Hi everyone,
So i am looking to buy an f250 with either a 5.7l Windsor or 6.9 diesel. Both apears to be in similar condition. The gas V8 has abt 55k miles on the clock and the diesel abt 90k miles. Also i stay in South Africa and these trucks are getting rare. Especially the diesel. Both are 1980-81 models so i accept the diesel was a donor motor.
Reason for purchase is 1) I love them and 2) want a second family car that can seat three and transport my two mastiffs and 3) to be used on occasion for light duty work. So theyre not likely to be driven much and therefore mpg isnt my main concern.
But do anyone one know the rough guestimate mpg for both please?
Also if the diesel is in fair condotion will it be relaiable? I know i ask hard to answer questions with little info.
-Valdor

 

I prefer the diesel because I have worked on them for 25 years but both are good motors. MPG's could be very similar. Depends on other things like gearing. Do like the Wyatt Earp profile pick and with Mastiffs you need a large vehicle. I have an English Mastiff and he likes to ride in our Explorer. Drive through windows are always fun. We will slid by the local Dairy Queen where dogs get free small ice cream cones.

 

one seat for two mastiffs? sure about that? lol. ive got a bordeaux (french mastiff) and shes only 7 months old and takes up half the couch already

 

Gotta love fellow dog (esp mastiff owners). Mine are a Bullmastiff girl and a neapolitan mastiff boy. They are my kids. The slobber are part of the fun and gives me plenty cleanup work but tons of laughs when they ride in the back of the small isuzu pickup and slobber the traffic.!!!
Thankyou for the info on the question.
God bless dog owners and animal lovers.

 

oh man, how much does that neo weigh? i almost got one a few years ago. was at a bar when a guy walked by with a beautiful boy. i stopped him and started shooting the ***** for a bit. he asked if i wanted the dog. guess hes the landlord of a building, the owner asked if he could watch the dog for a couple days and just moved out in the middle of the night a month before and just left the dog with him. man, if it was a girl dog id have taken it for sure. i do NOT do boy dogs.

 

Back on track here(mastiffs dont belong on a farm, nor can they birdhunt lol). The 5.8 will not do as well as a 6.9 if you take care of it. It will outlast the 5.8, not gonna outrun it but it will outpull it if its asked to...

 

my girl loves to herd the sheep with my queensland, so not belonging on the farm is wrong. but i dont see her wanting to bird hunt though. she does love chasing rabbits though and almost got herself a peacock though

 

They cant herd cattle lol is my point Oreo...I've watched that happen....speaking from good amounting of expierience, Blue/Red Heeler, Labs, and whatnot are best farm dogs...Hunting....haha thats funny, almost a peacock lol. I watched my chocolate lab catch everything from a squirrel to birds to cats....its quite entertaining to watch a 15 year old lab go nuts for a couple minutes then sleep for an hour and a half.

 

lol thats how our black lab was, she would go crazy trying to catch a ground hog or a coon, then she would lay down in the barn for a few hours

 

Is diesel cheaper/easier to get in South Africa?
It seems like diesel is the fuel of choice in the bush..........from what I've SEEN.

Personally I'll take a diesel for almost any reason.....last longer, heavier duty, better fuel mileage, simpler, doesn't over heat as easily, can run on crap fuel and even alternate fuels, you can add a turbo to really wake it up for daily driving/use.
Also, a lot of times the diesel will have heavier duty drivelines, u-joints, transmissions, x-cases and axles/diffs.

 

At 90K the diesel is just broke in good if it has been even half way taken care of where at 55k the gas engine more than half wore out there are occasionally exceptions to that but not often The diesel came standard with dual tanks heaver suspension and drive train if the gas truck has the same arrangements someone paid extra for them when the truck was new. I know of several of the Windsor engines that are pushing 300k but they are the exception most don't get much past 100k before having major problems. 300k is average for the diesel and 800K+ is not unknown. but you will have to look at both trucks and decide witch is best for your needs.
I have never owned a mastiff but I do have a Rhodesian ridge back a big enough dog for me and not one i would want to have to face when she is wound up but she loves to ride in the car or the truck any time or place

 

BTW the 351w is a 5.8 not a 5.7 lol 5.7 was the chevy small block

but it depends on what your going to do with the truck

if you dont need a workhorse truck get the 5.8

if your going to tow and use it to work then go with the 6.9

both are gonna get about the same mpgs

and btw you say they are early 80s pickups? make sure its a 351w and not a 351m they are two different creatures

 

Fuel economy will also depend on the distance you drive. For really short trips, a gasser might have the edge (although the short warmup time in SA might minimize that).

You'll have to stock up on regular parts like fuel filters, glow plugs (Beru ONLY), thermostats (motorcraft/international ONLY), and maybe even a set of injectors if you can't afford to wait for parts to come in from overseas. I don't know how common these trucks are over there however. I can get almost anything I need for mine locally, but prefer to look at american suppliers online simply because they are chaper. ($10@rockauto vs $24@ford for a single glow plug would be one example).

What gearing is the truck? (4.10 = bad for highway, fine for low speed city driving or heavy towing. 3.55 = better for highway, not so good for heavy towing)
What transmission is the truck (3 speed auto not so good, 4 speed stick will get better MPGS. Both options are very durable)
What is your average expected top cruising speed? (55 MPH/90KPH is ideal in most cases but 110 KPH is still reasonable if you have 3.55 gears. If you have 4.10 gears and a C6 auto, don't expect to get over 11 MPG at that speed......)

Also, I'm not up to speed on the gassers as much, but weren't there a few different options for a "5.8L" back then? The windsor, the "M" block (based on the 400 big block) and possibly the cleavland.

In any case, I don't think any of them will likely pass 15 MPG on a good day but some do. Again, a stick shift will get somewhat better MPGs than a slusher. I don't think the truck will have an AOD transmission either (automatic overdrive with locking torque converter - this was only available for the windsor small block pattern; 300 inline six, 302V8 and 351V8).

One final note, is the 6.9 was only an option at the start of the 1983 model year.

 

i have a efi 351 in my new bronco it gets around 10 at 65 at at the same speeds empty my idi would et 18 to 20 mpgs

 

I had a '90 351 and the BEST it ever got was 10.5 MPG, WITH fuel injection. It wasn't lacking in power (wasn't extremely impessive either) but it sucked gas like a big block.
With a basically identical truck with an IDI turbo I get a BEST of 14-16.