Thinking of buying an old Kenworth
 

Ok so a couple questions.

How hard is it to get parts for the 50s models ?

the one I'm looking at now has a reman cummins 350 small cam. Which is greek to me.

Its also got split rims but they look like they've been reworked and chromed.

So while I'd normally not purchase someone elses dead project rumor has it this thing runs and drives fine. And the body is as perfect.

So whats up, how hard is it to get parts for this thing

That truck and engine are all mechanical, absolutely no computers, sounds good but the new crop of parts changer type mechanics may not have a clue! They'll be looking around for the data port. Now on the other hand any old timer can work on small cam maybe even in there sleep.
But the mere fact that you're asking these questions lead me to think that this would not be a wise move for you. "So while I'd normally not purchase someone elses dead project" Good thought.

Well I'm generally a good mechanic although I did just get my ass handed to me by that Ford. I've never had any luck with fords and it remains today the only vehicle I've ever given up on. My daily driver is a VW TDI I rebuilt from dead so i'm feeling pretty confident I could keep the old bird running. Its apparently running fine now, or at least according to the owner who I did finally manage to get ahold of.

And no I don't usually buy other peoples dead projects but this thing isn't all that dead and it sounds like he's just selling off all his trucks.

now the problem is finding a rep out there to go look at it. Confirm its existence and check the VIN. Buying out of state is such a pain

are you putting it to work or just a toy? personally i wouldn't put something that old to work.

It was just going to be a toy but the guy sold it to someone else before he and I could agree on a payment method. It was endlessly frustrating. Credit card, nope, cashiers check, nope, certified funds check, nope. And he wouldn't wait for me to get to a bank monday for cash. Sold it to someone else, I'm kinda pissed off actually

I didn't think of it being a toy, that makes a huge difference. But it doesn't really matter at this point. You might have gotten out easy Boston, if the guy only wanted cash(I LOVE cash) there might've been something hinky about the deal like a lien or no paperwork ect.

sorry for the bump, but I'm thinking of buying an old Kenworth as well
any tips on how to choose one?
what to pay attention to and so on

Pay attention to the VIN code and history.

Good choice. First of all pay attention to the mileage. A typical semi-truck can last up to around 750,000 miles or more. There have even been trucks to hit the one-million-mile mark! On average, a semi-truck drives about 45,000 miles per year. This means that you can probably expect to get about 15 years of use out of your truck if it's new. After that check the oil leaks, starter condition, dry fuel filters, and so on. To make it easier for you to check the VIN number and you'll get most of the information about the vehicle, you can examine the chassis number here at https://vinmentor.com/.

Good choice. First of all pay attention to the mileage. A typical semi-truck can last up to around 750,000 miles or more. There have even been trucks to hit the one-million-mile mark! On average, a semi-truck drives about 45,000 miles per year. This means that you can probably expect to get about 15 years of use out of your truck if it's new. After that check the oil leaks, starter condition, dry fuel filters, and so on. To make it easier for you to check the VIN number and you'll get most of the information about the vehicle, you can examine the chassis number here at https://vinmentor.com/.