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Evidently the R1 designation is given to A1 vehicles that have been rebuilt, Unlike the A2 vehicles which get rebuilt with A2 parts thus keeping the A2 designation the A1 received the 6.5L and the NP242 transfer case (because the 6.2L and NP218 were no longer in production) this would give everyone an instant heads up that it was not all standard A1 components.After cleaning up the inside of my 1097R1, I finally found a plate that shows the correct manuals, and it does appear that I should be treating mine as an A1. It seems someone tore the plate off somehow during use, and it was in the floor under a lot of junk and trash. It looks like my unit sat from early 2019 until I bought it at auction in late 2022, so it just sat unused and open without doors for at least 3 years.
It looks rough, but mechanically, it seems to be in great shape. The main problem with mine was there was no power steering. The gear box was flowing fluid like an open flood gate, so I'm assuming that and the overall rough shape of it sent it to the auction. After putting batteries in it and rebuilding the steering gear box, it seems to run and drive great. It needs a lot of small details, but nothing major. Once I get everything right on it, I will work on it cosmetically and add a paint job. While the two-door soft top doesn't leak, it's old and not in great shape and will need to be replaced and I had to find two good front doors for it.
As a side note, the oil looks like brand new in my engine. Usually even after changing oil in a diesel, the oil will be black very quickly. Not mine, it is still amber colored and must have been changed right before it was sent to auction. I don't think this motor has but a few thousand miles on it to be honest. I don't really understand all of the A and R designations, but does R1 indicate a "rebuild" maybe? Maybe my motor is new as it has no leaks or drips on it anywhere and that oil still looks brand new in it, although I haven't driven it much yet. I was going to do an oil change and probably still will, but the oil is like new in it. The odometer shows around 2300 miles and it works.
I noticed one of my plates says the truck is a "heavy variant." Can someone tell me what that means?
UPDATE: After reading some more, I guess the heavy variant means it has a beefed-up suspension to carry more weight. If there is something else in addition to that, please let me know.
EDIT, too bad they did not go ahead and update to a serpentine belt, I smile every time I think about not having to deal with V belts anymore on my personal Humvees
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