I found an 89 Ram CTD 4x4 standard cab auto trans. with 141,000 miles . The interior looks like new. The body is straight but will be needing paint. The seller wants $5200. The truck drives very nice. This would be for my son and he will probably want to build it for 400-450hp. Would this be a good starter diesel for him. Would an intercooler from a 92 be necessary? Any help or things to look for would be appreciated! Thanks

 

sounds like a nice rig and you can build GOOD power cheaper with that year as far as an inter-cooler ya it could use one but there CHEEP i have found them with EVERYTHING for 150.00-300.00 i would try to get it for 4600.00 cash tho 5200 is kinda steep for a 21 year old rig



Brice

 

Mine is my first vehicle.

In high school, I got a job using my truck to clean pools. I spent all of the money fixing it up and buying fuel. Homework was neglected substantially.

As I became more and more depressed, I would often cope by driving it around aimlessly for hours on end.

I smoked out a PowerStroke on the day I graduated high school and got something like five tickets and three written warnings.

Since my truck was basically my only hobby (that didn't involve sleeping or pornography), I didn't seriously consider going to Rensellaer Polytechnic or Westminster after they offered me scholarships because they discouraged freshmen from having vehicles. I instead intentionally went to ASU because it was a commuter school, and I came to realize that I hated being at a commuter school.

Largely because of my tweaking on my truck, it broke down a couple times during my one year at ASU, which meant I missed a couple weeks of classes (and squandered all of my scholarship disbursements) while fixing it. Looking back, a case could be made that I would've managed to meet the requisites for maintaining my scholarship if I didn't have to spend so much time fixing my truck at ASU, and if I ditched it and moved to New York or Utah I probably would be graduating next year with a real degree and maybe even a well-rounded understanding of reality.

After I lost my scholarship to Arizona State, I went to UTI, a technical school, because my truck was my only hobby and I was already in the Phoenix area. There I spent over $20,000 for a degree that has very little to do with the job I'm doing now that I was offered immediately out of high school in the first place.

Now that I have a job I am spending about half of my money buying stuff for my truck that it doesn't need and the other half paying off student loans from UTI.

So, looking back, I wouldn't disagree if somebody stated that my truck is the single largest detriment to my life's success and will continue being the single largest detriment to my life's success until either it burns down to the ground, gets totaled (again, only for real this time) or I get a steady girlfriend.

 

That is hilarious Begle1 !! ROFLMAO! I can see how one could be sidetracked by these trucks!

 

Sometimes I think Begle1 was born too late - I think he needs to be 'Lost in the 60's' like a few of us were.

And -
Begle1 --- It's Medical Marijuana - not Recreational

Seriously tho I know where you're coming from - been there, done that. 'Cept mine wasn't a truck it was a '34 Ford Roadster w/ 392 Chrysler Hemi w/6-71 on top. And when I was working on that I drove my beater '60 Austin Healy Sprite w/62 MG Midget 125 HP engine.
( For those that don't know the Sprite, it was 1149 lbs with a 948cc engine to fit into racing class H and it cornered like a go-kart.)

Girlfriends get in the way of serious things like cars, beer, trucks, more beer, MJ, and lots more beer.

Then reality set in and Uncle Sam said he just had to have my help.......
During and after Vietnam ( luckily short tours ) I found out what reality was and although I still like serious things - see above - except no MJ, I decided life was too precious to throw away and took a year off to figure out what I wanted from life and what I could give back.
I look back on the last 50 yrs and although I might change some things, I think I managed to stumble through ok. Didn't get hurt too many times and didn't hurt anyone else too many times. Gave up a good woman, and looked for a long time 'til I found another. Took what my country could offer, gave what I could to my country and to whomever needed help ...
Some people take longer to figure out where they're going Begle1, don't look at money spent - it's gone.

Do you enjoy what you're doing?
Do you have a roof over your head and food to eat?
Can you help someone else once in a while?

If you can answer yes to these 3 - you're doing ok. Lots cannot say yes to one or more.

 

Unixcowboy, Sounds like we're about the same age ( I'm 64 ). You are so right with those three questions. Anything else is just gravy and gravy is full of cholesteral.(sp)

 

I really do like the questions, unixcowboy.
I can see some life experience and I really like the way you expressed it!

 

it would be a good starter truck. 400-450hp is pushing it a bit, but I believe someone just recently put down a hair over 700hp. see if you can talk him down a bit, and let the kid just have fun with it.

 

I'm 16 an mine is my first truck i love it.great first truck for a kid i got mine at a fair price sounds good . work great for smokin out teachers you dont like and school resource officer directing traffic(he hates my truck i dont know why ) . an is a great work truck if he plans on hauling an such

 

Buy it!! Try and get him down on the price, but if it's that clean, you might not find another that clean, I'de buy it but that's just me He'll love it!!