I seriously considered buying a newer F150 this spring. The best deals on the models I was interested in were in the $28k - $32k range. A few years old but with Lariat trim. Damn near took one home but the dealer insulted me with a pathetic low ball offer on my Infiniti FX35. I lost interest in aquiring a newer, nicer truck.

I got to thinking that I would be happy with my current F150 if it were just restored and upgraded with some nicer seats and suspension. Figure it would cost maybe a third the amount of the trucks I had been looking at.

Is a 1986 F150 5L EFI with a OD automatic transmission a good candidate for a resto-mod? My truck has been a pretty good machine for these past 31 years. But it has been worked a bit. Really shows its age. Only about 130k miles though.

If you were to drop a chunk of $ into a truck, would it be this one?

 

What do you want to do with he truck? How do you want to use it? Tow? Haul? Or cruise? That's probably a cold cruiser, but not too good for towing or hauling. So we need to know what you plan to do with it.

 

I think a lot depends on what you want as a finished product, how much work you can do or need to farm out and how much $$ you want to put into it.


At lest you know what you have to start with because you have been driving it.
That helps a lot knowing what needs to be up graded.


I was not that lucky with my project, the test drive was not good but wanted the truck so.....look what I started with.

A quick fix to get it on the road turned in to a frame off rebuild! (see link in sig)
Dave ----

 

My goal would be for the truck to be my daily driver and only four wheeled vehicle. I have been consolidating and down sizing. Cleaning out and fixing up. I would like to ditch my SUV and my "97 Riviera (bought new). This has always been my work truck. The truck was one month old when I drove it in to Mulzers Crushed Stone and had them fill the bed with limestone. I thought the loader driver was going to puke. Going forward I think it should be pampered more.

Frame off would be fine. I can do alot but I'm done painting. I just cleaned my garage but good and am not going to paint in it ever again. I want a dependable, comfortable and good looking truck (like the Lariats I had been shopping). Cost? I know what a 2013 Lariat is priced at. I'm going to spend much less than that I'm sure.

FWIW: I have been the sole mechanic on this truck from day one. No one other than myself has turned a wrench on it, ever. Well, other than the replacement windshield. The glass guy did that. It leaks.

 

For a daily driver you probably have the right truck. The 302 isn't a powerhouse, but it is economical. The OD tranny is poor for towing or hauling, but it is also good for MPG. And the EFI makes it reliable - until it isn't. And that could be a problem as the early systems aren't well understood. But, if you let it talk to you it can give you enough hints that it can be fixed.

You are probably going to need ball joints and all new bushings in the suspension. And with the cab and radiator support off it would be time to replace their mounts as well.

On the electrical front, I'd strongly recommend a headlight relay kit. LMC and others have them, and they take a huge load off the headlight switch and wiring, which wasn't robust when new and is marginal now. But if you aren't going crazy with sound systems or high-powered lights the rest of the electrical system should be fine.

 

During our 31 year relationship I have come to know and understand how this truck works. That helps a lot as far as knowing how to listen to it and treat it.

The truck was a sickly child. In the dealer's garage a few times when under warranty, but they were never able to recreate issues or fix anything. It had an upper intake manifold leak, probably from the factory. I didn't discover it until after a couple of years. The module inside the distributor was of a faulty design. Un-diagnosed by Ford. That issue left the the truck on the roadside more than once. Again, I had to figure that one out myself. IABV... Ford missed that one too. All the symptoms I would complain about were dismissed as normal. AC compressor cycling 6 times per minute... diagnosed as normal, an economy measure. I put one can of R12 in it and it spewed cold air without cycling for the next 29 years. Ac lost its R12 only two summers ago. Appears to need a compressor shaft seal.

My cousin bought an F150 at the same time. he had his for about a year and half before Ford bought it back under the lemon law. So, yes, these trucks were not at all understood, even by Ford technicians, at that time. Mine has a remanufactured ECM that was never needed from during the warranty period. I took over mechanic duties well before the 5/50 warranty ran out.

The engine will need to be gone through. A compression check twelve years ago revealed two weak cylinders. The one where the upper intake gasket leaked, very weak. I vent blow by into a coffee can strapped to the inner fender. With only 130k miles, I think the engine should be easily reconditioned.

 

[QUOTE=FuzzFace2;17319076(see link in sig)
Dave ----[/QUOTE]
Wow Dave! What a project. I started going through your thread last night. First ten pages. The best thing I took from what I saw as it relates to my situation is my truck will be a snap compared. A much less complex job. And I'm retired! I don't know how you could keep at it with your work schedule. I have your propensity for attention to detail. Hopefully, I should not need your sheet metal skills. My truck has very little rust... that I know of.

 

I have a 1986 and it is a reliable daily driver. Of course it all depends on what you desire, but I believe that a truck like yours could be made into a very sharp daily driver for far, far less than the cost of anything new and it won't be depreciating from day one. Do any needed mechanical and safety work first and take a breath. Then, if you decide to go further, you can proceed as you can afford or want to. That way, you are in control! Take your time and enjoy the journey!

 

I am an original owner of an '86 as well, and once she can be retired from formal work duty, she will be treated to the best resto job I can give her. If I were you, I would certainly restore the truck based on those circumstances alone

 

I was leaning to the resto already as one could ascertain from my previous posts in this thread. Other than the brand new issues, I haven't had a bit of trouble out of it. I have known for quite some time the engine is in less than great condition. Still, it has kept chugging along. The fuel economy has always been 14.9 mpg all around. 19mpg highway only.

I only asked this question here to find out if this was somehow a less desirable model to be dropping $ into.

One major problem I'll have, I think,is Zeibart. The truck got Zeibart when it was brand new. It'll have to come off. You have to keep taking the vehicle back annually for a cleaning ($) and "touch up". After the first check up, I noticed that they seemed to just respray the whole underside, including plastic wheel wells. The second time I took it back I asked that they not spray anywhere that was not needed, specifically the plastic fender wells. They did it anyway. I never took it back. Still, it has three coats on most of the underside.

 

As Gary said earlier, the 302/AOD is a great cruiser combo, so no worries there, especially with the fact that it has EFI. The Zeibart should come off fairly easily with chemical strippers to my knowledge.

19 mpg for a well broken in engine sounds very good, however if you want better in town mileage, you may want to put lower gears in the rear if you have 2.73s or 3.08s stock.

 

I think that would be a cool truck to keep as a project. I like the wheels.

 

1986 F150 could have an 8.8" integral or 9" rear axle.

The AOD was a problematic turd...because people drove in heavy stop and go traffic in Overdrive.

Heat is the mortal enemy of this trans. The constant shifting up/down, in/out of Overdrive fried the AOD's guts and it didn't take too long for this to occur.

An AOD overhaul costs upwards of 3 grand. IMO: Install the largest external trans cooler available and STAY OUT of Overdrive in heavy traffic!

 

I ran it with higher than stock gearing for almost all its life. I put 30-9.50s on it when it was one year old. About two years ago, I switched to the tires you see in the photo. P235-70s. They are meatier looking than the P215-75s that came on it. (one of those OEM tires is still aired up and hanging underneath) The 70s have the same OD as the 215-75s so I basically returned it to stock gearing. I remember asking the truck, "how does that feel?" when I installed the 70s. Those wheels were mounted along with the first set of Michelin XCH4 Radial 30-9.50s In 1987.

I live outside of town. I call the mileage "all around" because every trip involves some highway. If I lived in town, I could see that mileage drop to 12 something.

 

I get that about the transmission. I only run OD above 45-55 mph depending on weather I'm going up or down a hill. I have also kept the TV adjustment to a slightly hard shifting setting. I read a long time ago that hard shifting equals long life. Of coarse it has had regular fluid and filter changes. The modern fluid (Mercon?) is way, way better than the original type F fluid. This particular AOD has been a very good one... so far. Understanding that 3rd and OD have no cushion between engine and tranny helps too. I like the idea of a cooler. Maybe that would help preserve the tranny for the next 130k miles.

About the axle. The sticker says it has a code 19 axle.