cucv/waggy budget build 6.2 dsl

[thechier86]

Hey folks, I've been around here for a while, and have had a several jeeps, 3 of them being grand wagoneers. So I have another one now, with a blown head gasket, and I couldn't bring myself to invest time and money into an inefficient motor with over 200k on the odometer.
So today I bought a 1985 military m1008 cucv pickup truck, minus the body, with 48k miles, for $1k.
It comes with the axles, driveshafts, transfer case, transmission, and a 6.2 diesel, radiator, hydroboost, wiring harness, you name it. Everything but the body.
My goal is to put everything into my waggy, and do an soa and shackle flip to clear 35's or 37's.
This weekend I'm going to bring the waggy to my house from my grandfather's house, and start working to remove the front sheet metal to give meself some room to work.
Next week I'll try to get the cucv home, and start removing the amc stuff from the waggy. I'd like to have the 6.2 stuff ready to go in by the end of the year, and maybe have the motor mounts welded up and ready to hold my motor by February. I'd like to take a road trip in a diesel wagoneer during the summer of 2015, even if I haven't gotten around to the axle swap and lift, which will happen at one time.
Any tips or suggestions are appreciated, since this will be my first diesel swap. I'd like to run it on used oil at some point, but that's way down the list with nice paint and window tint. ..
Anyway, I'll post some pics of the jeep on a trailer when I get there this weekend.
Happy thanksgiving!

EDIT: spoiler alert, the donor ends up being an m1009 blazer with 10 bolt axles

[surfwagoneer]

awesome score. Wish I could find a deal like that around here. I could really use a set of CUCV axles!

[DieselSJ]

Yeah, he got a wicked good deal on that. The axles alone are worth more than what he paid.

[thechier86]

Yeah, I was thinking that since I got my parts so cheap I really could call it a "budget" build.
I'm hoping to get the thing built for just shy of 3 grand. I figured the wheels and tires would be the most expensive part...
I found some bias-ply military 37's for $200, but they're for 16.5 rims, m and I figured they'd ride like carp, and not flex very well on the trail...

[thechier86]

Welp, I got the waggy home today 😀, and I should be able to pick up the donor truck in the next couple of weeks. I had a minor setback with my 6.5td tow pig, but MacGyver'd a quick fix with a brass compression sleeve, and pulled the thing 220 miles back home without a problem. Maybe that's a sign that the gm-based diesel swap will be a somewhat flexible and easy way go as an upgrade over the stock amc stuff without breaking the bank.

[thechier86]

Well, this just turned into a half-ton waggy build.
It turns out that my cucv was a 1009 MP blazer with 10 bolt axles instead of tons.
But, I still got my whole drivetrain for a grand.
Would chevy 10 bolt axles be any better than my 44's? The rear still has a locker...
I did get the front sheet metal off my jeep today and the stock drivetrain unbolted and the wiring harness and hoses out of the way. Just gotta borrow an engine hoist and I'll be in biznass

[thechier86]

Pics:



I am a little bummed about the axles, but I got a low mileage engine, trans, and tcase so I'm not too mad...

[DieselSJ]

Well, this just turned into a half-ton waggy build.
It turns out that my cucv was a 1009 MP blazer with 10 bolt axles instead of tons.
But, I still got my whole drivetrain for a grand.
Would chevy 10 bolt axles be any better than my 44's? The rear still has a locker...
I did get the front sheet metal off my jeep today and the stock drivetrain unbolted and the wiring harness and hoses out of the way. Just gotta borrow an engine hoist and I'll be in biznass

Dang. 10 bolts with 3.08's. IIRC they were still rated at 3/4 ton. Not sure that I'd swap those in place of your 44's though.

[thechier86]

It looks like the 10 bolt axles are a tad weaker, but the front is passenger drop, so I might have to use them anyway, at least until I find some better axles or a driver drop tcase.
The higher gears will save me some money on the front end, allowing me to use 33" or 35" tires instead of the 37's or 39.5's I was planning on.
I'm just a little bummed that I can't go as big as I wanted to, but originally I was just looking for a motor to replace my tired 360 with blown head gaskets. I got that and then some, with low mileage and if nothing else some extra steel to scrap.

[Fleg]

I had a 1009, that thing couldn't get out of it's own way. MPG was decent, fairly reliable, power was non existant. Look into the banks sidewinder kit.

[joe]

No kidding 3.08's in a cucv? Only cucv's I've test driven were crazy low geared, 4.88's I think? Yeah a 6.2 or any dsl and 3.08's is going to be a serious slug. You're going to want to get down into the 3.90/4.10 range. With a 6.2 auto trans I'd go with 4.10's or 4.27's. or even lower if running huge tires. I've got an 83 c-20 6.2/th400/4.10's w/33's and it does fine with traffic and lt-med towing. Nope it's not fast but works well.

[thechier86]

Yeah, I'd probably run the 3.08's for a little while until I found some one tons, or just gear the 10 bolt stuff. Right now I need to figure out how I'm gonna set up the steering more than anything else.

[Tatsadasayago]

...

[thechier86]

Ok, so to change the subject from shiddy gear ratios back to my diesel swap, does anybody know what little things I'll need to change on this military engine to make it play well with my jeep's 12 volt electrical system? I figure changing to a single cs144 alternator couldn't hurt, but I'm curious about the solenoids on the injection pump, and the glow plug stuff, and the starter. The engine has a new starter on it, but is that specifically a 24 volt thing that will have to be replaced? I also realize that a second battery will be needed, but for now I have one pretty strong optima that needs a home.
How do I go about getting this stuff to work?
Did I miss anything else?
Thanks guys, the nuts and bolts and fabrication stuff I have under control, but electrical is still a learning experience lol.

[joe]

I'm no electrickery expert either but can't conceivably see where 24v glow plugs would work with 12v. Those puppies need current to do their job. I would plan on swapping to 12v civi plugs and controller. I'd consider swapping the glow plug idiot light also or work on your one mississippi, two mississippi counting skills. On GM/Ford/MB the dsl's Ive had/have without the stock light I've found with the right pedal input 6 misssissippi's is usually good enough for getting'em lit. You'll eventually figure out your throttle opening, glow plug activation time depending on weather. And YES I do recommend ounce installed in your wag installing a dual 12v battery set up. The correct 12v civi starter(yup expensive) takes some serious juice to roll the 6.2 dsl over even on a warm day. Since you've already sprung for a donor rig, you're pretty much at the "in for a penny in for a pound" stage of the game. This not the time to start saving pennies on budget saving work arounds. Once you jumped into dsl swap chit pit...you're in it and complaining about cost depths looking for a cheap string to pull you out is a waste of energy. Correctly do whatever is needed and you'll get there.