Ha!
I just found THE nugget... the once in a lifetime score... the ONE that we all get sooner or later. Just goes to show ya, if ya classify, liquify, and stratify long and hard enough, sooner or later ya wind up with a goodly amount of that yella gold stuck right in yer Hungarian ripples.

Read this one and weep, gentlemen...

Out on a ranch near Kingman, I spotted a pile of trail dust, leaves, sagebrush, and bird guano, underwhich I found a baby blue 1973 Ford F-350 Custom dually 2wd, with no bed, and believe it or not, new tires and 60 thousand ORIGINAL miles on it. Yup. That's no typo... 60K boys! About thirty seconds later it was mine. It's ALL there and EVERYTHING works like new... cuz it is! It's all new! The doors, the windows, the wipers, the SEAT, the door panels, the rubber floor mat, the shifter boot, the glovebox, the brakes, the steering, the chassis, the clutch linkage, the list goes on and on and on and on! All brand SPANKIN new and brand spankin' stock.
I brought it home, de-varnished everything, new battery, a little wd-40 here and there, a couple door parts out of stock, etc, and pack up the kids honey, we're goin' to town!
I can't believe this... Last night I slapped a coat of WAX on this baby! Yea there's a little cancerous spotting in the bottom corners of the doors. Now that the truck is in Havasu, the rust is over. Not even rust can survive in this kind of heat. There's some bullet holes from failed attempts at aftermerket mirrors, and it took 50 bucks in replacement bulbs, but basically I've got a truck that's 31 years old, that will go thirty more... Nooooo problema. Same color as my '77 F-250 Highboy flatbed, too.
Oh yea... top loader 4 speed, FE block, runs, but needs heads. Show me an FE that doesn't. The guys that have seen it, hate me. Oh yea... 1250 bucks.


God loves me.

Doink

 

sweet, good find congradulations!!!!!

 

Now that the ol' three-five-o runs perfect and is ready for duty, I need a bed for it.

Wanted: 12' Flatbed, with or without headache rack, stakes, good paint, u-bolts or boxes. Must be straight, with 34" outside to outside frame rails, and located within a day's drive of Havasu, which includes St George, Las Vegas, Barstow, Yuma, Flagstaff, and Prescott. Cash is King.

 

Found one! Couldn't tell ya what year or anything, but it's a Ford 12' flatty. It was on a 67-72. I didn't know there was such a thing till I laid eyes on it. Naturally, thirty seconds later it was mine.
Anyone have any history on the Ford factory flatbeds?

 

Doink,

Happy to hear of your good fortune.
IMO, anybody that spends more than 5 hours in Kingman should receive $1250.

 

I am right there with you jjz.

Doink - Whats with all this hoot'n and hollar'n and no pictures!?! Congrats on the find now before another coat of wax goes on, load some pictures.

 

Just keep thinkin' like that, boys... All the more room for me.

Pictures? You want pictures? Geez... I can ride, hoot, shoot, drink, work the ladies, drill, bolt, weld, paint, and spin wrenches... but pictures? Too complex.

Tell ya what... when it's all done and workin', I'll go thru the proccess and post pictures of the whole fleet. I've got three '73-79 trucks and a 79 bronco. I'll never need another truck as long as I live.

As far as the Kingman Gold truck? The top end is on. Fresh heads built right, fresh intake and exaughst manifolds, and runs good. Pushrods wound up a little short, but I don't feel like takin' it apart yet. Run it. FE's are my least favorite motor. It's always somethin' with FE's. I'm gonna dump the Motorcraft carb for a Holley. It takes over 6 minutes of warm-up to atomize down to idle.
The flatty is almost done. It's mounted, lower boxes are done, it's decked in 2x6, and almost ready for paint.
I gotta figure out how to build solid protection behind the cab. I'm gonna carry up to 6k lbs, and I don't want to die by havin' the load slidin' thru the back of the cab when some Snowbird stops for a garage sale right in front of me. The stock gate hoops are beefy, but I gotta find some stock that fits in them and design the gate itself.
That's where I'm at... and oh yea... Stay out of Kingman. There's nothin' there but dirt, barbed wire and bull defecant.

If you're interested, I'll tell ya about my latest MAJOR SCORE. This one came out of Havasu. I gotta quit buyin' trucks... but I just can't.

 

Hey your going for some good years though. I think I saw my "nugget" a few months ago and let it pass cause I waited too long. I just know some "illegal immagrant" picked it up to haul his amigos around which makes me all the angrier.

It was a 79 Ford Crew Cab 4X4 Short bed going for $4900. How and why I let that go just makes me so mad. Let me know if you come across any of thoes

 

5.4az4x4,
For some reason the 73-79's have been poppin' up for sale all over out here. I even spotted a 68-72 f-350 4x4, 4-door crew cab long bed once, but it wasn't a 73-79 so I ignored it. I had never seen one. I can think of at least 10 primo 4x4 73-79's here in Havasu that are daily drivers. There are probably hundreds in use.
I think they are gettin' too old for most people, combined with the ease of just purchasing a brand new truck. They don't bring good trade in $$$ either. Therefore, the only way out is to sell, and they have to go cheap.
The main reason I have chosen this era is the aftermarket. I can get anything for 'em with a phone call. Second reason... I can fix 'em, even in the field. (Duraspark II, carbeureted, no smog) I don't have to sweat breakin' a Dehydrogenating Fetzer Valve or a Magna Pulsatory Disjoiner Bearing while 4 wheelin' in Bent Spoke, Arizona, or some such place. Third and best reason of all... Registration=$27 for two years, and Insurance= $230 per year.
I've got a 2003 F-350 diesel 4 door crew cab loaded with real leather interior, 6 inch lift and a Roll-Along kit, parked in my yard. Belongs to a friend of mine. I could own it for 40k. Not even interested. The truck is nice, nothin' wrong with that, if that's your thing, but all I see there is payment, and alot of it. $700 a month for almost a decade, Registration $1300 a year, and insurance is $1400 a year. All that and Heaven forbid it should take a little Arizona Pinstriping out on the trail. It's a status symbol, not a truck. For that kind of money, I'm willing to get greasy every now and then. When it comes time to actually WORK, we use one of my trucks.
Another thing about drivin' the old stuff... Soccer Mom's with cell phones stuck to the side of their heads, drivin' 50k and up sport-utes, stay the hell away from me! They think they're lookin' at poverty. I laugh cuz chances are I make more $$$ than they do. I just spend it elsewhere.
The 73-79 era and all it offers the user, is probably never going to happen again. It was the last series of trucks that the regular workin' stiff with a screwdriver and a socket set can fix, and the trucks were very well built. I have chosen to use that to my advantage. The 73 F-350 Flattie I'm building will cost me less than 5k total. I've been workin' EVERYDAY for 16 years, out of my 77 F-250 Higboy Flattie. To buy a new truck that will do the work that these trucks will, would cost 50k and up, plus big $$$ Reg. and Ins. I shopped it last year. The boss was gonna buy me one. When we looked at it closely, I told him "Heck with it. I'll just build one. Watch this..."
I think every Ford Freak should own at least one 73-79 piece. I just picked up another one. It's a 79 F-250 4x4, LARIAT! Brand new 460 conversion! Creampuff! Nice wheels and tires too. The guy lost it with the doors. He fixed everything else, but the door and window mechanisms were shot, so it showed like a pile. Doors and windows are a peeve of mine. They MUST work. I had all the necessarry parts in stock.
I told all my buddies "You guys oughta buy that truck! You buy that, and you're done. You won't ever need another truck. But the guy's gonna want 5-7k for it." Nobody moved. It sat for sale for over a week, and I couldn't stand it anymore. I gave $3500 for it.
Then it was "Dammit Doink, I was gonna buy that truck! What did you pay?"

"$3500. I told ya! I gave you guys a week! BUT NOOOO!"

"You gonna re-sell it? How much you want for it?"

"Well, like I told ya... the guys gonna want 5-7k for it."

I'll keep my eyes peeled for ya. If I find one, I'll post it here.

PS. I've got a nice 79 Bronco XLT I had to re-posess. Nice ride when I sold it to him, $3500, but I had to go get it back. He never paid for it. It's basically a "tweaker dis-assembly". 400m, auto, it HAD ac, needs upholstery, interior is gutted and painted grey, excellent doors and windows, blue on white, good paint and body, (minus blow-out damage to one rear fender) It can be pounded out and won't need a re-paint. It has all three seats, the cap, and chrome spoke wheels. Tires are junk. The heads are off, no carb, 4-core Modine radiator, ran good till the weenie thought he popped a head gasket and took it apart. It was probably just a vacuum leak. Good project truck. $500 and you come and get it. Delivery is possible but will cost ya. I just don't have the time for this one.

Doink

 

Ahh!! Oh man, I had a '78 bronco xlt when I was a teenager and have regretted the day I ever sold it. Do you have any pics of your '79? I need something to work on other than my SD, it's costing me too much money to upgrade it!!!

 

Oh man.. I hate when people tell me stuff I want to hear and have!! 2000SilverMatt, buy that thing, and lets work on it!! Its either you or me but what I REALLY want is a crew cab truck of that year.

Damnit Doink, see what you do to me? Alright, I have a few questions..
Where did the turck come from, basically, whats the floor, wheel wells, body, frame, and roof look like as far as rust? Surface rust isnt bad you have to expect that but you know what Im talking about here.

400m with auto, I imagine that would be a C4??

Heads are off but is everything there to re-assemble it?

Pictures pictures pictures.

 

I thought they used the c6 in all the fullsize trucks

 

It's a c6. 460 will bolt right up. L+L makes the mounts. If it was me, I'd build the 400m that's in it. Don't know anything about it cuz I didn't build it, but it was way snappier than my stock 400's. Sounded cammy to me. There is no rust. It's been in Havasu for the last decade. Whatever rust there ever was, is now dead. Trans and transfer are good. Front end is good. Brakes? Can't say. It had posi from the factory. Mrs. Doink smoked that, and I replaced it with an open diff. It's set up loose, so there is a clank, but it's good to go. Interesting note: It has the factory CB radio, less the hand mike. Find a mike, and you got factory CB! The original mike had the channel selector on it, and I had the damned thing when I bought it, but I can't find it to save my ***. You guys want a project? This is a good one. All work and very little money.

Enough of this Bronco stuff... let's get to the good stuff.

5.4az4x4,
Go get this one! It's a 1975 F-250, 2wd, 460, auto trans, converted to Duraspark II, 2 door, club cab*, long bed, XLT, white on butterscotch, good body and paint, wax and go, average interior, average windows and doors, nice tires and wheels. Slotted mags if I remember correctly. THIS IS A NICE RIDE!!! I would buy it myself if I wasn't so fat on 73-79's right now. $3500!!! I cannot believe this one has been sittin' for sale for over a month. Call the dude @ (928) 486-4839, or (928) 453-5345, or (928) 453-3212.
If somebody doesn't snap this up real soon, I'm gonna go get it. Mrs Doink will just have to kill me again. She always wants to kill me anyway. If I get it, I'm gonna fix it up a little and want 5-7k for it.

* I'm not sure if it's called a "club" "crew" or "extra". It's the one that has the 12"x12" aprox. window, but it's a 2 door.

This guy is a fellow Havasu Ford Freak. He's also got a 73-79 F-250 project truck for sale, but he wants big dough. When I looked at it a year ago: Huge lift, huge tires and wheels, 44's I believe, regular cab, long bed, fresh custom paint with graphics, fresh black paint on chassis, rough interior, no motor/trans, and I don't remember if it had the transfer in it. I don't remember what he did with the steering. He's got all the parts to finish it, in stock. He does good work. He wanted 12k for it, but he's had plenty of time to come to his senses.

I spotted two other ones yesterday, but I didn't take the time to stop in. From what I could see...

73-77 round eye, F-250, 2wd, regular cab, long bed, rough, that heinous dirt brown Ford color, slotted mags. Didn't see the price. I would expect this one to be around 1.5-2k.

The other one was a 68-72. No interest.

That was just yesterday. I'll keep lookin' and post 'em here. Arizona trucks should stay in in Arizona IMHO.

PS. I know you guys want photos. Ya gotta understand, you're dealin' with a caveman here. The last time I tried to post a photo on a forum board, the Way-Back Machine (my computer) started smokin' and clankin', and cost me a trip to the local computer shop. I would rather scrape grease covered undercoat with a dull razor blade and no eye protection, than try that ever again. If you REALLY wanna see any of this stuff I would rather send you a hard photo in the mail. OR, I'll see if I can find a Gen-X babe with a cell phone camera to do it for me.

 

doink - If you can take one on a cell phone, let me know cuz I can get pics/video on mine and I'll give you my cell number.

matt

 

C6 is what I was thinking of I dont know why I said C4.

That 75 sounds pretty cool but its really not my thing. I really like the 78-79 and I would either want a Bronco or a 4-door 4X4. 2WD's are work/shop trucks and I wouldnt devote time or $$ into one except my 88 F-150.

My problem is I already have one project which is a 2wd reg cab, short bed that I am going to make into a sport truck. But I want an older 4X4 project.. I have the space, and I have the $$ to at least buy one. But I just opened up a shop so I dont have the time or the EXTRA $$ to start building one. Im going to be stuck putting money into non-hobbies for now.

To clarify: By sport truck I dont mean slamming a fullsize truck and chopping the crap out of everything. I mean making a "Lightning" out of it, with a few more personal touches. STILL A TRUCK!!