Need Opinion on this 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

 

[RDupree]

it needs to be cheap,with all that damage to the front end. and it only has a 5 speed. the dt is a great engine,but you need more gears to really make it work well. . keep looking! randy

 

[Philip]

If he won't fix it where you can start it. I would offer about $500. That is about what a junkyard would offer at the most.



If the cooling system still has fluid in it. You can start it for a short time with no fan or belts on it.



My brother used to pull 3 custom vans on a slant deck trailer with a 466. But he also had a 9 spd in his rig.

 

[PToombs]

I would be worried or wondering about the brakes too. The hydraulic brakes are not the hot setup when you start to get into a bigger truck. If they are good they will be ok, even with a trailer (with brakes!) If not then it will be an expensive fix.

Without a 2-speed rear axle this truck will not get out of its own way, and if you have it in the woods loaded it will probably be geared too high to pull out.

The hoods are common, and can be picked up kinda reasonable.