Recovering Sarge's M818

[M813rc]

There are several of us around here who will help out.
Are you actually buying one in Liberty Hill? If so, I know the guy you are buying from, I'd be happy to go with you.

Cheers

 

[IHASFIP]

Yea, I think so. My buddy has bought rockwells from him and he was a real nice guy to deal with. I drove down there about 3 weeks ago and looked at what he had. (My grandmother lives in Lampasas so I was already in the neighborhood.) He seemed like a real nice guy. I told him I didn't want to spend more than 3000$ and he said that was fine. For that price he would piece me one together that ran and drove, everything worked, with good tires. The downside was that it wouldn't be painted. It might have dents and dings and what not. I can deal with that. I want it as a toy. I am new to stuff this big but not cars/trucks/diesels in general. I have an 11 sec camaro, and me and my buddy built a cummins powered 86 chevrolet for rockcrawling ( rear steer, rockwells, hydro winch, detroits, 44" boggers, yada, yada). Basically I just want someone to help me pick on out and what exactly to look for while I am there.

D

 

[IHASFIP]

BTW one thing I was kinda worried about was some of the truck he said were "nice" that he wanted 4500$ didn't look as nice as some of the 3000$ ones. And none of them regardless of price with the exception of maybe 2 were as nice as some of the ones I see selling on ebay, GL, for the same price or less.

But what do I know? Thats what ya'll are here for.

D

 

[hoopsoft]

That truck is garbage and I feel badly you paid so much, bring it back and I'll take it off your hands for $3500, just to get it out of your hair. Heck I'd even come get it.

(It was more happy here I can tell)

 

[Sarge]

IHASFIP, I saw your comments about the guy in Liberty Hill and his deuces.
Okay, I wanted to tell you a couple of things about him.
First you have to understand that he does not do this as a hobby, for him it is a business. He has to make a profit otherwise he's out of a job.
If he has agreed to sell you a deuce for $3000 (or even $4500) then trust me, you are getting a deal. most of his trucks go for much more. He sells to oil companies etc. They pay him a LOT more than that. He must like you.
There are a few of us (Lone Star MVPA) close to Liberty Hill, I'm sure that one or two of us would be happy to go and look with you. I know deuces pretty well, I've driven them for almost 35 years and worked on them for 25 years. Lynn (the guy in Liberty Hill) has probably known them longer than me. He is also brutally honest and never BS’es anyone.
The reason why deuces are nicer on E-Bay and other places is mainly because they belong to collectors. Collectors spend a lot more time on the cosmetic appearance of the truck than how it actually runs. On E-bay you pay for the looks. With the guy in Liberty Hill you pay for how it runs. Big difference! (No insult intended to all of you guys who actually read the TM’s and maintain your trucks properly, you are in the minority)
Do I know Lynn? Of course, I know him very well. I sound like a salesman for him, don’t I? Well, I’m not, I don’t profit a penny from him but I do want it known how honest and knowledgeable he is.
You can do the cosmetic work yourself, the paint is fairly cheap and easy to use. Then you can turn around and sell it on E-pay for twice as much!
Another E-bay disadvantage is where the trucks are located. Not here in Texas but the biggest concentration is in the North-East. How do you get it back? If you’re lucky, two people drive up and you drive it back. Do the math, it will cost you thousands (plural) in gas and time to do that. Or you could ship it. Get ready for a heart attack! Despite all of the guys who tell you shipping is cheap, there’s no such thing as cheap shipping.
You mentioned that the GL trucks look good? Boy-howdy! Look closer!
Ask about the warranty. Warranty? Ha-ha! Ask about the condition. You’re joking! Nobody knows the condition except the unit who turned it in to DRMO. You will not find that person. Cheap? Yes! Good deal? Maybe. Maybe not.
All right, I’ve blathered enough, flame shields up!
-Sarge

 

[Sarge]

Hoopsoft, sorry we missed you last week. We really enjoyed running around your back yard looking at all of your toys.
Wiper? Don’t know what you’re talking about. (Hee-hee)
$3,500 for the truck? No way!
Even if you offered me $3,500 more than I paid, still, no way!
Cosmetically it’s really nice, mechanically it’s pretty good.
Sarge buys, Sarge do not sell!
Also, the truck is very happy here, it said that it was too wet in Oklahoma, it prefers the sunshine.
The truck ran 57mph all the way home, I noticed that one poor guy here has an 818 that can only get up to 52mph. (Tell tale don’t lie). That’s sad, perhaps it hadn’t eaten it’s Wheaties that morning.
The US government launched about 28 satellites into geosynchronous orbit back in the 70’s and 80’s at a cost of around 100 billion dollars. With my handy-dandy $100 GPS mounted in the 818 window I tapped into that 100 billion dollars and you know what? My 818 ran 57mph all the way home. Hee-hee!
Really, I hope we get the chance to meet you one day, perhaps I could replace the amazing disappearing wiper!
-Sarge

 

[hoopsoft]

Holy crap, do you really have all that stuff in your signature line? How do you like the KLR? Where did you find those at?

 

[Sarge]

Uh... yeah.... I've got all that stuff and more. I'm a retired old fart so I have the time (not the money) to wrench all day every day.
The KLR's are sweet, I love them but my crappy back doesn't allow me to ride often or far.
I bought the last one in California (near Yosemite) and attempted to ride it home. See the thread "Sarges Rides Again". I didn't make it, it's a loooong story and one day I'll finish writing it. Even some gunplay in it.
I got it on E-pay, that story is also posted somewhere here.
I think there are one or two guys on SS with the 650 and several guys with the 250's.
The biggest project right now is a barn to get everything out of the Texas sun. I'm attempting to build something 70 feet deep and 100 yards long. For almost free. That is another story......

 

[M813rc]

IHASFIP, PM me and/or Sarge, we'll exchange contact info and set up a time to go look at trucks with you.

Hoopsoft, apparently the 818 is happy now. We parked it in the pasture, but by next morning it had snuggled up next to Sarge's Air Force M35. Last time that happened, there were a couple of M715s running around the place a few months later.

One really nice thing about all those vehicles and Sarge and me being neighbours, is that they are all parked together, along with another buddy's trucks/trailers. When you crest the rise at the end of my driveway coming in, there is a sea (okay, a lake anyway) of OD and camo vehicles. Biggest problem is deciding what to take to events!

Cheers

 

[IHASFIP]

Thanks guys for all the input. Sarge/M813rc I will let you know. I have a lead on a truck just a stones throw from my house that has a M35 W/w and hard top, with bows and canvas, good paint, run and drives good, good brakes, recent service for 3500$ so I think I am going to look at that one today. I will let ya'll know what I find and possibly some pictures of it. If I/yall think it is a good deal I will buy it by this weekend. Even has a title for it.

D

 

[Sarge]

$3,500 for an M35 in that condition in Texas?
That is not a good price, by the way, where is it parked?
hee-hee!
Not a good price at all, it's an EXCELLENT price!!!
IF everything you said is accurate......

 

[IHASFIP]

Well, I will snap some pictures of it. He said he put new batteries on it a few months back (august I think) and it has been about a month since he started it so, maybe the batteries are up, and for safe measures I guess I would go back and change all the fluids to be sure. Sounded like a good deal to me, the only thing I don't know of yet is whether it has a turbo or not, I didn't ask. But oh well.

D

 

[dogtags]

North of Waco the intermittent rain smoothly transitioned into torrential rain, which persisted for the rest of the trip. There was nearly as much water inside the cab as outside. Upon using the windshield wiper, I found that it was possessed. To make the solitary blade move, you had to turn the knob all the way on, which made it center itself vertically on the windshield. If you then backed it off a quarter turn, the blade would move at its only operating speed, Demonic Blur. After about five minutes of this, the wiper apparently thought it could be even more demonic if it only swept half the windshield, the left. Now in medieval days, the left was called Side Sinister. Coincidence? I think not! Periodically, the blade would stop. If you reached for the manual knob to give a quick swipe, it would immediately go back to flail speed and give a sound and painful whack to the tip of your finger. After a few times I eventually learned- do not touch the demon wiper.

ROTFL!!!


I think that truck and the Military Veterans Museum's M54A2C are twins. I had the same wiper 'issues' with that truck. I didn't think anyone would have believed me if I had told it (and there is now way I could have worded it as good as you).

~Robert