I continue to try and keep the Green Monster on the road... .
Anyone have good luck with Internet suppliers for OEM style bumpers, fenders, cab corners and other body parts?
Here in Rural Vermont I really only have access to junk yards with already environmentally challenged parts.
At this point:
Drive train is fair with the 3rd gear syncro gone, front wheel universals being swapped wednesday, rear axle seals leaking into the brake pads again.
Body is the real issue with both bumpers having open holes, cab corners were patched last year but will not last long, driver side fenders were patched but I see the rivets are rusting, passenger side fenders are open and will need something to be inspected this year, quad cab door latches will no longer open the back doors and finally a look underneath makes me ill.
I still plan to push this to 200K but it is becoming a real challenge. We had almost two feet of snow last week and the beast was able to get me to work despite the town failing to plow my rural dirt road. That is the main reason I keep the truck running.
My daily driver now is a comfortable but ugly retired state police car. Watching that $2500 investment rust is far less painful than having watched the $34K Dodge go from King of the road to it's current place in automotive hospice care.
Every so often I turn all the boxes back on and wind it up for a brief amount of time. Kind of a salute to our dearly departed "HVAC". The Green monster can still pull like crazy but the sum total of what is left of it can't take the punishment very long any more.
Yes, it is very very sad.
Anyone have good luck with Internet suppliers for OEM style bumpers, fenders, cab corners and other body parts?
Here in Rural Vermont I really only have access to junk yards with already environmentally challenged parts.
At this point:
Drive train is fair with the 3rd gear syncro gone, front wheel universals being swapped wednesday, rear axle seals leaking into the brake pads again.
Body is the real issue with both bumpers having open holes, cab corners were patched last year but will not last long, driver side fenders were patched but I see the rivets are rusting, passenger side fenders are open and will need something to be inspected this year, quad cab door latches will no longer open the back doors and finally a look underneath makes me ill.
I still plan to push this to 200K but it is becoming a real challenge. We had almost two feet of snow last week and the beast was able to get me to work despite the town failing to plow my rural dirt road. That is the main reason I keep the truck running.
My daily driver now is a comfortable but ugly retired state police car. Watching that $2500 investment rust is far less painful than having watched the $34K Dodge go from King of the road to it's current place in automotive hospice care.
Every so often I turn all the boxes back on and wind it up for a brief amount of time. Kind of a salute to our dearly departed "HVAC". The Green monster can still pull like crazy but the sum total of what is left of it can't take the punishment very long any more.
Yes, it is very very sad.
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