Hi all,
I usually hang out in the 2nd gen forum but I have the opportunity to take home a 1975 d100 4x4 440ci automatic (for free). The reason it's free is because it has been neglected to the extreme. Parked 8-10 years ago in a barn that has 6" of water in it 9 months out of the year. There is a giant hole in the drivers side floor. A raccoon got in there and made it's home in the seat, so the interior is trashed. It was originally parked because it needed a fuel pump and some carb work.

I'm interested in taking it home because it has a good working plow on it and we are in need of a work truck. I also want to use it occasionally off road so I don't have to use my daily driver ('99 ram)

I know absolutely nothing about these trucks but I do have decent mechanic skills (I've owned 2 dodges and a ford haha). I guess my question is, do you think I can get this thing running given the condition its in? How would the tranny and motor hold up after 10 years of sitting? What problems do I need to look for when I pull this thing out of the barn? Thanks.

 

Can never tell what the condition is..getting some history would help....it was parked - because? too expensive to operate (440), needed a XYZ, was uncle bubbas who is now gone,

First get a breaker bar on crank pulley if you can get it to move the engine..... thats great...

Do homwork check if parts are available in the aftermarket ie year one type supppliers... patch panels, weatherstripping, trim/ lenses ect...

BUT a plow and a 440 would cover a the tow bill alone, and as for a project vehicle good find. Sounds like fun.

Don't forget tittle or something legal to to make it yours.

 

Make sure the engine and tranny have fluid, i personaly would not want to find out i ****ed up an engine on a first start after sitting +10 years by not haveing good oil in it

 

Sounds sweet, got any pics yet?

 

check all the fluids, even your radiator add water if needed. don't forget to disconnect the the fuelline from the pump, you can use a jerrycan as a temporary gas tank. your carb will need to be cleaned if there was gas in it. i would pull the sparkplug and see if it turns over. if it turns over it would probably fire up if you dump some gas down the carb.

 

Thanks for the replies,
No I don't have any pics yet as it's still wedged in the back corner of that dark, nasty barn, but I will get some as soon as I bring it home.

I'm not gonna even try to work on it while it's in the barn, I'll just somehow tow it home and then go from there. If I can't get it to even turn over I'm just gonna take it to a scrap yard or part it out.

How solid are the auto trannies on these things? I know the 2nd gen rams have junkers for trannies, are the 1st gens any better?

crazzywolfie, are you saying I can just let the gas gravity feed into the carb for a while just to see if it runs?

 

I would guess 727 torqueflight trans - that was a good trans. it
could stand up to the 440s and the real hemis

get it home, ask ideas weigh the advise, take it slow.

 

no run a line from a jerrycan to the fuelpump. you just don't want to be pulling old gas throught the system. you will run into way more problems if you pull bad gas throught the system. pull the sparkplugs then turn it over with no sparkplug in it to see if its seized.

 

If you pull the plugs a squirt of oil in each cylinder before you turn it over will not hurt.

 

I agree with that and i also heard thats a good thing with small engines (dont know about vehicle engines) to do to keep and engine from rusting if theres are plans to leave it sit for awhile
the only thing bad about it is that its gunna be a little harder to start and when it does finaly start or show signs give it a little gas because not all cylinders are gunna clear it out right away and it may not beable to run at its idle speed until its got enough cylinders firing and it will smoke alot right away so leave it run for like 10 minutes or however long it takes for it to quite smoking