Thinking about buying a 40

[Monty231]

So I've wanted a 40 ever since I was in high school. And, after last weekends ride my wife was intrigued by the two 40's. So, not letting the opportunity go to waste I started looking around. And, found these beauties: http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/3608298592.html What are y'alls thoughts? I'm planning on looking at them Thursday morning.

 

[sk8salomon]

40's are great trucks, never owned one, always wished i did. many others here like Todd & Marius have 80's & 40's so might get their input. As far as ride comfort in the woods, your 80 is supreme. coil springs are much more comfy than leaf spring technology from 1970. Sprung over i'm sure they are a little better but still not as good as your 80. Those trucks look pretty rough, sounds like a long project but would be fun to do. if you have the coin, i'd be all over it.

 

[Monty231]

40's are great trucks, never owned one, always wished i did. many others here like Todd & Marius have 80's & 40's so might get their input. As far as ride comfort in the woods, your 80 is supreme. coil springs are much more comfy than leaf spring technology from 1970. Sprung over i'm sure they are a little better but still not as good as your 80. Those trucks look pretty rough, sounds like a long project but would be fun to do. if you have the coin, i'd be all over it.

Aww...come on the 78 is ugly and has mismatched wheels, but I think it may make a good project. I was thinking I'd buy all three and use the others for parts. Someone tell me I'm crazy. But, honestly looking at the pics if you add some paint to it it's really in the same shape as some of the others I've seen going for a lot more money.

 

[DSLTOY]

Not crazy, my 40 is a 72-75-76 and a GM diesel. But look before you leap and make sure you have a good frame and enough sheet metal to build one, the old 40's had serious rust issues in the south east. If I read it correctly the running one has a 305 V-8 , which actually has less power than the 2F. So you may want to plan to replace it with a 350 or 6.2l diesel which are both direct drop ins if the original conversion was done right.
I live in Manchester, let me know when you are going to look at them and I will try to go with you.

 

[Monty231]

Not crazy, my 40 is a 72-75-76 and a GM diesel. But look before you leap and make sure you have a good frame and enough sheet metal to build one, the old 40's had serious rust issues in the south east. If I read it correctly the running one has a 305 V-8 , which actually has less power than the 2F. So you may want to plan to replace it with a 350 or 6.2l diesel which are both direct drop ins if the original conversion was done right.
I live in Manchester, let me know when you are going to look at them and I will try to go with you.

Awesome...thanks for the offer. I'm probably going Thursday morning maybe Wednesday afternoon.

He said he has one good 2f. Would it be hard to swap back if the original swap was done properly?

 

[DSLTOY]

Yes, the original motor mounts should have been removed and new ones welded in. Throttle linkage and wiring should have been modified, hard to tell what else was modified until we see it. Send you a PM with my phone number. Do you know the owners name?

 

[Hugh Heifer]

You are in good hands if Roger goes with you Monty. A lot can go wrong if you get one in pieces. Romega Dave got one that was really rough. Probably not really worth saving...dunno what happened with that truck actually. It was full of rust, had wiring issues and a V8 conversion but the engine was ruined. Have fun you two!

 

[Monty231]

Well looks like I'll be getting the 40 in the morning. We worked out a barter deal for it that works for both of us. I appreciate everyone's help, especially Roger.

Let the ing begin.

 

[radioridge]

congrats! did you get all of them?

 

[Monty231]

congrats! did you get all of them?

Nah, they were pretty far gone. And, not a lot of usable parts anyway.