When do you throw in the towel?? 6.9 woes

[CESMITH]

a good used 06 or newer is going to cost over 15000 you dothe math . fix the old girl up. either 5.9 6.9 or 7.3 theyre all good

 

[Andylad13]

dont we all

 

[Diesel JD]

I so agree with what Midnight Rider says. Either get the Cummins if that is what you really want, or get a good 6.9 core and build it right for the use you want from day 1. Zigg went with the built up 6.9 and he's thrilled with it MNR did the Cummins swap and he loves it. I think its the junk rebuilds, substandard machine machine shop work, and crappy parts that make people want to throw in the towel not the act of a swap or build...either that or time or $$$ pressure to get it back on the road.

 

[Hillbilly]

I'm not against a well built 6.9 and not totally for the 12V swap either. I just don't wanna have x number of dollars in either and look back and think, "did i invest/use my money wisely?" i understand it's prolly foolish to put seroius change in a 20 plus year old truck, but I'm kinda attached to it. I looked for a good while for this version of truck, crew cab, one ton, 4WD, oil burner with a manual tranny. I've got a minimal amount in the ole girl, even with the repairs and parts I've preformed sofar. Heck I've got more in the wheels and tires, than I do in the rest of the truck. I've been very fortunate sofar. I just wanna see if I can make/get it to preform to my liking. We will see I guess. I've keep a very detailed list of all expenses thus far.

 

[Agnem]

NO vehicle, is a good investment.

 

[Hillbilly]

NO vehicle, is a good investment.

That is such an understatement!!

 

[FordGuy100]

NO vehicle, is a good investment.

Not true, look at the muscle cars. I remember hearing that back in the 80's people were thrashing and modding there Mopars, and they didnt really care about them all to much. No look at them, Hemi Cuda's, and Challengers in mint restored condition sell for over $1 million, so there are some exceptions to the rules. And are trucks prices have pretty much bottomed out, they wont go much lower, besides from being wrecked and abused, they wont at least, or thats how I see it.

 

[Fordsandguns]

What does it matter if it is an old truck? Yeah, you won't be able to get your moneys worth by selling it, but that is true with the newer ones also. If you like the truck, fix it how you want it and use it. That's how I see it anyway!

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

The way I see it, I can build a lot better truck than I can buy, new, used, custom, or otherwise, PERIOD.

I had much rather spend $600/month on improving my 1985 truck, than to meet $600/month payments that roll around every month.

I have all kinds of handy conveniences about my truck that I could not afford on a truck that I was meeting payments on.

I see so many of the newer trucks that are simply falling apart, body-wise.

They are seemingly designed to start falling apart, from what I see.

I can pull my truck in amongst a dozen shiny new ones, with all the latest bells and whistles, and more people are interested in my truck, than the new ones.

It may not be considered a good investment; BUT, there are certain things that are required to be moderately happy in present-day life---good food, a warm/cool place to reside out of the elements, clothes, and dependable transportation.

I figure money spent on making my truck---that is NOT FOR SALE---as convenient and dependable as possible, is money well spent.

I can afford to drive my 1985 truck anywhere I want/need to go; many with payments on new trucks cannot say that.






Sorry for rambling; but, my point is, if you like the truck, do whatever it takes to make it better.

 

[Hillbilly]

Just alittle update here- I've found a Gen 1 12V cummins engine forsale, semi local. It has all the accessories with it, starter, PS and vaccum pump, everything that could be attached to the engine. Owner is willing to throw in the 5 spd bellhousing aswell. 112K miles and he says he has verification of this. He's firm on his price of 1200. Cheapest I've found that has everything to go along with it. Sounds good to me, but I'm green when it comes to buying used oil burners. Anyone share some insight on this??

 

[Diesel JD]

Does it start and run...if so I'd take it and run, that's a smokin deal for a running Cummins. Might also fix the killer dowel pin issue and if you can convert to an inline pump.

 

[towcat]

Not true, look at the muscle cars. I remember hearing that back in the 80's people were thrashing and modding there Mopars, and they didnt really care about them all to much. No look at them, Hemi Cuda's, and Challengers in mint restored condition sell for over $1 million, so there are some exceptions to the rules. And are trucks prices have pretty much bottomed out, they wont go much lower, besides from being wrecked and abused, they wont at least, or thats how I see it.

And how many years do you have to "sit" on that "investment" for it to become valuable? Keep in mind, the vehicles that are getting the high coin are the ones that are NEVER DRIVEN and are UNMODIFIED. I don't think there's too many IDI's that qualify for either. Especially the ones here Go to a concours and check out the cars showcased there. They aren't cars anymore...they're museum pieces. Unless you have a large bankroll to care and house such an investment, your everyday transportation doesn't even come close. For years I was involved in the Pebble Beach Concours, the people who own these cars don't even flinch when the stratospheric numbers are thrown around. They have investments that make the price of collector cars look like a run to Wal-mart.

 

[9073]

Total cost for the the most expensive as I mentioned.... $5450. This seems quite expensive, QUOTE]

Thats becuase it is quite expensive
for that amount of money you could sell the 6.9 and find a powerstroke truck i like idis and all that but a powerstroke would be the easiest.

i have a 96 12v cummins lying around that i got for free that im half tempted to build up, but then i realiized that if i did it the way i want it would cost about 4,000 bucks so i think it can sit for a while

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Just alittle update here- I've found a Gen 1 12V cummins engine forsale, semi local. It has all the accessories with it, starter, PS and vaccum pump, everything that could be attached to the engine. Owner is willing to throw in the 5 spd bellhousing aswell. 112K miles and he says he has verification of this. He's firm on his price of 1200. Cheapest I've found that has everything to go along with it. Sounds good to me, but I'm green when it comes to buying used oil burners. Anyone share some insight on this??

If you can grab that engine for $1200, you had better get it.

It is no trouble to crank a mechanical Cummins while it sits in the floor.

Set it on an old tire, on a pallet, and bind it to the pallet with a strap, such that it will sit reasonably still.

Remove the breather tube from the turbo intake, in case there are mice, etc. living in it; you don't want them inside the cylinders.

Plumb a 5/16-fuel and 1/4-return into a jug of diesel.

Work the hand-pump on the lift-pump, to draw fuel into the system, about thirty licks should do it.

Remove the belt, if anything it wraps around is locked up or is missing, i.e. A/C compressor.

Hook a hot-wire to the fuel-solenoid (the one on top of the pump, not the FSB low down on the side of the pump).

Connect the big HOT and GROUND cables to a stout battery.

Touch a hot-wire to the terminal on the starter and it should start cranking.

Have someone mist ether into the turbo intake and it will fire, if it hasn't already started.

If it ain't knocking and beating itself to death, you are good to go.

The 1st Gen. Cummins is by far the best for longevity and mileage, with the NON-IC early ones being the pick of the litter.

I wouldn't pass up a 2nd Gen. one, either.

I would almost buy that engine, sight unseen, for that money.

If it has less than 300,000 on it, I wouldn't turn a screw, just put it in and run it.

 

[FordGuy100]

Total cost for the the most expensive as I mentioned.... $5450. This seems quite expensive, QUOTE]

Thats becuase it is quite expensive
for that amount of money you could sell the 6.9 and find a powerstroke truck i like idis and all that but a powerstroke would be the easiest.

i have a 96 12v cummins lying around that i got for free that im half tempted to build up, but then i realiized that if i did it the way i want it would cost about 4,000 bucks so i think it can sit for a while

Yes but a lot of my money in the equation you might not need. That $5450 was for everything I listed at the highest price I listed. You could take off the rocker arms, IP and injectors if they are all good off of the donor motor, that right there is $1500 off of the $5450 I said. I think I also said $2500 for a turbo, you could buy a used turbo for a good $1000, say $1500 for the turbo and exhaust, there goes another $1000. That right there would then cost $2950. So as you see, I was stating a really really high cost, unless you had to do machinging on it, but thats why I said by a good used engine that ran good and what not. $3000 is still alot, but most of the time that is less than a cummins swap, most of the time.....