Hi FTE. Been lurking for awhile, trying to soak up the crazy amount of tribal knowledge here.

Here's my question - is possible to use a well-maintained, looked-after bumpside as a semi-daily driver without having to worry about constant mechanical issues? My thought is I'd like to find a lightly used truck in good shape, do all the maintenance that needs doing, and be able to drive it almost daily for whatever purpose I might need it for.

My concern is that at this point, these trucks are more for looking than using, and committing one to one is like a hot, bad girlfriend - fun at first, but soon turns into a major hassle that, after spending lots of money and time on, you end up passing on to the next sucker in line.

Your thoughts appreciated, especially from those who use their trucks a lot.
Douglas

 

 

I believe you can drive it daily if you.....

- Go bumper to bumper and rebuild/replace with good parts the suspension and brakes.
- Leak down test the engine to gauge its health.
- Rebuild/replace the fuel and ignition system.

In other words, do more than maintenance right at the beginning. Don't expect a truck with 40 year old parts to run daily but a 40 year old truck that has been totally refreshed will serve you well

 

I drive my '69 F100 Ranger 5 days a week to work and back home (34 mile round trip a day). The only major issue I've had was the old tired and worn 240 gave up the ghost back in February and I replaced it with a 300 that I rebuilt.

If you get the mechanicals and electrical in good shape, these trucks are pretty reliable and are generally very simple to repair if something does go wrong.

 

Welcome to the forums.
No reason at all you can't drive these everyday. They just won't get 20+ mpg like a new little car. With basic maintenance they will run forever. They are not "Fragile".

Up til about 10 yrs ago I drove one daily(it was a '67), but when $4/gal gas hit I had to change my way of thinking. If I could find one that isn't rotted to the door handles, I'd love to run one daily again. My '69, that I've had for 30 yrs, is more of a hot rod and would kill me on gas driving 35 miles/day. The 428CJ motor with 4.56 gears is not a miser at the pump.

 

my cousin daily drives a dent side with a 400, my dad semi daily drives a bump side with a 415 and i am going to daily drive my bump side with a built up 300 when i finish my build.

 

i'm building my 71 as my daily. far from stock, it's getting an efi 302 and a 4r70w overdrive.

 

modern engine and trans will get you daily driving with a lot less headaches . IMHO

 

I have a 5.0L H.O. engine from '90 Mustang GT I've had for a good while and a '98 model 4R70W transmission. I also have a '73 351W I could fuel inject, since I have the EFI upper and lower intakes to fit it.

At the time the #5 piston parted ways with the connecting rod in the 240 and trashed the block back in February, I wasn't ready to swap an EFI V8 over into my truck (still need various pieces). Eventually though, my truck will have a fuel injected V8 and overdrive as well.

 

Like '65Ford said after you inspect and work out the gremlins after purchase of a truck, they 'can' be reliable. My old turd with 150k always gets me home. Other than puttering on upgrades I just put fuel in and drive it. Not sure I would choose it for a DD if it was my only vehicle. There is actually less things to go wrong on these simple old trucks, and they are easier to work on.

The hot girlfriend analogy is more suited to a money pit street/strip car or a dedicated mud/sand drag truck attempting to be a DD again, where the usage model is to beat the **** out of it and expect it to get you to work the next day.

 

The closer you can get it to 'new' condition mechanically, the more reliable it will be. Just remember that these old trucks have carburetors and distributors that require regular adjustment and service. Cars today go so long between 'tune-ups' that we forget about things like spark plugs wearing out, and carbs needing tuning. Electronic ignition would take care of points and condensers. Still, it doesn't take long to tune up an old truck if you remember to do it on a regular basis. I drove a '70 every day for years, and it didn't have any modern upgrades.

 

Yes you can, if you do most of the things stated above. I have a 55 F350 that I use as a work truck that I drive at least 4 days a week.

 

Drive mine seven days a week everywhere I go and last year put on 30,000 miles. Daily work commute through the city, long Highway trips on weekends, towing, off-road, occasional racing. Definitely not as plush or fuel efficient as a new vehicle, but it gets me from a to b with style.

 

Definitely with style! People in town know me when they see my truck coming down the road. I get thumbs up from people I don't know.

 

I drive my 68 F-250 "semi-daily" as you said in your question. Mine ran pretty rough when I bought it 5 years ago. It had burnt valves, leaky exhaust, sketchy brakes and bad tires. I cleared up those issues right away and have been driving the thing about 5000 miles per year. It's only stranded me once due to a crappy chinese part. Lesson learned.

Apart from the above mentioned stuff, I had trouble with the points and condenser which I replaced with a Pertronix drop-in unit. That one mod has made a huge difference in reliability.

If you are willing and able to wrench on your truck and willing to become knowledgeable about it, then you should be fine. Once you get all the mechanical stuff sorted out it's just a matter of keeping your eyes and ears open so you can anticipate failures before they strand you somewhere. In other words, mindful maintenance.

Also, you have to learn the aftermarket for these trucks. Some parts are just junk right off the shelf, so zero in on the quality parts suppliers.

My take after driving my old crate for five years: Its worth it. I don't regret buying it, investing the time, money and work at all. I still love it. If I do sell it, it will be because I'm buying another old Ford pickup.