Military Vehicle Repair: 6.2 cylinder head repair, cylinder head repair, chevy diesel

Question
I have an `82 chevy diesel truck.  I am in the process of looking for another motor.  I thought about rebuilding until the machinist told me that rebuilding my cylinder heads would cost over $300 apiece.  If I remember correctly, there were 5 or 6 out the eight with those cracks between the valves.  Do you think I could get this done any cheaper than that?  I`m thinking about finding a military 6.2 for a rebuild project.  Any thoughts or tips to share about using the military motor?

Answer
Repairing those cylinder heads is expensive.  And the cracks are very common.  You might find the repair for less, but you will probably get a poor quality job.  There is an alternative, however.  Check your local military installation for a surplus property sale.  The old CUCV's had the GM 6.2 liter and the newer HMMWV's have a Detroit Diesel 6.2L.  The latest version of the HMMWV, by the way, has a 6.5L.  Some of the CUCV's are still turning up at the surplus sales, and you can also find the engines on a pallet from time to time.  Often the engine will sell for 50-300 dollars, the entire truck for 1000 or so.  About the same for the HMMWV's.  More info on the sales, and how to register for them is available at http://www.drms.dla.mil/newsales/html/drms_property.html#propertysearch