Haven't been here much in the last few years.. my 92 F-250 has remained tucked away in the garage, driven just enough each year to put fresh gas in her. But for a while now I have been wanting a truck I wouldn't feel bad having some fun in.. screw around up in the hills with.. get a scratch or a ding.. no worries.
A few weeks ago I was driving past a public gravel strip where locals place vehicles for private sales... And there it was, it almost said, "Here I am take me home." Asked $1500, paid $1k cash. Tan 1987 stripper model, bought here new locally if the faded dealer licence plate rims are valid.. and resold by a local used car dealer sometime later.. judging by the sticker on the tail gate.
160K
4.9L six EFI
4 speed manual
Regular cab, short box
4x2
Dual tanks (rear doesn't work)
Needs ball joints and tie rods
Original exhaust system is toast
Valve cover gasket leak
Needs belt
Has new Battery, alternator, and starter.
Runs strong, doesn't smoke, only odd sounds are exhaust system and ball joint related.
Everything works, wipers, fluid, radio, lights, dome light.
Original interior is intact.
Body has typical dings but never wrecked. The doors and rockers have some rock chips in the paint and rust bubbles are starting to form between the sheet metal and paint, mostly on the doors. Intend to media blast the rust away and repaint with rattle cans. No exact match so going two tone. So far I have media blasted and repainted the wheels and repainted, and started the two tone trim on the panels that don't need media blasting, should get to the doors in the next few weeks.
This weekend a friend is using his commercial buffer on the upper tan original paint, de-oxidize and wax. Just trying to preserve the sheet metal on the cheap without looking too crappy.

Anyway, here she is..



And the other two garage queens.

 

Hope you guys don't mind if I play with this thread and ask advice about what to fix up on her.. right now I'm kind of curious about the rear end.. I like the torque I get but not sure what gears it has. I am pretty sure being an 87 it is limited slip.. I'm wondering if I should get a locking rear end and if that would have a significant impact in rough forest service road conditions and light mud.

 

If it has the sticker on driver door frame you can look up the vin # and axle codes. There is a vin decoder on this site, think its on one the tabs on top of home page. I believe under the articles tab. If it has a limited slip rear its probably pretty weak by now. You can get rebuild kits for them. Or put in a lock right locker, won't be quite as well mannered on the street tho. They are easy to install and relatively cheap

 

Here ya go: VIN Decoder - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums This is the link to the VIN decoder. You can also get to it by going to the "Tools" dropdown at the top of the page.

Anyway, good looking survivor of an old truck! I like it. And you're doing a great job with the two-tone paint job. If I had any of the original paint left that's what I'd do too. Sadly, my paint was pretty shot and then the PO primered over the whole thing. So, I'm gonna have to do a whole respray eventually. Hopefully this year.

Keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing how your project turns out and hearing what kind of adventures you have with the old girl!

 

I didn't know STRIPPERS had their own model of F-150! Where's the pole go?

Scott

 

Axle code 19. Looks like that is an 8.8 with 3.55 Is that good or bad?

 

Beats the 4.10s that were in mine when I got it. I swapped my axle out for a 3.55 geared one a couple of weeks ago. The 3.55s are a good match to the 300's power band. I drive hilly back roads to and from work and have yet felt like the truck was struggling at all.

Funny - the rear tank on mine hasn't been used in who knows how many years, but I'm going to have to figure out why and fix it. That 16 gallon front tank feels puny when one has a 100 mile commute four days a week.

Nice truck! I have a similar set-up but with the 8' box.

 

I never paid more than $50.00 for a couple lap dances… no sense paying for more than you need! On the bright side she DOES have a nice tan...

 

Found good bumpers at the local bone yard! Three bumpers (one for a co-workers 93) and a class 3 receiver all pre-removed for $150. So excited

 

Got some more paint done, front bumper installed, and found a cheap canopy on craigslist.

 

I'm kind of late to the party regarding this post, and it subsequently sounded like the OP has an open diff, so this doesn't apply to him anyway. But you can't put a Lock Right (or any other "lunch box" locker) in a limited slip diff. You need to be starting with an open diff for them.

 

It's open, I misspoke earlier. A friend of mine said if I wanted to lock the rear it would be cheapest to just find a used rear end that already has a locker..

 

That may be true, but it's not that easy to find a used rear end with a locker. They were never offered by the factory, so you'd be looking for one of the few that had an aftermarket locker installed and then scrapped out the truck.