Gray Man, Inc.

[BLUE]

I like what i see , but have bo experience with this. Keep on keeping on...

[DRIVEN]

New impulse buy.






The paint isn't as bad as it looks. It's way, way worse.

[wayno]

New impulse buy.






The paint isn't as bad as it looks. It's way, way worse.

I cannot see the photos.

[DRIVEN]

Yeah, I was seeing that all over last night. I'll try again.

[wayno]

Impulse buy, it must have been cheap.

I have friends that had the 4wd versions although yours might be 4wd also, one was lucky enough to get 23mpg, but the other one for some reason had trail type gears put into the differentials, which in my opinion defeated the idea of what a transfer case is for, but he towed a 30' travel trailer with it every weekend, and with all the stuff he had in it/on it like the very heavy hangglider rack the truck weighed 11,000 pounds, it had a water tank, air compressor, inverter with special large batteries that emitted no fumes/acid, the truck and trailer weighed 21,000 pounds, it was not a dually as he was scared that people would stand on the dually fenders when loading/unloading hanggliders, the best mileage I heard it ever had was 21mpg, it only got 16mpg when towing the travel trailer, I actually have photos of it, but not on this computer, maybe they are lost now as it has been over 20 years since I have flew hanggliders, but I believe when I transferred all them hanggliding photos from 35mm film to the computer I believe they were in the transferred photos.

[Taterhead]

Is it for flipping or you gonna use it?

[DRIVEN]

I'll be keeping it for now. It'll be the new communal tow/haul mule so my dad will be selling the blue GMC. Previous owner claimed pretty consistent 18mpg towing a 5th wheel toy hauler with a couple Harleys inside. Would you believe I only paid $1500 for it? 2 new batteries and fresh fuel got it home from Washougal.

My last boss had the 4wd version of this with some Banks parts and a Gearvendors overdrive. He claimed mid-20s.

[Taterhead]

Nice score then. $1500 is hard to believe.

I approve

[DRIVEN]

Like I said, impulse buy. It wasn't something I was looking for. My dad's buddy has had some health problems since his wife died a couple years ago. He decided to liquidate everything and move in with his sister in Ohio. This thing hadn't been driven in 2 years and the paint is horrible. But for the price, I couldn't let it get away.

It's nothing really special. 2wd, automatic, 247k miles. The cloth interior is in pretty nice shape and has power seats and the headliner isn't bad. Carpet needs to be replaced though. Everything works but the fuel gauge. It has a set of Autometer gauges in the pillar. The bed is Rhino-lined and theres an underbed 5th wheel hitch. The tires are decent and the Alcoas are a nice upgrade. The previous owner said he had some tune work done, but I'm not sure what. Seems to run pretty strong though.

I don't know if I'll ever get around to dealing with the paint. I'm going to pull the carpet and check for water leaks, then just clean it up a bit. I'll probably service all the fluids too, just for a baseline. It'll need a bed toolbox too. Aside from that, I'll just run it and see what breaks.

[DRIVEN]

I stopped by my dad's to see what he was up to and got there just in time to help him wrestle his de-arched rear spring back in. It's about a 2" drop. He may still do a 1" shackle drop on the front. I think it needs just a bit of rake. Maybe it's just right though, since the tires are all the same size and not bigs n littles. I don't know.








He also gave most of it a quick once-over with some Scotchbrite to knock the oxidation off. The spots with more surface rust and staining will get more attention later. He's still planning to give it a coat of semi-gloss clear to preserve it's age and experience.

[DRIVEN]

I took 6INAROW for a drive today. Actually, this is the first I've really driven it beyond my driveway. Ran to the truck stop and topped it off. Trip to get it home was 18.3mpg running 70.


Maybe you guys with more Cummins experience can educate me. If I'm pulling away from a stop at a steady RPM of 1800-2000, it runs through the gears and has positive shifts. Boost is around 20-24, if the gauge is accurate. Once it shifts into high gear, boost jumps up to 34-36 and it pulls like mad with no increased pedal input. Is this normal or is this a result of the "work" that the previous owner claims was done?


I ended up at the base of Lizard Butte, about 3 miles from home. I've never actually hiked to the top but wanted to see what the view was like.
File photo from da webz...



There's a cross at the top and a small pavilion where they hold outdoor Easter services. It's on private land but open to public foot traffic.




Anyway, this is what my podunk town looks like in March from the high ground.



That's the Snake river. My parents' house is on the far bank to the long Island in the center. Out of frame, everything to the right is orchards or wine grapes. There's about a dozen wineries in the area.



My house is under the arrow. The Owyhee mountains are in the background. Mostly just cattle stuff on my side of the river.


Everything is brown right now but they have cattle on the corn stubble. As soon as it dries out, they'll get moved out and the fields get plowed. A month from now everything will either be green or planted in corn or alfalfa. Canals usually filled around April 15th.

[wayno]

Thoughts on your boost, I have seen up to 20psi and it did not pull any harder than at 7psi, the more boost the faster it will likely wear your engine out, but that is my opinion.

When I first installed the turbocharger my tailpipe did not blow as much black smoke as it does now, but I will admit that my tailpipe was pointed straight back, recently I had the tailpipe modified to have it point out the driver's side where I can see it, the reason I did this was my tailgate was turning black, it helped a lot, but now I can see it, maybe it has been coming out this bad all along and I just could not see it.

I do not use any more oil than I did before, it still pulls like it did when the turbo was first installed, I suppose I have also read recently that turbo engines wear out faster, I took out all my mods that possibly gave me as much as 10hp more.

OK, I also have the same thing happen to me on hills, I have this choke lever/cable to control idle when cold, it is not really a choke lever as the connection is on the top of the pedal arm, it has just enough travel to sort of work as a cruise control, just before I come to a hill I will show 4psi, as I start up the hill my boost rises and the truck starts gaining speed like it is going to run away, it will do this all the way up the hill gaining 10mph or more, if I keep the pedal in the same position all the way to the top(or cruise control is still on) it will start slowing down at the top(level ground or down hill) as boost lowers, this is something I have gotten used to.

All that said we are talking about completely different animals here, I have an inline injection pump with a vacuum throttle, you have the VE type injection pump with a cable throttle/lever on the injection pump, I actually have 2 VE pumps on the shelf, one rebuilt, but VE type injection pumps wear out fast(60,000 miles???) while inline injection pumps can last 300,000 miles, when I figured out how to make my inline pump work properly, I lost interest in the VE injection pumps.

[DRIVEN]

It's all new territory for me. 90s Chrysler products are pretty crappy and the only reason I bought this thing was the Cummins. It really does run good and I haven't seen any black smoke, so I assume whatever has been done to it is on the conservative side.

I need to just put some miles on it to get acquainted. I've got some side work tomorrow on my uncle's Silverado, then maybe I'll try to clean up the interior. After sitting for 2 years, everything needs a good scrubbing.

[wayno]

I do not know much about the truck except a question I asked my friends that owned one in the 1990s, I asked about mileage(they owned 4wd), I did drive one of their trucks and I did not notice anything unusual at that time, the speed it went depended on where the pedal was, I do not recall it doing what my turbo engine does, there truck just had a shitload of torque and 65mph was about it unless one went deep into the pedal, it was a long time ago though, I do remember that the truck I drove had an aftermarket chip in it.

[BLUE]

Reading just some of your analysis with the Cummins made me glaze over and realize how much I really don’t know or have experience with…Cummins.

I can see you hauling 3-4 cars on a car hauler behind that thing to and from work destinations to make mo money.

[DRIVEN]

Don't think I haven't considered it.

[wayno]

I know a guy that made a living for a while moving new vehicles around behind a Dodge/Cummings on a 3-vehicle trailer, that was a while ago though.

[BLUE]

Don't think I haven't considered it.

I like this. It would appear , theres plenty of work to go around in these parts. I see those guys and “hotshot ?” (If thats the correctly applied term ?) up and down rhe highway a good chunk of the time...in comparison to when I'm barely on the highway to witness it that is.

My neighbor said he got into it and believes he could make an excess of $300,000 if he worked all of the time. Have bo idea if that’s net or gross or exactly what his expenses would be in/our of that figure. His house isn’t super modest , and it looks fairly secure around his 3-acres.

[DRIVEN]

I know a couple guys that do it but I've never asked how much they make. It's a job, like everything else. If I was 20 years younger and single...maybe. I'm already on the road more than I'd like to be.

[DRIVEN]

100 mile shakedown ride to the lake to test out the refreshed engine. Ran just fine. Easy 50-60mph two-lane twisty asphalt.




I'm working the next 2 weeks straight. Hopefully after that I can trail test the blue bike. It got a replacement engine and suspension work over the winter. I'm going down to Moab in about a month and need at least one, or both, ready to go.