Just what the title says, is it worth it?
1991 non-IC W350 Reg cab
Converted from Dually to SRW
140,000 miles
5-Speed
285/75 BFG's on 16x7 inch rims
Needs:
Roof rust fixed
A/C repaired
Master cylinder
Front driver's u-joint

truck also has a salvage title, lol, new metal in the front because of that owner claims no frame damage just cosmetic but was totaled because of age. anyways i could get it home for like $3500. I know how i am leaning but wanted some opinions. thanks in advance

 

Hmmm, I would say negative. Is it drivable with the bad mc? Its not fun to change the u-joint, and how bad is the rust? On top of that is the tarnished title that would make it difficult to resale. Maybe $2500

 

well he said it stops just fine but when sitting at the light the pedal will slowly make its way to the floor... i've driven MUCH worse than that a long distance, yea salvage title is a bummer.

 

I'd offer him $1500 or less. The roof rust will be expensive to fix right.

 

Not if he knows where to get a clean cab . I'd say if it is just surface rust, and depending on TN laws regarding salvage titles, it'd be worth no more than $3000, less if the rust is through the sheetmetal, or is bubbling under it- $2500. The GOOD, CLEAN 1stGens are appreciating in value, regardless of mileage, but the junk piles arent. Some people fail to realize that. If there is rust (ANY rust more than surface rust), or more than a shopping cart ding in the body, it isnt clean/ straight.

The SRW to DRW conversion would concern me, too. If the axles were swapped out, fine. If hub adaptors were added in front, and dually wheels slapped in the rear, no.

Daniel

 

he made it SRW, it used to be a dually.

 

If the axles are originals, you can always go back to dually fairly cheaply using salvage yards for wheels. Of course six new tires will run you close to a grand. But you won't need a spare!
Does the 91 have RWAL brakes? I chased a soft pedal from one end of the truck to the other and when I had finally replaced just about everything but the lines and rear wheel antilockup modulator I have good brakes. I would offer a lot less and see what happens. The cab rust bothers me more than the brake issue. I haven't pulled my front bearings yet, so I don't really know how much bother the u joint will be but how often are you running in four wheel drive? I have needed mine once since I had the truck and that was last hunting season. But over in Tennesee I bet you get more of the white stuff in the winter. We didn't get but a few inches last year and it went away in a day.

 

I like the 1500 price. Rust is the killer. Tip of the iceberg. What you see is only the begining.
As far as the ujoint goes, if it is broken, or the caps are loose, plan on a new shaft as well. Even the used oned are 150.00 a side. It is not a hard job unless the ears are mangled to the point that they won't come out of the knuckle.

The mileage seems nice until you think of the possibility that the speedo doesn't work or that the rearend that was swapped in has different gearing. Speaking of gearing, are the axles still matched???

If it used to be drw and now is srw, and assuming that it has a srw bed on it(they are different), how hard was this thing hit??? An impact that took out the bed and the rear axle(read suspension) probably tweaked the frame more than a little.

Bottom line is....How much time and money do you have to throw at a truck to end up with something decent(that still has a salvage title) It seems like it would take a couple grand at least, and by that time you could have bought a much nicer, less rust, better truck.

 

i agree totally with you guys. i've got access to probably 5 or 6 clean rust free 1st gen cabs, but that's A LOT of work! also the salvage title kills the value. i just went through replacing the u-joints on the last truck that came through and that's no fun. i was leaning towards the not worth it you guys just pushed me over the edge.