My latest project (M1008 350CI Swap)

[fredrader]

I bought an 86 Chevy M1008 Military 1 1/4 ton truck without the engine (6.2 Deisel)..I bought a 350ci gas engine to put in it..I wanted to keep it low budget but I wound up having as much in the engine as I did in the truck..Anyway Now all I need to do is drop the engine in and paint the truck (CARC Desert Tan) and that should be done if I can figure out how to wire everything up..My new tow rig ...If anyone has any tips on the wiring etc going from a dual alternator diesel with a 24V starter to a single alternator gas 350 with a 12v starter I could use it..
Here are a couple before and after pics of the engine and before pics of the truck and engine...
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v22/Fred12345/86 Chevy M1008 CUCV/

 

[84cucv1ton]

nice looking 350. what are the specs? a friend of mine did what u did. both of use are not to good at wiring. in the end we pulled it all out. he bought a harness from a company called painless wiring. in the end i think its was way better. we put in a FI 454. hope that helps in some way

 

[Armada]

Great project! Do you still have your M715 Fred?

 

[jeli]

Normal GM 12 VDC alternators are a single wire. The voltage regulator is integral. All you need is a single wire to the battery to charge it. The CUCV running lights are already 12 VDC so there isn't much to change over. HEI ignition needs another hot wire to control it.

 

[ida34]

The one wire alt you speak of is not "normal". If you hook up a regular gm alt it requires 3 wires. If you just connect one wire it will charge but not at idle. It will only charge when the revs are up. Besides the big one that goes to the batter there are two wires. One is a voltage sense wire and the other goes to an idiot light or you can just use a diode. The voltage sense wire can be run into the large wire going to the battery but it does better if you have it connected to the 12 volt junction on the firewall. The other connection is the one that excites the alt and you can run a 12 volt hot with the ignition (not accs) to a 12 volt light then to the terminal on the alt. I just did this on my tractor. Not to hard. One wires have a special regulator in stalled. They work ok if there is not to much a load but the regular set up is much better performance wise.

 

[ehuppert]

Fred,

Been there, still working on mine! Waiting on a power steering bracket and i should be set! The alt wire (#1) should still be there... Just plug in the connecto, hook up the large wire on the back.

In my case i obtained the wiring schematics and pulled ALOT of unneeded wires out. All of the diesel stuff is gone! Believe the TM's are on this site, IIRC it's appendinx F in the CUCV 20 seires. The scematics are a PITA, take your time though, not that difficult. Believe i ran the HEI wire to the fuse block (ign powered) under the dash

Starter wire... Find the starter relay and run a feed wire off of that. Easiest way is to run it to the alternator, then down the front of the block to the switch termnal. Your other power wires (large alternator, truck power feed) can be hooked up to the 12v junction block on the firewall by the heater box(vs. running to the starter as with "normal GM's) The large wire goes direct from the battery to the starter/

Obseervation: Nomally the PS pulley only runs off the lower crank pulley, (not the water pump)

eric

 

[fredrader]

Re: RE: My latest project (M1008 350CI Swap)

Great project! Do you still have your M715 Fred?

I don't have my M715 anymore,I have been MV less for a while now...I had to get something so I found this..

Thanks guys,I am sure with your all's help I can get this thing running..I will have more questions no doubt though..

The engine has a mild cam,double roller timing chain,edelbrock performer intake,1.94 valve heads and an 800cfm quadrajet..I didn't want anything too wild in it since I will be using it for my tow vehicle from time to time..

 

[superburban]

RE: Re: RE: My latest project (M1008 350CI Swap)

That passenger mirror has to go! Yuck! Is that the same engine? Amazing what a little paint will do.

 

[hndrsonj]

Just get a 12v harness out of a wrecked pickup. It is much easier than trying to convert a diesel harness.

 

[Michael]

RE: Re: RE: My latest project (M1008 350CI Swap)

Interesting reading on GM alternators:

http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/delcoremy.shtml
but remember CUCV's have a 27si

http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/remotevoltagesensing.shtml

http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/AlternatorConversions.htm

 

[jeli]

RE: Re: RE: My latest project (M1008 350CI Swap)

ida34 is right. I forgot about the other two that are usually together in a single plug. Still any easy conversion.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

RE: Re: RE: My latest project (M1008 350CI Swap)

to convert the starter all the wiring is the same, you can just run the two batteries in parallel and then you can use the big buss on the firewall as a power source. if you just run a single battery run a large wire from the positive terminal to the positive buss and then run the small wire from the original 12v buss to it.

search for the 12v conversion for the cucv. the steps will be the same.

 

[fredrader]

Re: RE: Re: RE: My latest project (M1008 350CI Swap)

That passenger mirror has to go! Yuck! Is that the same engine? Amazing what a little paint will do.

The mirror is gone,It is the same engine I just removed everything but the heads and re sealed everything and painted it up..

 

[fredrader]

Ok,I got the engine in and bolted up to the tranny..I hooked up the alternator but I dont know if it is going to work or not..I also hooked up the battery cable to the starter but I can't seem to find the small wire that goes on the small post on the starter to kick the bendix out..I turned on the key and tried the heater fan etc but nothing works..I am going to try again tomorrow..

 

[fredrader]

Ok,I got everything in and working..I had to remove the bump stop that bolts to the frame on the passenger side frame rail in order to install my headers but that was no big deal..The alternator is working fine too
I had a heck of a time getting the radiator hoses to fit the Diesel radiator which takes a 1.75" ID hose to my 350 which takes 1.50" ID hoses..I finally got it to work though..All I need now is to take it to the muffler shop and get the exhaust on it..Oh and I still need to get the paint on it but that should be easy enough..I also need a few things if anyone has what I need please contact me..Thanks again for all your guys help..
I Need...
Pintle Hitch and the plate that goes behind it..
The 2 Blackout lights that go in the rear bumper..
Troop Seat hardware (Complete or Parts)

I have been looking on GL and I found a couple trucks close to home.. comming up for auction but I have never bid on anything before..Do I have to have an EUC to bid on CUCV's ?? If so can I do it before bidding on the trucks ?? Thanks All

 

[steelsoldiers]

Hey Fred! Good to see you back on SS. I did a 500 ci Caddy BB swap into my M1009 so I am familiar with the wiring and cooling changes. I had already gotten rid of the under-dash relay and had replaced it with a ford starter relay on the inner-fender so the starter wiring was easy. For the distributor, I think I used the wire for the cold advance. Man the 500 had some raw b*lls power! I could break the tires loose in every gear!

As for your GL question, you don't need an EUC to bid, just to remove the vehicle once you win it. All you need to bid is a credit card. Every CUCV I have seen lately needs an EUC. Check the sale bulletin and it will specify if items need an EUC. You have to win it before you can get an EUC for it.

 

[fredrader]

Thanks Chris,I didn't cut any wires yet but I did tape em all up..Now I have to dig thru them to find the "Low Coolant" wire and hook it up to the sending unit on the radiator so the light will go out in the dash..

As for the starter on mine,I just hooked up the Large (Battery Cable) to the large post on the starter and the small (Brown I Think) wire to the inside post on the solenoid and it worked fine..I just found a wire that was "Hot" when the key is on under the hood and used it for the ignition wire to the distributor..

 

[steelsoldiers]

Sounds good. The connector on the oil pressure sensor was different on the 500 so I used an adapter and mounted the 6.2L sensor. I should have used a real oil pressure gauge instead because that would have given me some warning that the oil pump was taking a dump before the rear main bearing seized and spun! I still have the 500 sitting in my Dad's storage building waiting to be rebuilt. I think I am going to stick it in a sleeper car next time. Something with a BOP-pattern TH400 and engine mounts would be nice so I don't have to use an adapter next time. I think a late 70's Buick Regal would work nice. Throw some drag T/A's on the back and go bust some Mustangs!

Now, back to the CUCV. I would go ahead and install a real oil-pressure gauge, mechanical or electrical. Anything would be better than an idiot light. Especially for hill-climbing so you can see when you are starving the engine.

 

[fredrader]

I'm going to put a mechanical oil and temp gauge in it as soon as I pick some up..

 

[fredrader]

Ok,I finally got it finished..Here is a link to the photobucket album..
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v22/Fred12345/86 Chevy M1008 CUCV/

It runs great,I'm very pleased with it so far..I wound up with $3250 in it so far..