Another Expensive NDT

[NAM VET]

Not long ago, posted a pic of one my NDT's inner side sidewall's splitting. So sourced what Coker said was the last tube and flap in the country, and a Firestone NDT from Vintage tire, they said STA is no longer making them. I was just going to have a local truck tire shop remove the old NDT and ring, and I would put the new one on myself, like I did a month ago, but then decided to just have them do it all. So luckily a big truck tire shop in my town does them, took the old NDT over with the new one, I had put the tube and flap into the new Firestone.

Waited while a maybe 50 year old guy at the shop used a duck-bill sledge to knock the tire away from the ring, then use his pry bars to remove the ring, he then forced the old tire off the rim, and used a wire wheel to clean up the ring and rim. Stomped the ring on, and stood back about five feet and aired it up, banging on the ring. All done. Brought it home, and mounted it back on my truck. I had cleaned and painted the inside of the rim when I had it off a week ago to do my brake adjustment.

Now, the tire guy was about the most worn out guy I have seen in a long time, limping, bent over, on his broken knees on the concrete sometimes. tipped him a $20, paid and came home. I think he has worn out his body doing tires since he was a teen. He gave the me flap back from the old tire, said it was good, but can't use the tube again, due to stretching.

Adding up the cost of the Firestone, shipping, the tube, flap, and cost to dismount/mount and balance the new set up, it is just under $1,100 dollars!

So for those soon to get their trucks on the road, worth thinking about what four tires you might want to put on. Hal

[PoW]

My tire guy Steve has all the flaps & tubes you can use, along with a full line of tire tools.

Not to mention all he sells are industrial and truck tires.

Call him, he will ship anywhere: 520-840-7316

Save some $ while at it.

PoW

[Cal_Gary]

Damn Hal that was COSTLY! You should have grabbed my STA NDT
Hope you're happy with the end result.
Gary

[investig8]

I'm pretty new to the whole M-37 world as compared to many on this site and I could possibly be the poster child for "you get what you pay for"... However, felt I should add to the discussion as it may save someone some money. As I prepared to put Fiona on the road, I searched for tires for some time and as you all know, they are pretty pricey. However, I finally stumbled upon an offer on Ebay where I purchased four ASTRO NDT tires for less than $1000 and they paid shipping to my door. They look and seem fine for the limited use that I need. Time will tell I guess...
Enjoy your truck and your week!
Dennis

[refit1701]

Between lack of good coils, discontinued spark plugs, and tires more expensive than civilian truck tires, the future is closing in on our hobby.

[NAM VET]

went back and checked the cost of the Firestone, it was $392 from Vintage, plus about $60 for shipping. They said they had no more STA versions, so it wasn't $700 like I thought. I think that figure came from "all in" costs plus shipping for the tired, tube, and I actually had a spare new flap. So maybe with mounting, about $650 or so. I was incorrect.

sorry, hal

[Cal_Gary]

No worries Hal-it WILL cost $1100 before long the way our economy is currently going.
Gary

[John Mc]

Between lack of good coils, discontinued spark plugs, and tires more expensive than civilian truck tires, the future is closing in on our hobby.

A little bit of topic drift here, but if you are looking for a coil, I've had good luck with the ones sold by Peter Debella at Debella Jeep Parts. He had a batch made up - tried to find a North American manufacturer who would make them, but none were willing. These were made in China, but seem to be working out much better than the chrome Chinese coils. I've had one in my truck and had no problems. Last I checked with Peter, he has had no reports of problems in the field.

[just me]

I did 8 tires in the last two years. Tires, tubes, flaps. The 8 ply NDTs were under $900 and the STA Superlugs were under $1,100 for all components. I got the last tubes from tireinnertube.com. The last Flaps from Dealer Tire, the last NDT's from Performance Plus and the last Superlugs from Summit.
I also got the second to last set of 4ply 10" tires for my Mule from OTR Tire. (They had 900-16 NDT last I checked)
I'm good for a while. And glad I can change them myself. But still, about $2,500 in tires, tubes and flaps. Yikes.

[ez8]

Between lack of good coils, discontinued spark plugs, and tires more expensive than civilian truck tires, the future is closing in on our hobby.

Hey! No defeatism here, soldier! Commodities go up and down in pricing all the time. Surely you're old enough to remember the 1970's stagflation, the 1980's, the dot com bust, the 2008 financial crash or anywhere up and down that timeline as you please.

All I'm saying is that nature demands balance. We've swung too far in one direction and the natural world is correcting itself. All vibrations will be aligned momentarily, please stand by.

[PoW]

Towards the end of G741's in first-line service, there was a glut of parts, tires, TM's.

The 80's were glory years for that.

This went on for several more years, as things trickled out of the various supply depots.

New doors, fenders, tailgates, eTc were around, and the shipping was usually more than the item.

Like any car that is no longer supported by the manufacturer, parts dry up and get expensive.

However, a nice complete M37 is still cheaper than a new 1-ton 4X4. And cheaper to fix.

PoW

[Argie1978]

Restoring and keeping old vehicles in motion ain't something for a 17yo boy right out of school. There are cheap hobbies and expensive ones.
What cannot be bought can be manufactured. Otherwise let us all start doing gardening.

Sebastian