Looking for some advice, bear with me. I currently have 2 F150 Supercab Shortbeds. 1984 Rustfree Arizona XL 302-2bbl/AOD/3.55/2wd with crappy/ugly colors (bright copper glow/white) paint and crappy tan interior that i accidently bought off of ebay. Second truck is my old faithful 1994 XLT 5.8/e4od/3.55/4x4offroad with so-so gray interior. Rust has done in the 94 body and frame (I live in Illinois). Now i found a bright red 1996 F150 Centurion crew cab shortbed 5.8maf/e4od/4x4. it has a few minor mechanical issues, and plenty of rust. The frame isnt quite as bad as my 94 but still has some of the delaminating on spring mounts, etc. So, do I use the 94 as a drivetrain donor to the 84 and still have to paint it and find a nice interior? Or buy the centurion and either do minor repairs on it and drive it, or try to restore it? I like the look of the Supercabs better but a crewcab would definitely be more functional. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

I am a sucker for F150 Centurion crew cabs. Their quality control sucked but that is nothing a little TLC could not overcome. My vote is for building the Centurion F150 conversion.

 

I say build your own.

The centurion is such a BUTCHER job. They welded a crewcab rear to a reg cab front. How F'n stupid is that?!?!? Just put a REAL FORD crewcab on and be done

 

If the frame is good would it be worth it to buy a factory crew cab and throw on the centurion frame? Something about f-150 crew cabs is just cool to me!

 

the frame is butchered too.

If I was you I would look for a F250 crewcab short bed

 

I have a rusty F150 Centurion and have a rust-free cab from a F350 I pulled at a pick n pull for $250...swap coming this spring/summer...Project Recab!!!

 

If you want to stick with a 1/2 ton, and don't mind doing some rust repair/prevention, and you want a crew cab, go with the Centurion. I have one, I've put extensive work into it, and I still have extensive work to do.

While there's a lot of things I would have done differently if I were making a CC F150, they're not a complete hack job.

What Centurion did to make it a CC: Started as a regular cab short bed. They cut the cab in half, then grafted in CC roof and floor panels, and welded in the B pillar. Cut the frame at the straight part under the cab, and extended it with channel, along with a fishplated channel on the inside of the frame. That part of it is actually very stout.

As far as fit and finish, they did a decent job. Once I got my interior stripped out, I noticed that they used crimp connectors to extend wiring harnesses on the inside. I cut those out, and soldered/shrink wrapped the way it should have been done.

The roof and floor panels weren't prepped correctly after welding, so I went in and spot blasted the corrosion, then used a zinc primer top coated with coal tar epoxy to protect the welded areas. So far, after 4 New England winters, that's holding up pretty well. Nothing was rotted through, it was mostly surface rust.

I scored mine for a super price, so I didn't mind putting some sweat equity into it. And I don't mind the sweat equity I'm about to put into the body and drivetrain. Very soon, I'll be starting on an 05-up Super Duty axle swap. For me, it makes sense, because I bought the truck so cheap. In my neck of the woods, a decent but still rotted F250 CCSB would sell for at least $5k, more if it's a diesel, even more if it's a southern rust free truck. Neither of which I'm willing to pay for a 20 year old truck.

As for your situation, it all depends on what you're looking for, how much work you're willing to put in, condition of the Centurion, and selling price of the Centurion.

 

I want a crew cab, but I totally agree with Bob about the f250 CC/SB trucks. Now my new dilemma is I found a second centurion for sale. this one is a 1995 Electric Current Red 4x4. From the pics i have, it appears to have less rust (sills and frame look much better). My new dilemma is that i can get the 96 bright red truck for $1300 and the 95 current red truck for $1500. I would really like to have the 96 for the maf because i am a gear head and plan on upgrading the engine, but the 95 is less body work and a little more money. Thoughts?

 

Buy a 2wd CCSB and make it 4wd. it is all a bolt in procedure

 

Hahaha I see what you did there!

 

No. No you didn't. No way did I say to buy anyone certain truck. I am SURE his budget is well below 25k

 

Buy the less rusty one. Unless you're planning on throwing a huge cam or forced induction, the MAF won't give you that much of an advantage. Plus, the MAF can be swapped in the 95 pretty easily. Rust is a pain in the ***.

Option two: look outside of salt states for a way less rusty truck.