Had a cousin in Texas who knows I like late 70s Ford pickups call me to say that he found a 1979 F250 at an estate sale for $500. I said for that price I'll buy it site-unseen. I flew down there and it turned out to be in much better shape than I thought. Had someone offer me $2000 for it before coming home. I said no and ended up driving it 1100 miles back home with minimal issues along the way.

It has a 351M engine and the Explorer package on the body. In very good shape with limited rust. Almost all of the rust that it does have is on the box--over the fenders and a little bit on the bed floor. I'm thinking that if I can somehow find a rust-free box, it would make the restore a much easier operation. Do you guys know where I should start looking?

I'll post pictures in a reply so you can take a look at my amazing $500 truck.

 

 

That's a steal! Welcome aboard, I also love the late 70s

 

$500 truck that takes off an a 1100 mile trip. You are a lucky man! I hope you bought some lottery tickets along the way.

 

Ha ha. Lottery tickets wouldn't have been a good idea. Probably years of luck were used up on this find. I could do absolutely nothing to it and it would be a really nice truck. Odometer said 71,000 when I bought it, which could mean 171k or 271k, but I'm thinking that it actually does only have 71k on it. It runs so good and the engine is clean. No black smoke or anything.

It's going to be a fun restore. I think I'm sticking with this color and putting the stripes back on since they are exclusive to the Explorer package. I knew nothing about Explorer until I got this and now I'm into it. All the pieces including the hood ornament seem to be here.

Only issue that will be a hard fix is the rust on the rear fenders and inside the bed. I'll post pictures more close up later to get everyone's opinion on whether to try to patch or if my instinct to try to find a full replacement bed is the right way to go.

 

More pictures would be nice to see. Even if your feet could go through the floors, at $500 and 1100 miles later its still a steal. Im a big fan of untouched trucks, so I really like it

 

Here are a few more pictures. I'll take some more and get some interior shots this weekend. I've done a little work on the inside.

I'll have to replace the right side door shell from the rust. Other than that, the rest of the rust is over the wheel arches in the back or on the bed floor. I don't think the floorpan has any rust at all, which is nice.

 

If you're up for the drive, check CraigsList for the big cities in the southwest. I've seen good beds in San Diego and Palm Springs CL for a reasonable price

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll look around, but my 1100 mile drive was to the northeast from Texas, so I'm really far from California. But could maybe work out someone getting it and setting up shipping for me. So far I have only found a company called Southern Truck up in Michigan who doesn't have any, but apparently can custom build them. He wants $2500, which to me is much too steep. Holding out hope I'll find one or find a cheap donor truck that has a good bed. A new bed is going to cost more than the entire truck did.

 

Super common for the wheel arches to rust out. Also, seems to be a fairly easy fix.

The arch is the same as the front fenders. If you're up for learning some body work, cut those arches out and weld in some new ones. The repair panels are readily available.

My brown truck needs one, but it doesn't rust here in Yuma, so I keep moving it down the "to do" list

 

That's a screaming deal man. I'd say either craigslist or you can try lmc truck. I'm not sure if they sell a full bed but I know they sell the rear quarter panels, this would be a project but it would fix your problem for the most part. I'd also recommend trying summit. My truck also needs a bed so I just hopped on google and tested my luck and the bed for my 73 was like $300 I believe. Don't quote me on that but they can be cheap and come primered already. I'll look again right now to make sure

edit: so I think they do only sell the quarter panels on summit which are around $300 a pop and you can buy a piece of bed panel off Jeff's Bronco Graveyard for $35. But that's a huge project

 

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/pts/6095027238.html

this is in Phoenix, solid looking. Haven't been able to get down to the yard to look at but hey, looks good

 

Woah. Good find bradphx. I'm going to call them and ask about the condition of the bed floor. The side panels look to be in great shape.

 

I called them and they still have the truck. They want $500 for the bed, which I think is reasonable if it has no rust. I'll have to figure out a way to get someone local to check it out for me. I do know a few people in the Phoenix area, who although aren't car people, could maybe go take some pictures for me. Thanks for the find.

 

I've been trying to get down there and snag some parts off it from the interior. I can probably check it out Monday cause I won't be home from work til late Saturday night.