My New Toy... HMMWV

[Skinner23]

Hey guys, first post here!
My dad tells me the difference in a man and a boy is the price of the toy. Truer words were never spoken. I just purchased a 1985 HMMWV about a week ago and I've been doing nothing but reading the forums on here and tinkering with it ever since!

It's all new too me so this will definitely be a learning experience.
So far I've changed out a few light bulbs and got the brake lights working. The adjustment arm connected to the brake pedal was a little off. I suspect that since the brake lights were stuck in the on position that's what caused the red plastic to melt.

I'm currently in the process of changing out the panel behind the passenger side front tire. It's a little bent up. I got a new panel but still have to paint it.

Also got a new hitch receiver to put on so I can pull a regular trailer as well. Still have to paint it too. Hoping to get the painting done this weekend. Some of those nuts were on there pretty good. I'm sure it's been a few decades since there were last turned.

Oh, and yes... I will always have way too many pictures. Ha


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[juanprado]

Nice Truck!

Cool front bumper probably unit made.

I recommend on anything you take part, To use anti-sieze on the threads incase you have to go into it again it will be much easier.

Welcome to the tan madness!

 

[TNriverjet]

We like pictures! Keep them coming. That looks like a nice truck. The new hitch looks pretty beefy.

It looks like those are the older bias tires and early wheels. You’ll probably want to upgrade wheels and tires. There’s a guy in east TN that has a bunch of used 37’s out of Ft Campbell. They are the newer Baja M/T’s.

 

[medic2410p]

Where did you get the hitch kit?


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[Skinner23]

We like pictures! Keep them coming. That looks like a nice truck. The new hitch looks pretty beefy.

It looks like those are the older bias tires and early wheels. You’ll probably want to upgrade wheels and tires. There’s a guy in east TN that has a bunch of used 37’s out of Ft Campbell. They are the newer Baja M/T’s.

Thanks for the info! Any idea who he is or what they cost? I'm trying to prioritize the seemingly endless list of things I keep coming up with to do to it.


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[Skinner23]

Where did you get the hitch kit?


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I found it on eBay. Surprisingly not a bad price for as stout as it is. I thought it looked pretty heavy duty in the pics and it did not disappoint when I opened her up! The item name is:
"M998 M151A1 HUMVEE 2" Heavy Duty Receiver Hitch Real CARC MILITARY POWDER COAT"
Should be able to find it if you search for something along those lines. It was just under $100 plus shipping.


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[suzukovich]

Nice. Enjoy the new toy. Hard to believe that there are Humvees with the old bias ply tires.

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[jdmcm]

Awesome truck, welcome to the wild world of the HMMWV, you won't regret a minute of it!

 

[twisted60]

I give 2 thumbs up. As pointed out we like pictures, nice truck, 6.2 or 6.5 ?

Welcome from South Florida

 

[DCIV]

I want to do one of those hitches but still going to have to have one heck of a "drop" to tow any boat or normal trailer.

 

[wheelspinner]

Hi, nice work! Where did you find that front panel, I have the EXACT same damage I'd like to repair.

 

[DCIV]

We like pictures! Keep them coming. That looks like a nice truck. The new hitch looks pretty beefy.

It looks like those are the older bias tires and early wheels. You’ll probably want to upgrade wheels and tires. There’s a guy in east TN that has a bunch of used 37’s out of Ft Campbell. They are the newer Baja M/T’s.

I'm interested and live in east tn

 

[Skinner23]

I give 2 thumbs up. As pointed out we like pictures, nice truck, 6.2 or 6.5 ?

Welcome from South Florida

She's a 6.2 and I'm obviously a fan of pictures too. Far too often I'll be reading a post with no pics trying to understand exactly what they are describing and wishing there were some pictures to go along with it.


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[Skinner23]

I want to do one of those hitches but still going to have to have one heck of a "drop" to tow any boat or normal trailer.

This is true, all mine are just regular strait hitches. Guess that's an excuse to buy another new toy. I found that if you call it a toy or something that accesorizes a toy it makes buying it more fun. Ha


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[Skinner23]

Hi, nice work! Where did you find that front panel, I have the EXACT same damage I'd like to repair.

I found it at South Eastern Equipment Company.
www.militarypartscenter.com
They are located in Augusta, Ga and only about 25 minutes from my house. They have a decent size bone/scrap yard you can walk through and a couple of wear houses stacked to the ceiling with parts. It was $165 which was a little more than I had hoped for but not too bad and I could support a local business. Plus it was new in box and still had the factory paper wrapped around it. The lady that runs the show there was super helpful. That's where I also got my light bulbs for the front blinker and rear brake light.

See, literally stacked to the roof!!


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[orgnal]

Hey guys, first post here!
My dad tells me the difference in a man and a boy is the price of the toy. Truer words were never spoken. I just purchased a 1985 HMMWV about a week ago and I've been doing nothing but reading the forums on here and tinkering with it ever since!

It's all new too me so this will definitely be a learning experience.
So far I've changed out a few light bulbs and got the brake lights working. The adjustment arm connected to the brake pedal was a little off. I suspect that since the brake lights were stuck in the on position that's what caused the red plastic to melt.

I'm currently in the process of changing out the panel behind the passenger side front tire. It's a little bent up. I got a new panel but still have to paint it.

Also got a new hitch receiver to put on so I can pull a regular trailer as well. Still have to paint it too. Hoping to get the painting done this weekend. Some of those nuts were on there pretty good. I'm sure it's been a few decades since there were last turned.

Oh, and yes... I will always have way too many pictures. Ha


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Awesome buy! And you are off to an awesome start! We like pictures! Keep them coming

McReddy

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Looks like a real nice clean vehicle! Congrats! I love the Tan ones.

 

[Skinner23]

Looks like a real nice clean vehicle! Congrats! I love the Tan ones.

Thanks! Sometimes I think the tan ones look cleaner than the green camo paint jobs just as a default but this one is in pretty good shape! I'm still excited like a little kid on Christmas morning. Ha


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[Skinner23]

We like pictures! Keep them coming. That looks like a nice truck. The new hitch looks pretty beefy.

It looks like those are the older bias tires and early wheels. You’ll probably want to upgrade wheels and tires. There’s a guy in east TN that has a bunch of used 37’s out of Ft Campbell. They are the newer Baja M/T’s.

Are the bias tires something I should focus on sooner rather than later? Figured I would hold off a while on the tires since they had decent tread. Is it a safety potential blow out kind of thing or just would make for a much more comfortable ride if they were upgraded? Thanks


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[TNriverjet]

Are the bias tires something I should focus on sooner rather than later? Figured I would hold off a while on the tires since they had decent tread. Is it a safety potential blow out kind of thing or just would make for a much more comfortable ride if they were upgraded? ThanksSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There are two things I would consider with tires: driveability and safety

For driveability bias tires are horrible if you plan to drive many (any) on-road miles.

Safety would be more related to the condition of he tires. As you stated, the tread is good. However old tires can be dry rotted and have cracks that will cause a blowout.

I’m not sure if they’ve started pulling loads of Baja M/T HMMWV tires from Ft Campbell yet. If not, they will be soon. Here is a link to a classified thread for the same guys. I got my 395/85R20’s from them.
https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?171953-395-Goodyear-MVTs
Wes is your contact. His number is in his signature. Or you can PM him.

Tires are being hauled out and stored in Cookeville, TN