Advice needed before buying truck

[AndrewKing]

Hi All,

I am looking to buy a 1981 International 1854 Med duty truck And am looking for helpful input before I make a decision on this truck (will be my first "big" truck so all will be kinda new to me here).



The truck has a DT 466 Engine and 5 sp trans (single speed rear), the tires are like new, and has a 16 foot flatbed dump... . The owner claims the engine was rebuilt a year and a half ago and the truck had not been used for the last year or so (it was last inspected 5 years ago and has been a farm use vehicle ever since with occasional road trips)... . The truck looks to be in good condition but unfortunately I cannot hear it run or drive it since the owner says the waterpump needs to be replaced and he has the fan and belts off of it (also needs a battery)... . Owner also claims the trans was rebuilt and the clutch /brakes are ok)..... Mileage is unknown since speedo doesn't work... . 25,600 GVW, Hyd brakes.



My questions are:

Any Idea on what I should offer for this being that I can't hear it run? Any idea where I can buy a tilt hood for this (the hood is missing one fender and the area where the headlight is (was) is busted... . fiberglass got damaged when his helper hit something with it)... . I have heard that the dt 466 are good engines but is there anything bad that I should know about them? I plan on using the truck for logging and may even pull a trailer to take more wood per trip (Don't want to carry it all on the truck because of the relatively low GVW... . Any Idea what weight this thing can tow?) ... .



Thanks for any and all advice / answers.



Andrew

 

[NIsaacs]

Andrew, IHC makes good equipment, including the S model 1800 series trucks. The DT466 is also good stuff. However the straight 5-spd is not a good thing. I would go ahead and start the engine w/o the water pump, it won't hurt anything for a few seconds even w/o water. The S-series IHC is a popular model so the hood should not be hard to find. The general rule of thumb for GCW is double the GVW. If the price is right, it might be a good start for you even with just the 5-spd. It will work ok, just not as good as say, a 10 spd. Most logging roads are/can be very steep so an exhaust brake is very good insurance.





"NICK"

 

[BNeathery]

Andrew,

Sounds like to many unanswered questions to me. The DT466 is a great engine, however the transmission and rearend will determine the usability.

Check out the following sites, will help you determine a value. Bill



http://mediumduty.trucktraderonline.com/



http://www.horsetrailerworld.com/home/searchtrucks.asp