Mr. Oliver,
Up there in the north country, do people put chains on all 4 tires?

Have you ever had a locker installed in the rear axle? If so, how much improvement in deep snow?

 

I do not use chains on the front of my trucks. They are tough on drive line parts in the front end, even more so with the weight of the Cummins motor and 9 FT plow right over them.

Other than the town plows, school buses, the UPS dude and a few plow guys in their pick ups, I do not see people running chains around here.

On my daily driver I run studded snow tires and keep a set of tire chains and a pull out strap in the tool box. When I used to pull a trailer all the time I had to use the chains a couple of times to get off a few back roads or home in a few snow storms.

 

I veered off the 1st Gen line up and scored a low mileage but well used '99 24V this week. My excuse for the purchase was; to work on it to make me better appreciate the 1st Gen simplicity.

 

That should do the trick. I know after spending a month getting the power train swapped over on my ‘95, I am happy to be working on my pre ‘94 Dodges again.

 

Same here. I also carry a chain saw and come-a-long with assorted tow cables and chains. My 1st gen doesn't have lockers, and my 2nd gen only has one in the rear. I prefer not having one, it seems to work out better on icy roads for me. Rather have one wheel slip than two. I would like to have air or E lockers front and rear to select on the rare occasions I do need them.

 

Air or electronic lockers would be really nice!
My '92 has the OEM limited slip or whatever they call it. Dad's '93 doesn't and his gets stuck on flat ground. BUT you are right, when it comes to snow/ice or even a really wet road in a curve, an open dif is better.

 

Put in a one wire alternator and did the fusible links delete.

Also painted the doors and hood with Rustolium white, applied with a roller

 

Gotta love a roller paint job! I painted my '76 with a roller and the left overs from painting our wood floors.

I finally, after I don't know how many years, took apart the tailgate and fixed the latch mechanisms. Replaced the little plastic clips but it was the ears on the latches at each end that had bent out and weren't releasing. I can't remember the last time it worked and it mostly didn't bother me but the last several loads of wood had shifted where I couldn't reach in and release. This resulted in having to unload some with the gate up. A real pain by yourself.

I can't decide if working on the tailgate latches or replacing the wiper linkage washers is more fun...

 

I would like to roll my entire truck.

 

Next will be the fenders. I'll replace with some new, aftermarket fenders from LMC. I'll roll those too.
Not really trying to restore it, just preserve it.

 

Your fender does not look that bad in the picture.

The last aftermarket fenders I checked out seemed thin and flimsy compared to the metal fenders our 1st gen came with. I personally would repair the originals if they are still pretty solid.
Maybe a little welding and some more roller brush painting would be enough?

 

Thank you Oliver, I wasn't sure if the aftermarket ones where any good. I've never done any rust or dent repair, but I guess I can learn.
The other fender has a big dent, and a bit more rust.

Worst case, I don't do a very good job and I just go find some decent used fenders and paint those.

Thank you, sir.

 

The aftermarket fenders I bought for my Road Tractor project are a big disappointment. i wish i would have sourced a good set of OE units. But you know what they say "Wish in one hand....."

 

When I was making my post on the quality of the aftermarket fenders I have seen.....I was wondering what the ones you just ordered looked like.
The ones I have had in my hand felt very thin. I would imagine they dent very easily.

 

i didnt check the actual thickness, but just by "feel" I would guess they are 1 gauge thinner than OE. The bolt spacing for the hood hinges is off by a few thousandths as are some of the other locating holes. The threaded holes are just nut-serts and not the heavy threaded metal tabs that are spot welded in the OE units. Overall, I'd give them a 6/10 rating. I wouldn't want to put them on a truck like Island Bill's, but they are good enough for daily driver usage