Update: long monolog and pics

[mmwb]

Last year I picked up a 76, and 77, M880s. The 77 ran, but very poorly and was rough. The 76 didn't run, but appeared to be in far better shape. The idea was to build a plow truck that would last me a few years. Thanks to copious advice from the masters that frequent this site, I was able to get it up and running. I'm winding down the end of a plow season with nary a problem.

I wanted a bit more torque than the 318 had and toyed with the idea of an RV cam, but decided that that was more than I should take on at this point. I had a friend who was short on funds and had a good 360 he wanted to get rid of. It was out of a 72 D100. I'd driven it and knew it pulled well. In the process of working on the engine I almost lost a couple of fingers. That is another story that was posted back in August. Put me back a bit on the schedule. I did find that mechanicing with a large brace on one's dominant hand is somewhat of a challenge. The fool thing was always in the way!

I put a Cloyes double roller timing gear set in the engine, as well as a new oil pump. He'd put both a new water pump and a fuel pump in just a couple of months before I bought the engine. Of course new gaskets all the way around.

I also was concerned with the rear axle as it was quite loose. I ended up finding a fellow in Montana that had military rebuilt axle in the crate. He sold it and a crated, rebuilt 727 for $600. It cost me $400 in fuel to go get them, but still a good deal.

The engine came with a set of Hooker competition headers (I'm sure that someday I'm going to regret not ordering a smaller starter). From those I ran 2 1/2" pipe. I put an H pipe in front of the transfer case. That was a challenge. I then ran from the H pipe back and into two welded Thrush mufflers. It has a lovely rumble, but is fairly quiet on acceleration and cruising.

Pushing snow, I worry about temps. I installed remote filters for oil and tranny fluid as well as B&M plate type coolers. Fluids in the transfer case and front axle were changed out.

My plow is an old Western that is era appropriate for this truck. A search on ebay turned up a factory crated plow frame for this truck!

In the end I've had a season of great plowing with no glitches.

Set up to plow:



Front w/ the blade removed:



Back with the salter removed:



There are still a few things in the works. The mastercylinder needs replaced, I plan on replacing ball joints/tie rod ends, etc..., and door and window seals need replaced (Recommendations on sources for those are welcome).

I'm still toying with power steering. It is manual now and most of the time I like it, but at times, the power assist would be nice. Especially when plowing.

I may put a carpet kit in to quieten it down a bit, and then something that will put out some sweet tunes. The dash is in rough shape (at least the face and glove box door), so I may build a custom face and door...

It has the Holly 2bbl carb. It has grunt, but weak on the high end. I've a manifold and Edelbrock 1405 and am considering installing them come summer. I'm not sure it'll make a big difference... If it would give me a bit more high end without sacrificing the low end torque it would be good.

The plow is starting to rot through here and there and it may be time for a new one, though I'll have to custom build a truck side mount.

In any case, a BIG THANKS to all for the advice and help!

[Paul in MN]

Plow truck

Congrats on getting 'er up and running! I think you will be happy with it as a plow truck or a work truck. They are darn near bullet proof (military truck pun, sorry!)

I have an 86 W250, originally came with the snowfighter package. I am still using it to plow (approx 35 accounts). It came with the Spicer 60 FA and 60 RA, 360/727/305. It is still on its first alternator, engine, tranny, and axles. I had to have the Transfer case rebuilt once. This truck is a darn tough plow and farm truck, but a darn bad ride if you need to go anywhere.

A few suggestions, if you are interested. The Western blade is a good blade in the way it rolls the snow. Get an upper flap for the blade to keep the snow "roll back" from getting in the radiator, & heater intake vents when you hit the pile with the moving snow. Where the blade has rusted through, you can cut out and weld in new metal (about 14 gauge). A wire feed welder works great for this. My W250 came with the Meyers 8ft contractor series blade which is heavier than the Western. But it has less curl and the snow doesn't roll off as well, and when hitting heavy drifts, it will rise up trying to come back towards the hood. (Too much curl at top, not enough at bottom). It too has rusted through and has patch panels welded in. The Meyers has a higher tech electric lift unit, but it is much fussier about water mixing with the hydraulic oil. The Western will put up with a lot of water and still work. Water gets into either system from the rust pits in the chrome of the turn rams. Each minor pit can be a miniature pump for bringing water and sand into the hydraulic oil. This problem is greatly reduced by covering the turn rams with grease for summer storage.

A lot of guys new to plowing think that macho wide tires will give better plowing traction. It just ain't true!! You get the best snow and ice traction from a standard width tire like the 235 85 R16 with a winter tread pattern. If you are plowing for a living, you will occasionally be stuck. Have a plan...maybe a buddy with a truck who can come to pull you out, and have a good tow strap (4" wide) and sturdy clevices that can be hooked to the trailer hitch of your truck. NO wimpy chain or 2" "miracle" strap with a pot metal steel hook on the end. Those **** things can kill you by flying through your back window when they snap.

I've plowed since 1967, starting with IH trucks and then Dodge. A guy on the next road has Chebby trucks for his plowing business and keeps 2 fresh rebuilt trannys on the shelf all the time. And they don't get much dust on them!! Poor guy!!

You made the right choice!!

Paul in MN

[74w300uteline]

plow hookup

did you have to remove the front tow hooks and the brackets with holes, to get the plow mount kit attached? I have a Meyers plow & mount kit but it looks kinda crowded under the front end.

[Paul in MN]

74...

I think you are asking me this question?? If so, I did not remove anything, but the plow frame was already mounted when I bought the truck when it was 2 years old. It does not have tow hooks. The Meyers frame for this truck effectively moves the front bumper forward about 5 to 6 inches. There are short frame extensions that hold the lift frame and remount the bumper. They are bolted to the existing frame and end up flexing a bit as the bolts and holes have worn.

The A frame mount is supported by a diagonal flat piece going down and back from the lift frame, and a second heavier diagonal U shape going from the bottom of the A frame mount back up to the truck frame just about directly above the front axle. Meyers and Dodge worked together to design a plow mount that would give way in a hard hit before the truck frame gets bent. When I bought the truck, one side had been folded up by some idiot PO. Individual new parts were available from Meyers. Parts for the C-8 blade are still available. I have bought individual ribs and welded them in place. The Meyers has been a good plow, but it has a few flaws in design. I think it was designed for plowing faster with more HP than the Western. As you may recall, Western was a part of the Jeep corporation, and thus the blade was designed for low HP (4 or 6 cylinder engines) and low speed plowing. It succeeded exceptionally well in that role.

I would get you some pictures of the Meyer plow mount on the Dodge, but I am too darn computer illiterate to make that happen.

Paul in MN