M880 truck

[DustyDodge444]

Hey everyone!

I am in the position to snag a 1977 dodge M884 and I was wondering what your opinions were of the truck. So current owner bought the truck off an online auction. He went to pick up and he was sketched out because the tires on the truck were bald so he went and bought new tires from Costco. He got back to his place and the truck sat for a while. Current owner states that there is no fuel coming to the carburetor. From my research I believe that the float jet is most likely stuck but I don't want to tell him that. I know this because he replaced the mechanical fuel pump on the truck and fuel was not filling the bowl The truck currently has 30,560 on the odometer these are original miles ( I can confirm because past inspection notes from 2005 say 20K) Frame has surface rust but not anything that can't be wire wheeled off. Body and interior are in great condition. The only thing that I would say needs fixing is the speedometer because needle is broken off inside the speedometer. I guess my question would be what is the thing worth? Truck seems like a good purchase but I wanted to ask. I don't have any pictures of it on my desktop but I will see about getting some tonight

Thanks in advance

 

[87cr250r]

Its a 1977 Dodge W20 with a 318 engine and 727 transmission, the drivetrain parts are all readily available. You're going to have to go through the same routine you would with any 46 year old vehicle; renew seals gaskets, and hoses. Carburetor rebuilds are routine maintenance.

 

[porkysplace]

I would look at the rubber fuel lines on the tank sucking air as part of the fuel problem .

 

[Wreckclues]

I would look at the rubber fuel lines on the tank sucking air as part of the fuel problem .

While you're at it don't forget the pickup tube, don't know if you small truck folk have the same issues with steel tubes that we do....

 

[NDT]

Porkys has a very good point, the fuel pickup is plain steel and can get very rusty.
M884 with new tires is worth $1500.

 

[DustyDodge444]

Thank you everyone for their replies! I will definitely check out the fuel lines and the pick up tube. I know pump is out of question because he just replaced it and had the same problem. So from what you were saying it is worth 1500 as it sits?

 

[NDT]

Not sure what brand tires he put on it, but Firestone Transforce are $208 ea and crappy Power Kings are $163, so quite a bit of value there for 4 tires including tax and balancing etc.
I have Transforce on mine, a good highway only tire.

 

[porkysplace]

Thank you everyone for their replies! I will definitely check out the fuel lines and the pick up tube. I know pump is out of question because he just replaced it and had the same problem. So from what you were saying it is worth 1500 as it sits?

With all the crap china parts don't rule it out just because it is new , leave all ideas open .
You couls always take a piece of gas line from the fuel pump into a gas can to see if it is pulling fuel , to see if there are problems back towards the tank .

 

[NDT]

On mine I had to put a fuel filter before the mechanical pump due to trash from the tank getting stuck in the pump valves, ruining the pumps over and over.

 

[DustyDodge444]

The guy I am trying to acquire the truck from is a total pothead and I think I can get it from him for relatively cheap. That truck has been sitting for at least 4 years and I think if I go with cash I can snag it for cheap. May end up selling it depending not sure yet.

 

[DustyDodge444]

 

[SCM35A2]

Good looking truck

 

[NDT]

Those are some old used Michelin 16” tires off something else. Not worth much. Value of truck now about $700

 

[DustyDodge444]

I was honestly thinking about keeping it as a parade truck or maybe selling if I can find a guy not really sure yet what I want to do with it

 

[87cr250r]

That truck would be worth $6-7k out here in California. If the rust level is low.

 

[NDT]

Some data points: Once you work the bugs out of them, 880s are awesome capable trucks. Mine has carried 2 yards of crushed concrete, pulled around a D3 dozer on a 3 axle trailer, transported nearly anything imaginable all over the state of Texas for me a 70 mph. Plan on 8-10 mpg. What kills them is rust, like all 70's Mopars, the steel has no pretreatment or galvanizing. They rust from the inside out. I had my cab sandblasted and zinc primed, still rusted out from the inside. Unless you live in Arizona, plan on keeping yours in a shed.

 

[G744]

Another thing that kills mileage on these is the full-time 4WD. Mile marker used to make a kit to deactivate that into manual mode. No way to put locking hubs on it without a lot of parts changeout. That kit did markedly inprove the MPG.

The front wheel bearing (yes, just one) can fail and put you out of service fast. There is no maint on it other than changing the unit bearing out.

I drove one for many miles as a work-provided ride.

 

[Mullaney]

The guy I am trying to acquire the truck from is a total pothead and I think I can get it from him for relatively cheap. That truck has been sitting for at least 4 years and I think if I go with cash I can snag it for cheap. May end up selling it depending not sure yet.

.
Put what you think the least he might take in your right pocket. Put a little more in a couple of other pockets if you want to negotiate up. And if he's really a pothead, maybe you can talk to him when he has bloodshot eyes...

 

[DustyDodge444]

Looking at it again today with my Grandpa because he knows a lot about vehicles. I'll take $300 with me and hope the dude is stoned out of his mind again. I will keep you all updated on my progress and the restoration of it as I complete it

 

[msgjd]

If that truck has no mech issues, I would gladly give $1500 for what I see there.. Of course start lower and see how it goes .. But a good clean M880 with little to no rot that runs well and not blowing blue smoke nor slipping tranny is worth at least $2500 to $5k depending on a lot of things.. Better yet, one that is a standard is even better.. . But of course try to get it as cheap as you can ... Also try to keep in perspective, if taken care of, those trucks will be around a long time after newer stuff is long-gone.. Also compare that $2500-5000 good old truck to the price of something newer that is much more complicated to work on and gonna cost you a lot more money, especially if you don't have modern diagnostics tools to work on it .. Yes there are beat-up misunderstood M880's out there that were given a very bad life or are hacked up mechanically and electrically by people who didn't know what they were doing that I wouldn't give 500 bucks for.. But at the other extreme end of that stick, I have two examples sitting right here that I cannot replace with anything newer for less than $10k and be just as reliable and simple to work on .. But of course I am biased and have the advantage of working on/owning many 1970's dodge/plymouth cars and trucks since I was a teenager in the 70s to this very day.. Oh yeah, I sure wish now I had never sold the "hot rod" ones to appease "sensible" girlfriends of the time