I'm looking at possibly buying an early '80s F250. It belonged to the father of the owner and was his ranch truck. The owner doesn't use it, wants it to go to someone who will use it, and wants me to make an offer. I'm wondering how much is a reasonable offer. I'm also wondering what fuel economy I can expect. Kelly Blue Book doesn't have info for trucks this old, and the EPA doesn't have info for this engine. I'm not going to drive it much, except for occasionally pulling a gooseneck horse trailer. I think it might be good for me because I can't afford a diesel right now.

The truck is:
Probably 1983. The owner thought it was a 1982, but I found that the engine that's in it wasn't introduced until '83.
F250, with what I think is probably the most basic trim option available at the time.
It has a 7.5L V8, I think probably a Ford 385, 460 cu in.
Short cab, long bed.
4 spd manual trans.
The odometer reads 22XXX, I think it probably has 222XXX miles, but could be 122XXX.
Gooseneck hitch and trailer brake connector (which may or may not work).
4x4
Interior is in decent shape. It looks like an old truck that was fairly well taken care of at one point.
The body is in fairly good shape. No major dents or rust.
The battery and/or alternator may be bad. We tried to jump it, but couldn't. To check if it was the battery, we put the battery from my B2200 in it, and it started up. The F250 battery is currently on a charger, and we'll check it later.
Double gas tank (I assume that both work).
The speedometer seems slow to respond, but I think it works. I don't know if this is normal for these trucks.

Any advice, or anything else I should look for on the truck? What should I offer? How bad will the mpg be? Highway? City? Towing 4-5 horses?

 

The mpg will be bad. You will wonder how in the world can it be this bad but it is. It's setup for towing, probably has 4.10 gears in it, and will pull your horses fine. You will probably on a good day get 8 to 9 mpg, and that's empty or pulling the horse trailer around. Yes, it's that bad. It would be great for pulling that horse trailer though, and doing work around town and on the farm. Long trips would be expensive, and it would sound like it's getting ready to blow up if you try to run it over 65mph.

 

Thanks Dave. What would you estimate that the truck is worth? What should I offer for it?

Is there anything simple or cheap that I could do to improve the gas mileage without compromising power?

Is it realistic to think about removing the engine and selling it, and replacing it with a Cummins diesel (with a dodge transmission)? Any estimates on total cost of the conversion, and of how much I could make on the engine?