Ladies and Gents:

I am the proud owner of my first Dodge Ram. It is a 1983 3500 that I found on ebay. I am curious if anyone can give me their expert opinion on whether I bought someone elses headache or if I got a darn good truck (havent seen it yet). I am eventually turning this into an offroad vehicle mainly and would also definitely appreciate and advice on any mechanical changes or addtions that any of you recommend or see right off the bat. I sincerely appreciate anyone who takes the time to shoot me some advice or comments. Here is the truck:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...ayphotohosting

Thanks again,

Ryan

 

I'd be leery of the fact that everything got hit with a black rattle can, what are they hiding? And the rear axle looks like it wasnt even cleaned before being painted, but that's not a big deal. For $1500 you got a fairly stock, straight truck. If the drivetrain is in good shape you should be fine. As an 83 I'd think it would have 220k not 120k, perhaps 320k but you never know. My 86 has 260k on it now. You'll have to replace parts for sure, as they wear out. Being stock it won't be a big deal though. Pulling to the right/left isn't normal, get the alignment checked and rotate the tires to see if it goes away. These trucks are easy to work on. If you're not in an emissions area you might get rid of 90% of the crap cluttering underhood (warning: it's a $10k fine to tamper with emissions equipment if you get caught). See how it drives. The engine could probably use a rebuild in the near future, and I'd service the tranny if there aren't receipts showing it's been done recently.

 

Thanks for the advice. Please tell me what stuff underhood you would pull out?? How do I tell if I am in an emissions area??

Thanks again!

 

It looks pretty straight, but I am also iffy about how the truck was shot with paint. They did pay attention to detail. I noticed the bed appears to have been welded in the rear photo below the rear window. The exhaust even appears to have been painted, wheels have also been spray painted, not a big deal. I guess they wanted to spruce it up for pictures. Looks to be a good trail rig. My 85 Dodge Ram D150 has 140K miles, but its been in the family since new so I know its actual.

PS What is that mounted under the bed where the spare would be? Some weird springs and a lever, looks to be going out to the hitch.

 

I'm guessing the weird stuff under the back end is a bumper extender for a large slide-in camper.

But that's my guess.

My truck used to have 2 smog pumps, vapor canister, and a bunch of EGR stuff that never worked from the time I got it.

 

I think you have a really clean truck with a 360 and you paid a little over what i did for mine and mine is in worse shape. I have a chipped paintjob, no undercoating, and a jacked up wiring job... I love my truck though and it was worth every bit of $1200.