Help me pick my first 1st Gen truck!

[RumbleFish]

I'd do it. You could convert it, or use it for parts when you find a diesel rig.

[Rob_O]

This is my thinking: could get it very cheap, get a $100 shell for it and use it for camping as is. Then, in the long run drop a cummins engine in it and little by little fix whatever needs fixing. Is this totally off the wall?

Forget the engine swap, just drive it until you find the truck you want then sell it to the next guy that wants to go camping

[LJinLA]

What do you guys think of this deal? I'm posting it because, though initially very appealing and quite local to me, I don't think I'm gonna take advantage of it....maybe someone here wants it.......but I'd be very interested to know what you guys think of it.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/ct ... 54915.html

it's 92 Dodge W250 4WD Cummins, manual transmission (the Holy Grail!) with a bunch of stuff added and improvements made for only $5,000. Was ready to jump on it, then talked to owner, now not so sure... Main negative is that truck has 300K miles, or more precisely, odo stopped working at 300K miles. There are a few electrical problems, right door hinge needs to be fixed, AC leaks and needs fixing.

Price seems to be very firm at $5K.

Let me know what you think...

[dazedandconfused]

I would buy it. My truck is creeping up on 450,000 miles and runs great and doesn't leak or burn oil. My only leak is a PS pump.

[RumbleFish]

Id jump all over that. Don't be afraid of the miles. The gear vendors and kelderman suspension are appealing as well.

[Remps]

I'd buy it, that truck would fetch over $7000 easy around here.

[dazedandconfused]

It would pull 9-10k around here.

[Mark Nixon]

Meanwhile, I'm parting just as nice of ones out.
I can't sell a complete truck to save my soul.

Mark.

[LJinLA]

Tried contacting that guy again, left voice messages and email, but he never got back to me...probably sold.

[Mark Nixon]

Tried contacting that guy again, left voice messages and email, but he never got back to me...probably sold.

Dunno' what's hard about finding a decent truck in CA, I'm driven 3 out of there in the last 5 years.
None for more than 2k.

Mark.

[LJinLA]

Dunno' what's hard about finding a decent truck in CA, I'm driven 3 out of there in the last 5 years.
None for more than 2k.

Mark.

That's really great....perhaps you feel like sharing with me how you went about it? Obviously, you must be doing something I'm not.

[LJinLA]

How do you guys feel about buying a truck with a shot odometer?
I'm coming across several of those and I usually pass them....I was told by my insurance company that they will not insure a vehicle with a shot odometer because they price their policies based on the annual miles traveled and need to keep track of that.
Yet, a few sellers I've spoken to say that's no problem at all, that they have insured their trucks with shot odometers for years...
Besides the insurance issue, how does one go about regular maintenance with a shot odometer?
Is this something you would shy from or something you would go for?

[RCCUMMINS89]

I did............. and the ENTIRE truck fell apart. Except the engine and t case.......... those are next on the list.

No, as long as everything looks good......... it doesn't matter.

I've seen trucks completely shot at 100,000 miles and trucks like brand new at 300,000

[CumminsPower59]

As for a shot odometer, you could repair it, find a good used cluster, or just use GPS. My 91 has just about 200k on it, nothing worked when I got it, so I used GPS on my phone for speedometer and odometer. Worked good until I tore the truck apart for rebuild

[RCCUMMINS89]

Yep........... one can put a gps in the dash to replace the lights......and still utilize the Cummins Diesel thingy ma jig.

That's how I have mine......which is my speedo/odom