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New M880 owner, what spare electrical parts should I keep in the glove box?

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tilac999

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Boston, MA
1977 M880 Army to Fire Dept. Rust free and runs great. I just have to do a few things to make it perfect. The last Mopar I owned was 30 yrs ago and I always had a spare ballast resister in the govebox. What else should I include?

On my to do list: Bypass ALT gauge, Clean firewall connections, get oil pressure gauge working, find a vintage radio, remove roll bar, fix small dent, repair exhaust leak at tailpipe, check all fluids, check choke is working properly, check timing, etc.

It has been converted to P/S and fitted with a 200 amp(!) alternator. Volts at battery are way over at 16V but gauge reads normal. Will check voltage regulator today.

Thanks. I really like this truck and this is a great site for info.
 

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w200/m880

w200/m880

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Puts my old heap to shame,nice truck in great condition.
I allways used to carry hoses,belts alt resistor,ballast resistor,coil and ignition module.
Check timing chain by rocking motor to see if distributor moves straight away or timing will never be right and check those freeze plugs.
Happy motoring.
 
N1265

N1265

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A 200 AMP Alternator ? Is it a bolt on replacement or is it a something that was modified to fit ? some pictures of this would be nice :)
 
T

tilac999

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Will do. Thanks. England? Where do you get parts and how do you afford the petrol? Was your truck from a UK airbase?

w200/m880 said:
Puts my old heap to shame,nice truck in great condition.
I allways used to carry hoses,belts alt resistor,ballast resistor,coil and ignition module.
Check timing chain by rocking motor to see if distributor moves straight away or timing will never be right and check those freeze plugs.
Happy motoring.
Click to expand...
 
w200/m880

w200/m880

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england,south coast.
tilac999 said:
Will do. Thanks. England? Where do you get parts and how do you afford the petrol? Was your truck from a UK airbase?
Click to expand...
My truck would have come from Belgium probably as its ex 3rd armoured division who were based in germany and they were usually sold off for about $50 each,a friend of mine used to buy them 20 at a time and chain the non runners to a runner and drive in convoy to the docks,he paid $10 each for 25 plymouth fury,s but scrapped them on base selling spares to the USAF staff and then taking them to a belgium scrap yard.[back in the 80,s].
All my previous dodge trucks were ex USAF and came off of british bases such as mildenhall and ruddington.
As for affording the petrol [currently $11 a imp gallon],i dont as my truck is a long project and if it were on the road i would only use it to frighten the locals and go to the odd show,i get best joy out of building stuff right with original spec.
 
w200/m880

w200/m880

New member
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Location
england,south coast.
Oh and as for parts,theres tons of suppliers for off the shelf engine parts in the uk,used stuff is harder to find but it is out there,i could have had this maintenance truck at christmas for £300 but i lost work and he wouldnt wait till i had money.
Also heres a pic of new dodges stored at ruddington in the 80,s.
 

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tilac999

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Boston, MA
w200/m880 said:
Someone will shoot us for going off topic but i think if a jobs worth doin its worth doin well,im a rivet counter and proud of it so i find fault in all of it,although i still enjoy their shows.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I'm struggling with getting the fast idle cam to work when the choke is on. Lot's of fiddling in the cold but getting there. Oil pressure sender next to replace.
 
w200/m880

w200/m880

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Location
england,south coast.
Oil senders a bitch to get at,shame your not in uk ive a brand new carter bbd in the garage.
Try Car SOS on national geographic nice ww2 jeep done up after it was in a fire.
 
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tilac999

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I wish I was in the UK too. I lived in Oxfordshire for a year, loved it. Miss the old pubs. My BBD carb was rebuilt, the throttle, fast idle and choke linkage all seem to need alignment. Once warm, runs super but a new one would even better.
 
w200/m880

w200/m880

New member
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Location
england,south coast.
I just had a read up on 200amp,they seem to be fitted in late model trucks as standard with lots of accessories or as an upgrade,one company said you must upgrade positive wire,so assuming your not running lots of accessories i would put an original one on there so it doesnt fry the wiring or boil the battery.
Oxfords under water at the moment so you dont need a pub for a drink.:beer:
 
T

tilac999

New member
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0
Location
Boston, MA
w200/m880 said:
I just had a read up on 200amp,they seem to be fitted in late model trucks as standard with lots of accessories or as an upgrade,one company said you must upgrade positive wire,so assuming your not running lots of accessories i would put an original one on there so it doesnt fry the wiring or boil the battery.
Oxfords under water at the moment so you dont need a pub for a drink.:beer:
Click to expand...

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.... But I think a stock 60amp alternator would be better unless they already upgraded the wiring. I'm not sure. 200amps is really overkill. I have zero accessories. If I do go stock, I'll have to find all the proper brackets first.

Thames burst it's banks. A shame for all the homeowners, saw it on the news. Will have to postpone pub crawl.
 
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