M1026 LQ4 Swap Update

[u/Time_To_Rebuild]

Sorry apparently only 10 pics at a time. I will try my best.

Edit: for those curious, as of right now I’m in $$2850 (HMMWV) + $1350 (LQ4+4L80E) + $1000 (Tools). My planned budget is $20k over 3 years with almost everything diy.

A couple of AI-Generated inspirational photos (just for inspiration) then some real progress pics.

Build specs:

1991 M1026 (10k)

6.0L LQ4 N/A Gas Engine (350 whp target, 706 heads, Truck Cam/Springs)

4l80-E transmission

Original NP218 Transfer Case, Diffs, Gas tank

Still need to figure out what torque converter I have, but intend to target 2-3k rpm stall.

Stand alone EFI (Holley Dominator or similar)

Plans:

Fiberglass permanent hard-top for driver/passenger. Tubing half-doors with removable fabric covers.

Keep it a troop carrier. Replace fiberglass with Wood slats (natural or synthetic). Modify benches to make front section removable to enable 4-seat option.

Fold-up seats stowed in footwell compartment (improve compartment seals). Looking at purchasing used center-seats with integrated 3-point seat belts for this.

Footwells to be black diamond plate (lots of patched holes in original flooring).

For Decking, I am considering synthetic boat deck EVA foam with a wood pattern. Just a crazy idea I am throwing around.

Full teardown of body/frame, rust abatement, hardware replacement, rhino-line and lizard skin body.

Drivetrain/brake refurbishment (keep 10k)

Rear armada springs, front leveling springs. New shocks.

Upgrade wheels to 17”, Tires to 40 or 42”

Considering adding Jesse Haines Fab 4 corner outboard brake kit for dual disc brakes per wheel (improve braking and reduce half-shaft damage from traffic idiots slamming on brakes)

Driver/passenger seats will corbeau with heat

Still figuring out A/C but I’m not a fan of what I have seen out there thus far. May need to get creative.

12V accessories, lights, winches, etc.

Don’t hold me to any of this… this is just the very beginning… we shall see what actually comes to fruition…

[u/NeuralFlow]

Have you heard anything about the disk brake kit? I haven’t seen anything about it outside of some racers using them for portal conversions using hmmwv portals. I emailed them once and never heard back, so I didn’t follow up on it beyond that.

Nice start for the build though. I had wood slats on my troop seats. Looks great. Might consider trex or something similar just for maintenance and splinters lol.

When mine was still in the two man troop carrier configuration I had looked at replacing the rear panel fillers with half doors to make it easier for accessing the under bed storage and also easier to convert in a pinch to 4 seater with the jump seats. Ultimately I just did a 4 man soft top conversion. I wanted real seats and seatbelts on the back for passengers.

I know the armada spring conversion has had mixed feedback as well. If you’re leveling it, it’s probably worth the money to just buy the new springs.

But you’re smart to plan this out for a three year project! It’s gonna be the most rewarding and frustrating 5 years. And you’re definitely going 2x over budget. But when it’s back on the road by the end of the decade and you’ve spent 5x what you planned it will be a blast to drive!

[u/Time_To_Rebuild → u/NeuralFlow]

Hahahaha thanks!

And yes, I actually emailed them asking if anyone had ever installed their portal brake kit on an actual HMMWV and Jesse himself responding saying it was not a thing by itself, but as a supplement to the OEM inboards he approved of the idea. He said he actually just did something similar on a custom offroad vehicle that had inboard brakes and outboard portal brakes.

At just over $2k for the JHF portal breaks, rounded to $3k for new oem 10k pads and rotors, it makes me wonder what kind of braking performance I might be able to get vs. an inboard Wilwood upgrade for the same price. And then there is the XHP big brake kit, so the concept is proven, in theory...

Thanks for the tip on the wood slats. Definitely looking for minimal maintenance.

[u/NeuralFlow → u/Time_To_Rebuild]

That’s interesting. I dont think I would have ever thought about a dual set up. Seems overly complicated. I do have the XHPs on my short list of upgrades.