Hello. I'm new to the forum. I am going to look at a 1979 F150 with a 460.

What should I be looking for as red flags to run away from this truck?

 

Welcome to the forum. Serious rust would be the major thing for me to reject one. By major rust, I mean structural points. Cab supports, bed supports. Consider engine, transmission, general mechanical condition. Price vs condition. There are good ones out here so why settle for junk. You can buy good for less cost than to bring back junk. Not to say that you should run from any mechanical repair or minor rust.

 

Unless you can fabricate and weld... rust.. the worst is rusted roofs - along the perimeter. Floor pans and wheel arches are notorious too but replacement panels are available in the aftermarket.

Oh, welcome to FTE.

 

Check the as above said, but also check how the 460 has been put in, not sure if a 460 would be stock. My 76 F250 4x4 had a 460 installed, and it was done very poorly, engine mounts were cut up pretty bad and had to be redone.

 

Well it depends on if you want a "Get up and go" or a "project truck"...

Def. looks for signs of rust, check the oil stick for rust, or a milky colored substance, look at the engine see how clean it is, oil leaks, is the carb. old and dirty looking? How hard is it to start up cold? Is the tranny leaking? How are the breaks?

Huge amount of factors, I know the one thing when I bought my dent that I regret is that I didn't find one with a better paint job, cause' now two years in the trucks starting to develop surface rust.

My advice is to really look for rust, and take it for a test drive...

Good luck!

 

Make sure all the electronics work and look up under the dash to check for jerry-rigged wiring. Electrical gremlins suck.

 

Check the floorpans and rocker panels.

 

One of the first things I look at is how much of the wiring has been cut up, particularly around the dash. This can give clues as to how competent the previous owner(s) were, and how much "undoing" you'll need to do.

 

Just look for the most original, unmolested truck you can find, they are out there, if you look long and hard enough...i refer to them as the "grandpa specials", if some zit faced 19yr old comes outta the trailer to show you his lifted "highboy" with 44's, run the other way.

 

Have to agree with rust being #1 factor. It's the most expensive and time consuming part of any vehicle to fix. Take a hammer with you and check the frame really good. A lot of times you will miss it due to dirt covering up serious rot. If you have any doubts of your capability to check one out, take someone with you.