noob with questions

[nyceguy01]

Ok experts Ill start with the story. I had a friend tell me about an old chevy for sale in a nearby town that the owner had died and his brother just wanted it gone and he wanted to sell cheap.

I finally went to take a look today and it was an old county fire dept. brush truck.
I didnt really get a chance to look close when the owner came out and said because of a dead battery it wouldnt start and if we took it as is and hauled it off today we could have it for $500. I paid him and he pushed it on the trailer with his tractor.

After getting it home I discovered it had a dana 60 front and I though I had won the lottery.lol

Upon further inspection I realized it was a M1028 by the plaque on the door. I thought the grill gaurd and shackles looked fimiliar but this was a flatbed dually.

After a few hours searching here its not adding up. My door just says M1028 and not M1028 a2 or a3 ??

What have I actually got ??

Its got a 6.2 and a Np208 case. This truck has no spacers etc.. and the truck ( or at least the axles came from gm as a dually.

Do I have the wrong axles or possibly the wrong door ???

Anyway this post is getting long so Ill stop here.

Let the speculation begin.

 

[nf6x]

Hi! Congratulations on your find (whatever it turns out to be), welcome to the forum, and let me be the first to say:

 

[nyceguy01]

Only pic I have at the moment. I took a bunch more but the cam isnt talking to my computer for some reason tonight.

This is the one the owner sent me before I went and got it. lol

 

[K9Unit]

Yeah ! just what he said !

 

[nyceguy01]

Well that didnt quite work. lol

 

[hndrsonj]

If it has the 208 it is an A3. Someone put the flatbed on it (probably fire dept).

 

[CUCVFAN]

Lots of possibilities, but given no rear sway bar is visible, I would say it was converted using civvy parts into a dually. Is it a 14-bolt, or a Dana 70HD? Check to see if the rear has a locker.

 

[nyceguy01]

14 bolt and yes to the locker and 4.56 gears.

Has the 208 case.

I didnt see a sway bar on the rear but there is a load lever for the rear brakes. Ive never seen one on a chevy before.

Basically everything I read says its an A3 except the door plaque that just says M1028.

I think Maybe I just got the wrong door
????

 

[Recovry4x4]

Swaybar is only on 2x4 trucks IIRC. If it was a 1028A2 or -A3 it should have a dana 70 in the back. Take a multitude of pics and post the VIN so we can try to figure this out.Perhaps someone just added spacers to a srw axle. Whatever it is, you stole it.

 

[nyceguy01]

It actually gets a little better. After I charged the battery all night she fired right up today. The trans shifts good and all the 4wd etc.. seems to be working.

I drove it about 10 miles this afternoon and it drives as good as my 96 1-ton.

None of the turnsignals worked untill I saw the all off by the headlight switch and then everything magically started working.

I was told that the fire dept that owned this one had several trucks so I think Mine jas some mix-and-match repair jobs under its belt. lol

Im starting to think maybe the axles were swapped in from another M truck when it outlived its usefullness.

vin---1gcgd34jxef362395

 

[nyceguy01]

and his younger brother

 

[hndrsonj]

In one of the manuals (awhile ago) I read that some of the 1028A3's were converted M1028A1's. Mine is a little different too; Dana 70HD 4.56's newer door but cab plate has correct load capacity. 4 Coil-over shocks and overload springs on the front. Also had the heavy duty bed tie downs. The really wierd thing is SRW front tires.

 

[CUCVFAN]

The VIN is M1008/M1008A1.
14-bolt rear is only on SRW trucks. Dana 70HD is in the M1028A2/A3.
A2/A3 trucks have rear swaybar
M1028A2's are converted M102A1's, which are converted M1031's
M1028A3's are converted M1028's.

I doubt it has the extra overload spring on the rear axle above the rest of the spring pack?

The military bastardized a lot of trucks when they made dually's, but the correct ones have a short list of unique features that don't seem to be present on this truck...

 

[1stDeuce]

Looks like spacers on the back, as I can't see the center of the hubs protruding like they should on a 14 bolt. I have 2" spacers on mine to get the track equal, but they'd allow duals too.

Me likes it's "younger brother"!!! Box on mine is... er, used... A flatbed with removable low sides would be cool!! Particularly if I could make the sides fold down to add width to haul two sleds like my deck!

Enjoy your new truck!
C

 

[nyceguy01]

If you like the little brother youre about to like it even more. lol

These pics are a little old. It now runs twin turbos and makes just over 550hp at the rear tires. By far the best towrig Ive ever driven. It rides like a cadillac ( full rear air susoension and Ifs front ) and it has pulled everything I have been able to hook up to.

Next on the red one is some beadlocks, tires, shorter wheelbase, and a bunch of trailtime.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Yup, spacers in the back fer sure.