mattb73lt

A lot goes into “what’s it worth?”, when looking it something. Is it what you want? Does it have the driveline that’ll make it drivable the way you want to use it? Is it’s basic configuration useable to you, body on it(as in a dumper or flatbed?)?. General condition, rust bodywork, paint? Is it a project or something turn key? That’s a big question, because if you don’t have the space, tools and skills to do it yourself, it’s going to cost you a lot more to pay someone to do it for you.

It was running great and sounded amazing on the road. Really good oil pressures and temps...until it failed. I think time was my biggest enemy. I was told it was a fairly fresh rebuilt when I bought it, but then it sat 20+ plus years in my shop before I had it running. Even if there was only a little corrosion on the liners it doesn't take much moisture to keep it going, just even a little bit. I pickled it, but I didn't fill the water jacket with anything. Maybe if I had filled and drained the water jacket with oil just in case. Tear down will show it there any corrosion in there.

Mahoney's is still around. They were VERY helpful when I was adding the Jake to the engine, by loaning me some fixtures to grind the rocker arms. Thank you for those numbers, They may come in handy as I move forward. I was in contact with the local Cummins shop in Rocky Hill, CT. The person I spoke to was very helpful and optimistic about putting a rebuild kit together, if needed.

It's out, let the tear down begin!! Came out a lot easier than it went in. In the shop and under cover which will be good. I'm hoping to have a better idea by weeks end to see the extent of further damage. I've had a few people reach out to me offering 220 parts that they have to help out, which is phenomenal. Not the direction I had planned on going at this point. I should be confident of the engine going forward, as I plan on going far and wide with the truck in the future. Looking back, I think I would go through this type (wet sleeve) of engine and automatically put a sleeve kit in it before using it due to the time it sat.

I’m going to pull the hood, fenders and radiator off and store them until the engine goes back in.. The rest I’ll leave where it is until it goes back in. All that should go faster than when I was putting it together, as all the fabrication and hardware is there now. The engine will go back into the shop for more work. It’ll need to go out for some work, but I’ll do most of it. I was on the phone and internet a lot today, sourcing parts and services for the rebuild.

Yeah, don't think the smaller pieces did. I'm going to cut the filter open and check the paper element. We always did that during an aircraft oil change just to mack sure nothing was making metal.

It all needs to get flushed out and checked. It's always a risk waking up something from a long slumber.

I'm pulling it back out. I don't trust what's left in there.

Yeah, I think it's age and fatigue related. About 4"s of the sleeve broke off.

It's a Cummins NH220

It needs to come out. I don't trust the sleeves that are left. It needs to be gone through completely and I need to have some confidence in it when I'm far from home. That's where it seemed to have fractured, right around the upper groove for the o-rings.

I may have lucked out with the block. I was just looking up inside and it looks like the lower skirt on the sleeve of #6 fractured and dropped off. Breaking up in the process. Crappy picture as my camera wouldn't focus on it. Everything else is intact.

The jury is still out, but this isn't good. I only drained about 2 1/2 gallons of antifreeze from the radiator and about 15 gallons of grey soupy mess from the pan. I had a piece of o-ring come out while draining it. Eventually got the pan down and found a large quantity of sleeve pieces laying there. I think its at least two different sleeves judging from the color of the o-ring materiel. Still no idea how bad the crank is and now i'm worried about the block having some damage too. Tomorrow I'll continue to dig into it by removing the heads and hopefully the rods/pistons as well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that both the crank and block will survive, but with these big pieces I'm very skeptical. And it still didn't seem to be skipping when I moved it yesterday. I only ran it long enough to get some air pressure to get the maxi's off and move it at an idle

Ok, thank you!! Hopefully tomorrow I can drain it down and drop the pan. I was going over in my head what happened and first I’m not thinking it wasn’t a head gasket. The dipstick is way over full and hasn’t settled out yet. It never overheated on the gauge and I’m leaning towards maybe a liner let go and put antifreeze into the pan. It wasn’t skipping and hit on all six. My big concern is the clattering in the engine and a sudden drop of about 10+ psi in oil pressure. I may have spun a bearing before I could get it stopped. I’m worried about damage to the crank, if that’s the case. And it was running so good. We’ll see what comes as I dig into it.

Yes, it’s another roll back. Headboard will remain and be repaired. That I’d the tilt device on the bed. It pins to the rear frame work.

I’m not sure. But, the B73 isn’t going, now. I’ve got an issue with the engine and I’m worried it is a big one. I haven’t had time to investigate, hopefully later this week. More to follow and an engine pull may be looming. CRAP!

Trying to make it up to a club seasonal party at Matt Pfahl's on 10/23 for it's public debut.

I couldn't hear any yet, it was too loud. I only had some towels covering the floor, carpet is coming.

I'm definitely going to made one up and post it once I get some more things worked out and finished.

Well, there it is, it's first registration since I believe 1987!!!! After a minor Cluster F*&ck with CT DMV and an unqualified clerk that caused a 24 hour delay, it's done. While CT DMV has made some decent changes and streamlined their procedures, they still lack qualified personnel. I could write several paragraphs on what went on in two short visits, but it's done. I did blow her up after she came back to the window with a set of Commercial plates when I told her and her supervisor three times I was putting Classic Vehicle plates on it. She stated that if I put those on it I couldn't use the flatbed. I stopped her right there and asked her to specifically state within the Motor Vehicle Statutes where it says that. Well, she couldn't. I called her supervisor back over and told her what I was just told and that they shouldn't be telling people what they can and can't do, when they can't reference any statute. This is what really pisses the public off when dealing with government organizations. I didn't throw out that I was a retired Trooper, just wasn't worth it. When I worked the road and was really learning to be a Trooper, I would ask my senior peers and supervisors tons of questions to gain as much motor vehicle enforcement knowledge as possible. I worked the scale houses with the commercial enforcement units to gain more knowledge in that area. My point there was that I wanted to know the law and the statutes I was enforcing. You can really mess with a business or person not fully knowing what you're doing. Okay, enough said there. After I ran home with my new plates and bolting the rear one on, off I went for it's first real test drive!! Damn, it sounds sooooo good. The exhaust sound is perfect, albeit LOUD! I did have a pedestrian who was on her phone cover her ears at about 100 yards as I started up from a stop and started shifting. Steering and tracking seemed good, no shimmies or wobbles as you come up to speed. Driveline vibrations are very minor. I did detect some transmission whine in 4th & 5th Hi-split at lower RPM's. I don't think that's anything to worry about yet. There's all new bearings in it and the pre-loads are all at factory specs. The ride sucks due to no weight on the rear axle, but the long wheelbase helps some. I made a couple of laps around town, shifting and stopping to work the transmission and brakes. I stopped after a while and felt all the components and axle hub temps with my hand. All the hubs remained pretty cool, the rear carrier was warming up but not hot. Engine temp was a steady 170 Degrees. Oil pressure, when hot, was 50 psi at upper RPM's and 20 psi at idle. After that, I was tempted to hit the highway and went out onto a couple of short stretches. It's a little faster than the green truck, mainly due to the taller tires. I was brave enough to get it up to speed slowly to a max of about 73 MPH, off my GPS app on my phone, while only turning about 1650 RPM. The speedo is off about 10 MPH fast, so I'll have to see if I have a better pencil gear in my collection. Post test ride inspection revealed no major leaks or seeps and nothing was spitting grease. The cab view is so much better than the standard B cab and the air ride seats help immensely with the ride. My custom brake and accelerator pedal set up is excellent and very easy to "heel and toe" it for downshifting and stopping. Overall a very good test drive and I'm still smiling a day later because I actually drove the truck that's been sitting around here for 24 years!!!

WOW, a whole fleet of trucks for $83K and change!! At least the 12T jack for the B83 was free, LOL. That's a really neat group of records. Do the other trucks still exist?

I was only thinking that amount because I’ve seen some costs of trucks back then and I equated it to buying a house back then. Think about it, you’re young and starting out. Buy a house or buy a truck? Hopefully, the truck would allow you to buy the house in short order. That was a huge amount of money back then.

The good word here is “compensation”. Sometimes, the less you say the better. I run into the same thing in some of the aviation circles I run in. Ramp fees, fuel, landing fees, if someone else pays for them it can put you in a whole lot different operating category, read FAA trouble. If you move anything it’s “yours” while it’s on your truck or trailer. Anything you receive can be construed as compensation, prize money, food, fuel, lodging. Just be careful and realistic with what you’re doing and you’ll be fine. The other issue that no one likes to talk about is insurance. I’ll say this, make sure what you’re doing is going to be covered if the worse case scenario happens. If a law suit ever comes your way, you don’t want to be left holding the bag.

It's a heavy spec truck, I was thinking about $25,000, with the engine and options you mentioned.

I agree with doubleclutchinweasel, it can get complicated. There is no requirement in CT to have that placarded on the truck anywhere, but i do have it on there. Mostly I do it to lesson the interest in what I'm doing. As a retired State Trooper, I saw lots of sketchy stuff on the highways and it always piqued my interest and may cause me to stop someone at least to inquire what they were up to. Vehicle condition is another red flag. Antique registrations, typically, let you bypass a lot of regulations/commercial requirements/CDL's. I have traveled far from home and never had any issues legal wise. I always stop at scale houses that are open and have always been waved through. If you do pass one thats open, you'll probably at least get chased down, because there is a fine for doing so. I have seen vehicles placarded as- NOT FOR HIRE, PRIVATE VEHICLE, RECREATIONAL USE ONLY, PRIVATE COACH, even though they have commercial, combination or passenger plates as that may be the only way to register it in that state.