Posted by Photo Classifieds [75.131.145.86] on Monday, September 01, 2014 at 08:32:24 :
Selling my 2-owner 1978 Dodge W300 Power Wagon- has 128,000 original miles. Though originally a 400 automatic truck with an NP203 t-case, the original owner (a landscape company) had the truck reworked (in 1997 with 90k miles) to a 318 4 speed/ divorced NP205 for better durability. I bought the truck with battered sheet metal (due to fleet use/ minor front end collision damage) in December 2011 and re-bodied the truck with a cab and front clip from a very presentable ‘76 W200. Some specifics on the truck:
-38k on a rebuilt 1986 318 engine with swirl port heads, Edelbrock 4bbl intake, Edelbrock 600 cfm carb w/ electric choke, and a recent tune-up including a new distributor, cap, rotor, plugs, and 8mm plug wires. The engine runs excellent but could stand some carb and timing adjustments for better power/economy. I have the timing backed off due to pinging with cheap gas, and I think the 600 cfm carb is a bit much for the stock-cammed 318.
-Dana 60 Front, Dana 70 rear axles with 4.88 gears (open front and rear). Front axle has Selectro lockout hubs. I installed Rancho 2.5” lift springs in front to get the truck to sit level- it sits pretty level even with 2,000 lbs on the flatbed.
-NP205 divorced transfer case shifts well and 4 wheel drive works great. The NP435 4 speed will need some attention as it grinds going into 3rd and 4th gear if you don‘t have the RPM‘s just right. I had the flywheel surfaced and installed a new NAPA clutch when I put the truck together, due to some throwout bearing noise. Even with the new clutch the truck still intermittently makes the noise, not sure why.
-The body of this truck looks great and is very much presentable. It is an older repaint with some signs of filler in the lower fenders, and a few rust bubbles in the bottoms of the doors- paint is getting thin on the roof of the cab. The truck’s floor has rust issues in front of the seat (appx. 6”x 6” holes on both sides with many other pinholes) under the original rubber mat and will need repair- included are rust-free floor pans from a ‘91 W250 truck. Windows both roll up and down flawlessly and the doors open and close nice. Has a heavy all-steel bed with removable steel side boards- bed is hinged to be a dump body but hasn’t had a hoist in the time I’ve owned it. Has all 1-piece steel 16” wheels- rears are from a mid 80’s ford and have a ½” spacer between them to allow the use of the 235/85R16 tires. Tires are radials and have 15%-20% tread in rear, 50%-60% front with no leaks. I planned to go to 19.5’s but never came across the right deal.
-Lights all work great and the electrical system is in good condition- ammeter has been bypassed in favor of a volt gauge in the left wing of the gauge surround. Gauges work but are at times erratic- speedometer jumps around during cold weather and gauges sometimes read falsely- I’d guess there might be pins needing re-soldering on the back of the cluster.
-Interior is very clean and presentable- no tears in the nicely re-upholstered seat under the cover, steel ‘72-’74 door panels re-sprayed black, nice black visors and dash. Glove box door has minor cracks along the top edge. Cab is from an A/C truck but I removed the evaporator core when I had the heater box apart to install a new heater core. Heater and fan work great but I suspect there to be minor vacuum leaks in the blendoor vacuum pods- the heater control unit in the dash is cracked and as such the fan switch can no longer be screwed into it.
The truck starts, runs, drives, and stops very well for it’s age, and I feel that it is overall mechanically sound. Steering/handling wise this truck has better road manners than my ’97 cummins. In the nearly 3 years I’ve owned it I’ve only put 2,000 miles on it, using it mainly around the farm and as a backup vehicle. I’m selling it because I have too many trucks, and this one is too nice to sit in a shed covered in dust for months at a time when I’m not using it. Also have factory ‘73 Camper mirrors to go with the truck- never installed due to the truck having been painted with the current mirrors installed on it. Have a clear title in my name, and all the receipts/maintenance records since 1997. Truck is licensed through Jan. 2016 in OR.
Asking $3,000 obo- please email powerwagoncrazy@msn.com, or call me (Rob) at (503) 980-8797 (personal cell). Thanks!