New M1009 owner in Nashville

[stranger75]

Hi all, I picked up my new M1009 last week. I bought it from a guy outside of Louisville, KY who had purchased it from the Univ of Western KY. They had kept it in pretty decent running order. The truck had not been started in a couple of weeks when I got there to check it out. I turned the key and it fired right up. I checked all the lights, checked the fluids, tire pressure, test drove it, bought it, and drove it back to Nashville. No issues whatsoever! I plan to make this my daily driver and am beginning to address the truck's current issues and make reliability upgrades.

I also purchased a nearly complete parts truck for cheap here in town. It does not currently run and has title issues. I don't think my landlord would appreciate a junkyard on the property, so I plan to pull a bunch of parts, box them up and label them, and set them aside for later use. If anyone needs something specific, PM me and we can work something out before it goes to the scrapyard.

So far I have downloaded the TM's (need to print them out, don't like reading pdf's), changed the oil and filter, upgraded the starter relay (Doghead mod), and replaced the rear seatbelts (my kids couldn't operate the crusty ones the truck came with).

Immediate maintenance plans:
*Change remaining fluids and filters
*Replace rear passenger tire
*Replace burned out dash bulbs
*Strip and treat rusting areas (POR-15? Loctite Extend?)
*Address disc brakes (its pulling to the left a little when braking)
*Re-attach windshield rear view mirror (whats the best glue for this?)

Near future upgrades:
*Spin on fuel filter conversion
*Glow plug resistor bypass (I think I have most of the parts for this. My parts truck has a half- finished GP manual switch upgrade installed. Need to research.)
*Interior light install (parts truck came with cool white/ blue overhead light)
*Driver seat swap
*roll-on bed liner
*window tint (its hot!)
*Tailgate crank (I have one on parts truck... how do you get it off? Do you have to remove the glass and crank components and remove from inside tailgate?)

Future upgrades:
*Stereo system. (haven't decided how involved I'll get with this)
*3/4 ton axle swap (I have a pair from a '79 K20)
*4" lift
*H1 wheels and 37's
*Banks Turbo (from my brother's wrecked M102
*Sliding back windows
*Replace dummy lights with meaningful gauges
*Coleman cooler A/C (once again, Its Hot!)

I'm really looking forward to working on and driving this truck. All comments, concerns, questions and suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

 

[jw4x4]

Welcome to Steel Soldiers from Dayton, Ohio. You are certainkly on the right track. This site is a gold mine of info and advice. Familiarize yourself with the search function. As for the mirror, be sure to clean off any residue off the windshield and the puck. Go to your favorite auto parts store and get the adhesive specifically for attaching the mirror to the windshield. Keep us updated on your Oh-nine.

 

[stranger75]

More pics. Crusty seatbelts (replaced). Rust in bed at rear kind of sucks, but its not the end of the world. Also, my Doghead mod. I feel that I should have soldered the connections rather than just relying on crimping the ring terminals. If I have starting issues in the future, I can always revisit said connections. For added electrical isolation, I used heatshrink over the connections, and liquid e-tape.

 

[stranger75]

Parts truck. Check out that overhead light! This was once a Sheriff's Office truck somewhere in GA. I'm assuming the light was a law enforcement upgrade.

The big metal switch next to the ashtray is connected to a large solenoid behind the dash. I believe it is part of the unfinished GP resistor bypass started by previous owner. I don't think it was ever operational, but the hardware is heavy duty and I may be able to use it in my truck.

 

[stranger75]

wipers stopped working

Thanks, JW. I'll check it out. I know the guys at O'Reilly pretty well.

Ok, now that the pictures are out of the way, I have driven this truck a few hundred miles over the last week. I'm noting all the odd noises and quirks that need to be sorted out. I guess if you give a 28 year old truck a chance to let its bugs run out from behind the walls, they will.

Today a couple of those bugs came into the light. It began raining this afternoon, so I switched on the wipers. I had tried them before (they worked) and noticed the blades needed replacing. Was hoping it wouldn't rain until then. Murphy's a *****. I used the wipers anyway, and while driving on the interstate in rush hour, the wipers just stopped. I pulled over, popped the cover off the wiper motor, checked the connections (needed cleaning, but I didn't have a wire brush or contact cleaner on me), fiddled with the wiper control arm/ turn signal arm, and eventually just waited the rain out.

When I got home, I grabbed some tools from inside, came back out to the truck, and the hood wouldn't open. Great. The hood release cable must have some slack in it somewhere. Maybe needs replacing. Thankfully the 'ol Fonzie trick worked on the hood.
I grabbed my meter to check voltage at the wiper motor, and one of the probes was busted in half. I guess I need to store it away from my heavier tools.

After being defeated 3 times, I retreated to my computer screen to search for cucv/ k5/ 80-87 chevy wiper problems. Still trying to figure it out. The sun will be up tomorrow, and I've got the day off. After a trip to the hardware store electrical aisle, I'll be out in the driveway, under the hood.

 

[Hasdrubal]

On that stuck hood release. I've experienced it, where you have to pound on the hood to get it to release. Take some white lithium grease and lube the latch well, also the striker where it contacts the latch. Should fix this issue.

 

[1ton cucv k5 turbo]

Welcome to SS...


sent PM....


On your wiper issue... clean all the connections on motor, and go ahead and replace turn signal/wiper switch.. as i had the same problem with mine... its fairly cheap and easy to do....

 

[stranger75]

Hasdrubal, you were correct sir. There was some buildup on the latch. I cleaned it off, greased it, manually tripped it several times to work the gooey stuff down in there, and voila! the hood release lever works like a charm. I thought I would have to mess with the cable!

1ton, connections were thoroughly cleaned using Deoxit (awesome stuff) and a brush. Wipers are wiping now. Spare turn signal/ wiper arm is in glovebox JIC.

Thanks!

 

[pevrs114]

Awesome! I've been drooling over your Facebook posts waiting to see more pics. My truck has a spin on filter kit so save your money. That big switch likely is a master battery kill switch. Pretty standard in emergency vehicles, especially ones that aren't being used daily, to keep the batteries from trickle-draining. I think I just invented a word there. The switches cost about $100 so don't send it to the scrap yard.

WRT the dash lights, they are installed on a circuit card and the wiring is imbedded in the card. The card is shaped to run around the gauges and us very flimsy. Ten to one says the wiring in the card broke. Parts stores sell jumper kits that go straight from bulb to fuze panel. Very common problem on C/K trucks of that era. While you've got the dash apart you might as well jump ALL the lights and save yourself the aggravation of having one go oug the next week. These trucks are a bit rattley!

I'll look over the pics more when I'm not on my phone. Very cool truck! Did you figure out the ratio in the 3/4T axles? Hopefully they are a matched set. Did you find the lug nuts you needed?

I'll be watching this one closely!

 

[pevrs114]

'switch your safety-selector switches from semi to auto and post away!'

PS- Willie is playing here next week. I'm assigned to patrol instead of the venue but I still plan to drop by and see him. Wish you could come.

 

[wwalderm]

Nice looking truck man- can't wait to get up to Nashville to check it out!

 

[2002ford]

How is the roof on the junk blazer. I need one that is rust free where the fiberglass top bolts on. Thanks and welcome to the site.