Posted by W300Joe on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 at 11:35:14 :
Haven’t posted here for awhile but thought it might be a good time to give a heads up and first notice here before I start being a little more aggressive about selling my W-300 parts fleet! Snow’s starting to melt off and mud season’s almost on us, we’re finally moved into the new house w/Dodge trucks still frozen in all around and parts under tarps and in boxes and trailers. At nearly 60 I’m again getting real active gunsmithing and reloading, still have to disassemble and rebuild the machine tools from my old shop, and I’ve finally accepted that I’ll probably never finish restoring my matched ’57 JD 420 Utility and crawler loader/hoe … much less disassemble and reassemble my ultimate pickup: a ’63-65 W-300 9’ Utiline pickup w/Poly 318, 900(or 1100!)x16 singles, LU-2 and plow, minor parts updates & upgrades, rust repaired and held at bay w/fresh clean paint everywhere!
I live 1/2hr north of Portland Maine and a 10 minute drive from I-295 Freeport, so read up East Coasters, for once it’s not on the West Coast! I’ve been packratting away Sweptline Power Wagon parts since the early ‘70s, when I got rid of my flat fender, IHs and dozen plus prewar Ford trucks and parts. I ran a ’65 W-300 boom truck as my machine shop service vehicle/daily driver for around 15 years till around ’90, still have what’s left of it and plan to part it for a maybe project. For those of you who’ve been here before, I plan to also keep both W-100 short beds: the faded ”pink” ‘61 and the blue ’71 plowtruck, also the yellow ’68 W-200 bucket truck, and the ’68 P-300 “MolesterVan” stepvan.
As mentioned, everything’s still snowed under and frozen in, but “mud season” is starting, our annual town “metal cleanup” is end of April, and I’ve finally given up any plans for that “ultimate “ W-300 rebuild/restore. Last year I’d advertised and nearly sold one of my W-300s, and a 9’ Utiline box, but still couldn’t quite give up the rest. I give up … time for them to go now, 2 rolling were running W-300s w/factory LU-2 winches, at least 1 maybe 2 or 3 rolling/might run Ds&Ws, a ’62 W-300 rolling single wheel chassis, 9’ Reading Utility body, 6 scarce minty 6.5x16 single rims plus some 900 tires, etc., etc., along w/accumulated doors and hoods and fenders and cabs – none primo southwestern rustfree, some northeastern swisscheese, along w/spare NP 4 & 5spd trannys, transfercases, 70 axles and springs … basically a minimum of 3 trailerable trucks, a truck or trailerload of parts, but it’s all got to go – I will not sell a piece of this or that! I’m not looking for unrealistic “big bucks” and would seriously consider a solid daily driver Ford Ranger or Toyota pickup + $250- cash (agreed to return Sal Rossi’s deposit from a deal that fell through last Fall!).
Again, all or nothing (which will narrow the interest and offers I’m sure!). I’ll be taking new photos and compiling a better list during the next couple weeks (before Easter), hoping for a semi-commitment by May1 as I want to cut up and haul off scrap before then. My loading dock is gone w/the old house, but I could borrow a backhoe to help load. If anyone’s interested contact me here on the forum and I’ll email you back, and if seriously interested in looking it over I’m available 24/7 to show it all.
W300Joe (might have to change my online name!)
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