Nope, mine don't look like that. Mine have 2 clips similar to that shape about an inch and a half wide, one on the left and one on the right of the lid. Also has 2 strengthening brackets that run front to back. Even though I had the high backs up front, the rears were just the cushion seats.

Yours looks a lot stronger and your lid looks to be a much heavier gauge.

I'll try and get a pic or 2 of mine.

Monstaliner looks great from that pic, by the way! Nice texture to it!

Ryan, is the seat lid in this ebay auction like yours? These are the thin ones for the cushion seats.

Yep, those are the ones I've got.

Since the weather is really bad outside today, I have time to think out how I want to run my electrical accessories. I plan on adding the following:

1: Backup cameras mounted on top of the Antenna brackets on the body. Have been looking at 2 and 4 camera systems to give a wider field of view or more views.

2: More LED lights front and rear and maybe on top by the turret. Looking at Rigid Industries since that is what I have used in the past, but open to other brands. Also looking to mount using the antenna mounts.

3: Spod or similar to run all of the electrical accessories since it would be just a single point vs having a bunch of relays and would keep the wiring nice and clean.

4: Radio of some sort. I have seem systems that just have an AMP and speakers. The amp had inputs for RCA and micro USB so I could use the 3.5mm jack out or the micro usb on my phone or tablet. That way I would not need a head unit. I would mount the amp in one of the rear seat bases, just need to find the amp as the one I saw was a Boss Audio for UTV and the speakers seemed cheap. Another option would be to get a radio that looks similar to a military radio that could use a real antenna, but most military radios are big and bulky.    

5: Lots of wire loom to make everything look nice.

So any other recommendations?

Cameras are handy. I had a rental Ford Explorer Limited that was all tricked out. Had 3 forward facing cameras in addition to the backup camera. They were more for parking and assuring forward clearance. On the HMMWV I'd probably put them at optimal spotting angles to assist in picking good lines offroad or possibly at the front looking down the side for lane change.



Rigid is good but as I'm sure you know pricey.

There were some milsurp MRAP LED lights posted earlier in the thread.

A lot of people have had pretty decent success with the knockoff LED bars too. I've seen a GD thread or two with folks saying they've had good experiences with them. I did see suggestions of taking the lenses off of the no-name lights and sealing them up with a silicone bead. Probably not a bad idea.

When I had my Econoline work van, long before every brodozer on the road had them, I had a no-name LED bar that was mounted in the front bumper. I got a no-name bar because it was going on my company work truck and coming out of my pocket. I had that bar on 2 vans with it seeing over 100k miles. During that time it never leaked, fogged up, had an LED burn out, or had the lens break. I'd say I had pretty good luck with it!



That's definitely a nice, turn-key setup but it looks like you're going to pay for it.

Since electrical and electronics are what I deal with for work I'm going to build my own setup from components. That said I'm not up on who all offers turn-key setups like the one you linked.

The only thing I won't be building myself is the overhead console it's all getting mounted to. The overhead console will have a dozen or so Carling switch openings and accommodations for mounting a radio, CB, and a mobile ham rig (when I get one). All of the 12v electronics are going to be mounted on top with a fuse block and needed relays. I figure high up near the roof is good to keep everything safe from deep water crossings.



That's an interesting idea of foregoing the head unit.

I keep my phone in a Lifeproof case so I'm not big on physical connections even though the case has a sealed 3.5mm connector. That's why I decided I'm going to go with a marine head unit that has Bluetooth in a water resistant housing. Most of my music on my phone is streamed so in the event I don't have a signal I can always switch the radio over to OTA.

For speakers, I was going to try and find some waterproof marine speaker pods. Nothing all that big since I want them to be unobtrusive and I'm not terribly worried about sound quality because it won't matter in an already noisy truck, I just want them waterproof and functional. Haven't done much looking to see what's available though.

Two things to throw out there:
1) I used to make conversion boxes using an ammo can to run 12V lights plugging directly into the 24V trailer cannon-plug.
The key component that may be relevant to you guys wanting to run 12V radios and accessories is a power inverter. I used a Pyle View PSWNV480 24vdc to 12vdc power inverter.

2) I caught something about passenger seats:: The older models like the 997 used a simple cushion that bolted down with (4) 5/16 nuts for the bottom and a top that slid over the back frame.  The Newer models like the 1097 had a bucket seat, that as far as I know utilized the same fiberglass batterybox cover, but a one piece seat that's heavier and a lot more comfortable (we're not talking Ricardo here).  Drivers seat was the same top & bottom for the older units, and while the seat essentially looks the same, the base and mountings for the DS are not the same as the passenger side.

BTW: If any of you have questions, you might want to IM me as I'm hit or miss in the car & bike forum  

One more thing:  If you want 12V without using an inverter, you can attaching the leads to one battery. (Negative to the negative cable towards the back side of the battery box and the positive to the positive post of the SAME BATTERY.  I do NOT recommend drawing 12V off the generator....it can be done, but seems to frig up the regulator in short order.  Down side to drawing off one battery is battery life/recharging...it'll work, but its not exactly optimal.  

Well its raining here and cold (has been for a couple of days now) and I went out to start the hummer and no wait light. Before disconnecting the batteries to charge them, the wait light would come on and I could hear the typical thump in the control box, but no wait light. Hoping its just the batteries again and not the control box. Seems the rear battery is lower than the front. I have it on the charger trying the recovery mode.

Has anyone here installed a CB radio in their HMMWV and if so can you even hear it when the engine is running?

I also just noticed that my parking brake is no longer working.  Any idea how much of a PITA it will be to fix?

We now have another HMMWV on the road here in Ohio!

I'll let the owner jump in on here if he wants. Turns out, he's not too far from me!



Any update?


On the CB, I've used a Cobra 29 in the past. The internal speaker can get pretty loud. I'm almost positive, without, digging it out of a box, that it also has an external speaker connection. My suggestion would be to install it and see how loud it is and if you think it needs it, get an external speaker for it.

Also, Cobra put out a 29 Army edition that has a green and yellow faceplate. Would look right at home in the truck!

With the parking break, have you tried adjusting the tensioner knob on top of the brake lever?

Well it's not the batteries. This weekend I am going to try and find a schematics of all the grounds and check them. If that doesn't work then I'll order a new smart box and glow plugs from Mac Motors on monday.

As for other progress, everything but the roof is done for the slantback. I have been looking at an As-3449 antenna and pairing it with a baofeng radio since they work on the same band. Any thoughts on this?

Ugh, that blows...

What PCB do you currently have? If your box uses a TSU, you might just need a new one of those. Cheaper than a whole new S3 box unless you just want to use the opportunity to upgrade it.

ETA: Assuming your PCB uses one, try disconnecting your TSU and see if you get a wait light. That will tell you if it's bad and causing the issue.

I have a kds box (green label I think) and yellow band tsu. So does the top part of the tsu just twist off of how do you disconnect it?

Well, that was easy to pull apart once I went out there. Still no wait light so I guess that means control box and new corresponding tsu. Going to check the wait light just be to sure as I have a new one and the grounds. Have you seen a schematics for all the grounds?

Also don't know if you noticed my edit above about the AS-3449 antenna and possibly using a baofeng radio?

Let me dig through my files and see if I can't locate the schematic. Pretty sure I have a great big one for the whole truck.

Green band KDS box should be the one that doesn't use any TSU or GPC.  That's the one I had in my truck. Not a good sign if that isn't working. The good news is if you've got the yellow band TSU you shouldn't need to replace it if you put in an S3 box.

Definitely check your wait light for function. That was throwing me after I installed my S3 box and why I replaced all my dash lights with LED.


Not a bad idea on the Baofeng! I've got one for me and 6 for SHTF handouts. I still need to read up on them more so I more thoroughly know how to use them. The BF-F9 V2+ is the newest and most powerful version. I have 3 of those and 1 is for me. The others are UV-5R+s. These radios handle 136-174MHz (which 2m falls within) and 400-520MHz (which 70cm falls within). Here's a chart. I don't know enough about antenna design to know if since the AS-3449 is tuned to 420-450MHz range and works with 70cm if it will also work with the 2m freqs the Baofeng can use. Clearly it can be done with one antenna since that's what the stock Baofeng comes with but I don't know the math to determine what the proper length antenna would be to work with both. I believe any multiple of the length of the factory Baofeng antenna should work.  You'll also have to make sure the length of cable you connect the radio to the antenna is matched to that wavelength as well or the setup will no longer be tuned to the correct frequency. Also, you'll need a way to connect the Baofeng to the antenna. The Baofeng uses an SMA connector and it looks like that antenna might use a PL-259 connector (can't say without seeing it) so, you'll need either a cable with a female SMA on one end and a male PL-259 on the other or appropriate adapters. I'm really getting out of my depth though. I only know a bit about comms. Truth is, I really need to spend more time in the ham forum. And the sad thing is I really have no excuse to not know more since I've got a friend that worked in the White House Communications Agency.

Okay, I found this one I had but it's for the M1113/M1114. So it might be pretty similar but there's probably some extra stuff on it.

Let me keep looking, otherwise it's probably in one of the TMs.

Here's the other diagram I have and Kascar just so happens to have a copy on their site. It's for the M996/M997 so should be a lot closer to the 998 than the M1113/M1114 one.

Ordered a Norton S3 box today. Going to order glow plugs and ground kit from Kascar and do it all at once. Has anyone replaced the glow plugs before, I assume its the same as replacing a spark plug. Are any in a hard to reach spot?

I replaced mine a while back. If you don't have any swollen plugs, it's actually easier than doing spark plugs because you don't have to worry about mixing up wires and screwing up the timing. Thankfully none of mine were swollen.

Driver's side is a lot easier than the passenger's side to get to. I'd recommend doing the 2 rear passenger ones from inside the truck. Easier than trying to get to them from under the hood.

If you do have swollen plugs, good luck! There's a tool that's supposed to aid in removing them but I've seen it doesn't always work. On rare occasions there's no way to get them out without breaking the tip off and then you've got to either try to fish it out through the plug opening or take off the injector to get it out.

Make sure your new ones are the non-swelling glow plugs. I'm pretty sure the ones Kascar sells are but they don't say on the page. I went with Diesel Rx ones. These ones from SS Diesel Supply come recommended recommended as are these Wellman plugs (those are Amazon Prime eligible too!).

Also, put anti-seize on them so future replacement is easier. Just to be sure, I put dielectric grease in the boots too.

Ryan thanks for the links. I went with the Diesel RX ones as they seem to be no swell. The Wellman are current gov issue but some have had swelling issues. Also going to install the Kascar Ground kit.

As for other projects, I have been looking at the TRI PRC 117 radio as it is a copy of the Harris radio and has a vehicle mount and would be correct in a HMMWV. Its made for the mil sim/airsoft guys/overseas sales, but has all the similar features. Just trying to figure out if it will work with the VIC 3 intercom. Which kinda goes back to Eaglearms question of is it too loud to use a CB. I think it borderlines on being hard to hear certain things when driving which is why I got the VIC 3, I want to wait until I get the top finished and then hear how loud it is or isn't.  

Also looking at getting a Spot Trace GPS tracker for security/tracking/mapping my outings since they are 50% right now. For $50 and then a $100 a year subscription you get 5 min interval GPS tracking.

So I have searched for this, but cannot find a definitive answer, which power plant is preferred, the 6.2 or the 6.5?

I have read that the later 6.2s were decent but due to direct injection, an improper jump with ether (which I've also read/been told happens quite often) can crack glow plugs and dump them into the cylinder. I have also read that the early 6.5 has problems with the casting on Cyl 8 and WILL crack at some point. I also know about the Optimizer 6.5, but am unsure how to spot one, or when they went into production.

So, any help anyone wants to offer here would be great, both about the engines as well as transmissions.  I don't care much about performance or gas mileage, but REALLY don't want to deal with a catastrophic engine failure.

Thank you in advance!

The 6.5 is the preferred and more reliable engine. 

HMMWV gurus I lost my links formatting win10 and need help recovering them. Besides the auction sites I had a few milsurp vehicle dealers that sold HMMWV's that were restored. Nice ones actually. Not PlanB either, these were faithful resto's that were pretty damn nice actually. I was looking to buy one soon so any help appreciated.

Just curious, where'd you end up getting your VIC-3 and how much did it run you? I've gotten my truck what I consider pretty quiet inside and it will only improve once I install some underhood, firewall, and underbody insulation. I've been eyeing this stuff for that, by the way. Any link with more info on the TRI PRC-117? Sounds interesting.

GPS tracking might help cut your insurance costs too.



Yeah, if you look back very early in the thread use of ether was discouraged and it was posted why but, it can be done if needed. That said, if GovPlanet did succeed in damaging the engine trying to start it and didn't disclose said damage, they would be on the hook and have to refund you money. I don't think I'd be discouraged buying a truck ether starting had been done on. You should probably replace the glow plugs straight off anyway as preventive maintenance. If they have broken and there is no damage, I don't think it would be a big deal either. It certainly wouldn't be an ideal situation but it does happen and as posted above there are methods of getting the debris out of the engine without having to tear the whole thing apart. And again, if the engine has been damaged you'll either know that and can avoid it or you'll be getting a good chunk of your purchase price back.

The #8 cylinder cracking issue was pretty much limited to the turbo models and was an early 6.5 issue. While GM/International was still producing the 6.5 the block was modified and then when the Optimizer was released it was improved further. All you could ever want to know about the #8 cylinder crack. I wouldn't worry about it as an issue with any of the trucks going through GP since none are turbos. Also, identification of 6.5s recently came up on Steel Soldiers and has some good information. The truth is with all of the full takeout drivetrains hitting the market, mostly thanks to Southern Metals in NC, I wouldn't worry about any catastrophic drivetrain failure. If you go direct to them, you can get a whole 6.2 drivetrain with trans and transfer case for, if I recall, $1800 if you don't mind picking it up from them.

Overall, the 6.2 isn't a bad engine and neither is the 6.5 but, an Optimizer 6.5 is more desirable for its improvements and the fact it indicates a newer engine. As for which trucks have what, there is no rhyme or reason. My '94 A1 had a 6.2 while EagleArms' '89 M1038 had a 6.5. Engines were swapped as needed. You just have to look at listing pictures and information. The Optimizer engines usually look newer and have a sticker on the head cover indicating production by GEP. Trucks with Optimizers do tend to carry a premium but can still go for decent prices. A member here got a truck with one at a good price.

With the transmissions, both the TH400 3 speed and 4L80E are good, solid transmissions and not particularly prone to any failures. The only way you'll be getting a 4L80E though is if you get one of the later model trucks like the USMC M1123s going through GP but you're going to be paying big bucks for them and will still have to dump extra money into cleaning it up. One member on here has bought one but he hasn't really posted in this thread with us. Personally, I think they cost more than they're worth but, then again if you live in a state where you can't retitle an off road restricted truck it may be a good alternative with the benefit of getting a 4 speed trans or, if you'd rather not deal with the costs/effort of putting a 4 speed in. Lawman has done the swap and can detail the costs and work.

Personally I am mostly satisfied with the performance of the 6.2 now that I've turned up the injection pump and can get some decent acceleration. With the 3 speed I can go 65 on the highway but try to stay in the right lane. I'd rate it as "adequate" but not necessarily ideal. That said, I'd like better performance and will be putting in a turbo 6.5/4L80E drivetrain just as soon as I can swing the cost.



Come on! You don't want to bust knuckles and pull muscles with the rest of us?

Was this one of them? Retired War Horses

thanks! I got the parking break tightened up. It was surprising to see how many turns it neeeded to tighten up to "hand tight". 

There are two types of VIC 3, one full version and one lite version. I have the lite version and got most of my parts from 86humv on g503 and ss. The lite version has one small control box and two crew boxes which each serve two crew members for a total of 4 headsets. The full system has a larger control box and each crew box only serves 1 person but there are more inputs on the control station. Expect to pay $500-1000 depending on how long you want to wait and piece meal it together and what head sets you go with. I think 86humv has a complete setup for sale for $700 shipped. I have close to $700 in mine, but I bought several extra crew boxes and have enough to almost make 2 complete systems if I can find another control box. Watch ebay seller TryC2 as they usually have the control stations pop up every other month.

As for the TRI 117 radio, there is a thread on SS and the radios can be found at airsoft vendors and some even have the vehicle mount. Just trying to confirm if it is 12V or 24V and the connectors.

I just realized, did I actually type parking break in my post? At least I got it right the second time...

Glad that took care of it!



Good info! I priced a Rugged Radios setup and they aren't cheap but even at $1k the VIC system would be cheaper. Like I said though, with as relatively quiet as I've gotten my truck I might not even need one.

No that wasn't one. These sites had 4-5 really nice ones already restored. One even had a pretty complete GMV. And I do wish I could bust knuckles regularly, and will to an extent. But I re-broke my back last year so extended sessions of "leaning over the fender" is a bitch these days. So starting off with something already decent would be a big plus for me. After that? I'll probably mod the shit out of it like you have been.

Re-broke your back? Damn, yeah, in that case I don't blame you. I wonder if a HEMTT or MRAP suspension seat would fit in the driver's position? Or maybe at the least a 5 ton suspension seat base. Would definitely make for a more comfortable ride.

Any chance you remember a general location of the sellers? RWH and Eastern Surplus (they only have 1 truck currently though) are the only ones I can think of off hand I've seen. Searching isn't turning up much of anything except a couple places that have 1 or 2 trucks each.

Incredible, thank you very much.



[b][/b]

The only sites with GMV's have been Retired War Horses, UsedH1, and a company on Army Jeeps. If I was going to go with a fully restored one, I would go with Retired War Horses or TedG on the SS or G503 forums. These two seem to have the most knowledge and put a lot of detail into their builds.

Guys, a good many of the trucks now relegated to garrison duty  (snow plowing, training, etc.) still run the 6.2l with TH400 Transmissions, and while they're pretty tough and durable, you can give a solder three steel balls inside a padded room and in an hour one will be broken, one "lost" and the last somewhere it shouldn't be.  
The Army under the "National Maintenance Program" rebuilds everything and lots of it.  When you see what looks  like a "new" unit, beware as it might have been installed, FUBAR'd and turned back in without credit, or sent to dermo because the unit didn't know what or how to deal with it.
The 6.5l "De-tuned" (non-turbo) engines were new replacements for the 6.2l engines that just didn't seem to do well with rebuilding. (this is what the old-timers that rebuilt them on Ft. Drum told me, and yes we rebuilt four transmission, and several lines of engines)  Don't be too quick to condemn your engine, with proper maintenance it'll last a very long time.
Glow Plugs:  1/4" ratchet with a deep-well 3/8" socket: Drivers side is easy, Curb side the front two can be reached between the inner fender and engine, it goes much easier if you remove the airfilter housing and intake boot/tube, for the rear two, pull the dog house.  Light coat of Never Seize the threads, snug will do, no need to overtighten. Little Di-electric compound makes the boots slip on easier...if you have a swollen/bad plug, you'll know it. if it breaks, there is a special tool sort of like a broken shell extractor to pull them, but the "swollen" plugs have been out of the system for a decade or more and given the over-zealous, change-it-anyways mentality there's little chance of encountering one,  I don't recall the part number, but they are ordinary AC/Delco glow plugs.
ALWAYS look and check the simple stuff first!  Often it's where the problem lies.  

Funny, I read threads like this and remember how much fun I had with the M923's and M35's then the reality bitch-slaps me with "wtf do you really want with a HMMWV?"  
As if C&R guns weren't enough a vise.  

I heard nearly the same thing from my brother who was in the Marines. He said, "You could give a Marine an anvil in a padded room and come back later and it would be broken... And pregnant."

Yep, re-broke. Round two I got the learn to reuse your leg bonus added to the experience. I don't recommend it.  

As for the site, I cannot remember the area they were in. It wasn't RWH, TMG, Eastern or the below mentioned "Army Jeeps". Though that is a nice one. It was a current dealer too. I was just on the site a couple weeks ago. And actually found it researching them after reading this thread.  But he had about 5 of them listed. Including one I don't know the nomenclature on. But it was a newer two door hard top set up like the ones with A/C, but didn't have it. Had sliding glass rear window with "stake sides" like the M1123 on Iron Planet.

ETA: If you ever run across any 37th Infantry Brigade marked ones there in Ohio I probably drove it.

Okay, here's a couple more possibilities I came up with but I have a feeling they're still not the ones you're thinking of.

Kascar mostly sells parts but has some trucks for sale.
Military Vehicles For Sale is more of a classifieds.
Schott Enterprises, don't know anything about them but they claim to have stock, none with street titles it looks like.

Like Jake said though, if you're looking for a ready to roll, clean truck I would not hesitate to get in touch with RWH or Ted Gates. They both know the trucks inside and out and are very active on SS and G503. RWH runs more of an official business of it and I think Ted does it more as side work. Since you're in WA, RWC is there on the West Coast in CA. Ted is in Michigan.

I'll sell you mine and all the spare parts. I'm serious. PM me for a price if you want it. 

Uh oh... Spending more time with it than the wife and get an ultimatum?

Seriously though Cyclic, if you're looking for a rehabbed truck, EaglrArms' is a winner. I saw it before he took delivery of it (it was at the same yard as mine) and it was a solid truck. Since then he's done a lot of good work to it!

why not a H1, there a whole lot more comfortable...RWH is selling his personal H1
http://www.hummermarketplace.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=5065

I hate it when people don't hot link. I'm on an iPad and it's nearly impossible to copy and paste. 

Has anyone replaced or upgraded the batteries? I am still having issues with one battery and think it is time to replace both. Looking at staying with the original type or going with Optimas (yellow or red top?) as they are a lot more common. Any recommendations?

I replaced my stock AC Delco's with yellow top's they took a shit, replaced them with red tops they took a shit, put AC's back in, been happy for 4yrs so far, truck sits on a trickle charger when not in use..

My laptop hates hot linking, I'll try my sons i pad

http://www.hummermarketplace.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=5065

edit: Nope

Dang, I am not even asking half that price for mine.  Mine is not listed anywhere, but I am considering selling to free up garage space.  I really do like it and have no complaints with it at all.

You know, you should suggest to Goatboy in the upgrade feedback thread to have the site automatically hotlink web addresses. I know vBulletin software can do it.



As evidenced, avoid Optimas. I've read on a number of boards that their quality has declined greatly in the last several years.

The topic has come up in GD recently. Here's a couple threads:

Car Battery?
Best Light Truck Battery?

East Penn/Deka/NAPA Gold/O'Reilly Super Start Platinum/Batteries Plus Duracell AGMs (all the same) seem to get pretty favorable reviews as do Odessey. Interstate seemed to get fair reviews and if you get them at Costco you can use their awesome return policy! Anything made by Johnson Controls was recommended to avoid.

PM sent in a sec'

I gotta' have a .mil one. I've drove the shit out of them so it's sentimental to me.

I sent him a PM.

Btw, I just found the dealer that has multiple for sale that I was talking about. It's Midwest Military Equipment. Any of you guys dealt with them?

Hmm, haven't seen them before. That 2 door with the Ibis Tek bumper looks familiar though. Could swear I've seen that listed on GovPlanet by a private seller selling through them.



On a completely separate side note, now that the weather is cold and I'm not really doing any work on my truck I've found myself spending more time on SS to get my daily fix. And I've got to say, that time on there has really only reinforced my original impression of it.

I've found it to be a place that's largely uninviting and full of, for lack of a better term, truck Fudds.

There's a lot of knowledge but the knowledgeable longtimers don't like to be overly helpful. There's always a reply of, "It's in the TM," while never offering what possible TM or section when there's thousands of pages to dig through or, identifying the problem while not offering much in the way of insight into it. I get that it gets old repeating the same answers over and over to newbs but I think if you take the time to help educate, you're not only going to build a better community but you'll get people to stick around and help other new people so you're not the only one having to repeat the same stuff over and over.

Then you've got the people that own some of the pre-GovPlanet trucks and, I get the impression, look down on all of these people newly entering the ranks of ownership, especially the ones that get their trucks road titled. Very much reminds me of the MG owners that see their MGs as investments, these guys thought their trucks were collector vehicles and are seeing them plummet in value with all of the road legal trucks coming to market. There's always passive aggressive comments like (and I'm generalizing), "Why are you so worried about keeping up with traffic when these are trucks aren't road legal?" My favorite was some newer guy with what was clearly a GP truck, posting about some LED headlights he just installed with a link and some longtimer jumps in with, "Those say they're for off road use only. You sure they're DOT compliant?," completely oblivious to the irony. There are so many of these GP trucks legally on the road now this attitude is downright laughable. Folks refusing to accept the reality of the situation. I even saw someone post in a thread something like, "We know DLA monitors this site, it's only a matter of time before the government confiscates all of these trucks back for driving them on the road."

Most recently a guy posts he wants to swap in a gasser engine and just seems to be looking for some general input. Not my cup of tea personally (I like diesel!) but I'm in for seeing someone tackle a cool project. Immediately the thread is filled with truck Fudd posts of, "Hurr durr, these things ain't race cars, they're military trucks!" Of course it managed to devolve into a pissing match with no one really offering much in the way of help for the guy who clearly had a plan in mind and was looking for some nuts and bolts facts not opinion on why he should or shouldn't do what he's planning. Just before the thread managed to get locked (which I personally think was a bit heavy handed by the mods, another complaint of mine) I had to remind/inform some folks, who I'd think would know better about the pedigree of the platform, that Rod Hall Racing and Off Road America (no longer in business) had been swapping 502 and 572 engines into H1s almost 20 years ago with 10k running gear (someone had quipped how folks looking for more power would be breaking halfshafts and needing to upgrade brakes), as well as the fact that H1s raced under AMG's officially sanctioned and supported Team Hummer, quite successfully I might add, in the Baja 1000, Nevada 1000, and Paris-Dakar Rally. The icing on the cake was a longtimer posting in another thread how someone looking to rebuild their truck to mil specs was a breath of fresh air because he wasn't trying to "bubba his truck into a race truck." It's just a foreign concept that someone wouldn't necessarily want a 100% authentic restoration and do nothing but drive in parades with it. Just totally reminds me of the Fudd mindset of, "What do you need that 7.5", collapsible stock SBR when a 20" with A2 stock does the same thing?"

I get that, like we discussed on here, the topic of modding, restomodding, and restoration is pretty heavily debated but with the way some people act on there you'd think every damn truck coming out of GP was a Concours d'Elegance contender and someone modding one is destroying a work of automotive art. It's just beyond them that someone might really be a fan of the platform and would rather only spend a couple thousand picking up a HMMWV with a bad drivetrain and make it into something more than it was instead of dropping 10x as much on an H1 (of which there are far more limited numbers than HMMWVs I might add) to do the same thing to it. They just don't get that it's a big world outside of their little corner of the internet and most folks aren't interested in getting these trucks for 100% accurate to the last nut and bolt parade queens . They also don't seem to understand how its possible to equally admire the dedication put into making one of those 100% accurate restorations and something like an 800hp Cummins conversion truck.

I wasn't able to make it to the fall SS get together at Haspin Acres due to work but the crowd on SS really has me reconsidering putting effort into going to the one at Haspin in the summer if it's going to be filled with folks like that. I'm hoping that since its an actual off road event, all the parade queen owners will be at home and it won't be...

Just something I had to get off my chest after seeing that gasser thread tonight. Makes me that much more grateful for the small community we've built up on here! Lots of good folks offering help to others with friendly, open discussion!

Ryan I could not agree more. I only ask very specific questions on both SS and G503 for that very same reason. But I do find the G503 to be more help as they even have a modification section. When I first got mine I posted on SS asking for a list of mods and upgrades and received some good responses but a majority seemed to say keep it original to the 1980's. Sorry, I like certain creature confronts such as AC, LED Lights (brighter lights in general), Radio (would go with military radio if I could find one), better seats, oh and I actually drive my vehicles not just stare at them. Another thing that bugs me with SS is the policy of no weapons talk, hell these are military vehicles that had guns mounted all over them. My post about which belt fed/gun for the turret got removed.  At least on G503 gun talk is good and a lot of talk about class 3 can be found by searching.

But back to building my vehicle out. The rear battery I suspect is bad and have been searching for replacements. I also noticed a trend when searching for HMMWV batteries that the rear seems to go first. Looks like Group 31 batteries from the better brands listed in the links provided may work and are less than half the price of 6TL military type batteries plus they have a warranty. Looking to see if any other sizes fit. This Saturday my plan is to replace the glow plugs and install the new Smart box and deal with the batteries if I cant get the rear one to come back to life. Then I should be back up and running.

I also received the AS-3449 antenna and there is a lot included. They accepted my offer of $40 (might accept less). I got a radio mount, tons of cables, a plgr mount, the antenna, and some other stuff as I did not open all of the boxes last night. I talked to a local ham/military guy and he said it would mate up with the baofeng/rugged radios with no issues. Now I just need to find a patch cable to connect a baofeng/rugged radio to my VIC 3 intercom. I think this adapter will fit the handheld radios and then connect into the VIC 3, just need to do more research.