EDIT: Summary for people with reading difficulties:
77 F350 Uhaul 9900 GVW, 330FT engine with 113k, NP435 4 spd, Dana 70 dual rear.
Picture link at the bottom.

So I posted earlier a fun bit of trivia about decoding a 77 F350 Uhaul truck data plate due to its odd option codes (like engine Z).
Thankfully I ruled out the 66 F600 sitting behind it as a project candidate but now after talking to the guy more and looking at it further I seem to be at risk of falling off the wagon again on his other truck so maybe you can talk me down from it. I'm not sure what the logic is in asking the alcoholics to tell me to stop drinking however.
My plan would be to fix it up as a portable motorcycle garage/camper whatever sort of thing. Its just wide enough where I think I can sleep crosswise in it and I am 6 feet tall. I can stand up in it without slouching at all. I like it because its a truck and not the damn van front which I can't stand. Ideally I would want a newer diesel one, but I don't want an automatic at all which I think they all came with later, and I can't afford a multi thousand dollar truck. I might pick up a cheap 6.9 diesel and convert this some day if I find one since they are much cheaper than the later 7.3 stuff but are durable with decent mileage.

Anyways for those not up to speed its a 1977 F350 Uhaul, I forgot to measure the box but its a 161" wheelbase truck so I think its the 14 foot? (counting the overhang apparently)
It has the Uhaul only (of the light trucks anyways) 330FT non catalyst medium duty motor, which though a gas guzzling slug at least is interesting from a Ford historical standpoint and is very durable especially with the other heavy stuff like the radiator they put with it.
The odometer reads just under 13k which due to the maintenance log book in the truck (interesting read) I can tell is 113k and not 213k. There is also a sticker chart behind the seat for regular maintenance which only goes to 100k so I believe it was the policy to ditch them at 100k back then, or possibly they tossed this one when the automatic diesels became standard since it looks like it was taken out of service in the mid 80's.
It has the NP435 4 spd manual and a Dana 70 rear end with 4.10 gears.

Its interesting because the box is WAY better built and totally different from the later stuff. It has swing out rear doors like a big commercial trailer and not a roll up and the whole box has no wood and is double walled aluminum, a flat panel on the outside (except the floor where its inside) and a square ribbed layer for strength, plus additional aluminum cross ribs for strength.
Total vehicle weight unloaded is 6800 according to an outside door sticker and the GVW is 9900.
It has 8x16.5 tires for everything, not sure if the front rims are the same as the rear dual ones though that would be super convenient.
Its sitting with mostly low to flat tires (one dual has unseated) that all need replacement, but I'm told overall it could be driving on the street in less than half an hour if I wanted. It needs a new windshield and various rust repair including floor pans at least on the driver side, passenger might be salvageable, needs lower cab corners. Definitely needs passenger front fender.
So repairable rust, a windshield and tires are mainly what it needs though I'm sure there is other stuff like side window seals that would be necessary.
Something interesting is that it has all its Uhaul logos visible, I though that a bit odd till I realized it was because the cheap orange paint they slopped over just the logos has basically all come off again and left the more durable original paint underneath. If the truck was in better shape I would keep it all original (which i won't) as nobody else will and it would likely be the only one of these all original some day. They seem super rare now as it is thanks to the price of scrap and the crappy gas mileage, and yet super easy to get parts for being just a stretched heavy F350 with a common motor from the medium duty trucks.

Here's the pics, I have more including a few underneath if anyone wants them posted.
PPPPPP42's Library | Photobucket

 

I'd stay away (simply cuz it's too much **** to read)

 

If it suits your needs and you're looking for a project, it would sure be an unusual one. Plus, the price is dirt cheap. I'd say go for it.

 

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Somebody is still looking for their piano and fridge huh. :P

I'd buy it for $500. You can find cab/front clip parts if you need them, and I'd imagine that box is worth a pretty good amount, if only for scrap. I'd like to have something like that to haul stuff.

 

Hello,
Interesting read and like you say something quite different. I think is would look great if you repainted it the original colours and logos if you are allowed. If you can lift the box off ok and park it somewhere the chassis and truck is going to be a lot easier to work on. The cab does look pretty rough. It is not like you are going to use it as a daily so i'm sure you will be able to handle the gas mileage until you can fit something diesel later.

 

All 1973/78 F350's made exclusively by FoMoCo for U-Haul came with 330 2V Medium aka Xtra Duty engines.

This engine was not an option, it was the only one installed. Because it was installed in U-Haul's, it has the Z Domestic Special Order engine code.

 

Agreed...

 

 

I think it has lots of potential. Maybe put some big shiny aluminum rims on it with low profile tires and leave it at that. Fix up the drivetrain of course. It would be something to see a truck like that smoking the rear tires off.

 

I Agree.take a chance on it if that's what your after. If its crap, it's good scrap. Just hauled in a 73 F-250 2wd that I bought just for the 504 CID that someone with more money than brains put in it. Truck was garbage but I paid $500 for it, pulled the motor, green dash pad, and a pile of other spare parts and still got $406 out of the rest at the scrapper yesterday.

 

Choptop,.....where did you get your rear fender flairs on the 78?

 

Ok, so if that F250 was worth over $400 as scrap this thing with its 100% aluminum box would be worth substantially more. I'd say its a good buy for me then, though I don't intend to scrap it its nice to have a bailout plan.

I was going to ditch the stock rims as I was told that 8r16.5 inch tires are really expensive, but a little internet homework shows me that Firestone makes Transforce HT's in 8.75x16.5 load range E which will fit on these rims and should also fit the truck and most places can get 7 of them (dually+spare though I don't think it has a spare rim) to me for about $1200 shipped which is cheaper than many regular truck tires.

Assuming it doesn't have a spare hiding anywhere would this have normal Ford F350 dually rims or something odd for U-Haul? I would want an exact match. I noted that several of the tires say "U-Haul not for resale" or something to that effect molded into the sidewall which I thought was interesting.

With the extra .75 on tire size I assume a speedometer driven or drive gear change would be in order, I have no idea how to figure that sort of thing out but that's for much later anyways. Plus slightly reduced effective gear ratio will be nice on the freeway with the 4.10's I think and this thing already sits super low so any height will help too.

 

They were on it. Just about the only good thing on the truck when I bought it.

 

It's not what I'm looking for so to me it's just a Dana 70 and what parts are worth pulling before scrapping. However, it would make a nice mobile hunting camp/fishing camp/toy hauler once converted to 4wd and another engine installed. Having said that, at $500 you definitely have a way out and a money maker at that.