There is a 78 f250 custom for sale around the corner for $1500
It has 32441 original miles (he says) the body is in great condition but needs a paint job. the interior is trashed (dashboard & seats)
The engine is tight and 4wheel drive works. It has sat for the past 19 years in a open car port.

Is there anything that I should check out before buying it?

Thanks for any info
Bob

 

I'd prolly offer $1000 for it
but thats just what I always do

 

This sounds like a steal to me. Hurry on over there and give the guy the money.
jor

 

sounds like a good deal but why is the interior thrashed if it has 30 some thousand on it.

 

is there any rust on it, and i cant believe if it had 30 thousand original miles on it the interior would be trashed, but other than that i think its a good deal specially with 4 wheel drive, id go over quick and buy it before someone else gets to it.

 

A $1000 sounds fair to me also. If the body is in good shape. But remember you are going to have to replace the radiator and heater core it, also brake lines and belts and possibly turn the rotors just to mention a few draw backs from it setting so long.

 

I agree with the $1000 also

 

not to mention the gaskets are probably shot!

 

He says 32441 original miles but the odometer is only 5 digits right?!?! So it is probably at least 132441 or more than likely 232441 miles especially if the interior is trashed. Ask him if you can take it to a mechanic and have it looked over. I just recently bought a truck that looked to be in really good shape and needed $800 worth of work. Good luck!

-Matt

 

those brakes are gonna need a total rebuild consisting of new springs, cylinders and lines. maybe shoes

 

I'm always skeptical about stuff like this.

For starters, sitting 19 years means a lot of things to me. Worst thing that can happen to vehicles is sitting still in 1 spot for any long period of time & I measure LONG in months, not years! 228 Months is an extremely long time to my way of thinking.

Next, what would cause a desireable truck like that to sit for so long a time. They did not suddenly become desireable. Mileage doesn't sound right either. 32.4K miles @6yrs is about 1/2 Nat'l average of around 12K mi per Yr. How come?

Was truck Pickled or just parked? If just parked I bet inside the engine is as trashed as interior, along with driveline seals (& as mentioned gaskets, brakes), wheel & axle bearings & lots more which will keep appearing longer it's driven if it isn't all gone thru B4 being reactivated & driven.

What can happen in 6 yrs/ 32.4K miles, to trash an interior? Only things I can think of are Sun Light, High mileage, neglect, or out & out abuse. Since I don't know what part of the country you're in I can't rule anything out. I know here In Fl, High Lumen content of sunlight actually kills unprotected vinyls in a matter of months.

At very least truck needs thorough inspection, good going over, major Service & Prep, complete fluids drain, diagnosis/ changing. Also hose belts and other butyl based parts, etc, are going to be marginal at the very best.

An Engine that sat for 19 years is going to be tight 'til it starts going down the road & loosens up, perhaps too much, with regular use.

I agree, price is pretty good from standpoint of parts alone. All the parts are worth more than the $1500 asking price, BUT as a driver, you're lookaing realistically at several hundred dollars just to make it roadworthy enough to drive it & find out if anything is really wrong with it. . . . .

I'd buy something like that for parts, but I doubt I'd buy it to run it, unless I had what it's gonna take to get it right. It could make a $1500 truck into a $6K+ investment, if you go "Whole Hog".

Just my opinion. I've seen it happen many times. I don't know your situation. I'm judging from my own perspectives on it.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS anyhow !

FBp

 

i have been deployed overseas since feburary and havent seen my truck since a week ago, and that was only a picture, i just got a rollbar for christmas, but i was thinking about a moonvisor... does anyone have a picture of a moonvisor on a 73-79 f-150???? i wouldnt normally ask but im not home to decide and trying to finish the product while in iraq, if you have any pics.... thanks

 

on the main page of this website there is a bar to the right and all the way down the bar it says pictorial go to year 1979 and 78 and i think there is one on there

 

also the gas tank and lines could be rusted out and is it an automatic tranny, if so that may be bad too from sitting that long. did that guy even run it every now and then, or has it just been sitting there

 

There could be a problem with rust on the ring gear, the part that would be above the oil in the diff. We had a chebby van that had sat for just a few years and the rust came off the ring gear and chewed up all the bearings. Just something I would consider.