Thinking of an old Dodge Pickup

[Monty]

A family member has a 1984 Dodge W350 pickup that I believe I could talk them into parting with. The truck was discovered in an abandoned storage unit with only 78,000 miles with a 1989 inspection sticker. After towing to a local garage and replacing all the brake lines they were able to get it started with little fuss and he's driving it around town a little. Doesn't appear several months later to have any major issues.

Now I expect a 26 year old truck to need some attention now and again, maybe a lot of attention but as the body and drivetrain appear to be in pretty good shape, I'm willing to accept that risk. My main concern is will parts be available with little fuss or I am going to have to go on a treasure hunt every time this truck needs anything? I'm willing to jump in and try to do some work myself although I've got very little experience. Also know a few mechanics I can turn to and don't mind if I have to turn to the piggy bank every now and then as long as I know I won't be stuck with an unrepairable truck because of parts availability, seem older Ford and Chevy trucks have more parts easily available.

Thanks!

Monty

 

[sparkky]

I wouldn't be afraid of it if the price was right.

 

[Hfcomms]

The junkyards still have a lot of parts and with the internet it's not so tough to find them. The concern I would have with a truck that old that has sat would be a lot of the seals drying out, ect. But, if he's been driving it around for a few months then it's probably o.k. I would imagine.

 

[Monty]

The concern I would have with a truck that old that has sat would be a lot of the seals drying out, ect.

I had that thought, figure I would be replacing any belts and hoses right away and I'll have to put some new tires on it. He found a set of brand new studded snow tires in the unit and put those on it. If they are half way to the age of that inspection sticker I can't imagine they are very safe. But putting money into it isn't my concern as long as I can get the parts to fix it and things will stay fixed a while after I fix them. I do wonder if they money couldn't be better spent on a slightly newer truck or a different manufacture. I do like the "style" of this one and the body and interior is in very good shape for the age.

Monty

 

[Hfcomms]

Reminds me of a situation a number of years ago up here. There was an open pit iron mine that was in production and in the early 80's the iron market was so bad because of the economy that they walked in one day and shut everything down. They escorted all the employees out and locked the gates. In 1995 they decided to liquidate the mine property, auction all the infrastructure and sell the rest for scrap. There was a huge vehicle building out there that was not only full of mining equipment but pickup trucks, ect. These vehicle had sat for 14 years in a locked building and even the calendars in the place and the employee timecards in the racks had never been touched. People bought these pickup trucks at auction and many of them looked brand new yet and only had a few hundred to several thousand miles on them with no rust. You only come across an opportunity like that once in a lifetime. A lot of folks got some really nice stuff for little more than scrap value of the metal in them.

 

[Bret4207]

I wouldn't worry over the tires too much. In a stoarge unit they aren;t exposed to sunlight and stress from driving. I bet they'll wear just like new.

I wouldn't have any worries aobut the truck. In fact, I'd much prefer an 84 to my 97. Not so much electronic crap.

 

[Monty]

Thanks guys! Going to see what I can work out over the next couple of weeks.

Monty

 

[Monty]

Well here we are 4 months later. Pick up the truck this weekend. New tires and a new tool box on the back, sounds like he got everything working pretty good. Looking forward to it.

Monty