Road trip this week......

[BobT-47P15]

Will be leaving the house about 6 a.m. tomorrow (Mon) - going first to the

Tulsa, OK airport, then on to the Orange County (John Wayne) Airport near

Irvine, CA. Going with a good friend who has made a purchase on ebay of

a 1986 military Chevy Blazer.

The seller has agreed to bring the Blazer to the airport from wherever he

lives, about 25 miles away. My friend will then personally inspect the

vehicle, and assuming he finds it satisfactory, will pay for it. It looks real

good in the numerous pics provided - there have been several things done

to it to bring it up to good condition, including nearly new tires.

Then, the fun begins -- with a cross country trip of about 1500 miles

back home. Plan to spend Monday night with Mary Ann's sister and

husband in Scottsdale, AZ. Have no idea where we will stay the

following couple nights. Will drive till we get to somewhere at the end

of the day. Part of the trip will be on I40 thru New Mexico, Texas and

into Oklahoma. Will eventually end up on I44, going back thru Tulsa to

pick up his truck we will leave at the airport. About 100 more miles on

home from Tulsa.

Probably get home sometime Thursday.....barring any major problems.

[moparbenny]

have fun!

[michael.warshaw]

bring a flash light good luck .

[aero3113]

Bob do you have any pics of the truck?

[BobT-47P15]

Aero, there were pics in the ebay ad......it's done in a solid color desert tan with

light tan color seat covers. Still has some of the military equipment attachments on it.

I can't at the moment find my item number to

bring it back up.

I'm no expert. My friend spent several years in the military, so he knows all about it.

He's bought a ton of stuff along on ebay to refurbish it to what it would have been in

active duty days. It's his "antique car" equivalent.

[baldbusdriver]

when taking the 40 through arizona, be wary of a town called holbrook. every time i go through there something happens. 2 flat tires at same time, alt failure, battery failure, road debris kick through windshield and dash,( was big hunk o' metal). all of this happened on different trips through there. not saying its a bad place really, it just seems to be my kryptonite.

just remember to have fun and enjoy the view while it lasts, once out of az it get kinda boringish.

[Normspeed]

Have a great trip. On !-40 you'll be passing quite a ways north of me. If you were on the southern route (I-10) you'd pass right through my town.

[james curl]

When you get to Shamrock, Texas get off of I-40 and drive in to US 66 and check out the restored art deco service station with cafe on the corner where you come to 66. I have stayed at almost all of the old 40's motels there on 66 which use to be the main street in town.

[1940plymouth]

Bob, I hope you and your friend have a safe trip, take lots of photos of the countryside please

[Plymouthy Adams]

Party at Bob's house..!! anyone looking for spare parts...?

[greg g]

Get ready to crank in about 10 to 15 degrees of right steering in order to drive straight. If I remember correctly the wind blows from the southwest at about 30 MPH all day long for much of I 40 and wants to blow you into the midium. With a tall vehicle some seasick pills might be god to have.

[Dennis Hemingway]

Sorry I didn't see this till Monday afternoon. I would of given you my cell number and we could of met up at the I15/I40 split.

Dennis:(

[Don Coatney]

Sounds like way too much work for retirment. You gotta take a rest stop along the way...

[Don Coatney]

Bob just called me. He is alive and well in Scotsdale, Arizona. He said the truck is running well and they have had no problems. This message is sent from my Hotel room in New Jersey where I can see the New York skyline from my Hotel window. Two more days here and I fly to Houston, Texas for two weeks.

[BobT-47P15]

Trip Update.... writing this from a motel in El Reno, OK......Thursday night about 9:20 pm.

Next big town is Oklahoma City, then to Tulsa. Have to pick up his pickup at the

Tulsa airport, then a caravan of two the last 100 miles back to Joplin.

Began our day in Gallup, New Mexico. Got up early today, drove down old Rt 66

(on which our motel just happened to be) for 6 or 7 miles, saw some of the town,

then hit the road. Ate lunch in Santa Rosa, N M - at the Rt 66 Cafe - then went

down the street and toured the Rt 66 auto museum. Some nice cars there. Will

have some pics later.

The 1986 Chevy retired military blazer my friend bought has performed really well.

Has a nice rattly diesel engine, but the sound calms down when cruising at 70 or

so mph. Early on, we took it to a Wal Mart store in CA and had the tires balanced...

that sure made a difference in the ride. He has many, many parts for this vehicle -

now he has something to put them on. He plans to use it for parades and shows once

fixed up to his satisfaction.

We saw signs for several attractions and places but unfortunately not enough time to get to them.

I think we're just about tired of driving for now.....be glad to get back home.

Thanks for all the wishes and comments.

[Norm's Coupe]

Sounds like you are having a little too much fun on that trip, with those museums, etc. Guess that's one nice thing about being retired. You don't have to rush home, you can take your time and take in a few extra sights as you run across them.

[BobT-47P15]

Well, the trip was a success. Got back to Joplin a bit after 11 am today (Thursday).

The Blazer ran great, got around 16 m p g, would run along smoothly at

70 to 75 mph. I suspect some drivers were surprised at being passed by

an old military vehicle flying down the interstate. Now he can get busy

with the needed improvements and additions he wants to make.

The seller had gotten a "One Trip Permit" from the D M V for the vehicle, which

of course, had no license plates otherwise. We got stopped once - by a CA

trooper who noticed the lack of tags....at night. We showed him I D and pointed out the

Permit affixed to the windshield, and he said "OK, then have a safe trip".

Edited November 5, 2009 by BobT-47P15

[Young Ed]

Bob I'd bet most people you passed didnt even realize that was a military vehicle.

[1940plymouth]

Glad you are home safe and sound and had a good time. Looking forward to some photos

[Dennis Hemingway]

Bob, That is a Truck, Utility, 3/4 ton, 4x4 M-1009.

The M-1009 is a Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle (CUCV pronounced "cuck-vee"), a military modified Chevrolet/General Motors Model K10516 Blazer with a 3/4 ton rating. The CUCVs were an attempt by the U.S. military to use COTS (commercial, off-the-shelf) vehicles with minor modification in non-combat roles. This effort to save money was not very successful and eventually all CUCV units where replaced by HMMWVs.

The M1009 was produced for the U.S. military from 1983 to 1986. The M1009 differs from the civilian Blazer in that it has a heavier spring in the suspenstion and has no air conditioning. The electical system is a hybrid 12/24 volt, with most of the truck running on GMC standard 12 volt electrics, but the glow plugs, the starter, and the military slave cable jack are at 24 volts. The M1009 has a pair of 12v alternators and batteries wired in series to supply the 24 volt circuit. The glow plugs are standard 12 volt plus wired through a bank of resistors to run properly on the 24 volt side.

Dennis

[BobT-47P15]

Dennis, I think that's what my friend pretty much said about it.

He was in the active military for 4 years, serving a stint in Viet Nam,

then a National Guard recruiter for 16 more years. He can cite many

facts about the vehicle and it's related equipment.....I just listen and

ask questions as I was never in the service. He has a whole pile of

items purchased thru ebay to install on the vehicle.

He has at home another military blazer with no engine, plus a civilian Blazer

of the same vintage. So there are some possible parts he might need just

sitting there waiting.

We covered about 1500 miles from CA back to MO, saw a lot of interesting

scenery - even ate lunch with my wife's sister and family in Scottsdale on

Tuesday. Not enough time for some sight seeing side trips that would have

been nice, but I had never been to most of the places we went thru.....so that

was a treat nonetheless.

[Dennis Hemingway]

Like I said, too bad that I didn't see your post before you left, as you passed within 5 miles of my place. (where the I15 & I40 Split)

Dennis:(

[BobT-47P15]

Wow, Dennis. Sure sorry we didn't get to converse before the trip.

Would have been nice to get to say "howdy" in person.

[BobT-47P15]

Bob I'd bet most people you passed didnt even realize that was a military vehicle.

Probably right Ed. Likely only a few who had been in the service would

notice what it was. Most probably just thought it was an old truck with

a crummy, dull paint job.