Going to look at an older truck.

Going to look at a 1979 White Semi tractor tomorrow. It"s a Cummins turbo diesel w/6spd. tranny. The guy that has it doesn"t know much about it and I"m trying to get some info on what model engine it is before I go look at it. 1979 is too early for a 8.3L/505 cu. in. Cummins from what I know. The only info he gave me on the engine was F230 that was on the tag in the door jam. Anyone know what model it may be?

Also, what tranny is likely in this thing? It has the old school cast centers too with what looks like split rims on the front. Can you mount up non-split rims on those centers too? I can pick this thing up for a song so It won"t bother me to sink a couple grand in it if I have to. What else should I look for? My plan is to extend the frame and put a 22-24ft. flat bed on the old girl.

TIA

I would guess it has an L10 Cummins in it. They are a good motor if it is not wore out.

Wiki say's the L10 was sold from 1982-1998
1982 1998

Could have a low HP 855cu in engine maybe 250-270 HP both of which were turbo'd. You can change the wheels/tires to 11/22.5's which are the same diameter as the 10.00x20's

Those won't be split rims, they will be removeable bead rims (don't remember the real name right now). Different than split rims, nobody I know of will touch splits, those removeable bead rims are everywhere on trucks.

If it's a 230 it won't be turboed unless someone added it later.855 cid.N series engine.Smallest hp 855 series engine built,but a good tuff engine.

I'd almost think it would have to be the 855 ci cummins, I would be interested to know if it has a turbo or not, I've never heard of one without. There should be a engine id tag on engine either towards front or on valve cover with more info. The rims are probably the old Dayton type (use the wedge to hold rim on similar to mobile home axles). Looks good for its age, what is he asking for it?

Of that vintage.... in a single axle/6 speed setup... I'd just about guarantee you it's got a triple nickle. (555 V-8). If so, RUN. If it's got an inline 6, then it's probably an L10. They're a decent engine but not in the same ballpark as the 855.
If it's got that damn triple nickle, keep looking. They're not Cummins best effort and they're expensive to fix if they do give trouble. Lots of much more modern trucks out there for not a whole lot of money that will give you a far better engine.

Pertinent question to ask the guy... is it a V-8 or inline 6? Then you know what you got.

Rod

i sure don,t want to sound like a smart a.. but 30 year old truck. single axel, white, can,t be cheap enought to as you say sink 2 grand into.
Look around find a late model s series ih with a 466.. the single axel 10 to 12 year old ones that are freight company trucks sell for nearly nothing. That thing you are lookin at is not good for parts, to old, want export.. The guy that has that truck is glad to get your money.
I would definately look more. What part of the country are you in..Go to TRUCK PAPER and do a search for single axel trucks look what is out there..Just my two cents worth.. Like everybody else it is free advice

At that age and a 230 it"s probably an 855 but if I remeber right they came with no turbo we had a tandem tractor on the big farm that we had Kaffenbarger stretch to a grain bed and added a pto hydraulic pump. If you"re going to lengthen it and use for heavy loads you need to look at the door panel for front axle and suspension ratings. I think tractors had either 9 or 12000# fronts 12000# should be OK for single axle but a tandem including a tag axle should be 16000# Be careful and err on the side of safety just in case it gets in accident because the DOT will look at all that and you"re A@@ is grass. The engine designator should be on a tag on the right front part of the engine, I believe.

Most of those road tractors had light frames.I know of several people who have converted road tractors to grain trucks and milk hauling trucks and had trouble.One of the milk trucks has a swayed back like a horse and another dog tracks.

I'm getting rid of a 4700LPX with a T444E engine and I don't want to see another Binder anytime soon. Other than their "can't make it any cheaper, or user unfriendlier" so called interior I don't really have anything against them but after driving this gutless 175HP 4spd. auto turd for 6-7 years I'm ready for something altogether different. The DT466 would be my first choice for an engine I guess but a good 8.3/855 Cummins or an equivalent would be fine too. I'm also getting under 7MPH pulling a tri-axle trailer loaded to about 16,000lbs. so a big 6 would even be an improvement over that. It's going to be my tractor pulling/side work rig so I'm not looking for the best thing around. I'm a Detroit Diesel fan and I'd like to have a nice 8v-71/92 if I could find something decent. Something cheap to fix is what I want. I looked into that tranny that's in it and it looks like I can buy them all day long for 500-750 bucks. If it is in fact a 855 Cummins you can pick them up used reasonable too. So I guess that leaves you with some oddball axle or steering box or something else White used that will bite me in the a$$. What else would I wind up possibly spending extra doe on with an off brand like White?

Plan is to lengthen the frame, license it for under 26,000lbs., haul one to two tractors (10,000lbs worth) and maybe pull my tri-axle trailer loaded to 12,000-14,000lbs. with two tractors (10,000lbs. worth).

Thanks for all the input guys. I forgot about the triple nickle Cummins so I didn't even think to ask if it was a 6 or a V-8. If it is a triple nickle I'll walk. What's the easiest way to tell if it's an 855 or an earlier model?

If that there ole truck has an 855 there's going to be a doghouse that extends to about the REAR of that cab.... and a remote mounted shifter.
You've no hope of finding an 855 (NG or NT); certainly not with a 6 speed syncro transmission. It's a different class of drivetrain.

If your IH had the 444E... then you had a PowerJoke. Little wonder you feel.... the way you do.
An 8100 with an Eagle package might make a nice little tractor for you but it won't be a low pro. There'd be a fair range of engine and transmission options but they'd all be medium bore engines (L10, M11, 3126, 3176 Cats, DDC50, DDC60 etc.... and no way you're staying under 26K. At least not if you want to haul anything.
Lighest package you might find there is an S-1900 with DT466, this 6 speed and some aluminum options like hub pilot wheels.
S-Liners are about as cheap as you'll find out there with about as much quality as you can get for the dollar.

Rod

I think I would leave it where it is.If its a 230 its a good engine,but its not very powerful.If you want to stretch it out and make a straight truck out of it you might be alright,but its wont be much of a tractor with a single axle.Speaking from a mechanics point of view,its hard to work on.It probably has the back motor mounts on the transmission,plus its hard to get to anything under there,so it is a hard job to change a clutch.Also the engine is about halfway in the cab with you,which makes parts of it nearly impossible to get to if you had to put in a head gasket,so you have to tear more of it apart to get to the middle head I think is the tough one.

Actually the number he gave you doesnt sound right.It would be a NA 230 if it was a 230.That would be on a tag thats on the engine on the drivers side.Its a long strip,fastened on the front of the engine.It has the Cubic Inches,the horsepower and the CPL number which you have to have to get any parts for it.If it doesnt have a CPL(AND IT DOES)but you cant find it,then you have to get the number off of the fuel pump,the turbo,if it has one,and an injector,and maybe they can figure out the CPL from that.
Another important thing is if it has piston oilers on the passenger side.If it has 6 little oval plates held by a 3/8ths bolt(9/16ths wrench)then it has piston oilers.If not,then its older and not possible to turn it up a lot,unless you have it machined for piston oilers.If it has piston oilers then you can pout a turbo on it.You can put a small turbo on it without oilers if I remember right.I think that might be a 250.
Back in the 1980s I worked on a 220 and it was hard to find parts for it then.A 290 which was made back in the 1970s is way more common,has a turbo,but not an aftercooler,and is easily upgraded to a 350 or 400 with an aftercooler,differnt pistons and injectors and turbo.
About a 250 is about all you are going to get out of a 220 block if I remember right.
All of this is assuming it has an 855 cubic inch engine.Cummins made other engines,even a couple of V 8s.
Just look a little more.You ought to be able to find a good cheap truck,already a tandem, unless you just want a single axle,and a lot more modern.A 290 probably gets better fuel mileage than a 220.A 400 gets better fuel mileage than a 290.Its just that the newer the engines were,up until about 2002,the better the fuel mileage was.It went down some after that.Probably because of the new fuel we have to use because its thinner.But an old 220 might not get but 3 miles to the gallon compared to a 290 at 5 miles to the gallon or a 1990s N14 that gets 7 miles to the gallon.All of those are 855 cubic inch blocks but they kept improving them.

220 Cummins are 5 1/8 bore,746 cid,not 855 which are 5 1/2 bore.220's never came turboed from the factory,but lots of aftermarket kits for them to do it.They were commonly rated at 262hp then.Cummins also dabled in a 6cyl engine called a Super 250,927 cid,non turboed.

Well I knew real quick I didn't want anything to do with it. It's not nearly as clean as it looks in the pictures and it would be a complete PITA to work on. It is a big 6 and half the engine is under the floor boards. The tranny sticks about a foot out the back of the cab. The dog house takes up half the cab and even if you tore that out half the ridiculously stupid dash is 16" over that. You'd have to tear half the cab apart to replace a head gasket. I really don't know why anyone would want a conventional like this when you would just be better off with a cab over. All the POS was is a cab over you can't work on anyways and have no place to even set a lunch box in the cab.

I still don't know what kind of motor it was though so I took a few pics. It looks like it has unit injectors like a Detroit Diesel???

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm really thinking now that I'm just going to have to get something smaller I can work on more myself. And whoever said to buy an old fleet maintained vehicle is probably right too. This thing looked like it was an old independent excavator company truck so who knows how it was taken care of.

Picture number two:

Hello Blackstack,
Looks like an old NH style engine. if you can get the pump code i can look it up for you.Ita s ilver tag, and should be on the top of the pump. I,m guessing as a NH 250 naturally aspirated, by the looks of the oil cooler side.
6 Speeds does not sound right, can you read the model of the tranny and post it?
You may find it in the shifting pattern label inside the cab,

Guido.

Hello Blackstack,
Its not an L10.
Guido.

It was a 6spd. Spicer and it was turboed.

Hello 4010 puller,
Cummins engines were made with natuarally aspirated intake systems. The NH model is one of them. Turboes were added in the seventies that i know for sure. It had as designated model as NHC-270Ct If they were turbocharged before then i'm not sure.
Guido.

Hello, trucker40,
Where have you seen a Cummins engine with the NA
starting as an engine model.
The one i am familiar with are the onroad engines, and they all start with the NH or HR
Or H with a letter or number. There are J and C model for onroad as well just befor the H model cane out. Don't know of a model with NA designation?
Guido.

That's extremly unusual to have a 6 speed behind that. They must have done some strange things back then... or somebody installed it.
Today it would at least have a 10 speed behind that displacement of engine.
I'd have wagered that it might be an NT220 from looking at it but I really don't know. The CPL tag should be on the timing cover on the left side, somewhere below the air compressor.

Personally I'd not even bother with it as it will be hard to work on.

Rod

Blackstack, find you a truck that has been setup to move mobile homes!!

Short wheel base, (easier turns and turnarounds in tight places) They have a power hitch that can use a ball hitch or a pintle style. Usually they have tool boxes built right in em so you have places to store your tools, good mirrors that power adjust. I know where a fleet of them are sitting due to the business closing.

Its too bad too,,,, When I worked there hauling houses, he had a fleet of 15 trucks, the owner spent money to rebuild ALL the drive trains, front to back, these would pass DOT anyday of the week! Now, they just sit in a parking lot,,,

I got to use the company truck occasionally to haul my 28ft goosenck with 2 M's on it. What a sweet ride that was. Yes, I bought the fuel when I used it.

Hello Blackstack,
Very unusual to have a 6 speed for that kind of engine. Normal setup would have been a 10 speed fuller 910 or a 5 speed with a 2 speed axle.
STAY AWAY! it is not going to be an easy fix. Even a straight box setup would have 10 speeds not 6.
Guido.