i am kinda stealing this from True Blue Ford Trucks Magazine..but i thought it was a cool idea.

So, what is the scariest/most hacked modification you have seen on truck you have bought??

 

On my 82, someone had cut the fuel hose from the filler to the tank right next to the frame. For a splice, they used a piece of 1" iron pipe and hose clamped it down. This required very slow filling of the tank, to the point of 20 minutes to get 12 gallons in it.
I pulled that iron pipe out and found some exhaust tubing the right size and it fills full speed now.

Also, someone many years ago apparently ran into something with the left front I beam. It looked like a hunting bow with the curve in it. They had just adjusted the steering linkage for proper toe and kept driving it. My "hack" was to heat the beam with a torch and using a portapower push it back straight. Readjusted the steering linkage and drives way better. I should go the JY and pull another set of beams and strut rods, but since I want to shove a solid axle there, it may just stay as is for now.

 

The worst modifications I found on my truck were a hacked up rear tail light harness, and a carburetor whose throttle plate would only open about 1/4 inch at wide open throttle.

There were plenty of other unexplainable modifications as well, but I won't go into detail about those.

 

Seen so much stuff. As a teenager I'd take in free or junked german cars. Part them out, flip them. Whatever was easier. Drive the insepctable ones when I could. Car I have now was $800, most I've ever paid. Seen so many parking lot repairs I've lost count. What always amazes me is most times It'd be easier/faster to do it the right way.

Worst thing I've ever seen was a friend. His parents bought a mid 90's Suburban to use in heavy snow (western Pa). He's got a 4 post lift in his garage and was putting it up to check fluids. The right front corner wouldn't pick up. Crawled under there and the frame was collapsing under weight on the post. Moved it enough to get the thing in the air.

We got under there and started scraping. The frame has rusted, or damaged, or God knows what. Right where it bends at the base of the firewall was gone. An area about 2ft on the outside of the arc. Someone had taken the time fill this area with bondo, form it, complete with the right angles, and painted it over with undercoat.

Took it back to the dealer, business buddy of his dad, and the guys face turned white as a sheet. Thought he was going to either faint or kill someone. He'd bought it wholesale with some other fleet vehicles. We left there in an Excursion that was tagged ~7k more straight trade.

 

Hey, guys,

Check out this thread for more examples:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/3...r-post-up.html

 

The truck I got the 96 AC system from, the boy that owned put both a body lift and a suspension lift. It wouldn't have been bad except he lowered the front sway bar mounts with hardware store bolts and flat washers. It was ok till he tried to swerve to avoid a stopped car, truck did a full gainer and came down on the driver's side of the roof. Guess what broke to cause it?

 

Wasn't my truck, but I was parting out an '86 and wanted the DS-II ignition harness. Couldn't get it to come loose and discovered it was under the valve cover, which was torqued down. Didn't seem to be leaking, either.

 

Why do you mention this in past tense? The carcass is still behind the shop.........

 

A friend of mine bought an 80's F250 diesel and I rewired the fog lights for him. The lights were nice, KC daylighters, but they were wired like this:

Crimped on buttsplice from wire cut from back of cigarette lighter, routed under floor mat to hole in firewall, routed to lights, lights grounded to bumper. All done with buttsplices and various lengths and gauges of wire. This electrical nightmare supported six 55w lights.

Needless to say the lights were about as dim as a turn signal when activated. I redid them using relays and soldered connections.

 

Actually, that's an '82 behind the shop and, as I said, the one I was "parting" when I discovered the "wiring problem" was an '86. But, the only visible difference I'm aware of in what remains is with the radiator support, and since I can't tell the two apart I'll let it go - this time.

 

I drove a '97 Camaro SS several years ago that had an...aftermarket...air box. The owner (a kid) replaced the functional air box from the hood scoop (pretty efficient in stock form) with...I **** you not...A DRYER VENT HOSE!!! He didn't even bother to attach the dryer vent to the MAF/throttle body. He just set it there (it was hardly touching). Yeah...I ended up passing on that one.

Not a truck...but definitely the most...interesting mod that I've seen on a vehicle.

 

My Granddad had an old Toyota pickup we used for coonhunting. Going across a field one night hit a bump and dip, the rusty frame snapped in half on the driver's side. We got a ride home that night, but the next day he went back out with two jacks and gobs of
Bondo... Well, he "fixed" the truck like that. Wasn't untill the following season that he actually had it welded, cause my dad found out about it and paid for it to be done.

 

Bondo held the frame of a truck together?? wow...

keep em coming!!

 

Shocks and front coils replaced with "square" stock for a nifty lift kit.

 

And, you wouldn't have to replace the shocks due to wear. But, you would probably have to replace some suspension components 'cause the beating it would take would be awful.