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Some more questions from a rookie
- Thread starter tommi3520
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Glad you took it like a man. No worries Tom! Try this, email m35a2usa@aol.com Thats RAM and he's in Barton VT. He kight have some or know where some are in the NE closer to you.
I´ve been contacting www.samskip.is that export trucks from the U.S. to Iceland, and the guy there wanted to know the Width of the m880 (and maybe m882) and here: http://www.kansasforests.org/fire/fepp/m880.shtml i see its 79½" and his question was:
don't think I have any problem with the height, it's the width i'm worried about. I have 84 workable inches in width so I need to know if the 79 1/2 includes from mirror to mirror or I need the width when the mirrors are folded if they can be.
How can i answer this question?, Does the 79½" include both mirrors or not?
if not, is it a problem to take them off while shipping the truck oversea?
TB
don't think I have any problem with the height, it's the width i'm worried about. I have 84 workable inches in width so I need to know if the 79 1/2 includes from mirror to mirror or I need the width when the mirrors are folded if they can be.
How can i answer this question?, Does the 79½" include both mirrors or not?
if not, is it a problem to take them off while shipping the truck oversea?
TB
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That 79 1/2 width appears to be with mirrors folded in. I measured one of my trucks by myself, so I couldn't get exact.
RysBlendOfChaos
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Hey all, I am new to steelsoldiers. I actually bought this truck http://www.alfaheaven.com/Military Section/M880s/M880Pages/MD46.html that you guys were talking about before. My father picked up the red ortonville fire dept. truck as well, paying 7000 for it while I payed 5000 for this truck. Yes the rear bumper is slightly bent and it has minor problems... but it runs stong and the body and frame are pretty much immaculate. The tires do not rub at all except on the steering linkage when turning right, but this isnt a big problem. Tom from alfa heaven was a fantastic no bull kinda guy. Me and my father drove these trucks home from Wisconsin to a town called St. Catharines Ontario (near niagara falls) almost 800 miles through a freak october snowstorm and they were fantastic. There was no problem importing these trucks into canada. Maybe we could have gotten a slightly better deal, but to try and find trucks in this condition or to restore them like these would have taken time and money anyways. All in all I am very happy with the truck. Just need to work on fuel economy!
RysBlendOfChaos
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I estimate fuel consumption to be about 10-12 mpg. There are a number of modifications I plan on doing to help that out a bit. Very small amounts of acetone help boost the milage and noticably smooth out the truck. The yellow truck was in really great shape as well. It has one lifter ticking slightly which is why it is less than the red truck. The body on the yellow truck and red truck were about the same(excellent, rust free), but the yellow one had a hand brushed paint job and some holes drilled in the bed where some sort of cover was attached. Many of these trucks including the one I have and the one my father has show some blue smoke on startup but it quickly dissapears, which indicate that the valve seals have dried up from lack of use. Not a difficult fix. These are great in the snow, mud, and sand... as personally tested. 
Can you explain what lifter ticking means, im not so good at english, but i little bit of explain would help. How do u fix the valve seals ?RysBlendOfChaos said:I estimate fuel consumption to be about 10-12 mpg. There are a number of modifications I plan on doing to help that out a bit. Very small amounts of acetone help boost the milage and noticably smooth out the truck. The yellow truck was in really great shape as well. It has one lifter ticking slightly which is why it is less than the red truck. The body on the yellow truck and red truck were about the same(excellent, rust free), but the yellow one had a hand brushed paint job and some holes drilled in the bed where some sort of cover was attached. Many of these trucks including the one I have and the one my father has show some blue smoke on startup but it quickly dissapears, which indicate that the valve seals have dried up from lack of use. Not a difficult fix. These are great in the snow, mud, and sand... as personally tested.
And i would say that a good seller would write that down (this ticking) for the description of the truck
Tomas
p.s. do you have some pictures of the other trucks or som more info left when u were checkin them all out?
RysBlendOfChaos
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The valve lifters ride up and down against the cam shaft... sometimes there is a little gap between the lifter and one cam lobe. Usually the problem is simply a hydraulic lifter hasnt been getting enough oil to it. It USUALLY isnt a serious problem. Tom from alfa heaven was an honest to goodness guy telling us in detail the minor problems the trucks had over the phone and in detail when we went down there. I don't have any more pictures of the other trucks, only the two we bought. Valve seals are fixed by taking off the valve covers and springs. Its simple for a mechanic to do, but can be done at home if you have an air compressor and some guidance. Nothing to make or break a sale. That is about all I can tell you about the other trucks. Toms shop is clean and there were several trucks in the restoration process that all of his trucks go through. It looks like he takes pride in his work and does a very detailed job which may explain some of the problems people have with his prices.
N1265
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I am glad to hear you guys are happy with your trucks..... Enjoy!
Thanks for you answer!, How heavy with top load and everything is your truck registered? is it over 3,5 tons?RysBlendOfChaos said:
and another question, in the truck u bought was there any service manual that tells you if the truck has been regularly taken care of, oil in tranny and motor and such, oil and air filters replaced, stuff like that?
TB
Elwenil
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In my experience, 9 times out of 10, a "lifter tick" in a Mopar small block is actually a burnt exhaust valve not seating properly. Still not a critical item, but much more expensive to fix than just a set of lifters. My advice is keep running it and ignore the tick. They will run for thousands and thousands of miles without getting worse. When you get a backfire or bad miss that can't be taken care of from the electrical side, or a loss of power it's time to do a compression check and leak down test as it may be time to take care of the valve issues.
RysBlendOfChaos
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There was no service manual, however these were ex government trucks and as such had to be serviced on a regular basis. Mine is ex-military with the blackout lights and my fathers belonged to a fire station. The truck has a plate inside that says it weighs 4750lbs. Im not sure if this is what you meant, but that is all I know.
N1265
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the rear should be a Dana 60
tractorfix
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I have always gone by this rule. If there is a bigger engine that will bolt in, don't waste your money messing with a small one. A 360 (from a truck) will bolt right in. All you need is to weld the little balance weight onto the 318 torque convertor. Mopar Performances sells a kit for this for peanuts. If you get a 360 from a car, its a little more complicated, but there is tons of info on this swap on the net. With your 4.10's, and the 360's torque, you will have a winning combo. I would not reccomend a big block for what you want to do. I think a stock 2 bbl 360 is best for you. Use dual exhaust, and a carb from late 60's 383 2 bbl. , or do what I am doing, find a 88-93 ram with a cummins in it.
Yeah its good to know that a 360 is a bolt in swap. I find numbers of fuel economy way to high for the 318ci on orginal tires driving on concrete!! But thay are told to be very dependable and with little bit of tuning it could be alright i hope. But arent the 360 economy numbers much higer than the 318?tractorfix said:
I wont be having smaller tires than a 36". and i will add headers right away.
But - i dont really know wich one i would like better, the 318 or 360, but ill probably start with a 318 but if im not happy with the hp and torque, how much cash is reasonable to spend on the 318 to get more power out of it before actually buying a 360 is a hard question.
RysBlendOfChaos
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Im in the same boat as you guys... not alot of cash to spare at the moment so the cummins swap may be more than I can manage. Luckily my dad has the same truck and just added a new cam, edelbrock intake and carb, headers and dual exhaust. The carb is just jimmy-rigged up with a coat hanger right now, so the secondaries wont kick in. Once he gets that worked out he plans on dyno-ing the combo. Ill let you guys know what the numbers are. It sure sounds really nice. That might help me decide if im going 318 or 360. As a side note... during the upgrade we noticed that the timing chain was reallllly sloppy. I changed mine as well after seeing how bad it was and it made quite a difference. If anyone has a stock 318 with a few miles on it you might wanna take a look and get yourself a double roller.