Posted by Paul Cook in Kempner, Texas [76.0.106.7] on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 at 19:52:27 :
In Reply to: lets see... posted by John Eickhof [69.92.98.35] on Monday, July 22, 2013 at 13:40:06 :
The mud truck was a 1970 W200. It was sold to a guy in North Texas. Then that guy sold the mud truck to another guy in Texas. The joke was on the last guy. He truly believed that guys he actually knew would have "come clean" and listed all the parts that had been removed - even if the mud event was not described.
Mud was still packed between the inner and outer bed walls. The tires and the spare each were a different size and were mounted on outdated split ring rims. Having searched unsuccessfully for a missing left side parking brake cable, it is understandable that the one on the mud truck would be missing. And who would have thought that the right frame rail would have been cut and folded out of the way for a header that still would not fit.
You might think the current owner of the mud truck would be upset. Not so. Once it was clear that parts had been stripped by students at the clown college instead of customers at a “pick and pull” yard, the W200 got a second look to see if it had any future as a serious parts truck.
Surprisingly, the truck showed no indication of accelerated rust. I guess a trip to a mud bath spa is good for old Dodges. The area between the bed walls was rust free. The most important rust issue for a ’61 - ’71 Dodge truck is the front cab mounts. The cab on the mud truck is rust free and the cab mounts are in great condition. After a little attention, the cab has very presentable sun visors, seat cushions and upholstery, and the inner door trip panels.
The mechanicals are pretty good. A carburetor rebuild gave us strong acceleration to a speed that didn’t seem to be smart for a truck with four different sized tires that had mismatched treads.
So the mud truck is still running. It is parked in front of the Kempner Power Wagon Museum between a 1947 WDX that has been in the parade at Fairfield and a 1958 W300M. Inside the Museum is a 2005 Power Wagon, a 1942 WC52, and a 1952 M37.
All-in-all, this has been an amusing experience (Okay, not so much at first.) My thanks to the guys who reminded me to follow the advice I give to other folks who are shopping for a truck. I shouldn’t expect that everyone will “come clean” if I don’t ask the right questions. On the plus side of final tally, I have a running, parts truck that is worth close to what I paid.
On the negative side, I now have two fellow Power Wagon collectors that, when we meet, I will always be tempted to hand each of them a bar of soap to remind them to “come clean” in all Power Wagon deals.