Chatting with a local about possible purchase of:
1985 K30 (military CUCV)
6.2L/TH400/NP208/D60/14B
24V

Body is decent and should fit my needs as a "work truck" (hauling mulch/dirt/waste around the house, hauling various automotive truck parts, and occassional tow of 4k# rig on tandem axle trailer)... maybe a few weekly trips to the "office" 10 miles away.

Seller was/has some issues with starting that he seems to have narrowed down to the starter and plans to have it rebuilt. I have no issues with the rest of the drivetrain (outside the engine), as it's all the heaviest stuff Chevy made.

Questions:
1) Any "gotchas" to look out for on the 6.2s? (I'm a Ford guy :o:)
2) What's involved converting to 12V... assume I'll need 12V for trailer brakes?
3) *Should* the 6.2L have any issues towing a 6k# trailer load? (not looking to win races or anything, just need something steady)
4) Heard the "military" engines were something special over the regular OEM engines? Any truth to that?

Only difference between military and civilian is the color of the paint and that military used some 24v stuff. If it runs good, buy it. I wouldn't invest much money keeping the 24v stuff going, just change over to 12v, not a big deal.:grd:

One other thing, a 6.2 will pull your 6000 load without a problem as long as you aren't in a hurry. It will do as well as any 350 gasser at the same rpm. The one ton trucks all came with 4.56 gears so top speed won't be very good. I preffer 4.10. Maybe some larger tires or:eek: :cool2:

You might want to check out www.roscommonequipmentcenter.com (http://www.roscommonequipmentcenter.com/) for the 24V to 12V conversion. I believe it is under "Projects" and then "Military Vehicle" on the website. They have an excellent set of work instructions on coverting these old Military trucks to 12V in .PDF format. There are actually 3 different options for converting to 12V and the instructions cover all of them. I have used these instructions on 3 different CUCV Blazer 12V coversions, including the one I use as a daily driver, and have had no problems at all. I hope this helps you out and good luck with your rig!

the 12volt conversion is pretty easy... but get the seller!! to start it when he has the starter rebuilt!!

On the other hand.... it is not required to run a 12v trailer. the CUCV only uses 24v for the starter, and glow plug system. All of the factory lighting is 12v.

Only difference that I know of between the civvy and mil engines was not relevant with the 1 tons. It was only noted in the Blazers, where the civvy had EGR, and the Mil didnt....

Thanks for the assistance so far gentlemen! I found the 12V conversion info & it appears the way to go (in this case).http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/images/smilies/beerchug.gif

[snip]came with 4.56 gears so top speed won't be very good. I preffer 4.10. Maybe some larger tires or:eek: That's what I was figuring and the seller confirmed that 65mph was a stretch... while I have no visions of grandure regarding acceleration, I *would* like to be able to pass the occasional slow traffic I manage to encounter (and not *BE* "the slow traffic" http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif). Regearing is out of the question, so... I believe it's currently running somwhere in the 265/275-75R16 range (32"tall) & the gear-tire charts recommend something closer to 35"-36" for turning fewer rpms http://www.4lo.com/calc/geartable.htm (http://www.4lo.com/calc/geartable.htm)
(assuming the 6.2L maxxing out rpm wise is the limitation on top speed?)

315/75/16 would be about 35 inches tall and would gear you up a bit. 4.56's are plenty stout for pulling but the engine is actually out of it's peak power range above 50-55 mph.The military has always liked low gears and they never drive their rigs fast in convoys either. The truck will do the job however.:rolleyes: