So what's this really worth?

[skobylenski]

I found this tonight, and I'm wondering if 1) it's worth the $9000 they are asking, and 2) is there someone near this thing who could verify the info/give me some more info.



http://adcache.trucktraderonline.com/4/0/6/61219806.htm



Thanks a lot!

Scott

 

[Bluebird]

Wow, a crewcab!

Hey that's really cool, a real crew-cab, the Mrs. just might like that one. I would put a pick-up bed on that Ram. Low miles just broken in, wish it was closer to So. CA, I'd try to wheel and deal them Patrick.

 

[skobylenski]

Yeah, I was like :--) a crew cab! Of course, the miles are probably only the chassis since it was converted to a CC. That's my only concern. The old Cummins probably has half a mill. on it (of course, that's only a little past broken in ) I might have to KBB it today. Wheel and deal is they key - never pay full price, and always take someone who is a killer negotiator with you

 

[1stgen4evr]

If you don't know the mileage, there are several things to examine that are at least indicative of the service on the truck. Look at the spring on the top of the injection pump that allows the throttle to be pressed pass the internal movement of the throttle. The spring wears at the contact point of the pin on the lower lever. The amount of wear will give some indication of time on the engine. My 90k truck shows little wear. My 275k truck shows about 70% worn through. My 385k truck has worn completely through and will require that spring to be changed in the very near future.



Look at the crack in the chrome in the front (right at the safety latch on the hood). The length of that crack is an indicator of service on the vehicle. Probably all of the things like pedal pad, wear on the steering wheel, seat condition and that sort of thing would have been changed in the conversion. The four door cab would be no newer than an 85.



As to the price, if it is nice and the conversion was done well, it would surely be in the range of worth the asking price. I am in the begining stages of doing a fourdoor. I think that I will surely have 10K$ by the time it is complete. Most people have a posting price and a selling price but I have seen mostly firm no negotiation prices on the ctds. It never hurts to ask.





93ctd, automatic o/d , 3. 50 rear, running boards, 90k miles, box stock otherwise. 93 ctd, getrag ,3. 50 rear, airbags mounted on axle, 387k miles, box stock otherwise 92ctd, automatic o/d, 350 rear, airbags on spring ends,275k miles, box stock otherwise. Two 85 four door models for parts

 

[dpuckett]

I may be going to NC over Christmas to visit some family. *IF* I go, (not too fond of my family, too nosy and overbearing), and IF the guy still has it, i could swing thru and check it out. THough I seriously doubt it will go anywhere fast. I personally wouldn't go for it, just because they are asking too much for an 85 or older cab on a 93 frame. And it needs duals. FLatbed crew cabs look funny with only SRW.



But..... If it was all done well, with attention to detail, and a good fit and finish, and the engine runs well (doesnt really matter about miles up to about 750K), good driveline, no leaks, etc, etc, it might be worth it. I know a few guys with SRW beds that might take $150 for them. One of them is even white.



Daniel

 

[Wayno]

What crack in the chrome are you talking about , the grill . If your talking about that famous crack in the grill I would not go by that . I hit a cow about three years ago and I put a brand new grill in my truck (from Dodge) and it has a pretty good size crack in it already and I treat my truck like a car . In fact if you look up the word baby in the dictionary you would see a picture of my truck , cause thats how I treat it , like a baby . You can keep the grill from cracking with a extra mounting bolt and a flat washer . I got that bit of info. from Piers Harry .

 

[1stgen4evr]

What's it worth

Wayno. Thanks. Where do I install the bolt and washer. I had decided to forego a new grill in the conversion thinking that it would just crack anyway. Yeah, a cow would crack the heck out of the grill. A small owl can do a serious number on it as well. I plan to use a "western Hauler" bed on my conversion. You may be right as well on the truck not moving too quickly with the flatbed. They just don't look to classy. Knowing that there has been some extensive work with the conversion, I would have it on a rack and really look it over underneath as well as under the hood. There could lots of grimlins lurking everywhere. A novice owner might best stay away from a conversion.



750k+ miles on CTD trucks. Only this year found out about TDR. An amazing resource. As you might guess from my handle, I am a die hard 1st gen fan. They are cheap, reliable, robust, and still attractive to me. Addicted to the smoke and noise. If I go too long without a shot of Diesel smoke, I go into DTs. And where did the idea of giant fenders come from anyway. My brother has 2nd gen trucks and one of the trailers we pull is impossible to see behind the fenders.

 

[Wayno]

OK ,this will be hard to do (tell you where to put the bolt and washer) with me not standing there to show you . Look where the hood safety latch is at on the core support and to the left of the latch on the grill you will see a Phillips head screw that holds the grill on to the core support . Now look to the right of the hood safety latch and you will see that there is a big spot that is no screw there but if you go further to the right you will see a screw . Go back to the left a bit to the spot where there is no screw and put another screw there but put a small washer (or washers) under the grill to take up the slack (space) between the grill and the core support . I need to get off of my but and do that to mine cause the crack keeps getting bigger but the again I need to buy another grill . Oh and it was a big cow but I was going slow . Just cratered the grill.

 

[1stgen4evr]

crack

Well by golly you are right. Took my flashlight and went right out and looked. I see exactly what you are describing. I had already surmised that it was stress related but had not figured just what to do about it.



Back to my original comment. The three trucks I have are 1st gen and all have the crack. Cow punching not withstanding, the crack has gotten longer with age. The 90k truck shows less than the 250k and the 385k truck shows the longest crack. I figure that it will just get longer and longer if not corrected and would be indicative of lenght of service.



I have started to pass along the TDR site information to everyone that I encounter on the road. Some folks don't seem to give a rip when I tell them about the site but I wish I had found TDR a long time ago. I have already saved the cost of my next few years dues in just the last couple months with following the comments in the forum. A surprising number of non TDR owners are telling me about having their front ends repaird at great expense when what they probably needed was the steering coupler repaired or replaced with the ujoint style steering rod. A couple of guys relate that they just "traded the thing off cause it was too expensive to fix".



I know that I am "preaching to the choir" when it comes to TDR folks but it would be for the common good of all TDR ctd owners to enroll as many new folks as possible. A rising tide lifts all ships and the more that is known about our trucks, the longer we will be driving them. If you can belive it I just stumbled on the web site by accident browsing for information about the Getrag. We have had our 1stgen trucks since late 92 and they have done an excellent job but there have been unsolvable problems all along. The dealers very often can't or don't care to really fix the problem. A piece of advise that I would offer to all ctd buyers is this: if your dealer doesn't know about TDR, find another dealer.



Thanks much for the advise Wayne. I have already talked to a new owner in Alaska about the crack and will pass along the bolt fix.



A note to any reader. PM me about any problems you have encountered past 300 thousand. I want to know what to expect before it happens. Better still I will start a new post for that. More people will see it.



1stgen4ever James