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Hi everyone, I've been used truck shopping and purchased a 2003 F-150 last month. I like things more on the basic side, so it took a while to find a standard cab, short bed, 2WD. I had initially looked at a couple newer Ram trucks, but they had some deal-breaker issues, mostly being rusty underneath. I drove down to VA, from PA, to get this one. I wound up renting a U-haul tow dolly to get my daily driver Honda back home with me.
It's an XLT with the 4.6 V8, automatic, with only 138K miles and is very clean inside and out. So far I've replaced the passenger side lock actuator (found some good info on here for tips on that), cleaned the throttle body and IAC, and basically just checked things over. There are a few small issues to remedy, like the display on the stereo no longer works, although the radio portion of it still works, you just can't see the station or time. It's so old it not only has CD but cassette! I'll just change the whole thing out to something with a Bluetooth connection at some point.
I'm patching up some rust that just starting on the driver's side rocker and cab corner. I can post up some pics of that when I'm done.
I also picked up some cheap wheels (also from an '03) off of FB Marketplace. I really don't care for the style that was on there when I bought it. I sanded those down and painted them with an epoxy primer, then a satin black 2K single stage and went with a white letter tires. I have some pics of the wheels being painted but the one I took with the truck with the new tires didn't come out right (washed out in the sun) so I'll have to take another one next time I have it out of the garage.
It's going to be more of a nice day driver, and also used whenever I need to haul or tow something. I figure if I only put 5-10 thousand miles a year on it, and keep it out of the road salt during the winters, it should last me a LONG time. Which is what I'm after because the price of new trucks is beyond stupid anymore.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
