I finally talked the wife into letting me get a pickup for work around the house and moving parts for my various projects. I looked around and found a 1987 F-150 XLT Lariat with the 5.0L automatic. The body is mostly straight and rust free, but this truck is in need of work. I talked the guy down to 400 bucks and had it towed to the house. This was about three months ago.
I just recently had the opportunity to begin tearing down the front of the motor to replace the front timing cover gasket and front crankshaft seal. I am replacing the valve cover gaskets as well. The engine was pouring out oil from the valve covers which resulted in massive smoking after running for about 30 seconds. I already replaced the battery, and I still need to find the appropriate vacuum hose diagram because several of the old vacuum lines were dry rotted and others were melted from an overheated catalytic converter. Like I said, this thing is a mess and needs some TLC.
At first the wife wanted me to fix it and flip it, but after I fired it up to move it the other day prior to tearing the motor apart, she is starting to have a change of heart. I like the truck, and I am glad to have something I can tinker with and do a mild restoration on while I am using it. I do look forward to learning from everyone here and hopefully finding some inspiration for things to do with my truck.

Jason

 

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