...I recently bought an '88 4X4 F250. It's a beautiful truck with no rust. Unfortunately it had a gas line fire, and it doesn't run now. The wiring harness (among other things) is toast.

I decided to buy a parts truck to snag what I needed. I found an '89 4X4 F350 Crew cab, which I traded a guy an old Chevy K10 for. The F350 is a pretty good truck. It's got an 8 foot bed and a 5 speed and a 460 and a Dana 60 front axle. Good stuff.

Both trucks have recently rebuilt 460s. I have to take the word on the F250, but so much money has been spent on the rest of the truck that I figure the motor was rebuilt like I was told it was. I have the paperwork from the F350. It was rebuilt with new rods and pistons and heads. It runs strong. I don't know how the F250 runs, because the wiring is burnt up and I don't want to try starting it.

The F250 has a C6. I don't know whether it works or not. The 5 speed in the F350 was rebuilt about 300 miles ago. So was the transfer case. Both trucks have the same 13-56 transfer case.

So here's the problem with all of this. I can't decide whether to build the F250 or the F350. I ain't got enough parts to build two trucks. So either I stick the driveline of the F350 under the F250, or I put the bed and doors and fenders and such of the F250 on the F350. I feel like the second option is gonna be less work. I also think the F350 will be worth more once I'm done. But I don't know that for sure.

I'm wondering, though: is that the right choice? Because I don't really need a crew cab truck - it's just me and my fiance and my dog and her "dog" (which I'm half convinced is really just a small guinea pig that can bark.) Also, I have enough trouble getting around in just an extended cab Chevy K1500. The extra length of the F350 sure ain't gonna make things any easier on the narrow roads around here.

I've included a picture of both of them. One of the two trucks will get built. I just can't decide which. If anyone feels strongly one way or the other, I'd like to hear your thoughts. Thank you.

 

My FWIW (less than 2 cents)....

You bought the blue truck because it's in good shape and looks sharp and you got the red truck for parts. Stick with that plan.

If it were me, I would first replace the burnt components (and figure out why they burned and fix that issue). If the blue 460 seems suspect, I would do a swap for the red 460.

Once I had the blue truck running, I'd sell the red truck as a "roller" to the next guy looking for parts. Throw the blue truck's 460 in the bed and let the next guy do as he wishes with it.

 

If the pics are of what the trucks look like right now, The blue truck with it's straight body and clean interior is going to be easier to sell, thus it's worth more. Trust the 460 in the blue F250 to run a long time and replace the burnt or broken parts from the red (parts) truck, and sell the parts truck on to the next guy.