Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Good luck? I have doubts about the seller, sounds like haggling will be extremely difficult.
Oh, haggling won't be a problem. I'm going to have either 0 or 1 offer prices, and he can either take that or not. I don't have much headroom to negotiate in, and I'm going to have to blatt out a load of money to rebuild it into an RV. RV fridges, cooktops, toilets and showers ain't free. Plus it probably doesn't have an onboard genset yet, plus water tankage, plus refitting it to tow.
 
Oh, haggling won't be a problem. I'm going to have either 0 or 1 offer prices, and he can either take that or not. I don't have much headroom to negotiate in, and I'm going to have to blatt out a load of money to rebuild it into an RV. RV fridges, cooktops, toilets and showers ain't free. Plus it probably doesn't have an onboard genset yet, plus water tankage, plus refitting it to tow.

If you do convert it to an RV, I'll be watching. We've got a 1998 GMC with a bad diesel that could be converted to gas and made into an RV.
 
this is the shirt i'm currently wearing...what's the center logo from? :unsure:
 

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Regarding the manual discussion, I'd probably shift gears three times during my hour-long commute after leaving the driveway. But I still prefer to have an automatic there. Can't imagine easing a manual car forward half a meter at a time in gridlock traffic every day.

Making do with automatic when there's no specific need for a manual makes manual every bit more enjoyable when it matters.
 
this is the shirt i'm currently wearing...what's the center logo from? :unsure:

As Scarface says, it's Toyota. Anyone who has or had an older Toyota and works/worked on it to any extent will be very familiar with that logo as they plastered it on many parts of the car; some older-design parts used on my 4Runner still have this old logo. It's literally "Toyota" in Japanese Katakana script.

Edit:

Excellent, I didn't know they'd actually put up a site documenting that.
 
Can't imagine easing a manual car forward half a meter at a time in gridlock traffic every day.

Not to mention that active cruise control is all but standard fare on new cars these days. I guess you sort of can do ACC with a manual transmission, but obviously not anywhere near as well as with an automatic.

There's a reason that even Peugeot, of all car makers, is ditching the manual. You can't even get a manual 508 in anything but poverty diesel spec.
 
Can't imagine easing a manual car forward half a meter at a time in gridlock traffic every day.

I don't have to, I've done it for about a decade. and now that I also own an automatic car I have to say I still don't find it that irritating, though I appreciate the auto's unwillingness to roll back in hill starts.
 
1991 International with a 24k GVWR and 14k wet weight.

DT466 of unknown spec mechanical injection turbodiesel. Possibly as high as 250hp but the ambulances tended to be lower spec for reliability. Not that it matters because the power levels were set with a screw on the injection pump.

24v electrical.
No inverter, shore power only in current config.

Needs 6 tires.
Needs cab interior.
Needs box interior.
Needs a steering box seal.
 
@EyeMWing - Since you plan on converting it to an RV, the interior isn't a concern. Tires could be $200 each, so that's $1200. Are you sure it's 24v? Both ambulances we've had have dual batteries, but in series, just to up the annotates amperage. If the body is decent, it's less than 150k miles and the hours aren't crazy, $2000?
 
@EyeMWing - Since you plan on converting it to an RV, the interior isn't a concern. Tires could be $200 each, so that's $1200. Are you sure it's 24v? Both ambulances we've had have dual batteries, but in series, just to up the annotates amperage. If the body is decent, it's less than 150k miles and the hours aren't crazy, $2000?
Not 100%, but even if it is 24v, fixing that isn't exactly arduous with a mechanical diesel. Swap all the light bulbs and the starter.

It's on engine #2 (at least), since there's a rebuild plate on the block but no date, so god knows what miles and hours actually are (I'm dumb and forgot to even look at the readouts).

The only parts of the interior that concern me are the dash (which is straight farmtruck levels of rekt) and the seats, which I can probably just bolt some nice cush-assed Impreza seats in.

The roof is a bit low to stand up straight, but there seems to be a solid 3 to 4 inches of shit bolted to it. Pull all that down and tack up some slimline insulation.

I'm thinking start at $1000. Up to $2.

Also worth considering it drinks about 50 cents a mile in fuel in its current state.
 
That's been one of my concerns about making a camper out of the one we have. The low ceiling. Though you are right, there's a bunch of crap hanging down that could go.

I assume this is a 1600 series cab? Shouldn't be hard to find a replacement or build something semi-custom.

I remember dad looking at trucks with the DT-466 and saying they are easy to rebuild. I guess it helps he worked at International in the late 1970s/early 1980s and has a friend that still works there.
 
That's been one of my concerns about making a camper out of the one we have. The low ceiling. Though you are right, there's a bunch of crap hanging down that could go.

I assume this is a 1600 series cab? Shouldn't be hard to find a replacement or build something semi-custom.

I remember dad looking at trucks with the DT-466 and saying they are easy to rebuild. I guess it helps he worked at International in the late 1970s/early 1980s and has a friend that still works there.
It's a 4900, but it's the cab they used on every damned thing they made from 1989 to like 2001 so there are plenty out there to rob. Given the total lack of electronics and airbags, though, just knocking together a minimalist gauge pod and radio stack is probably plenty. Move the absolutely ridiculous switch panel to the roof, add cupholders.
 
The truck will continue the joke. It will be called the U, so we get S3XY U.
 
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