joez said:
25' long. Airbag setups usually run $100-$200 USD, and can be installed in a couple hours at a leisurely pace. They supplement the leaf springs, that is all.
25 feet long eh? That's not so bad... It looked longer but I guess I'm not used to seeing short wheelbased rigs (e.g. hjeeps) Anyways...
Okay awesome... I will hopefully plan to get airbags once I get the truck.
You probably saw a newer Superduty ford in town that had a Powerstroke 7.3 diesel. That is at least 98 or newer.
Nope it wasn't a newer superduty...it had to be 80's because of the body style simular to the furd I have right now.
A diesel is perfect for plowing, lots of vehicle weight on the tires to push more snow. I mentioned earlier that you would probably never have a problem with the front TTBd44 setup, you might with a non snow plow truck after adding the plow. Up there it might be fairly easy to come up with one that had the plow package, which should include a TTBD50 setup that is slightly stronger. The F350's might even have a solid D60 but I am definantly not positive on that with the older Fords, the mid 90's were like that though(3/4t TTB/ 1 ton solid 60).
Okay great... extra cash for that now! IF I find one with a setup. What does the TTB mean? Is a D50 comparable to a D60 in strength?
As for the 1st gen cummins dodges....the early models came with a weak Getrag 5 spd IIRC and was notorious for failing behind the CTD. They started installing the venerable NV4500 in late 1992 IIRC. The auto is a torqerflite 3 spd that was supposedly OK but since there is no OD and the cummins redline is at 2,500RPM's with the older models the auto trucks came standard with 3.07 gears. I would avoid the early dodges unless you find a late first gen that has an NV4500, then it would be one solid truck. Oh and as far as the front end strength on the dodge...it's a D60.
So if I find a dodge, it should have a NV4500 tranny for it to be strong? And avoid the Getrag trannys because they are known for failing? Got it...
As for the price I have no idea on what they go for up there. Here I would say anything you could find for under $4k is going to be high mileage and/or rough. You mention that you would want to keep it for a while....save up some money and get yourself something half way decent that will be fairly reliable for you over an extended time period. I would seriously look into a 1994-95ish dodge cummins, they have basically the best drivetrain out of all three at the time. A 1995 3/4 ton 4x4 dodge cummins with the manual transmission(NV4500) netted you a the P series 6BT (quite possibly the most reliable diesel ever put into a pickup IMHO) tough as nails NV4500 5 spd, np271 t-case(it's a chain driven, aluminum case but it's a monster that is supposedly tougher than a 205) Coil suspension 4 link D60 up front, and a massive D80 out back. Currently i bet I could find the above mentioned 1995 in fair condition for $7-9K. That is getting cheap for a diesel pickup. That would be a much better truck than a say an '85 F250 that would cost say $5K, and last much longer to boot.
Another thing on the newer trucks. I sure wouldn't mind the newer dodge like you mentioned because the great drivetrain and power... but it's also the body I am worried about. I said this truck would be for towing my rig, and hauling stuff. I don't want to worry about denting the body if something hits it in the bed. Thats why I don't really want to get a neweer vehicle of anyt kind... the body will probably end up scratched and dented from moving stuff. I don't know I will think on it.
So around there anything under 4K will be rough? Yikes... up here they will probably be more expensive...with more rust maybe
The more I think about it the more I think you would be so better off with just spending another 2 or 3 thousand initially you could have a lot better truck. Even if you get an early ford 6.9 and later deside to turbo it, you would wind up and have just as much money in it as you would in the initial cost of a 94-95ish dodge cummins that already is turbo'd and capable of 250 HP and 500 ft lbs basically just by playing with the pump. A much heavier drivetrain and a nicer truck itself. Plus the dodge would have OD and the Ford does not. The dodge would get considerably better mileage with almost twice the power.
Bobby, I wouldn't mind spending an extra 2-3 grand to get a more reliable truck... but I don't have a steady job, nor am I working right now. So even 1 thousand dollars is gold for me. Did any of the ford 6.9's have turbos? But who knows, I won't be getting this for at least a year when I "finish" the blazer and move onto the Jimmy. Maybe I will have a better job and can afford something better. I don't know, I will see how things roll out.
<stands up> hi my name is chris and im a chevaholic. i love the 73-87/91 body style soo much!!!!
i just wish there was something that would show gas and diesel and be acurate and show ALL rpms... it might even convice me to pay more than $30 bucks that i did for dd2k... but for now all i have is dd2k and limited knowledge. im building on the knowledge base and will have to stay with dd2k for a long time i am sure.
it is on my info page though 
kinda how i got my 84 i had an s-10 i was workin on at the time that someone was sposed to buy then backed out after i had contacted guy about my 84... so i was like "heres what happened" and he took 2 payments of $200 in a months time from me and the rest when i got the s-10 sold. its all about luck and a persons willing/want to help others and yer ability to present your case effectively i guess. im REAL glad he helped me out i love my 84 even though i cant drive it for a long time. well i love the 82 also. which someday i will convert to 4x4. ??/th400/205 would be real nice in it. but i know what ya mean about money. i am plannin on buildin the 1st little piece of house/garage this summer/fall and im looking for work myself. things just kinda fall into place when theyre sposed to. 
