Picked up a 1985 Ford 250 XL on Craigslist 2 weeks ago for $1300. 460 V8 with an automatic, reg cab with the 8ft bed. Apparently one of the previous owners converted it to a dually.

The seller was a broke graduate student trying to scrape up cash to pay off his student loans. He was planning on mounting solar panels on the cab and bed to power some sort of tiny off-the-grid house. There's a small panel currently mounted on the cab roof that charges the main battery

THis is my first project vehicle, I'm 23 yrs old. Still living at home so I've been looking for an old truck to play sugar daddy to

The Good:

Motor runs strong and it shifts pretty well. Got it up to 65 mph on the drive home without any issues.

Previous owner installed new alternator, radiator, water pump and redid the brakes last fall. Carbeuretor also looks fairly new.

Bed is really solid, I'm guessing it had a topper on it most of its life since the bed paint is in mint condition.

4x4 works.


The Bad:

Passenger side exhuast manifold gasket is leaking. THis is probably the worst issue atm and the one I will be dealing with first.

Driver's side fender got pushed back so the door doesn't open all the way. This should be fixed when I put in new fenders.

Lots of rust in the usual places, drivers side floor is rotted out pretty bad. Cab corners are iffy, rocker panels will def have to be replaced.

Frame is meh, I've seen a lot worse. No buckling or cracks/holes. Lots of rust down there tho



I'm hoping to do a 6.9/7.3 IDI + manual trans swap sometime in the near future. I will be keeping my eyes open for a donor truck and in the meantime will be fixing all the little stuff like the rusted body parts and all the other little stuff that goes bad on these old trucks.

Anyway here's some pics.

 

Looking forward to seeing updates on your build! i just bought an 1985 F250 6.9, manual, 4x4, single cab. yours is in so much better shape, mine doesn't have any serious rust but every single body panel is dented haha. good luck and post some updates!

 

Look the exhaust manifold over carefully, it may be cracked.

Are you going to do anything with the front wheels?

Why are you set on a idi swap? It won't have as much power as it does now with the 460 unless you get one with a turbo kit.

 

I'm planning on getting a set of wheel stimulators for the fronts so they'll match the back wheels.

I want to keep things fairly simple and a 12V Cummins swap is more expensive and difficult. If I can find a fairly cheap donor truck with everything I need then maybe I'll consider it but they're going for stupid money in my area

 

Almost sounds sexual.

 

And maybe some curb feelers, too.

(It's okay to add cheap jokes like this if started by a moderator...)

 

Got 5 of the manifold bolts out today. There's only 1 left but the PO stripped the nut so I'm going to pick up an angle grinder and just grind the head off so I can remove the manifold.

I was honestly surprised at how easily the bolts came out - I'm guessing they had been done at some point in the past because they weren't very rusty at all.

 

Diesels are the popular thing right now, that's the reason they are so expensive. But you can pull a load with the 460 just as well as they can, better than a normally aspirated 6.9 or 7.3. 460 gas engine is unpopular and doesn't get very good fuel mileage, but they are cheap and get the job done with not much fuss.

 

Started on the passenger manifold today....7 of the bolts came out with a ratchet pretty easily (this is after 5 days of soaking in PB Blaster). The PO stripped one of the bolts though so I just took an angle grinder to it.

The manifold is now out, I was going to re-use it but it looks like complete trash so I'm getting a new one along with bolts and the gasket. Any recommendations for those parts?

Off to Menards tomorrow to buy a stud remover kit. The offending stud is kinda bent at an angle but hopefully it doesn't snap off inside the head.





A new muffler will be next on the list of priorities.





Any ideas on fixing this rust damage on top of the bed? Other than this the bed is perfectly fine.

 

Why? Don't you like the Exhaust Gas Observation Port on the side?