Hi, I have actually done a field find vehicle before, but was wondering what all the wisdom on here thinks. What are the must dos before driving on the road? Anyone have a standard checklist?

 

Go through it before summer time so you can avoid stinging/biting insect nests

 

I never gave that much thought but then again I have not bought a field find.

Anything new to me is go through the full brake system front to rear.
I think if sitting a long time to just replace everything and you never have to worry about it.

Then good tires and go through the front suspension.
Check kingpins / ball joints, tie rod ends and bushings and replace as needed.
Dont over look the box for play and the rag joint as that can be bad also.

You will need to then go through the fuel system replacing tank(s) you can never get the tanks clean to use, old rubber hoses maybe the fuel pump.
If a carb rebuild will not fix leaks or poor running motor then replace it also.

What shape is the body in? Floors have small holes or big Flint Stone holes? Cab mounts any good?
I would look at this first as it may not be worth doing the above if the truck has no body left to work with.

At that point I think it should be pretty safe to run down the road.

My 81 F100 I was able to do a vary short road test drive that was not a good one.
When I got it home and found the motor ran good, had a miss, I then looked the truck over closer.
I am happy I did as the floors had big holes, rockers were not far behind and it goes on.
That is when I started a 4 year cab off frame rebuild.

When I got to the brake system what a mess it was.
The road test showed 1 side of master was empty and that was just the start of what I found.
Rear shoes had both long shoes on 1 side and short on the other.
Broken self adjuster wires, no Ebrak cables.
My brake system was rebuild all new front to rear along with everything else so never have to worry for some time.
Dave ----

 

Oh how I love Field Finds ! _ _ _ and my wife despises them.
I call them Yard-Art, and she calls them Trash.

I am currently bringing back to life a '71 F250 2wd running a C6ME-A block with C6AE-A heads and 2bbl intake.
The engine has Mercury valve covers, so my suspicion is; the engine could be a 410 Merc.
I drug home this "field-find" pickup approx. 7-yrs back with issues. I wonder what I will find tomorrow.

Oh, anyway, wanted to share my gratification of getting the engine running, after finding one stuck valve.
That just taught me a lesson on "field-finds" and what to do before firing up the engine.
Looking back, I wish I would have removed valve covers first to check for any stuck valves. This way you don't bend any pushrods.
Inline flathead engines normally don't have pushrods to contend with, which is a blessing.

A curse of most "Field-Find" vehicles is they may take years of spare time and money before we can drive them.
Now, if all drivetrain refurbishing is done correctly and meticulously, a refurb is like driving a new vehicle.

Have fun. and good luck on your prospecting for a new "Field-Find" pickup.