Re: I have a run-down truck but should I keep it?


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Posted by Henry Jacobs on September 13, 1998 at 15:41:12:

In Reply to: I have a run-down truck but should I keep it? posted by Matt on September 10, 1998 at 17:14:23:

Matt,

If I understand you correctly, your truck (W200, WM300, ???) has nor brakes, a troubled clutch, a bad radiator, body panels falling off, lots of rust, and a busted headlight. I must say that, unless you have ready access to a good source of cheap used parts and can do all of the work yourself, you are very unlikely to get this truck on the road for $1000. Don't get me wrong, it's not impossible, just very unlikely. I got my truck ('56 C-4PW) with with an OK engine, no brake master, the wrong clutch installed, new glass not installed yet, but with an excellent body. To date, I have spent about $2500 on parts, a few specific tools, and a little bit of machine shop work. You must consider the cost of work that you cannot reasonably do yourself such as brake turning, glass mounting, clutch rebuilding, engine machine work, etc. In addition, no one who has not worked on Dodges before is likely to have all of the proper tools, like a hub nut wrench.

You should also consider the value of what you are working on. A W200 with a bad body is not worth as much as a WM300 in the same condition. It is easy to spend $1000 to buy it, $2000 to fix it, and end up with $2000 worth of truck and skinned knuckles besides. Another thing, there are ALWAYS surprises in this business. The easiest fixes have a way of turning into the worst nightmares. Ever snap off a crank bolt? I have. Find a hairline crack in an otherwise good engine head? Been there too. The point is, you are likely to find a few other things than you know about now and you will need to deal with those things as well as the ones you do know about. The number of these little surprises will be in proportion to the starting condition of the truck. Yours sounds to be in poor condition. Go figure.

Having said all of this, you do have access to all of the nice folks here on the Forum. While this won't save you much money, you will at least have a cyber shoulder to cry on. Good luck!

HLJ


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