle]

Yea love the tool storage. On my 928 im adding the second fuel tank to the passenger side so im moving the toolbox to behind the tandems and I also have another full size box for the other side to match.

M928 is a looooong truck. Should have plenty of room under the bed for tool boxes.

I had installed a fuel tank behind the cab of my first M820A2.

 

[Spyderman]

WOW! Just found this thread last night. You have done some great work on this truck. I love it. I will be using some of your ideas on mine.

 

[Justgaudot]

Sweet truck.

 

[goldneagle]

Finally got some more work done to the truck. With the help of my friend Allen I managed to upgrade the alternator to a Leese Neville 100 AMP 24 volt alternator.

 

[goldneagle]

I made up a stencil with a wolf's head to paint on the doors of the truck. I used stencil adhesive to help hold the stencil to the metal while I sprayed the brown CARC substitute paint. Got nice sharp line with now overspray!

 

[goldneagle]

I decided to tackle the spring assist tailgate mod someone posted on our site.

I did make a change to the installation. I bent the bottom lip of the tailgate where the spring goes instead of cutting the piece out. (see pictures)

I found out the cheapest 5/8" rod to use for the modified hinge pin is a 5/8" copper coated ground rod. Only $10.55 at Home Depot for a 8 foot length.

I am not going to bore you with step by step instructions. Cut rod to 28-1/2" long. Drill both ends for cotter pins. Reuse the washers that came with the original pins.

The silver colored pin will be replaced since I cut and drilled it too tight. Will use another section of ground rod instead. Too hot today to bother with it.

I also plan to prime and repaint the lip and surrounding area where I bent the lip on the tailgate.

Here are the pictures so far:

 

[goldneagle]

Well today I went back and repaired my tailgate spring mod. After some though after I initially installed the springs I decided I was not happy with the way I bent the bottom edge of the tailgate to allow placing the springs in.

My solution was to cut the bottom edge of the tailgate just past the end of the spring. The section behind the spring stays flattened downward while the rest of the bent edge is perpendicular to the tailgate. This setup also keeps the spring from traveling along the long hinge pin. (see picture)

I removed the steel pin I had installed on the passenger side and replaced it with a slightly longer pin made from the ground rod I had used on the other side. It was a lot easier to install with the edge of the tailgate modified.

I then removed the other pin and cut the edge of the tailgate the same way as the other side.

Here are the latest pictures.

 

[007]

Do you remember what speakers you put in your truck? I'm looking for some that will work in a 5 ton if i get one. Thanks!