Although I have great mechanics genes, I have not put them to good use but am hoping to find a truck that could use slight improvement but I'm not ready for a complete overhaul job just yet.

I am looking for an early 90s F150 Supercab 4x4, and am finding several in my area so I am being patient and making sure I get exactly what I want. My problem is I'm not sure exactly what that is when it comes to tech and spec issues. i.e. I have seen all different sized engines, one I am currently looking at, has a 302, but I have also seen others with a 429 or 460. I am not looking for a racer or a hotrod, I just want a durable, dependable truck. What engine/trans combos should I look for? What should I stay away from?

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

I personally wanted a 302 5 speed which I have. Lot of guys here find the 4.9 I-6 a good choice. Yet others have 5.8 351 Windsor & like them. Both the E4OD automatic & the 5 speed manual have their issues. But I prefer the 5 speed.
A 429 or 460 were never a factory option in an F150 2wd or 4x4. So that is someones mod. The 460 was offered in the F250/F350 models. The 429 never was offered in a truck.
Hope this helps a little.
One other thing I again prefer the 5.0L (302 V8) vs the 4.9L (300 I-6) even for pulling my 4500# cargo trailer. The 302 is better on the highway & at freeway speeds. I get up to 19.5 mpg on the road, about 12-15 mpg in town.

 

Thanks I appreciate it. The truck I am looking at looks great, and seems like a great deal at $3300 but i dont trust anything until I drive it and smoke it over my self. Not being familiar with this particular model, are there any problem areas or noises I should look for if I go test drive it?

 

My experience has been with all ford trucks that depending on the miles and how it's been treated, you'll usually find the rear main seals are leaking. That'll mean you have to pull the trans to fix it. I've always preferred the manual trans over the auto for the simple fact that EVERY single auto trans I've had, starts slipping and I'm not hard on them but it's usually the previous owner has not done the maintenance on them.. All older truck will clunk and shake when hitting rough spots in the road, usually it's because the rubber mounts have started disintegrating. Most importantly to remember you have to think to yourself, if it's such a great truck, WHY are they selling it?? Sure sometimes it's because they don't need it anymore or it eats more gas than they can afford but what I find mostly is they beat the snot out of it and now they don't want to fix it. They've put a band-aide on what ever the problem is and hope to pawn it off on the next sucker that comes along. Next you have to ask yourself, what are you going to use the truck for mainly?? is it a driver? a Hauler, A real work horse? When you answer that, then it'll determine what size drive train you should be looking at. Next is if you think somethings not right with it when you drive it, you're probably right. At that point I'd take it to a certified mechanic and pay the $100 to have it gone over, compression test and things like that. Better to be safe and spend a little than find out you just spent $3500 on a boat anchor. Good luck in your search.

 

Thank you, I have definitely learned as I age, that the feeling in my gut is usually true.
I have anticipated spending a total of 8-10k on whatever truck I buy. I guess my dilemma will be whether to spend all of that upfront and hope that all is well. or buy one for 3-5 and then spend the balance fixing any issues I find the way I think they need to be fixed.

 

Rust, rust, and rust. One of the best things you can do to help you out is to get a truly rust free truck. They'll all have some surface rust on the frame, but I'm talking about rot that would require body part replacement. Bodywork is where you'll spend a ton of money if you can't do it yourself. Mechanical problems are generally cheaper and easier to do.

Aside from rot, look at the rear springs for broken leaves, rear spring hangers and shackles for rot, front coil spring buckets for rot.

Other than that, a good once over to check steering/suspension, motor and trans operation, etc. If you're unsure of what to look for or how to check, it may be worth the cost of having a trusted mechanic (of your choosing, not the seller's) check it over for you.

My advice would be to spend as little as possible for something you like, that's in decent shape, and use the rest of your budget for repairs/upgrades.

It'd be very easy to buy something for 8k that was already refurbished, but the problem with doing that is, you're putting faith in the previous owner having done repairs correctly.