Just found a couple BRAND NEW 379's for $74,000..... But they don't have engines or rear ends. Everything else is there from front axle to back end of frame. My question is... How much would I be looking at to buy new or used rear ends and a 475-500 Cummins or Cat? Just looking for sort of a low and high estimate to see if the savings would be worth the trouble.

Those are glider kits, or trucks sold lacking the engine, trans and rears. Depending on the condition of the engine you choose, assume that you will have to spend about 20k for the replacement engine and trans, at least 5k for the rear suspension, and then add in the cost of the mechanic work and all the little things needed to hook up the new motor. People who buy gliders usually buy one because they have an identical model that has been wrecked that can serve as a donor vehicle. If you have th donor truck and the time to do the work yourself, they can save you some money. If you don't and have to pay full price for everything, then they end up costing about the same as a new truck fully assembled with all the factory warranties. And banks do not look real kindly on financing a truck missing the vital parts, so that is something else to factor in.

Well, no donor truck. I sort of figured it would end up costing the same as a new truck and I can see why a bank would frown on loaning money for something like that.

I figure glider kits are popular with salty old drivers who would rather push their mechanical CAT's and NTC's than drive an electronic engine.

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That price sounds kinda high to me not to have complete rear ends. I was looking to buy a glider from a guy I know before I bought my new one. All he does is builds gliders, either Peterbilt or Freighliner. He orders his from the factory with everything except the engine and tranny. Everything else is there, including the manufacturers warranty. He also had a truck junk yard that had a lot of late model wrecks in it. He would take the engines from those trucks, completely rebuild from top to bottom, and did the same with the trannys. He would give a 200,000 warranty on a Cat and Detroit engine. He really doesn't mess with Cummins that much. But I know with Cat, they will give extended warranty on any engine they build if it passes their dyno test, no matter what truck it is in. The truck I was looking at was a 2006 Peterbilt 379 flat top with a 2003 Cat C-15. The truck was loaded inside and out and he was only asking $92,000, which is a great buy, but like said before, the finance companies don't like lending that much money on what they call a rebuilt truck. That's why I bought mine from a dealer.

There's a guy near me who has one of those glider kits. He's got a Pete dump truck on a Mack drivetrain, with camelback springs and all.

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Z-Lady's devoted hubby.

Just one more thing to think about. Insurance companies don't really like gliders either

Our customers usually dont run into any problems on Insurance or Financing.

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Derek