Hey guys

I haven't been around much in the past couple months because school and work have been keeping me busy. For those of you who know of my projects, I'm still making good headway on my 79 resto. In the past couple weeks, something has come up that I can't get off my mind. Never thought I'd be the kid asking for opinions, but here I am

A couple months back my boss bought a 76 F250 highboy, which I found to be strange because he is a chebby guy. Anyways, he mentioned to me that he had bought it because he knows I'm a sucker for this generation of Ford. I didn't think much of it at the time because I wasn't interested. Fast forward to last week, he told me a little more about it and how it has a 300/NP435/NP205 combination for drivetrain. That piqued my interest, because that is the exact truck that I've been wanting to get. Well after work today, he took me out to where the truck is parked, and gave me the run down on it. As soon as I started looking it over, I decided I needed that truck.

Here's the rundown on it.
'76 F250 Custom
300/NP435/NP205
44/60 axles
132K miles
Black on black (currently looks a bit like a Chia Pet though...)
Manual brakes/steering
Interior is in great shape, small tear in the seat
Small patches of paint where rust is bubbling under, otherwise paint in great shape
Aftermarket side tank
No rear tank (Bed doesn't even have the cutout for the fuel filler)
300 appears to be rebuilt, doesn't leak
T-case leaks
Interior of bed in great shape
Factory/dealer canopy even has the emblems

I wish I had snapped a few pictures, but the thing appears to be in pretty great shape for its age. The truck has been out of use and undercover for about 4 years now, but the PO put the truck up on blocks so there has been no weight on the suspension. While everything is a little bit dirty for sitting for years in a pollen-heavy region, it looks like a it could be a cherry. Everything is there and it great shape. Windshield doesn't even have a crack in it. Body is straight and all in all in wonderful shape.

Now the conundrum. I have my 79 project, my 87 F250 diesel DD, and a 71 Baja bug that I'm assembling as my replacement daily driver. The bug will be done by mid August, and will take the place of my diesel as my DD, and I won't need to see the diesel to pay off any debts or anything. My plan was to keep the diesel around as a crap hauler and winter driver. Now that I've come across this highboy, I'm considering replacing my diesel with it. Once I do that, I hope to be done with buying/selling vehicles for a while because I'll have the three vehicles I want; a vintage baja bug, a beefy 460 powered pavement pounder (79), and a mild mannered 4wd highboy.

I won't go into details on the price, but what my boss is asking I think is fair. Unfortunately the highboy is worth more than my diesel, but my he agreed to take payments and not charge me any interest. I know I can make the payments off in just over a half a year based on my daily expenses during the school year and the income that I have. It'll probably need a basic tune up, fresh gas, and a battery to run. By selling my driver before the bug is done, I risk getting hung up without a running vehicle for a couple days.

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So, what do you all think? Let my dream truck slide by, or go out on a limb and get the truck I really want? In other words, what would you do if you were in my shoes.

Thanks
Jameson

 

Such an easy question to answer...get your truck buddy. Opportunities like this usually don't come along twice.

 

Get that truck.

Clean 'er up and put'er in mothballs (mechanically and legally) until yer ready to bring her back to full glory.

 

I haven't been able to find another truck like it on CL for a reasonable price.

I'd be selling my diesel which is my current DD to and from work to make a down payment. Because my baja (which will become my DD), I'd need to jump right into driving the highboy. Unless there is something majorly wrong with it, the truck should be ready to go. My boss even said that if I have a commitment from a buyer with my diesel, we'd tow the highboy to my house and get it running so I'm not left scrambling to get it going to make it to work.

Hardest part? Getting through my parents. Because I'm a minor they still call the final shots..


-Jameson

 

Get it. If you don't, you'll always regret "the one that got away", ask me how I know!

 

Grab it, drive it for a couple weeks to work out the bugs and loosen the arthritis then sell the diesel.
There are a ton of dents for sale around here. Finding a good one for a decent price is another story altogether.

 

This can be a tough call for some parents, for me it would be easy and I would do just about anything in my power to help my children if and when they find "that truck".

I say try and get the truck and hopefully your parents are supportive.

Root Beer...

 

Grasp it firmly with both hands and chains!!! Especially since your boss is being such a sweetie about the deal - cain't go wrong!!!

Do you have the space for these vehicles?

Tell your folks the plan is to get rid of................to keep........... and ......... and to be all paid off by............

If you have a plan, and let the folks know it, I'll bet they'd be supportive of your decisions/desires.

 

Good points and so true!

 

Get it, you can also sweet talk your parents with the fact that the 300 I6 should get better mileage than the 6.9 diesel and parts are easier and cheaper to find/buy.

 

I wanna throw in my two cents...

When I was a teen, my dream car was a 1967 Camaro, but I drove a 1978 F-100. Today, twenty years later, I have no desire at all to own a Camaro of any year and my dream car is a 1978 F-100. It is funny how things change. What I am getting at is that your tastes will change as you get older. If I were in your shoes, I would seize the opportunity presented and hold onto it even if you decide you like something better in a few years. If you get rid of something like that, you will regret it.

 

1 parent down, 1 to go.

Last night I went over it with my mom. She doesn't mind me getting the truck, provided that I wait for a bit (if my boss doesn't mind holding off) and saving up some money to make more of a down payment. She's worried that my senior year will be busy and i might have to stop working and thus not be able to make payments, which is a legitimate concern. She would like to see me have 2/3 of the price on the highboy as a down payment before acquiring the truck. If I were to sell my diesel and the subs in it, I'd be at just over half the price.

Bringing the idea up to my dad will be a whole different story. As it stands, I probably won't bring it up to him until August. Again, that is provided my boss doesn't mind waiting. If I brought it up to my dad now, it is very possible he'd have a cow over it. I need to make a little more headway on my beetle project before I'll consider bringing it up.


So that's all for now.
-Jameson

 

Time to get the Bug running so you can unload that diesel.

 

That's the plan

Well as nice as my boss is, I found out that he was going to make a pretty good profit off of me. He got the rig for $1000 in parts and labor on the owners other car. The price he gave me was $3500. Thinking about it now, that'd be a fair price if it was cleaned up and running. I might see if he'll move on the price a bit, maybe to 2500-3000...


-Jameson

 

Time to start negotiating.