FOR SALE in Olympia, WA: 1975 Travelall

[jlandry@domain.elided (John A. Landry)]

Reapers,

I spotted an ad for a 1975 Travelall in the local newspaper for Olympia, WA.
The ad said "$900.00 runs great" so I called the seller and chatted with him
last night.  He said this is the first time he placed it for sale in the local
newspaper after simply putting a sign in the window with it parked out on his
street.  Initially he had it for sale at $1200.00, got some strong interest
from a few tire kickers, so he got excited and immediately changed the sign to
$1800.00.  Then interest quickly died off!  So now he's more motivated and
needs to get rid of it, hence the $900.00 price tag.  But I sensed a little
desperation and believe he would sell even cheaper if some greenbacks were
waved under his nose. <grin>

The seller claims he bought it from the original owner with approx. 106,000
miles on it.  It was primarily used to tow the family travel trailer, then as
it got older, it graduated to general duty family hauling use... you know,
groceries, Christmas trees, garbage... that sort of thing.  He has put maybe
3000 miles on it and is disgusted with the gas milage (he claims about 8 to 10
mpg), so he wants out.  I suspect the rotten fuel economy is due to possible
carb jetting issues.  I got the feeling he's not an IH enthusiast and just
doesn't want to deal with it.

So this morning I did my IHC Digest duty and went by to take a look at it.  In
my opinion, if you're looking for an easy fixer upper Travelall - trailer
towing ready - this is an excellent value for a mere $900.00.  The seller
wasn't there when I stopped by, so I didn't get a chance to start it, but I
did pop the hood and look at the engine.  It looked good!  He claimed it seems
to need a lot of gas to start when cold... like maybe the choke is
misadjusted.  But he claimed once started and warmed up a bit, it really
purrs.

Body wise it has minor rust around the lower portion of the driver's side rear
wheel wells.  There's a small rust hole at the bottom of the passenger side
windshield frame.  The gas filler door hinge rusted off, so the door is gone.
But other than that it appears solid and sound.  It looks to have had an
economy professional paint job done some years in the past.  Originally it was
a tan color with wood pattern vinyl side appliques.  The re-paint job is a
lighter tan and is peeling off in a few spots, especially sharp corners like
around the hood, etc.  The wood grain appliques are faded but untouched.  The
only damage is a dent slightly off-center on the rear bumper... as if someone
backed into a trailer hitch!

The interior looks nice for such a well used 23 year old rig.  It's generally
clean and intact.  The front seats are captain chair style with the folding
arm rests.  Bench back seat.  Fully carpeted front and rear.

Back to the engine... The engine compartment looks like the rig was well
maintained over the years.  A big 392 is topped by a brand new looking
four-barrel Thermoquad... too nice to even look rebuilt!  It might very well
be a replacement carb that isn't jetted properly for the 392 (running rich).
It has air-conditioning, but the belt is off the compressor.  The battery
looks ne wish.  It features a large transmission cooler.  Everything looks
stock and relatively clean.  The exhaust tailpipes look like they are pretty
thin and will need replacement before too long.  One negative thing I noticed
was how close the engine oil pan sits in relation to the tie rod.  I don't
know if this is normal for a Travelall or not, but I'd swear the tie rod is
maybe 1/8" from the bottom of the pan.  If it's not normal, then it's probably
due to tired motor mounts and tired front axle springs... or maybe the tie rod
is rotated upside down?

Some other features I noticed:

Cruise control
Tilt wheel
Class V hitch rear and *front*
2 wheel drive
Front disk brakes
Gold box electronic ignition
Manual crank for rear window
Dual fuel tanks
Kelsy-Hayes trailer brake control
CB radio and stereo
Good winder type tires

I tell ya boys and girls, if I were in the market for a 2WD Travelall, I'd buy
this one in a second!  But if I brought it home, my wife might make me live in
it... which might not be too bad. <grin>  She doesn't think there's anything
on this planet much uglier than a Travelall, with my Scout a close second.
She just can't appreciate the fact that something can be so homely that it
*cool*!  If you're interested in this Travelall, please contact the seller
directly at 360-236-9342.  His name is Bill.

Good luck,

John L.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
jlandry AT halcyon DOT com       | For such a promiscuous conglomeration
Conservative Libertarian         | of numbskulls as generally constitutes
Life Member of the NRA           | an army a six pound pull is well
WA Arms Collectors               | enough.  With an easy pull soldiers
Commercial Helicopter - Inst.    | would decimate their own ranks more
http://www.halcyon.com/jlandry/  | than those of the enemy. T. S. Van Dyke