I hear you about the bottomless money pit.
Back when I had a Turbo Diesel in my D50 (rare 4D55 2.3L engine option stroked to 2.5L using 4D56 parts), when I ordered parts, they came from all over the world. Cam & Rockers came from London, some of the gaskets came from Germany, bearings came from Canada, Injector pump (only one in the United States at the time) came from Alaska. Crankshaft came from Ireland, etc
Talk about pricey when stuff has to be shipped from other countries.
When the 2.5L died, I sold off the parts that survived the disaster (plus spare parts I had stockpiled) and was able to make back everything I had invested into the Diesel from day 1. Those parts sold like hotcakes, I had people that drove halfway across the country to pick up parts, and others that bought them and those parts ended up being shipped halfway across the world.
In the end, even with the diesel, it was still a Dodge D50... It's less desirable with the 273 Small Block, but parts sure are a lot cheaper and they're usually in stock at your favorite parts store :D
Except for sheet metal/body parts. Nobody makes body parts for the truck anymore, and it's tough finding good used body parts.
Back when I first got the truck, they were pretty common still, and they were the kind of vehicle that earned you insults and jokes. "You're driving a D50? What's wrong with you?" :D Now days they're so hard to find that they're actually cool (when people aren't calling it a Toyota, or asking me if I have a 350 under the hood)
