GM 1985 M1028 CUCV value (1 Viewer)

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Scottsdale, AZ
Can anybody school me on this truck? I know the basics, 6.2 diesel, 4x4, etc. What I’m having a hard time finding is a value post base lining and maintenance. It seems the brush/utility box combo is pretty rare. The truck is a 1985 and hasn’t run or moved for the better part of 2 decades. It has 33k original miles. Based on the fact that it has a rear locker and limited slip front diff, I think it would make someone a super cool camping/bugout truck. It was picked up after military service by either a fire department or forest service, as it has fire equipment in the back.
Essentially I’m just looking to get a value of it running and driving to see if it’s worth investing in to flip.
Sorry for the lousy pics, it’s crammed in the back of lot that is being liquidated by the owners family. Arizona truck with no rust. I know it’s hard to tell, but it’s really straight and dry. Obviously painted white at some point which is peeling off the utility box in places. Otherwise, no real damage or issues.

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There is probably a pretty limited amount of folks who would want to use it as-is. I think a regular pickup bed would be more desirable to most. They're not well suited to freeway speeds with a 6.2, TH400 and the low gears. I believe those are geared 4.56, some (ambulances for example) have a limited slip up front and all have a locker in the rear 14 bolt. The axles might bring $1500 as a guess, but being a dually they're not as valuable as SRW parts because most end users will need to change the hubs. The bed may be worth something too. Maybe $3k for the whole truck? (Running and driving). The 33k miles may not mean much if it spent them at redline to hold 65 mph. It probably has a lot of idle time as well.
 
There is probably a pretty limited amount of folks who would want to use it as-is. I think a regular pickup bed would be more desirable to most. They're not well suited to freeway speeds with a 6.2, TH400 and the low gears. I believe those are geared 4.56, some (ambulances for example) have a limited slip up front and all have a locker in the rear 14 bolt. The axles might bring $1500 as a guess, but being a dually they're not as valuable as SRW parts because most end users will need to change the hubs. The bed may be worth something too. Maybe $3k for the whole truck? (Running and driving). The 33k miles may not mean much if it spent them at redline to hold 65 mph. It probably has a lot of idle time as well.
Ya they’re definitely slow. The rear is a Dana 70 with a locker and the front is a limited slip Dana 60. At least from what my dually research shows.
 
If it's truly a CUCV, their value is low because they are so hard to obtain parts.

There is sometimes a lot of work to make them road legal in a given state. If it has a clean title, it would make a difference.

I know of a few guys that bought one thinking it was so cool an super HD, but ran into massive roadblocks to get it legally on the road.

Brakes are larger than civilian versions and many parts are CUCV specific, even the multi-fuel engine.
 
I'll throw my 2 cents in here. Just like MUD is the mecca for all land cruiser things, recommend you go on over to Steelsoldiers.com if your serious. That is the equivalent of MUD for all things military vehicle related (I myself have a deuce and a 5 ton). The M1028 isn't as common as the normal M1008 with the truck bed or M1009 with the cargo area/rear seats, but there is still some CUCVs appearing from govt surplus time to time. The 6.2 engine is actually fairly similar (with some differences) to the early generation of HMMWVs, which are still being surplussed out by a good amount. Your also lucky enough to be close to a gigantic junkyard for military vehicles located in Tucson, Jacks Govt Surplus.
Price is all subjective for these vehicles, I'd say without knowing much, you looking around 1k-1.5k. Prob a resell value if you put some time and love (aka a fair amount of work), you'd prob be looking in the 5k to maybe 6k. Do you know any history besides it being a fire dept vehicle? Because after the trucks are done in service with the military, any civilian agency can apply for them through an acquisitions program. This is where things get interesting since maintiance isn't exactly a top priority, most LEO agencies and the like change the oil and start it up until it is done for. The mechanic that works on them is some guy in the dept that enjoys working on vehicles but most likely didn't have access to the military manuals that were developed for the vehicle (Steel Soldiers has the entire library for them and were made for a PFC to read).
Hope this helps.
 
I'll throw my 2 cents in here. Just like MUD is the mecca for all land cruiser things, recommend you go on over to Steelsoldiers.com if your serious. That is the equivalent of MUD for all things military vehicle related (I myself have a deuce and a 5 ton). The M1028 isn't as common as the normal M1008 with the truck bed or M1009 with the cargo area/rear seats, but there is still some CUCVs appearing from govt surplus time to time. The 6.2 engine is actually fairly similar (with some differences) to the early generation of HMMWVs, which are still being surplussed out by a good amount. Your also lucky enough to be close to a gigantic junkyard for military vehicles located in Tucson, Jacks Govt Surplus.
Price is all subjective for these vehicles, I'd say without knowing much, you looking around 1k-1.5k. Prob a resell value if you put some time and love (aka a fair amount of work), you'd prob be looking in the 5k to maybe 6k. Do you know any history besides it being a fire dept vehicle? Because after the trucks are done in service with the military, any civilian agency can apply for them through an acquisitions program. This is where things get interesting since maintiance isn't exactly a top priority, most LEO agencies and the like change the oil and start it up until it is done for. The mechanic that works on them is some guy in the dept that enjoys working on vehicles but most likely didn't have access to the military manuals that were developed for the vehicle (Steel Soldiers has the entire library for them and were made for a PFC to read).
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the insight. The owner ghosted me and I just figured it wasn’t meant to be. Looking back, it probably needed too much and there was too much uncertainty to have a decent profit margin on a flip.
 
That's the real truth for any military vehicle (MV). Not really a profit to be made from them since it's like any muscle car restoration, you put much more into it to make it look real nice to only lose money. There is a reason that if you think keeping up the maintiance on an cruiser is daunting, try owning a MV. They had all sorts of inspections performed on a regular basis when in service and everything is 3x bigger (meaning heavy as all hell). Trust me, you buy a MV to keep, not flip.
 
I was looking at one the other day , guy put a lot of replacement parts , its pretty clean , but far from stock , someone added gauges and bunch of other crap , was trying to get 20k which was a joke , down to 13k and still too high , I told him if it was a really nice shape max I could go would be 10k for one with 50k on the M1008 .
I think there more of a novelty truck , some guys use them for everyday use , they are limited to 55MPH with the 4.56 gears , SRW axle is a 14bolt corp standard rear axle , M1028 dually you do get the dana 70 .
I’m shopping for a tow vehicle / beater truck and did consider M1008 but for the price rather throw in a extra couple bucks and get a regular truck .
That truck in my world maybe 5k is it runs and drives might not be a bad price , just like that picture 3500
 

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