LUVTruck.com

I am looking at a 1974 Luv 4x4 with 80000 miles. I don't know anything about these trucks except a buddy of mine had one that he beat pretty bad and it ran a good long time. Is there anything specific to look for, any weak driveline parts? This truck is stock to my knowledge. Price is $1500. Too much, about right or heck of a buy?

Thanks!!!

Check to see if the frame is rusting out. I hear that alot. Also see if the front end is good. A truck that old will most likely need ball joints and tie rods and such. As for the motor, Just drive it into the ground and replace it with a V-8 setup. The stock motor has the dual timing chain setup and its a pain in the a#$. You cant mod those motors too hot without it losing durability. If you want to run with the stock motor, then make sure that there's no air leaks! This will kill that motor really fast. As for the price, try to talk him down.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

You didn't say what coast you're on- over here in the east, frame rust is a biggie- I just replaced a large portion of the frame on mine- by the time I realized how bad it was (a gasket scraper can be your best buddy here) I already had a ton of time in the cab. I'm probably going to wind up replacing the whole frame in 4 or 5 years, anyway- once Japanese stuff starts to rust, the only way to stop it is to cut out anything that even looks like it's even THINKING about rusting, and putting in new metal.

As far as body rot- you can pretty much tell how bad it is by looking- they're not put together like old Mustangs or British stuff, where inner panels start to rust first, and by the time the rust shows up as bubbles on the rocker, the whole thing is gone.... what you can see from underneath is what's there, and if it looks solid, you're good to go.

As far as price, if it's super nice, $1500 is probably in the ballpark, but I'd guess that the going rate is still between $400. and $800, depending on the amount of rust you're going to need to fix. I checked NADA blue book value once- mine's a '74 also- and a perfect low miles "creampuff" was valued at somewhere around $2400.

If the motor's tight, it'll run pretty much forever. I've done stuff with my truck that shouldn't be done to an army tank. The driveline- in the 2wheel drive trucks, anyway, is reasonably bomb-proof.

Its a 74 4x4? Are you sure about that, because unless its a conversion, I believe 79 was the first year they offered a factory 4x4, wasn't it?

By the way, I agree with spindle. East coast LUVs just don't survive out here with the rust issue. My own was a rust bucket when I bought it so make sure you get under there and shake a few things around.

Yep, 79 was the first "factory" 4x4 year.

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Click on C.M. logo to go to my webpage


RIP R.J.B.

I checked the new NADA book this afternoon (gotta love Borders...does ANYBODY ever BUY any of the books?) ---I was out to lunch on my previous appraisal...

According to the NADA folks, and I think most of the stuff in there is based on actual prices vehicles bring at auction, the MEDIAN value of a '74 is around $2500. A "very good" vehicle was listed at $4770. Musta been a nice one.

Anyhow- just wanted to make sure I didn't mislead anybody with inaccurate info... although I still think there are plenty o f$400. ones left out there.

A co worker told me the head gaskets were problematic. Head replaced 4 on his. His experience was: drive the crap out of it as a commuter,but don't think for a minute it is a truck. He blew his during heavy hauling before he wised up. Although talking with a guy at the bone yard said the chassis was as tough as a 3/4 ton! My own wreck(77 stepside) had spent most of it life as a farm truck and the prior owner was given it with a blown head gasket. He replaced it with a new short block and kept up the heavy hauling and blew out that one. When I rescued it, it had a second short block installed and it runs great once I got most of the minor missing parts reinstalled and readjusted all the settings. You will have lots of fun in yours. I use mine on short trips and it's a hoot!

I disagree with your co-worker. Man, these little trucks are bomb-proof. My '74 has been used heavily as a truck- bed full of rocks, and all that- If the motor's halfway tight, it'll last a long time. The only thing that'll kill 'em is rust. I know they swapped motors around in them a bit, but the bottom end in mine looks like it was designed to go in a tractor- the top end's all aluminum, which I just went over a good bit after 10 years of ridiculous abuse- they're tough little trucks.

these trucks are great. I off road mine rutienly and well guess what whith the 2"lift and a set of good 27.5" all terain tires on it it will chase my friends k5s all day long! In fact there has been acouple of times when my luv has rescued his trucks, it just kinda smokes the clutch a bit (luvs dont like pulling 5000lbs trucks out of mud but they WILL do it!). I am on the second rebuild in mine and my dad used it as a heavy hauling truck (would put 2000lbs in the bed) and it has held up great. I just need to replace the wheel bearing s and front joints (but it has over 200,000 HARD miles on it). Great little trucks. I do kind of think 1500is a bit much but whith gas being as much as it is now these trucks will only go up in price.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

i'm going to have to go along with jimbo. don't get me wrong,i think there great engines. but with all the engines problems i have had it's always blown when something was in the bed of my truck

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1980 luv sport 4x4 Just a memory now
Frame rusted from the inside. Truck stripped and now looking for a new donor in southern ohio

hey Jimbo, where did you get your stepside. Is it yellow. Did you get it from an old guy on highway 9 in the maltby area. I spent 5 years in sultan about a year and a half ago. do me a favor, on your way through the sultan, monroe area, 'send' one of these out for me as you drive through. hang it out the window for me

Nice area, but there sure are a lot of douche bags over there.

g

I think a lot of the head problems are tied to cooling system problems. If everything is right in the radiator and such, I've never had a problem. All it takes is a little leak or a clogged radiator combined with extra load or a hot day and overheating will take care of the head quick. The head and block expand at different rates and work against each other, basically destroying the head gasket in the process.

The other thing I've seen is people shaving the head down when they do a head gasket replacement. Too much shave and the problems become much worse. I've never tried them, but there are head spacer shims that could help with keeping the compression down and make the gasket last a lot better. The other option is having a shop straighten the head instead of shaving it, costs a bit more, but would probably eliminate the problem.

Other things to watch out for on LUVs in general is usually steering linkage, especially the idler arm bushing. Given this is a 74 4x4, it probably has an axle under it from some other kind of truck, so it might not have the same set of parts to worry about. I would pay a lot of attention to how the 4x4 is setup on this truck, and the under carriage in general. If it looks stock, it is either a 74 body on a 79 or newer frame, or it is done well enough that you won't have too many problems. If it has a straight axle under it, it might be a really good buy at $1500. A lot of us end up wishing for something besides the IFS at some point. Starting out with something else under there might save time if you want to lift it a lot.

I wonder if ashill is coming back or if we scared him off buying this luv. I figured I'd post on the thread anyway, just in case someone else ends up looking for the info, but I hope we've got another convert out there.

im a "convert" sort-of. i have always been interested in LUVs and just recently succumbed to my interests. so now im looking for a 79-80 LUV 4x4. im lookin at a few now, so i should have one soon!


Josh

here one on ebay man http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... egory=5348

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I like my steak like I like my women, young, tender and bloody.

All I need is my weed, women, and wine. -Edge City Outlaws

hey, larp. I saw a thing on tv last night that some computer role playing game definition is a LARP. does this have anything to do with you?

yea, i "noticed" that one. take a wild guess who Transbird is . il give ya a hint. i also own an '87 Firebird Formula...heh heh heh. hope no one else on here is bidding. IM GETTIN THAT MUDDER!!!!!!

LARP stands for Live Action Role Play...kinda like dungons and dragons ....dont really have anything to do w/ me...b/c i have played D&D in ages..(since i was about 14 lol)....but "larphead" has yet to fail me as a username

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I like my steak like I like my women, young, tender and bloody.

All I need is my weed, women, and wine. -Edge City Outlaws

hope ya get it...nice lookin truck...cept for the bed

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I like my steak like I like my women, young, tender and bloody.

All I need is my weed, women, and wine. -Edge City Outlaws

live action role play? hmmm that sounds like that could be a dominatrix porn title or something to that affect. he he later

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don`t have the luv no more but I still like em.72 el camino,
00 & 06 silverado one 4x4, turboed vw sandrail,99 banshee, 06 raptor 700, 02 polaris trailblazer.