What was wrong with your truck when you bought it?
#1
01-14-2007, 06:11 PM
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What was wrong with your truck when you bought it?
'78 f-250 ranger. High gvwr package, d60 front/rear 4.10 gears. 351m/c6/np205. It spent a few years around camden without the title ever getting signed over. Somehow it still had the title though lol. Problems:
The front wheels will turn full lock to the right, but wont turn all the way to the left.
Floor was non-existant.
Bed was falling apart, not one square inch of salvageable metal on it.
Windshield chipped/cracked.
Headers were rotted out.
It came without doors, front grill, front fenders
Front bench was torn to shreds
Tailgate was rotted out
The only light that worked on the whole truck was the glove box light
Somehow all the guages worked
4 different tires, all with no tread left
All 4 leaf springs were bent sideways
The two rear leaf spring hangers were bent
Cab corners were long gone
Rear driveshaft was bent, as well as the carrier bearing
Radiator leaked out of everywhere
About 25% of the wires under the hood were missing
Kickdown linkage was gone
Carb flooded engine whenever gas pedal was touched
Both headgaskets were shot
For some reason it had two functioning oil dipsticks
Not one single part of the braking system worked, except the brake warning light
Stalled whenever it was put in gear
Power steering pump was on its las leg
Body mounts were a stack of washers
No hood latch, or in-cab lever
A large part of the hood vents in front of the wipers were smashed in, it looked as if a cinder block were thrown at it
Sun roof was glued shut with caulking and still leaked
The headlight/interior light switch assembly was gone
Many open vacuum lines
Cruise control from the factory, but it was far from hooked up
Both valve covers leaked
Smoke from burning oil poured out form the passenger side head
The pushrods and a good portion of the valvetrain had serious rust on both heads
Oil pan gasket leaked
Factory ac, but not one part of it worked
Entire heating system wouldn't function
Radio didn't work
Many many broken/missing bolts and nuts
I dont know how or why, but it starts up on the first crank and holds 25psi oil pressure consistantly, drives forward and backward and stops(via parking brake)
I paid 750 for it, and now that I've got most of the problems fixed I love it.
So what was everyone elses like?
The front wheels will turn full lock to the right, but wont turn all the way to the left.
Floor was non-existant.
Bed was falling apart, not one square inch of salvageable metal on it.
Windshield chipped/cracked.
Headers were rotted out.
It came without doors, front grill, front fenders
Front bench was torn to shreds
Tailgate was rotted out
The only light that worked on the whole truck was the glove box light
Somehow all the guages worked
4 different tires, all with no tread left
All 4 leaf springs were bent sideways
The two rear leaf spring hangers were bent
Cab corners were long gone
Rear driveshaft was bent, as well as the carrier bearing
Radiator leaked out of everywhere
About 25% of the wires under the hood were missing
Kickdown linkage was gone
Carb flooded engine whenever gas pedal was touched
Both headgaskets were shot
For some reason it had two functioning oil dipsticks
Not one single part of the braking system worked, except the brake warning light
Stalled whenever it was put in gear
Power steering pump was on its las leg
Body mounts were a stack of washers
No hood latch, or in-cab lever
A large part of the hood vents in front of the wipers were smashed in, it looked as if a cinder block were thrown at it
Sun roof was glued shut with caulking and still leaked
The headlight/interior light switch assembly was gone
Many open vacuum lines
Cruise control from the factory, but it was far from hooked up
Both valve covers leaked
Smoke from burning oil poured out form the passenger side head
The pushrods and a good portion of the valvetrain had serious rust on both heads
Oil pan gasket leaked
Factory ac, but not one part of it worked
Entire heating system wouldn't function
Radio didn't work
Many many broken/missing bolts and nuts
I dont know how or why, but it starts up on the first crank and holds 25psi oil pressure consistantly, drives forward and backward and stops(via parking brake)
I paid 750 for it, and now that I've got most of the problems fixed I love it.
So what was everyone elses like?
#3
01-14-2007, 06:47 PM
Post Fiend
#4
01-14-2007, 06:48 PM
79 F-150:
-paint faded badly
-rear end was wore out (still worked fine)
-driveline vibration
-needed a carb rebuild
-ugly non-matching rims
That's about it. I've done a lot more to it, but not much else was really "wrong".
1978 Supercab:
-ran horrible, EGR spacer gasket leaked bad
-trans was weak, lasted about 500 miles after I bought it
-rear gas tank leaked
-RUST
After the initial problems it had at purchase, I've done all the brakes, and repacked the wheel bearings. New u joints and CV joint in the front driveshaft. Rebuilt the transmission. Currently fighting a charging problem. Needs ball joints too.
Someday I'll get to the body on them both...
-paint faded badly
-rear end was wore out (still worked fine)
-driveline vibration
-needed a carb rebuild
-ugly non-matching rims
That's about it. I've done a lot more to it, but not much else was really "wrong".
1978 Supercab:
-ran horrible, EGR spacer gasket leaked bad
-trans was weak, lasted about 500 miles after I bought it
-rear gas tank leaked
-RUST
After the initial problems it had at purchase, I've done all the brakes, and repacked the wheel bearings. New u joints and CV joint in the front driveshaft. Rebuilt the transmission. Currently fighting a charging problem. Needs ball joints too.
Someday I'll get to the body on them both...
#5
01-14-2007, 09:09 PM
#6
01-14-2007, 09:35 PM
Posting Guru
Both doors rotted out
box floor and one side rusted
tailgate rotted
wrong clutch
no u-joints in front axle
all brake lines rotted
all fuel lines rotted
stuff was wired wrong
grill was bent
both light frames were out
2 rusted threw places in the floor
tires were pounds out of balance
windshild wipers were whooped
underside looked like poop
didnt run(duh)
full of bees
has to go 2 1/2 hours to pick it up
box floor and one side rusted
tailgate rotted
wrong clutch
no u-joints in front axle
all brake lines rotted
all fuel lines rotted
stuff was wired wrong
grill was bent
both light frames were out
2 rusted threw places in the floor
tires were pounds out of balance
windshild wipers were whooped
underside looked like poop
didnt run(duh)
full of bees
has to go 2 1/2 hours to pick it up
#7
01-14-2007, 09:49 PM
Postmaster
In February of 1975 mine had 14.1 miles on it and it had already been wrecked. Believe it?
The front left hand corner of the hood had been straightened out and re-painted. Not sure what else they had to do but the front bumper was a repaired one from a chrome shop complete with air hammer marks and a better plating job. ;) I always figured the aluminum shell had been replaced too.
Couldn't keep a stock-horn-relay in it even before I replaced the single horn with two off an old Ford car. Bought an after-market Eklin relay at about 3 months and it's still in there working good as ever.
Had a cricket-like-squeek on the left end of the dash area. That turned out to be caused by a left-out dash bolt. Didn't find that until 20 years after I bought it tho. ;)
The anti-rattle spring was missing from the driver's side disk brake pad. There were several others in town (Bowie AZ) and since I lived on railroad property right next the the only RR crossing in town got pretty familiar with that sound from all the other Ford pickups that was bought from the same dealership. Believe it?
I special ordered and paid for factory undercoating and got a really sorry dealer undercoating job.
I ordered and paid for a factory step rear bumper, they didn't order one, it's not on my build-order slip and put on a funny cream colored bumper it that had their name "Johnson Motors" stamped into in big letters with their address and all. Safford AZ
When I asked to have it switched with a factory bumper the guy went out to the lot and came back and said "can't switch it, your F150's got a one-ton frame under it" I went out and looked under the F100's they had and came back and told them "looks like all your pickups have 1 ton frames under them too... switch it with one of those" The guy looked at the others like "what should I do?" and the service manager just knodded and the guy went out and switched it. So I got after market bolts, not factory bolts.
Been pretty interesting law suit if I'd towed something that fell off and killed or badly injured someone huh? :)
Talked to others with that ugly bumper from the same dealrship and they didn't like it either but "what could I do?" since their pickup had a "one-ton frame under it" Saying that with pride like they got something-better for nothing.
Tried talking to one guy about that and decided not to try to wise-up anyone else about that... or their "F150 was really a 3/4 ton"... because the salesman said so! :)
Out of about a half dozen... not a single guy doubted the one-ton frame story. :)
Believe it? :/
Alvin in AZ
The front left hand corner of the hood had been straightened out and re-painted. Not sure what else they had to do but the front bumper was a repaired one from a chrome shop complete with air hammer marks and a better plating job. ;) I always figured the aluminum shell had been replaced too.
Couldn't keep a stock-horn-relay in it even before I replaced the single horn with two off an old Ford car. Bought an after-market Eklin relay at about 3 months and it's still in there working good as ever.
Had a cricket-like-squeek on the left end of the dash area. That turned out to be caused by a left-out dash bolt. Didn't find that until 20 years after I bought it tho. ;)
The anti-rattle spring was missing from the driver's side disk brake pad. There were several others in town (Bowie AZ) and since I lived on railroad property right next the the only RR crossing in town got pretty familiar with that sound from all the other Ford pickups that was bought from the same dealership. Believe it?
I special ordered and paid for factory undercoating and got a really sorry dealer undercoating job.
I ordered and paid for a factory step rear bumper, they didn't order one, it's not on my build-order slip and put on a funny cream colored bumper it that had their name "Johnson Motors" stamped into in big letters with their address and all. Safford AZ
When I asked to have it switched with a factory bumper the guy went out to the lot and came back and said "can't switch it, your F150's got a one-ton frame under it" I went out and looked under the F100's they had and came back and told them "looks like all your pickups have 1 ton frames under them too... switch it with one of those" The guy looked at the others like "what should I do?" and the service manager just knodded and the guy went out and switched it. So I got after market bolts, not factory bolts.
Been pretty interesting law suit if I'd towed something that fell off and killed or badly injured someone huh? :)
Talked to others with that ugly bumper from the same dealrship and they didn't like it either but "what could I do?" since their pickup had a "one-ton frame under it" Saying that with pride like they got something-better for nothing.
Tried talking to one guy about that and decided not to try to wise-up anyone else about that... or their "F150 was really a 3/4 ton"... because the salesman said so! :)
Out of about a half dozen... not a single guy doubted the one-ton frame story. :)
Believe it? :/
Alvin in AZ
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#8
01-14-2007, 10:53 PM
The best one was my 77 F100 bought from a cokehead. It had one bullet hole through one layer of tailgate, one over the drivers heat through the cab, and one through the back of the cab and the top of the seat where his back would have been if he hadn't ducked. His excuse made no sense so I won't include it here, but I replaced the windshield and rear window and still have the truck, now with an F350 chassis.
#9
01-14-2007, 11:12 PM
1975 F-150 43,000 original miles but had been parked under a tree for nine years, and only drove a hand full of times in the five or so befor that. The driver side window roled down for the last five. This truck belonged to a friend of the familys dad whom whould not sale it for anythaing. It was purchased new to pull his boat to the lake and back, and that was about it. The man died and my freind inherited the truck and ended up letting me buy it. So to get to the question...
The entire truck was covered in bird poo (like an inch or more) and had to be scraped off. All the rubber on the truck was shot. tiers, bushings, ball joints, weather striping, vacuum lines, all but the ac lines. allmost anything mechanical was in bad shape. The floor pan on the driver side was not there. All new brakes from the booster back were installed. Wheel bearings, the entire heating system, The interior was in bad shape from several years of grand kids playing in the truck, and the window being left down. Even with all this after about two hours of work she fired up and ran (not good) but drove onto the trailer on her own power. I left a lot of stuff off but you get the idea. I payed $1500.00 and got a perfect body with all the glass and all original parts. I may have payed to much for her since it's coast me nearly $5000.00 so far and I still need paint and interior but spread over the last six years its not so bad. Sorry for the long post just felt I should tell the story.
The entire truck was covered in bird poo (like an inch or more) and had to be scraped off. All the rubber on the truck was shot. tiers, bushings, ball joints, weather striping, vacuum lines, all but the ac lines. allmost anything mechanical was in bad shape. The floor pan on the driver side was not there. All new brakes from the booster back were installed. Wheel bearings, the entire heating system, The interior was in bad shape from several years of grand kids playing in the truck, and the window being left down. Even with all this after about two hours of work she fired up and ran (not good) but drove onto the trailer on her own power. I left a lot of stuff off but you get the idea. I payed $1500.00 and got a perfect body with all the glass and all original parts. I may have payed to much for her since it's coast me nearly $5000.00 so far and I still need paint and interior but spread over the last six years its not so bad. Sorry for the long post just felt I should tell the story.
#10
01-14-2007, 11:25 PM
#11
01-15-2007, 08:03 AM
My '76 highboy was in passable shape, I drove it 150 miles home. (Wife was following in my Bronco with all my tools and a tow chain just in case).
Major things wrong:
Carb choke removed and a butchered attempt at a manual choke installed. (Why can't people leave their hands off of automatic chokes? Or troubleshoot them if there is a problem and fix them correctly, instead of hacking them up?)
Put all the correct choke parts back on it and fixed that.
Headlight wiring hacked up due to snowplow install, and most other light sockets bad. Replaced most all of them.
Temp sensor bad, on the way home the gauge never got up into the normal range, but the heater worked. New $5.00 sensor fixed that.
PO had the engine/tranny out to replace seals on engine but never plugged the reverse light switch back in when he reinstalled it. Had to take out the floor mats and tranny access cover in floor to get to it and plug it back in. (Not hard, but time consuming and dirty).
I guess those were all the things that didn't work, but I have done a lot to it for functionality (Tulsa 18 PTO winch in bed, live hydraulics on PS system to run snowplow instead of electric pump, lockout hubs, many others.) This is the first part-time 4X4 I've seen that did not come with lockout hubs from the factory. Driving down the road at 55MPH the gear whine was so loud you could hardly hear yourself think. Putting those on made a big difference in cab noise.
But other than that, it's been a good deal for $1800 and a great truck considering its age.
Major things wrong:
Carb choke removed and a butchered attempt at a manual choke installed. (Why can't people leave their hands off of automatic chokes? Or troubleshoot them if there is a problem and fix them correctly, instead of hacking them up?)
Put all the correct choke parts back on it and fixed that.
Headlight wiring hacked up due to snowplow install, and most other light sockets bad. Replaced most all of them.
Temp sensor bad, on the way home the gauge never got up into the normal range, but the heater worked. New $5.00 sensor fixed that.
PO had the engine/tranny out to replace seals on engine but never plugged the reverse light switch back in when he reinstalled it. Had to take out the floor mats and tranny access cover in floor to get to it and plug it back in. (Not hard, but time consuming and dirty).
I guess those were all the things that didn't work, but I have done a lot to it for functionality (Tulsa 18 PTO winch in bed, live hydraulics on PS system to run snowplow instead of electric pump, lockout hubs, many others.) This is the first part-time 4X4 I've seen that did not come with lockout hubs from the factory. Driving down the road at 55MPH the gear whine was so loud you could hardly hear yourself think. Putting those on made a big difference in cab noise.
But other than that, it's been a good deal for $1800 and a great truck considering its age.
#12
01-15-2007, 09:14 AM
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Mine was in great shape.... Just an extended cab setting on blocks in a friends shop. Front sheet metal and hood were leaning against the wall. The only thing that has changed is the now it is sitting in my warehouse on blocks, with the front sheet metal and hood leaning against the wall... Oh yeah, clear title was in the glove box. I have since acquired a very nice frame that is sanblasted and light coats of epoxy primer and Por 15 on it. It too is leaning against the wall in the warehouse. Traded a '72 Torino front end for the whole thing, so I don't have even $100.00 in it so far, even the frame came to me as a freebie from somebody else's leftover project pieces.....
I have to get my 71 finished so I have room to start on the '75..... Didn't get much, but what I got is in fantastic shape!!! A bit of surface rust here and there where the door dings and stuff are, but other then that it's an excellent cab.
I have to get my 71 finished so I have room to start on the '75..... Didn't get much, but what I got is in fantastic shape!!! A bit of surface rust here and there where the door dings and stuff are, but other then that it's an excellent cab.
#13
01-15-2007, 10:00 AM
Motor smoked horribly out of both ends
No brakes whatsoever
Piece of re-bar bent in a circle and welded to the column for a steering wheel
3/8" steel plate welded over holes in floor boards
No material left on bench seat
No dash pad
Trunion bearings wasted
Bad u-joint in front axle
Faded rebel flag headliner
No brakes whatsoever
Piece of re-bar bent in a circle and welded to the column for a steering wheel
3/8" steel plate welded over holes in floor boards
No material left on bench seat
No dash pad
Trunion bearings wasted
Bad u-joint in front axle
Faded rebel flag headliner
#14
01-15-2007, 10:27 AM
It was stock.
Other than that, it wasn't to bad. Mostly little things like: no real door panels(some crappy home made ones), and the dash was pretty damn ugly, a nasty house carpet to cover the floor board, and the seats were alittle ripped/worn.
Before I fixed the exterior
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=73658&width=0
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
fficeffice" /><o
></o>
After I fixed the exterior
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=103043&width=0
<o></o>
Before I fixed the interior
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=77884&width=0
<o></o>
After I fixed the interior
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=84901&width=0
Other than that, it wasn't to bad. Mostly little things like: no real door panels(some crappy home made ones), and the dash was pretty damn ugly, a nasty house carpet to cover the floor board, and the seats were alittle ripped/worn.
Before I fixed the exterior
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=73658&width=0
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
fficeffice" /><o></o>After I fixed the exterior
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=103043&width=0
<o
></o>Before I fixed the interior
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=77884&width=0
<o
></o>After I fixed the interior
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=84901&width=0
Last edited by MBBFord; 01-15-2007 at 10:31 AM.
#15
01-15-2007, 11:25 AM
The one I will tell all about is the 75'. It was given to me by the son of an old farmer that had passed way. They had sold the farm and I needed to pick it up quickly if I wanted it. I had no access to my trailer (being used at the time), so I opted to use a tow-dolly.
Sheetmetal was pretty good, but the engine and trans was in the bed of the truck, as well as the front clip. I had to scare off a few chickens that used the cab as a new home. Got rid of the chickens, and bolted the fenders on the front of the truck. I did not want the fenders to get smashed in the bed of the truck. I was loaded up and ready to tow this new momma home, couldn't wait to start work on it. After a few miles down the road I had not realized that the front tire was leaking air. This would be a crucial error on my part. The tow-dolly uses a strap that goes around the tire, and relies on the air pressure to maintain tension on the tire. Well with no air in the tire, and the strap coming loose, all it took was one good tap on the brakes to send the old truck off of the dolly, and right into the tailgate of my then new F350 dually. So now, I have a wrecked dually,and those cherry fenders were now scrap. To add a little salt on the wound, the old truck had jumped the dolly, and was now stuck over the tongue, and would not budge. Here come the cops! Never around when someone needs em, but when I look like something out of a Stooges episode, here they are.
With traffic pilling up, I figured that I wasn't gonna hurt much more than it already was, so I put the dually in 4 wheel drive, and smashed the skinny pedal, hoping to free the vehicles, and get this disaster into a nearby parking lot. After a long afternoon, a couple of tickets that cost me about $600.00, a scrap tailgate, broken tailight, tore up bumper, and two fenders that I tried so hard to keep cherry, my free truck now had a hefty investment in it before I even got her home.
My wife says it is my imagination, but i think I can still smell those chickens. Both trucks are all better now, and I no longer own that stupid dolly.
Sheetmetal was pretty good, but the engine and trans was in the bed of the truck, as well as the front clip. I had to scare off a few chickens that used the cab as a new home. Got rid of the chickens, and bolted the fenders on the front of the truck. I did not want the fenders to get smashed in the bed of the truck. I was loaded up and ready to tow this new momma home, couldn't wait to start work on it. After a few miles down the road I had not realized that the front tire was leaking air. This would be a crucial error on my part. The tow-dolly uses a strap that goes around the tire, and relies on the air pressure to maintain tension on the tire. Well with no air in the tire, and the strap coming loose, all it took was one good tap on the brakes to send the old truck off of the dolly, and right into the tailgate of my then new F350 dually. So now, I have a wrecked dually,and those cherry fenders were now scrap. To add a little salt on the wound, the old truck had jumped the dolly, and was now stuck over the tongue, and would not budge. Here come the cops! Never around when someone needs em, but when I look like something out of a Stooges episode, here they are.
With traffic pilling up, I figured that I wasn't gonna hurt much more than it already was, so I put the dually in 4 wheel drive, and smashed the skinny pedal, hoping to free the vehicles, and get this disaster into a nearby parking lot. After a long afternoon, a couple of tickets that cost me about $600.00, a scrap tailgate, broken tailight, tore up bumper, and two fenders that I tried so hard to keep cherry, my free truck now had a hefty investment in it before I even got her home.
My wife says it is my imagination, but i think I can still smell those chickens. Both trucks are all better now, and I no longer own that stupid dolly.