Deuce is Home

[Deucenut]

Three days driving and 2200 miles traveled and the deuce is home. My original plan to drive it home fell by the wayside when I learned it had been sitting for three years. I towed my trailer from Utah to Iowa, pulled the outside duals on the deuce so it would fit on the trailer, and loaded it up.

The trip went well except for one flat tire on the trailer (courtesy of a small bolt I picked up on the road somewhere) and a citation for having a headlight out on my pickup. Both were resolved while still on the trip and I am glad to be home safe and sound.

The deuce is in quite good shape. The brakes work well and the engine and tranny are smooth. There is very little rust. The only issues I have discovered thus far are a slow air leak (yet to be found), worthless batteries (replaced tonight), and a possibly non-functional alternator (I’ll check that tomorrow). Overall I am very pleased.

My thanks to all who chimed in to answer my questions before I left. I felt very prepared when I got there and am excited to get the deuce off the trailer now that it has new batteries and I can start it.

Enjoy the pictures below. Sorry there aren't more but my focus was on getting home rather than taking pictures .

 

[Big Z]

Looks like a nice one.

 

[greg2560]

Wow 2200 mi long drive!!! nice truck... check right rear something looks wet...

 

[SMOKEWAGON66]

Awesome. Glad you got your baby home safely. Is that receiver style hitch? Do you happen to know how much tongue weight that setup had? What kind of pickup truck did you pull it with? Im just curious...

 

[Flyingvan911]

Nice. Congradulations.

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

Congrats on your aquisition Deucenut! Nice lookin truck ya got there! Now that you got batteries and she starts, does she whistle?

 

[Deucenut]

Awesome. Glad you got your baby home safely. Is that receiver style hitch? Do you happen to know how much tongue weight that setup had? What kind of pickup truck did you pull it with? Im just curious...

The trailer has a pintle hitch but I don't know what the tongue weight was. I have a receiver hitch on the truck also but it is only rated for 12.000 pounds and the trailer and deuce exceeded that by a significant amount. I pulled it with an F-350 turbo diesel. It was a load for the truck but I have good brakes on the truck and trailer and it towed quite well.

 

[Deucenut]

does she whistle?

She is a D turbo. Sorry, no whistling here.

 

[Deucenut]

Wow 2200 mi long drive!!! nice truck... check right rear something looks wet...

She will be getting a detailed going over in the next few months. I don't mind a little seepage but she will have no outright leaks when I am done. Thanks for noticing.

And thanks to all for you comments.

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

She is a D turbo. Sorry, no whistling here.

Since I joined SS, I've noticed there's two kinds of MV owners. Those that love the whistler and those that don't. After looking at the prices here and there, it seems those who love the whistler are the majority. Thankfully the C and D turbos are a straight swap!
I like to hit the clutch and goose the throttle just to say "Hi" when people stare, smile and wave.
Any plans to make it whistle later on down the line?

 

[Deucenut]

Any plans to make it whistle later on down the line?

At this point I want to get it in top shape before I plan changes. Any plans to make changes will come later on so the short answer is I am not planning on changing the turbo any time soon.

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

I'm with ya, "Make it right before you make it cool.". No sense in giving it a paint job if it's blowing oil or brake fluid all over it's self. Once you get the leaks and drips taken care of, a muffler isn't a bad idea. It beats having to wear muffs or earplugs while you're driving, but all in due time. Most importantly, have fun putting her in shape and at the same time learning about your new baby. Take care of her and she'll take care of you.

 

[lawdog1623]

wow what a drive. Congratulations on your recovery!

 

[73m819]

Since I joined SS, I've noticed there's two kinds of MV owners. Those that love the whistler and those that don't. After looking at the prices here and there, it seems those who love the whistler are the majority. Thankfully the C and D turbos are a straight swap!
I like to hit the clutch and goose the throttle just to say "Hi" when people stare, smile and wave.
Any plans to make it whistle later on down the line?

Wrong, three type of big truck owners, the two above and 5t owners

 

[Deucenut]

I'd buy an M813 also if I thought my wife would let me get away with it , and an M819, and an M814, and ............

 

[Valence]

NICE Deucenut! That must have been quite a drive. Glad you had a good rig and trailer to handle it all with relatively minimal difficulty.

Utah needs more SS members and deuce owners in general.

If you could, I'd appreciate a PM on what route you went with for registration and insurance. I've only found 1 place to insure it that'll still let me haul anything in it... but it's under a commercial policy ($$!).