Well if you've been in some other forums you may have read that I wrecked my 1991 F250. Someone ended up going under there and checked it out. He said the frame was bent beyond repair. He told me to call the insurance company, and said the truck is totalled. Does anyone know how much a insurance company would give for a 91 F250 with a 460 XLT Lariat, non ext cab?

I went and purchased a truck trader and saw a 1978 datsun with a 350 SB, 350 Turbo, dana 44 front and rear, 33" boggers alum wheels, red cloth seats, flow master exhaust, Rancho shocks, 12k invested Approx 375 HP. He is asking $5500 for it. I figured I'd offer 4500 for it, once I get my insurance money in. does anyone think this sounds like a good deal

 

You should get close to NADA value for your truck, I think 5500 is a bit high for that datsun.

 

I checked KBB.com. My truck in good condition for a private party value it said was $4400. So would I probally get around their as a claim? PS: $4500 for the datsun would that be a decent deal? I am going to give the guy a call tomorrow and ask the mileage on it.

 

I'd expect to get close to 2k for the truck, look at the trade in value, and make sure you are in the correct region... Check the NADA value, www.nadaguides.com that is what the dealers and ins companies use, not KBB...

 

the biggest question on your pickup- 2WD or 4X4? Value could almost double if it's a 4X4, at least up here.

re: Datsun. impossible to put any sort of value on it. The last owner already proved it's a money-pit- $12K in it, would like to get $5500 back out of it. Pray you never total it- your insurance company will value it like any other '78 Datsun pickup.

 

I have a 4x4 Pick up. So what your saying is I should stay away from the 350 conversion Datsuns? What about the 350 Toyotas. Im a highschooler so I figured the datsun would do all the things I want it to do. But if I ever wreck it I don't want to end up getting a grand out of it if I payed 4x that much.

 

The problem with the 350 toys and datsuns is that if it ever gets totalled then the insurance company is only going to give to 500 bux for it max, it's only worth what the original truck would have been to the ins company. I'd try to find another ford in nice shape for what they give you... THey can be had for less than 2k if you know where to look.

 

Every time I have seen someone shoehorn a V8 into a small truck they battle with overheating problems. I know one friend who stuffed a 350 into his S10. The water pump pulley was about 1/4" from the radiator, and you couldn't put enough fans on the front of it to keep it cool.

Just dropping in a new engine doesn't do much if you don't upgrade everything else down the line. How about the rear end, driveshaft, etc.. We removed a friends 200 straight 6 in his Maverick and popped in a 289. The C4 bolted right up, but he juiced it in a matter of days.

I would be wary of a Frankenstein like this.. Especially if it's going for cheap..

 

pfogle's right- any conversion truck has no value other than the value of the original truck- at least for insurance purposes. Sooo...I can't say if it's a good or a bad buy, but work on the assumption that if it gets totalled, the value will barely cover your deductable.

re: your truck. I notice you're from Orygun too. Up here, dealer's and insurance co's use kbb. This is regional- in other parts of the country they'll use NADA (no special reason for this- just "is," ya know?). A clean F250 4X4 will bring $500-$1000 over wholesale book at auction up here (rust isn't an issue, it's 4X4 season, and it's strong merchandise). Check traderonline.com for some comparable values, or go to oregonlive.com and look for F250's around your model year to get an idea of typical prices.

 

Years ago a buddy of mine and I put a chevy 350 and a TH 350 into a 74 datsun 2wd. We did a very clean job of it, yet in the end the truck was nothing more than a toy. Here's a few things that I remember that you might want to think about and look at before buying:

* Floorboard had to be hacked up and steel pieces fabed and welded in to allow tranny to fit. End result was a cramped interior. Things only got worse after bucket seats were added (std cab truck).
* In order to remove the tranny, the engine had to come out. NO WAY around it.
* Hard to get a big enough radiator in there and also hard to get sufficient airflow. Running warmer than desired was an issue.
* Custom made gas tank. A little itty bitty thing that always needed to be filled.
* Ford rear end and datsun hubs in front means tires could not be rotated. Had to keep a can of fix-a-flat on board.
* Depending on where you live, make sure you won't have to go through emissions with it or that somehow it passes.
* It was a money pit and a financial looser at the time he sold it.

Should you buy it, you will probably discover over time that figuring out what parts, year, etc are on it will become a hassle. It's a toy built by someone else. As for the value of it and insuraning it, talk to your agent. You shuld be able to get it appraised and insure it for that value. Just a few things to think about.

 

oricle did mention that the tranny is a turbo 350 and the diffs are Dana 44's; more than adequate for the setup.

There's no reason can't handle a 289 barring previously existing mechanical ailments. Lots of 302's were bolted to c4's from the factory. And the motor shouldn't have 'bolted right up' as you say, as the 289 has a different bellhousing pattern than the 200.

Some people do things right and others don't, buyer beware. maybe it's a great unit and the guy's getting hitched and needs money; people sell things for all sorts of reasons. Everybody already knows you don't get out what you put into a vehicle like that and I'm sure this guy knows that too; that fact has no bearing on whether it's a good truck or not.

 

Well, just because he has a turbo350 and dana 44's does not mean that it's up to it. Especially with what they claim to be 375hp. It could be a severely used 350, and beat up axles.

I won't argue about bolt patterns either. Maybe he had a 250 straight six. All I know is that we unbolted the six, dropped in the 289 and bolted it up. Sure C4's are up to running behind a 289. His was too as soon as he had it rebuilt. My point here and above was that you can get a C6 that can handle 1000hp, but that doesn't mean they all will. Just because this guy states it has certain parts, doesn't mean that the truck is up to handling that. How about brakes? Etc? When you start overpowering mechanical equipment past what it was designed for, things start breaking. Datsuns didn't come with 350's. How about when he drops the hammer on all that power, and it transfers it right to the ground, only the frame can't handle it?

It's your money though. I'm just passing along things I have seen first hand..

P.S. On the Maverick, the 289 bolted right in place, although we had to change motor mounts, and put the correct flywheel in. The bolt pattern was the same..

 

It sounds like a horrible deal, the truck is only worth what the total of its parts would be if sold individually, $1500 tops for a working 4x4 with Dana 44s and everything in good working order. Minus the Datsun part, I could buy all of that at the local www.pullapart.com for $600.00

The only thing of any real value would to have the nice running 350, around here they sell for about $500-$800 depending on how hot they are. It is a commodity item.

> Approx 375 HP.

Short of a blue printed engine, I doubt it unless $5000+ was spent on the engine.