Howdy everyone

[ram6150]

Howdy everyone !
Just joined, I found a 1980 D50 on a local website posted this morning. I am going to buy it this evening and would really appreciate if anyone could give me a heads up on what to look for when checking it out. It is the base model, 1980, 45,000 original miles !! Sit in a barn for the last 20 years but started every month or more often, the owner is 86 and sadly dying. They want $2500 for it, said the only thing wrong with it is some rust on the rear bumper and light rust on rear quarters. Only one pic and it looks like the dash is cracked bad, can replacements be found ?

Glad to be a member, I am very active in forums and like to help others whenever I can. If anyone could give me tips on what to look for tonight I would really appreciate it.

[xboxrox]

Howdy everyone !
Just joined, I found a 1980 D50 on a local website posted this morning. I am going to buy it this evening and would really appreciate if anyone could give me a heads up on what to look for when checking it out. It is the base model, 1980, 45,000 original miles !! Sit in a barn for the last 20 years but started every month or more often, the owner is 86 and sadly dying. They want $2500 for it, said the only thing wrong with it is some rust on the rear bumper and light rust on rear quarters. Only one pic and it looks like the dash is cracked bad, can replacements be found ?

Glad to be a member, I am very active in forums and like to help others whenever I can. If anyone could give me tips on what to look for tonight I would really appreciate it.

WELCOME ram6150 ~ a covercraft dash cover will make the dash look new again, check out my photo albums ~ sad the owner is dying so the family probably needs the $2,500 pretty badly ~ I think that is a nice truck, the paint might be OK to just polish out ~ let the engine warm up good & on startup be looking at the tailpipe for blue smoke

Have FUN with your cool new truck
Aloha ~ George

[Hobbyranch]

Sweet truck! You’re going to have fun with that! Love that topper too, so hard to find.

[ram6150]

Thanks for the replies. Didn't go well....Truck was amazingly rust free, body in great shape, started right up... Went to drive it and everytime you put the engine under load it would die. It would idle perfectly, soon as you give it any gas it would fall on its face. Also, the starter solenoid was going out, probably from having to restart it so much to keep it running.... Dam shame, If it wasn't 100 miles from my house I would have still bought it but too much to have it towed on top of 2500 for the truck. Probably just needs a carb rebuild from sitting so long, I am still bumming, what a shame. I am going to hang out here on the forum, keep looking, I still want a D50 !

[geezer101]

That's too bad. The factory carbs are finnicky gadgets to work on. If you were able to swap the potentially dud carb with a clean one you would've been cheering. It's the second truck I've seen on the site with the same topper. Good first gen trucks still come up which is surprising.

[camoit]

befor going into the carb. Change the fuel filter. If it's falling on it's face when hitting the gas. replace the accelerator pump in the carb. If you think it's because the seccondary is not opening. Replace the or test the vacuum diaphragm module thing on the side that pulls it open. You will find doing things one at a time better then a bunch of things at once. This way you can find the problem VS a shotgun fix.

[xboxrox]

Do you otherwise like this truck enuff to buy it & make it your joy toy ride..? IF BIG IF it has all the boxes checked that you want in a truck i.e. automatic transmission, engine size, color paint, all original with no missing parts i.e. hubcaps etc AND nothing else seems to be wrong with it i.e. rusty brake lines, rusty muffler exhaust pipe, needs shocks, cracked lights, torn seat, bad wiper motor, bad starter motor, needs battery, etc...

THEN

Offer less money ~ justify less because of towing expense, engine repairs (most likely fuel problem timing problem bad spark plugs combo of little things old gas fuel filter fuel pump new battery needed yada yada)

CAN YOU FIX IT..?

CAN YOU REALLY FIX IT do you enjoy wrenching troubleshooting etc..? Do you have your own garage, tools..?

If you plan to take it to a repair shop for fixing then I say DO NOT BUY THIS TRUCK...

blah blah
Let it warm up or even better get hot (cover the radiator to block cooling air) open the radiator cap & rev up the engine to highest RPM she will do, look for gas bubbles in the coolant MAYBE IT HAS A CRACKED HEAD?) O'Reilly's has free Combustion Gas Detectors for rent, stick it on the radiator to check for head gasket cracked head... Actually since it cranks over you could do a compression test of the cylinders Test #1 NO oil Test #2 with oil O''Reilly's has free compression testers ~ if the compression test is bad then stay far away from trying to repair the mess..! Did you look at the tailpipe when it started up to check for blue smoke..?

OIL LEAKS?
Steering Gear Box Pitman Arm (if power steering this is worse bad than std steering)
Transmission tail shaft
Crankshaft front oil seal & rear seal
Rear differential

STEERING SUSPENSION?
Wiggle on the steering wheel & partner watch the idler arm tie rods pitman arm any movement is bad
Raise a front wheel off the ground & pry up on it with a long bar & partner looks at ball joints, movement is bad

[Chargerx3]

Welcome to the club. Thats a well preserved truck.