Hi all. I am looking for a farm truck that won't see a ton of use, mainly hauling some dirt (1.5 hour round trip), lumber (across town), and a pallet of pellets (across town) every now and then. I want something in the Bullnose years.

I came across this post and was hoping I could get some thoughts on it:
Sorry for the caps, it was that way in the post

1981 FORD F-350 CUSTOM - 6.6L V8 4 SPEED MANUAL - 90xxx ORIGINAL MILES ON IT! OWNED BY A 70 YEAR OLD MAN. 411 GEARED. ELECTRIC/HYDRAULIC DUMP BED - GOOSENECK PLATE, REESE HITCH, EXCELLENT WORK TRUCK!!! RUNS AND DRIVES GREAT!! THE BEST IT POSSIBLY COULD BE FOR ITS' AGE AS AN '81....THIS TRUCK IS A GOOD WORK TRUCK READY TO GO!! 3 OWNERS/ZERO ACCIDENTS. $2950

I've attached some of the photos from the post.

Not sure if there is a way to verify that it's not 190 or 290,000 but the cab does look feasible for only 90k.

I haven't gone to see it yet in person as it's a decent drive and would like to get your thoughts first.

My main concerns are with the bed. I really like the idea of a dump bed but are these trucks solid enough for it without damaging the frame or is that on a per install basis? Any specifics to look for as far as how it was installed?

Appreciate any feedback.

 

Looks very nice. I was wishing I'd found one like that when I bought my F-250.
I've never owned one (I have worked on them), but I shouldn't think the dump bed would be a problem, they aren't uncommon on F-350's. As you suggest, it's more likely the installation that would cause issues.
Word of caution if you've never been around dumps, be damn sure you use the safety support any time you're between the bed and frame.

 

Check the vin and see what weight class it is. It might be a cab/chassis truck from the factory and their frames are usually re-enforced more than a pickup frame. Here's a link.

Truck Parts and Truck Accessories

But even if it is a cab and chassis truck, you have to be careful with these things. They are very handy and it's tempting to load them up. But dirt and gravel are heavy, you should not put over 3 ton on it. And you will be amazed at how small the 3 ton pile of dirt actually is. You can fill them up with mulch and your pellets though.

 

Thanks guys.

From the vin, it's in the J GVW class but how do I see if it's a 'normal' 350 or a cab/chassis?


Edit: nevermind, found another thread talking about cab/chassis trucks. Looks like it is: 1FD — Ford Motor Company, USA, incomplete vehicle

 

Getting ready to head out and check it out. Any other words of wisdom on things I should look for on these trucks?

 

BUY IT, hehehe, don't take me seriously, I'd buy all the old bull nose if I wasn't a married man. Good luck though, that looks like a nice truck.

Cheers,
Devin

 

Yeah, I already have 3 non-running bullnose's and my wife wasn't quite convinced we needed another

Well, it was a fun 4 hour drive but came home empty handed. While I am sure it will make someone a decent truck, I just didn't have any confidence on it making the 2 hour drive. Had it been a local truck for a lower price, maybe.

May be time to take a vacation out west and see for myself those 'rust free' bullnoses that I can only dream about.

 

Hi kramttocs,

Mind explaining why you didn't think the truck would make the drive back home? Did it run and drive rough? I am asking because I was thinking of going to look at this same truck today (I live near STL). You may have saved me a trip. Any more info would be great.

 

Sure. I'll pm you here in a little bit.

Edit: hmm, doesn't look like I can PM you

If that truck fits your criteria you should go see it in person regardless of me not buying it. We could have very different end goals and pocketbooks

With that said, I'll just mention at a high level the things I recall (I've looked at a handful of trucks since then). Normally I wouldn't post this outside of a PM but with it being sold by a dealer who naturally doesn't have personal history with the truck like an owner would, I am hoping it's ok.
Several of these can be assumed with any Craigslist ad and 30 yr old farm truck but I'll mention them just the same whether they had an impact on purchase or not.

• There is the typical rust for these trucks. The floor pans looked ok from underneath but the back cab corners were pretty rough (I think all the way through on the driver's side).
• The gooseneck ball connection point looked to be attached directly to the bed and not to the frame through a square hole
• Paint job, while not bad, did have some touchup spots not visible in the photos.
  
• Carb was leaking pretty good after our 5 mile round trip drive
• Exhaust manifold on the passenger's side had some issues
• Interior wasn't bad at all
• Dump bed seemed to work as expected (never been around a pickup dump bed before)
• Gas fill tube was a little hokey but may be normal for dumps
• Shifting was a little tough to get into 3rd I believe

As I said before, if it didn't require a 2+ hour drive on the interstate to get home I would have looked at it in a different light as all of these things are fixable.

Again, go see it in person and just use my notes as suggestion points to check out while looking at it.

 

I accepted your friend request. Not sure why I can't send or receive PM's. It's a new account, maybe I haven't posted enough or something.

If you rather send me an email, you can send it to green_lightening@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

-Nick

 

Exactly; you need to be here for 10 days and have 5 posts before that stuff works, this is to help keep spammers away.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...w-members.html

Welcome to FTE.

 

Here's a cool one: 85 Ford F-350 with Dump bed

 

I really appreciate your feedback. I might wait around a little longer and keep looking. Did you happen to notice the GVW? I'd like to be able to haul/dump 4-5k pounds but I have heard these F350's may not be able to handle that much. My problem is I live in IL and this corrupt government likes to really rip off people on registration. A dump truck of any size is $500-$1000 a year to register.

Anyhow, I hope you find what you're looking for. Thanks again for the feedback.

-Nick

 

Thanks for the welcome! Look forward to reading the vast wealth of knowledge here.

-Nick

 

Sure thing! I didn't look at any stickers/tags on the truck itself but the vin shows a J axle code cab/chassis truck.
Franklin2 said 3ton max and I will defer that to him since I really don't know.
Wow, $500-1000! I didn't even think about those registering differently so never checked here in MO.

Thanks and hope you do also.