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Since this guy used to give me premium money for my scrap I was in and out while they were doing the rebuild and modification.
Lots of love and skill went into that truck.
He said he'll take 10 grand for it as it sits.
I have found some interesting stuff while scrounging through his yard.
Found these pics of my old wrecker.
They rebuilt the engine and added the big hydraulic scotches on the rear.
The guy that rebuilt it was an old school Cummins doctor and I was told he really twisted it's tail.
The poor wrecker is languishing in his storage yard because none of his drivers...
I parted out a Marine Corps 5 ton a while back and I can tell you from experience that to have been built by the lowest bidder these trucks are notoriously hard to reverse engineer.:mrgreen:
I have backed my M927A2 up in reverse but it was basically idling along while I was moving back and forth to re-position the truck while I was pulling a stump.
The transfer cases can be a real bugger to shift sometimes. On one truck I had you actually had to bleed the air down to almost zero...
This is what I made using a bolster trailer and the bed off my M927A2. It pulls like a dream but has the old air over hydraulic brakes on it. Since you have the the what's left of the other truck I'd say go for it and do it the way you describe. If the air tanks are still on the frame I'd used...
You did good Son. Check the emergency fuel shut off and the fuel shut off solinoid. Make sure it hasn't been manually screwed shut.
If it does have to have an engine I'd look for a cheap 8.3.
Unless you have a tractor with a front end loader on it loading and unloading firewood out of that high bed is going to be a real PITA.
As a matter of fact loading and unloading anything out of the back of that high bed is a real PITA without a forklift or loader.
Your mileage may vary...
The V-8 Driptroit was never built with fuel mileage in mind.
Back in the day I drove various commercial vehicles with "double breasted Yamahas" in them and they all sucked fuel at a prodigious rate. They also burn oil to keep that big motor lubed up while driving.
Another factor with a two...
I thought it looked familiar. I think it was one of the early ones I loaded that caused my first "Pucker Factor 10) event when I was loading it onto the step deck.
That slinky effect gets your attention quick.
Considering what we the taxpayers paid for them when they were new they are cheaper than dirt.
If I had the spare cash there would be one or two holding down some real estate at my place.
A wrecker is a marvelous beast to have but they bring with them a bunch of challenges.
Unless you already own a tow service or have the money to pay commercial tow insurance you will not be towing (even flat towing) with the wrecker legally.
Trust me on this, been there, done that, didn't even...
Welcome to my world.
I tried breaking down one of the super singles once.....and once broke me of the habit.
I have a tire dude that will break them down, repair/replace the tire for 35 bucks. He is my new BFF.
In my neck of the woods shop time for these trucks is about 75 bucks an hour but...
I wouldn't take a skinned monkey for my M927A2.
The 8.3 can be turned up to 400 HP without making it sweat (assuming you have an competent pump doctor).
It rides like a Caddy (I have a civy seat in it) and gets decent mileage for a vehicle that weighs 27,000 pounds and has the aerodynamics of...