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What have you done to your CUCV today/lately - Part 2

gottaluvit

Well-known member
Nothing special. 1995 Camaro convertible. Bought it at an auction as a police CUC/V. And we all know where that went from there. It has an R title because it was confiscated in a huge drug bust. I had it since 1996. The police used it for about 6 months as a CUC/V civilian under cover vehicle. Since the internet came along the auctions have gone wild. People pay more for scrap vehicles then you would for one running drive-able and inspected in the same year make and model. I don't get it. They sell it as salvage and they still pay list price. I think it is like a you are not going to out bid me war. I like it at times. But only when I am the seller. Have a great day. The shine on the Camaro and the chrome wheels just overloaded the picture with data. Is that what you are telling me. It can't be snow. We have total white out pictures loaded. You interested in the Camaro?
Try opening a few different pictures and look at their info/details. My digital camera takes different data size pictures, however I just noticed on my phone they are all the same size, regardless. So, disregard my hypothesis. Must be just a glitch on the site.
 

cucvrus

Well-known member
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That's something new to me:

- Does it mean "restricted" or something?
In Pennsylvania the R code on the title means reconstructed vehicle. In the case of the Camaro it was a seized vehicle and the bank held the title. I have a 2006 Dodge magnum that was abandon at the airport and sat in an impound lot for about 3 years. No one claimed it and it was sold for salvage with a salvage certificate. It came from New Hampshire and you must get a Salver to advertise the vehicle and do the legal work and then it gets a salvage certificate issued by the state. That is no one comes forward and claims it and pays all the storage and cost accrued to that date of reclamation. Being that no one came forward and made claim in this case. Then you must take it to a vehicle enhancement mechanics station and have it inspected stern to bow by a Pennsylvania certified state inspection mechanic. I have a license but do not do my own inspections for legal reasons. After the vehicle is certified a title is issued by the state and it still retains the same VIN and all other pertinent information. It is branded with an R so future owners know it has a shady past. I also have 2008 Chevrolet Impala police that has an R title. It was left parked in deep water and the floor and lower seats got wet. It was a year old and has been a great car. The only problems I ever had was the power seat switch and the front door speakers. I gutted the car 2 weeks after the storm and pressure washed everything. You can not even smell pork in it anymore. It was a nice unmarked probation officers car with 21 K on it. It has well over 125K on it now and is in awesome condition. 3.9 V6. OK I hope that explains the R. Carfax has most collisions listed. I had a CUCV that was wrecked when parked and the insurance company paid me for the entire truck and left me keep it. when I sold the truck the buyer brought a Carfax and it said total loss paid and date the insurance company paid. That deal went south fast. It was a left bed side a door and front fender.Both bumpers and brush guard. Damage exceeded the value of vehicle. i took the money and fixed the truck. they just put it on the vehicle record without my knowing. The guy did buy the truck after I showed him the pictures of it wrecked. Labor and the replacement parts were the killer.DSCF6379.jpgTrailer is empty Goal met and exceeded. DSCF6390.jpgDSCF6391.jpgR titled 1995 Chevrolet Camaro Bowtie up front as stated. DSCF6381.jpgDSCF6378.jpgThe nice pile of oak blocks and boards from the snow covered trailer. My little helper worked hard. about 11F today. very low wind chill. DSCF6387.jpgDSCF6386.jpgMy engine and drive-line warranty sticker on the Mule. After last years complete over haul. That Mule even looks cold. DSCF6383.jpgThis is my M1028 replacement. I sold this and bought that. 011.jpg
 

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Member
611
15
18
Location
Boston, MA
3 tire failures this week. I knew the tires were old, but the tread was hardly worn. I guess the bitter cold got to the old rubber. After each of the first 2 failures, I pulled a wheel off the M1101 to use as a spare, to tide me over while I decided what tires to order. When I found the third failure this morning, I called around and took the best option that was in stock and available for immediate installation. 5 Cooper RTX. That wouldn't have been my first choice. We'll see how they hold up.
 

NovacaineFix

Member
662
1
18
Location
San Diego, California
CUCVLOVER, what kind of exhaust are you running? The reason I ask, 'cause your engine, trans may be stock but your exhaust definitely does not sound it, just curious.

I may have to do a speed video, so you guys won't be in trouble with the law alone.:driver:
 

CUCVLOVER

Active member
CUCVLOVER, what kind of exhaust are you running? The reason I ask, 'cause your engine, trans may be stock but your exhaust definitely does not sound it, just curious.

I may have to do a speed video, so you guys won't be in trouble with the law alone.:driver:
I'm running a custom set up.
2.5 inch true duals, with no mufflers, and with 5," tips that are like 2 ft long.
It is not really any louder than my dad's 2000 Chevy 3500 with a 454, that has duals, and some knock off turbo mufflers.
But there is a difference in how the truck is loud than compared to a Gasser.
At idle its not really louder, than if it had stock mufflers.
At 1500 rpm it has a sweet rumble and pop, 1700-2300 its just a nice rumble but not to loud. At 2500 (60mph) it has a good throaty pop sound, and at 3k + its loud. These are just the loudest RPMs, the truck still has a great sound in-between. I have been all over town and see plenty of cops and never had issue. I did have a guy ask if the engine was a big block. He didn't believe that it was a 6.2 diesel until I opened the hood lol.

I took that video in a 45mph speed zone lol.
 

jpg

Member
611
15
18
Location
Boston, MA
3 tire failures this week...
Have any idea what the date code was on them?
The shredded one to the left is DO1403. The NTB tire guys didn't recognize that date code. The other two that failed are 518. IIUC they're either 17 or 27 years old. They all had vent spews, those little rubber "hairs" that stick out of a new tire. The tread on all was excellent. As you can see from the photo on the left, the sidewalls were less than excellent, though they looked OK before going flat. The truck has 7,000 miles on it, though who knows the history of the tires... The tires passed state inspection, and several mechanics judged them OK.

I should mention the M1010 handled flat front tires as gracefully as one might hope. Absolutely no drama. Just pulled toward the flat tire.
IMG_0723.jpgIMG_0721.jpgIMG_0720.jpgtire2.jpg

Heads up for the CUCV crowd. The NTB guy torqued the lug nuts "by the book" to 123 ft-lbs, not the required 140. His book was wrong.
 
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cucvrus

Well-known member
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Jonestown Pennsylvania
Many folks prefer the smell of pork over the smell of arse.[/QUOTE

Not so true they smell period. I bought over 30 police cars and everyone is filthy inside when I go to pick it up. If you let it set in the sun for a week or 2 before you clean it the steering wheel is so sticky and slimy I have to wonder what was going on in that car. I always find fresh fries and ketchup packs between the seats. Years back the interior was soaked in cigarette and cigar ashes. The seats had food and trash stuffed between them. And not the back seat that was usually spotless. I bid on these cars from townships, city and state auctions and sealed bids. Pa State Police cars were always the cleanest the local was cleaner. The sheriff and city cars were pig pens. I think the steering wheel thing is the grossest of all. Now the local sheriff just use standard issue cars like Buick's and Chevrolet Malibu's. Nothing special about them anymore. The Ford CVPI are gone and I am not a Dodge or a Ford Taurus guy. I don't even look at police cars anymore. Last one i bought was a 2010 Ford CVPI and I just about broke even on it. The market is slim on these cars. People are ski-dish about buying these cars and like I stated they bid them up and want to pay lot price for the vehicles. So I stick to my statement. They are unusually filthy. Not as bad as some repo's and abandons but dirtier then I would expect. Don't get a flustered. Just stating my experience. Yours may be different and that is fine.
 

tim292stro

Well-known member
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Location
S.F. Bay Area/California
Thier book doesn't include the CUCV values. When I did two tires on the M1009 in the fall (sidewall tread separation on 11 year-old tires), I brought the technical manual with me. The factory manual overrides their book apparently.

1403 sounds like 14th week of 2003, and if that's right, that was a 13 year old tire... sidewalls just don't last that long. Always one of those points with me it apocalypse movies, that and unleaded gas fuel powered cars running after two years (fuel doesn't last that long).
 
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gottaluvit

Well-known member
Thier book doesn't include the CUCV values. When I did two tires on the M1009 in the fall (sidewall tread separation on 11 year-old tires), I brought the technical manual with me. The factory manual overrides their book apparently.

1403 sounds like 14th week of 2003, and if that's right, that was a 13 year old tire... sidewalls just don't last that long. Always one of those points with me it apocalypse movies, that and unleaded gas fuel powered cars running after two years (fuel doesn't last that long).
I believe the date code is just 403. When I zoom I see the "1" is actually a "T". So being a 403 makes it born on 1993, or 1983, which I doubt. Before the year 2000, date codes were three digits, as it is usually evident by the fine cracks on the sidewalls if a tire is more yhan a decade old. The last digit is the only indication of the year. After the year 2000, they started using a four digit date code, so you have both of the last digits of the year, clarifying any doubt. Your tires explain the need for having a four digit code. The two preceding numbers are the week of the year. Both systems had to have "DOT", so that also tells you for sure that the number in question has to be a "t". Here's a link that might help.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...rLnilUK7q9nych6Ow&sig2=1gaMRfT986bJGgMnU_w0kQ
 

cucvrus

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Why not just put the date of manufacturing on the tire. This is not 007 stuff. It is a tire for crying out loud. No codes just a date like everything else. seems to help the safety factor. Example 01/21/83 and if I were truly dumb I may need 01/21/1983 so I don't think it was built in 1883. Thats the way I see it. What could it hurt to just put the date in place of the secret code that everyone has to decipher? Must be some pre planned expiration date they can emboss into the tire. Fresh to 01/21/2018. Get trucking for freshest wear. Spinning briskly on hard paved surfaces has been know to cause dangerous smoke and has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory rats and reduce the amount to usable tread. The state of California forbids the burning of tires at cook outs and sporting events. Tennessee residents this does not apply to you for use as fuel in wood /cook stoves. Mandatory recycling of steel cords is required after burning. Just put a real date on the tires not a code.
 

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Member
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Boston, MA
I believe the date code is just 403. When I zoom I see the "1" is actually a "T". So being a 403 makes it born on 1993, or 1983, which I doubt.
The tire techs at NTB debated whether that was a 1 or a T. 1983 would make sense if that were the original spare in a 1984 truck. The way the sidewalls disintegrated in the cold, I suspected it might be original. I drove on that tire briefly this summer. I was rotating tires and needed to run an errand in the middle of the process. Since the spare (firestone) didn't match the other tires (wranglers), I just rotated the others and put the spare back. It seemed fine at the time. The tire guys had never seen such a dramatic sidewall failure. Neither had I.

It's -11F here now. Hard on the rubber.
 

cucvrus

Well-known member
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Jonestown Pennsylvania
Firestone Steeltex were the original equipment tires on the trucks. i ran several of them until they came apart. They were cracked very bad and you could see the steel cords in the cracks. I ran them on plow trucks that never leave the complex. They lasted for years but they did eventually go to pieces just like you have pictured. I bought a new set of Firestone Steel back 10-15 years ago when they were still available They were decnt tires and held up well. Now I am sold on the Goodyear Duratrac tires on the trucks. And my own M1009's the Goodyear MTR's. Awesome tires in snow and mud. Glad you safely found the dry rotted tires. Some are not as fortunate.
 

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Member
611
15
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Location
Boston, MA
1983 is correct. To be from year 1993 the code had to end with a small triangle, to the right. (DOT 403<)
Wow. A 33 year old tire. I'd never looked at date codes before. When I asked mechanics to assess the tires, I guess they only looked at the tread, and not the date codes. They all gave the tires a thumbs up. You'd think the State safety inspections would check the tire dates. All they checked was tread.

I totally missed this issue when reading through all the CUCV sticky, wiki, etc. Newbie mistake.
 
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