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Hey guys! New to this section of the site being I've owned a bullnose and a 96, but now I'm looking at a 79 and I was wondering if 2500 is a good deal. It has a "souped up inline 6" with a 4 speed transmission. It is 2wd and has good sized dent on the bed between the wheel well and the driver's side door. I won't know what he had done to the engine until I go to see it in person on Saturday and he shows me the reciept of what was done on it.
Depends. Check the trans and clutch. Check the steering. Check the operation of the 4x4. Check the tires. Check for rust-especially in the bed, wheel wells and floor pans
If ALL that is good, and the engine is good (as stated), $2500 is probably on the high side of ok.
In Pennsylvania, I'd expect the underside to be rusted out
Depends. Check the trans and clutch. Check the steering. Check the operation of the 4x4. Check the tires. Check for rust-especially in the bed, wheel wells and floor pans
If ALL that is good, and the engine is good (as stated), $2500 is probably on the high side of ok.
In Pennsylvania, I'd expect the underside to be rusted out
Me too on the rust, I'm interested to get to look at this thing, no 4x4 though, it's 2 wheel drive. I was going to offer 1800 and see if I can hagle with him a bit and get him around 2000 if everything checks out ok. Thanks man
Other place to check. The rear cab panel where it welds to the floor behind the seat. The rear window is prone to develop leaks and the seam sealer dries out and cracks allowing water to pass through rotting that area out as well. Same goes for the cab corners. Also look carefully at the frame where the steering box mounts. Ford used under sized bolts for the steering box causing stress cracks to develop over time. The gauge cluster backs were made of a cheap plastic that gets brittle and crumbles. When that happens the dash lights lose contact and won't light up. Also take a good close look at where the rear shock mounts mount to frame. Dirt, salt, and crud gets trapped there causing the frames to rot. If all of that checks out I'd offer about $1500-2,000. However all in all these are pretty stout trucks and pretty sought after. Also if your from Pa. be sure to check and verify that all of the emissions parts are there. For 79 these trucks all had catalyst emissions systems standard. And you'll need to have them there for Pa state inspection. If these parts aren't there you may want to walk away as it can get very costly to replace these items. Hope this helps.
Other place to check. The rear cab panel where it welds to the floor behind the seat. The rear window is prone to develop leaks and the seam sealer dries out and cracks allowing water to pass through rotting that area out as well. Same goes for the cab corners. Also look carefully at the frame where the steering box mounts. Ford used under sized bolts for the steering box causing stress cracks to develop over time. The gauge cluster backs were made of a cheap plastic that gets brittle and crumbles. When that happens the dash lights lose contact and won't light up. Also take a good close look at where the rear shock mounts mount to frame. Dirt, salt, and crud gets trapped there causing the frames to rot. If all of that checks out I'd offer about $1500-2,000. However all in all these are pretty stout trucks and pretty sought after. Also if your from Pa. be sure to check and verify that all of the emissions parts are there. For 79 these trucks all had catalyst emissions systems standard. And you'll need to have them there for Pa state inspection. If these parts aren't there you may want to walk away as it can get very costly to replace these items. Hope this helps.
awesome, thank you! You guys are giving me a lot to look for I like it! Yeah I live in pa but the county I live in doesn't have emissions testing, all you need is the cat and as long it's there you're fine. It doesn't even have to really work. Do you guys do anything to strengthen the frame or upgrade the bolts with the steering box?
If it's been a pa car for awhile it should have one unless the guy has a lick and stick, I'm going to check anyway. magnet is a good truck for that, i d0nt worry about bondo too much as long as they did a really good job and you can't tell i wont worry about it too much. Haha I do see that, that's a good one! I will say this i will be getting one of these trucks at some point! Whether it's this one or another one!
Celtic is correct about the cat. If it's a 78 F150 and has a single gas tank, then it most likely doesn't have nor would it require a cat. However the F100's and 150's (with the duel tanks) had cats. Also when I first read this thread I thought the truck was a 79. All 79 half ton tucks were mandatory at least here in the states to have cats. An easy way to tell if the truck originally had the cat installed at the factory is if on the bottom of the fuel gauge it reads "unleaded fuel only". But that's also assuming that the gauge cluster is the original one to the truck.
That looks like a rather nice interior, other than the horn pad. Do I spy an FM converter in there? I wish they would've shown the damage. Looks like an overall nice truck to me.
I paid a grand for mine, and it really needs a new cab - although my plans are to fix this one.
When I bought mine, I was looking for an '80s-mid-'90s model in the $1000-$2000 range, and found tons of them. I looked at Dents and Bumps, and the only ones I saw were four grand or more! Then I found mine for $1000. I couldn't walk away, even after seeing the roof. It drives nicely and the body is pretty straight, but it has some wicked bad roof-rust.
I'm guessing that in the rust belt, $2500 is probably the high end of that truck's value. If the rest of the truck is nice, and the engine mods are good ones and done right, then I probably wouldn't kick myself for paying that amount or near it - maybe unless it was someplace where rust isn't as much of a problem.
Newcastle isn't very far from me. 2500 is pretty accurate as far as price, I'm always looking at these trucks for sale around here and that seems about right. I'd still try negotiating because that's just the way the game is played, but I think that's pretty fair. Check for the rust like everyone said, but mine lived its whole life here in Pittsburgh and didn't have any terrible rust except the U bolts that hold the leaf to the rear axle.
I'd be more concerned with some unknown person "souping" up a 300. Definitely have to let us know what all is done to it.
I doubt that you'd need a catalytic converter regardless of it came with one or not. You don't have emissions testing there, and here in Allegheny County where we do I pass yearly with my 03 mustang that has both cats removed. These mechanics don't care that much. I suggest registering it as antique. Pay to register it once ($100ish) and it never expires, can be transferred to other antiques later, avoid inspection fees, etc.
01-17-2017, 07:59 PM
I wish they would've shown the damage. Looks like an overall nice truck to me. 
