Project Wild Weasel M1009

[cucvrus]

I didn't give it the name or buy the vehicle. I have been tasked with bringing this M1009 back to operational condition and doing some of the Voodoo work I usually don't get involved in. But I will do it for others. Right up front before it even came here, I knew it had some hacking done to it. Poor thing has the incorrect bumpers, brush guard, slave receptacle, B/O drive lamps missing. And a few other issues that will be repaired and corrected while I have it here.

 

[WWRD99]

You have a spare grill guard you're putting on it?? Don't say you're taking it off your decoration front end! Doesn't look to bad.

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[cucvrus]

Now for some of the HORROR. Not sure what was going on here. This is the way the headlamp harness was under the hood. Explains why the headlamps are not working. Batteries are for a lawn tractor. Pil cooler lines are hacked and cut, they are hose clamped together. The new radiator is flopping back and forth in the mounts. The low coolant sensor is nonexistent. Not sure what is the issue and why the coolant bottle is mounted this way. New design type 3 update. Motor mounts are a bit saggy. And the charging system is inoperable. It starts and runs and not bad. The rear gate was off and not put back on properly. The rear glass is a rough and dragging up and down experience. There is no weather strip in the upper roof channel. It is laying on the floor in the back of the vehicle. All these things can be repaired and replaced as needed. The charging system has been messed with and I dread that the most of all.

 

[cucvrus]

The owner has been sending me parts to add and replace things that are missing. He did send me a correct brush guard. I have the correct bumpers. A few of the smalls I am missing. I need the rear bumper outer braces. Both front and rear bumper are missing the outer braces. The bolts are in the holes and doing nothing. Just a few shots and concerns. Muffler with holes and tailpipe rotted off. Rusty exhaust Inner rockers rusty These are all things that can be repaired. On this project I would recommend and entire exhaust system. It gets expensive fixing up old vehicles. Take Care and Enjoy the great weather we are having. We could use some RAIN.

 

[cucvrus]

A quick preview of a wheel and tire that are going on this project. Sit back and enjoy the build. I have my Son involved in this build.

 

[cucvrus]

Yesterday after an 8-hour day at the FT job I came home and my Son made a gallant attempt to get started on the M1009 project. It was going well for about an hour and then the lights went out. Not the lights in the shop the lights in the sky. It was dark and windy and started monsoon raining. I had other unrelated projects out working on them and I ended up putting everything away and calling it a day. The weather was tricky it fooled me into thinking the sun was out again to stay. I went out long enough to get my tractor back out and the rain started again. That was it. Day complete. I am working on my log splitter and changing the muffler on the Yanmar engine. I made a mistake and added a tail pipe extension to my Yanmar muffler, and it cracked and broke the entire muffler. I have welded and brazed the muffler several times and I am going to just break out the cash and replace the entire muffler. More CUCV related work coming. I was soaked to the bone and was not in the mood to sand my M1009 roof after getting everything put away. Besides I like to sit on the sofa once in a while and watch TV also. I don't get to do that very often. Take Care and Be Safe.

 

[cucvrus]

After busting a few knuckles and finding stripped and mis aligned bolts the decision was made to just remove the entire front axle. We are doing some work on this unit for a customer. The project is snowballing on us as most 40-year-old vehicle projects do when you tear into them. The core support is barely attached up front. We are going to swap out the core support. It has been poorly welded on a few times. After the axle was out, I was wiggling the ball joints, and the steering was that tight on the right I had to kick the hubs straight. I mean what could go wrong. I supported the axle on the light weight stands and then used a few blocks to get the hammer force into the ground. 3 good whacks with a 10 lb sledge the knuckle and ball joints were off the axle. Yes, the lower ball joint is Kaput. As I am already there, I am going to change all 4 ball joints and all the tie rod ends. This M1009 is getting a lift kit and bigger tires it needs a solid suspension. I would recommend anyone that has an M1009 and does not know whether the ball joints were ever changed to change them. It makes a huge difference in driving after a reputable alignment and new tires. More later/ I am going out to disassemble the right hub and steering knuckle. Happy Labor Day. This is how I R & R.

 

[cucvrus]

I went out and worked on the wild weasel again today. I was off work today for Labor Day and spent it doing things I like to do. My R & R. The front differential oil was contaminated. The front wheel bearings were due to be serviced. They have been leaking a bit. I have the front axle pretty well stripped out. As you can see the rotors and bearing seals look a little rough. I can fix all this. I have them inside my shop. I will get them cleaned up and get some parts on order. The outer axle U joints are tight and the OEM ones. Time for some changes and updates.

 

[cucvrus]

I did a lot of parts cleaning and parts replacing since my last post. The Wild Weasel is feeling like a stripper at the moment. It has no front axle or springs, and the front axle hosing is stripped down to the housing and gears. I pressed in new front outer axle U joints and all 4 ball joints I pressed out and pressed in new ones. The price of parts is going up every time I buy things. I was also able to dig inside the rear gate and get a look see at the massive carnage and rigging that went on inside there. I think this is a 1973-1980 rear gate. The glass is thicker, and the assist springs are not the same as a CUCV M1009. I will be digging deeper to see how to get them operational. Someone else here has pictures and they are welcome to post them. I just recently received an iPhone for a work phone and after 17 years with a flip phone I have not learned to post pictures with it. I always carried a separate camera. I am going out to do some work today. Wait till you see the savagely work that was done to this poor CUCV. I will be in surgery a few hours getting it repaired. Meanwhile I have a gate and a lot of tree branches down from a storm that rolled thru here last week. Take Care and Be Safe.

 

[cucvrus]

Today was not a total wash. I was caught in a down pour in the middle of operations but after the rain slowed, I went back out and completed my task. Goal was to have the core support out of the Wild Weasel and that goal was met at 5PM. What a cobbling of hose and clamps on the oil cooler lines. I would have never trusted this to be driving down the road. That past picture is showing that the bolts that hold the core support to the fender are missing and not even tightened. That is a real nice oil sampling valve set up. I found several body bolts that were metric and a few that were forced into the fender nuts that were broken off and I needed to sawszall them off. This is a CUCV without a face. These are a few of the parts and the nice oil cooler lines I removed. The good thing is the radiator is brand new and the stock lines will fit the radiator from what I am seeing so far. I am thankful the transmission cooler lines were still in decent condition. Most I encounter are hacked off and hose clamps are in place with rubber hose sections. I ended the day and will rest until I must go to work in the AM. Be Safe and Have a Great Day.

 

[cucvrus]

The Wild Weasel has not been very cooperative when it comes to making progress. The rear gate was full of nasty things and even after I stripped it out, I could not get the rear hinges to open and close without great effort. I removed the gate and am working the hinges with heat 3 in 1 oil and a tap hammer. I have the left one freed up and swinging freely. I had a few unknown rusty parts fall out from under the truck while I was tapping on the hinge. Nothing I could identify as CUCV related but it was up there. Maybe fell in on top of the fuel tank skid plate and vibrated out will I was blowing compressed air and tapping on the hinge. The heat oil and tapping always worked for me to get the rea hinges loosened up. Many M1009's have seized gate hinges and the owners still use the leverage of the gate to open and close the gate. You would be surprised as to how loosened hinges that are well oiled make that gate work smoothly. And spray aerosol lubes are worthless. You may as well urinate on it. I have the gate off and am waiting for a regulator to reassemble the gate. I have all new parts from LMC and the owner is sending me the parts I need. Take Care and Have a Great Day. Maybe some pictures this evening.

 

[cucvrus]

This my first attempt to post pictures from my iPhone. If this works I am not going to be posting pictures all the time. This is one of the outer axle U joints. One side is OK the other is tight. Very tight. I replace them in pairs. I think I found the tight one. I pressed out and replaced all the front ball joints. I moved onto the gate and discovered a zoo of problems inside. Very nice.

 

[cucvrus]

This my first attempt to post pictures from my iPhone. If this works I am not going to be posting pictures all the time. View attachment 907004 View attachment 907005View attachment 907007View attachment 907011View attachment 907012View attachment 907009

 

[cucvrus]

Notice the clutch is broken. That is how hard the rear glass was winding up and down. This rusty hunk fell out from the rear side while I was tapping and blowing in the rear gate hinge area. ???? Another rainy day cancelled my day of work on the Weasel. This is usually the condition of the rear glass sidetrack guides. I never seen torque rod supports inside of a gate like this before. I am not sure if it is because this is an older vintage gate, or someone was making a poor attempt at fabbing some holders. I knew there was issues when I opened the gate, and the torque rods were digging into the threshold face.

 

[WWRD99]

That clutch part and lock mechanism as well as the window guides lmc has unless you have a set laying around! Those window gears are not around to much right now so I hope you have one of those! Looks like a decent project you got there. Yes this rain is weird...none all summer then now all week!
Have fun with it...pics look great!

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[cucvrus]

Brothers Trucks WR091MN Brothers Trucks Tailgate Window Regulator - Manual (holley.com)

Maybe Holley carburetor makes them now.

 

[cucvrus]

This makes it easier to remove the sway bar

 

[cucvrus]

I would say the sway bar bushings are worn out.

 

[cucvrus]

I used the ball joint/U joint press to get the old pressed bushings out. It was magical. I used heat in the past. That was messy. My new go to after I don’t have many to do anymore

 

[cucvrus]

I am out working on the Wild Weasel and am going to spray some black paint on the axle frame core support and inner fenders, I think I have enough paint