is it worth it??

hi!   im new and have a pressing question. a co worker of mine   said he was going to sell his 1984 chevy 1 ton and was wondering if i was interested. i was of course and asked him the usual questions. its a duely 4x4. he said the cab is rusted out ( i live in upper wisconsin ) but everything works fine and then he said it has the 6.2 deisel. i was betting he wanted a couple a grand, cause it comes with the snow-plow. he then told me he was hoping to get 500 bucks for it! i know its got the danna 70 rear end and the h.d. danna 60 front, but what t case? and where do i find a rust free cab? i have searched the web for one and found nothing. i was thinking of getting a 6 inch lift and running 38" bfg at's on all 6 rimms.but i cant find anyone who makes a lift for a one tone. any help you can give would be great. thanks, brian770 lief@baysat.net  

if your interested in modifying a truck to wheel then thats definately not the truck to do it to.  youll be wasting your time and money  

as to the cab, jc whitney at least has most of the pieces that you will need to repair it, this isn't as glamorous asa cab replacement, but it is one way to do it. as for the t-cases, it is either an np 205 or an np 208, the 205 is about the strongest thin out there these cases can be told apart because the 205 is cast iron, and gear driven, and i believe the 208 is made of aluminum, and i am certain that it is chain driven.  as for the 6.2L diesel,  if you're gonna keep it, give banks performance a call and get a turbo kit for it, or swap in a 350 or a 454,  these swaps should be relatively straightforward.  as to the lift any chevy lift should work (not sure though), also not sure about all 6 of those 38's especially in the back. hope i've helped a little.

I know this for a fact, BFG doesn't make 38" tires.  The biggest are 35's.  As for a lift, if it's a leaf sprung vehicle you could get a spring shop to make you some custom 6" springs.  I would ask them to make the spring packs using lots of thin springs so you get a better ride and more flex offroad.  Rearching 1 ton  springs will make for a bone jarring ride.  As for the body, good luck.  Maybe you should think about going fiberglass.  It won't rust.

Scoutnut

BFG special orders 37" tires, they arent advertised very often...and they will cost big bucks!  

That's interesting, where did you here that?  I've never seen it advertised or even mentioned.  Their website doesn't even say anything about it.

Scoutnut

I saw a set of bfg AT's at a truck show in lindsay ontario. 37x12.50x17, on a 68 Ford p/up, I asked, owner said they were custom order from BFGooderich.....could be bull####, could be retreads with a new sidewall info.....who knows.....but that was the word on the street

now for the truck that you are talking about. first the 6.2 is a very good engine if its been takin care of. many people will tell you other wise but i own 3 of them right now. the problem is they were not made to be fast they were made to work. now for the cab i have had a great deal of luck with chevy stuff from wreckingyards in Utah.(is it reg cab or crew cab?) now for the lift i know that superlift used to make a lift for that exact application about 4 years ago. but for price and ride i would have to agree a spring shops customs would most likely be the best. i dont know about bfg's so i cant tell you about those. if you decide for any reason not to get the truck PLEASE let me know.

good hunting

I have to disagree on the 6.2L being a good motor.

The block was not specifically designed for a diesel application, it was an oldsmobile (or buick, cant remember) block modified and beefed to handle the 20:1 compression ratio. It was originally put in station wagons, and then trucks.

It was never really mean to "work". Its aneamic performace is hardly capable of towing ( i had a miltary truck with 4.56 gears and a 6.2, even with 4.56 and 31" tires its towing ability was marginal). 

A swap to a 350ci gas motor is relatively inexpensive (less than a banks sidewinder turbo, like some magazine just installed on their 6.2L).

The rest of the truck sounds pretty sweet, I'd buy it, run the 6.2L until it quits (or you get fed up with it). Cabs should be easy enough to get.

Goodluck

not to try to sway your oppinion but like i said i own 3 of them right now and the lowest mile one is 285k and the highest is over 400k. and as for not being made to tow i would disagree. i pulled my 38ft camping trailer (12,000 lbs dry weight about 14,000lbs full) over the sisters at 70mph. i have many friends with them. but you are right about the turbo. that would be a bad idea considering it was a gas engine design they dont hold up like they should with the turbo.

My 84 burban with a 250hp 350, SM465 trans, 4.11 gears and 35" tires out-towed the 86 5/4ton 6.2L, TH400, 4.56 gears and 31" tires.

Same trailer and route. Diesel couldnt handle hills, drop to second gear and about 55mph (i am talkin real hills in northern Ontario), Gas motor i could keep it in top gear and only drop to about 65mph.

The only reason the 6.2L was even built was for fuel economy. It lasts a long time, all diesels do. Toyota diesels from overseas run 900,000km before rebuilds.

Plus it costs a fortune to keep fuel pumps in the 6.2L, if fuel pressure in them varies even the slightest bit, they run like crap. Plus the glow plugs were never hot enough to start it on cold days (I had to buy aftermaket ones just to drive the damn truck).

Diesel motors worth investing in, 7.3L ford (before powersmoke), and anything that says Cummins or Cat on the valve cover.