heater blower didn't work replaced with wrong size blower, duct taped and wire tied to the fire wall, power wire soiderd to battery with toggle switch duct taped to the dash, works got full blast and off.

 

how about, transmition held to engine with only the starter bolts. upper radiator hose is almost solid duct tape.

 

Other than one bellhousing bolt boss being broken from overtightening by the idiots at the local Ford delaer who did the clutch, the PO of my old F250 didn't do anything bad to it other than roll it over...
My 81 F100 is suprisingly hack free also...
My 82 F100, that was fun... mismatched rear springs, homemade shackle on the pass. side, very hacked taillight wiring, rusted out Flareside bed held together with aluminum angle that you use for corners on drywall... Trans tunnel cover torched out to make room for the shifter so that someone along the line could slide the transmission back to do the clutch(it had a SROD at that time, the shifter comes off with 3 bolts and about 30 seconds...) The rear cab mount crossmember had rusted through and given way on the drivers side, their fix was to jam a piece of 2x4 between the cab and top of the framerail...
All kinds of fun between that truck and the 84 I got with it for parts...

 

how about reusing the block heater, then stripping out the crossbar that holds it in? It just left me stranded for a day, as it happened after hours, in the boonies, so I couldn't get a replacement. It actually blew out the side of the block, dumping all of the coolant out.

 

BOne heads done By P.O.

Where Shall I begin.

Purchased 1983 F-250 For $500 has a 460 BB auto tranny exteded Cab with Camper package, P.O. stated person he bought from ( his father in law) had the 460 Rebuilt prior to parking it in 1998, cause he couldnt get it to run for more than 40 seconds here is where the Fun Begins

Engine.

Remaned Holley Carb (new)
Ignition (New)
Plugs and Wires (new)
ROtor Adn Cap (new)
Coil (new)
ALternator (new)
External Fuel Pump (new) Held ON with zipties about an 1" and a half fromt he driveshaft


Bought the Truck Cam hoem with it and started playing with it

Checked the fuel pump Relay and corroded out ) replaced and truck fires right up,

Now is where more fun is

Truck is severely out of time and can only be adjusted by ear due to moron that rebuilt it did not install the Pointer at all. (found replacement but now need to find out where the mounting position is on the block)

Wiring is Fubared had Dual Batteries at one time but they were just cut out

Bed is about .5" thick of bondo on one side and both Factory Fuel Pumps are inoperable (have both in the garage jsut havent had time to drop tanks and replace.

Front right (2wd) axle was bent.

Brakes installed backwards,

emergency brake set-up was put together with Bicycle brake cables (
needless to say 1500 bucks at the frontend SHop getting Everything Safe on the Drivlene

Exhaust is so Booger welded and leaking it is pathetic (since there is no Catalityic converter or Smog Tubes on the ex. Manifoldes will be ugrading to Dual exahust here real soon.)

Camper and trailering wire is sucha a mess that all of it will need to be removed and replaced ( I have a cabover for the truck slightly older than the Truck) and the list goes on.

I will be Posting up some digitals of the truck in the coming weeks and cataloging the Resto Buildo of this beast as it is my Tow Rig for my 1972 Jeep and quad, as well as platform for my old camper, which is ten times better than sleeping in a tent.

SO far money invest though is roughly $3000 for the truck front end work, Fuel Pumps and Cabover Camper.

I think this is going to be a great Rig when I ma done with it but we shall See.

J.T.

 

85 f250 4x4 originally had a 351 auto converted to a 460 use car manifolds and pass side did't fit so the torched a 3 by 5 chunk out of frame so it clears...then frame snapped all the way. oh yea did i mention i was plowing snow when it happened

 

On my 84 f-250 4X4 the previous owner had installed a plow mount from another type of truck (prob chev as it was narrower). He cut the mount in half and widened it with 1/8" thick angle that bent the first time he hit a snow bank. To fix this he (i still would not beleive this if i had not seen it myself) welded in two old pieces of pipe from the bottom of the mount to the front spring mounting plates. No wonder the front rode rough. It took me the better part of a week to build a new plow mount (correctly mounted to the frame) from the remains of the old one.
Other than that the truck is A-1 with no rust holes and only about 130000 km(82000miles).

 

- cut off parking brake when it was stuck
- cut off exhaust, but held everything AFTER the cut with zip ties
- jb weld on the exhaust manifold...in more places than needed
- severely overtorqued waterneck (rev the motor, and a sheet of coolant flys out from under it)
- the classic duct tape seats
- removal of emissions system, with plugging of said emission hoses by using thick tree branches
- the even more classic re-routing of heater pump hoses

 

For my truck from me the 5th owner:
mounted cb to roof, screws go thru sheetmetal and are visable from sides of truck. Installed seats in bed of truck, drilled thru the full gas tank, 5 gallons gone , Fixed tailgate rust holes with 15 bumperstickers I got on EBAY, installed digital voltmeter directly to battery, no switch or fuse. glued radio in dash, wired it with no fuses or switches. hooked up fog lamps to parking lamps, replaced all burnt out fuses with 40 fuses. Installed new heater blower from an air conditioned 1981 into a smaller 1986 f150 with heat only, used SteelStick as adhesive. Glued gastank to mounting brackets.
That was only me.
Now the previous 4 owners were just as good.
Fixed burnt wiring to ECM with all brown wires, installed a huricane Katrenna carberator, plugs were for EEC-3 my truck is EEC4 so he spliced without logec (Idle dosen't work correctly,nedd to hold gas pedal down) used saws all to fix exhaust system and replaced exhaust pipes with satillite mounting pipes (no not a mopar parts but dish network). Repaired transmission kickdown rod, has it set wrong, and soldered or welded the adjuster in place. Mounted bumper off of a newer truck bu forgot to wire licence plate lamps, spliced into brake pedal wiring, brakelights work when they want to, installed wiring for trailer brakes without trailer lights or connectors, than just cut the splices, had to replace battery positive cable because of tht trailer wiring. used duct tape for the holes in the floor and doors. Seatbelt mounts rusted out so gluded them in place. Striped distributor cap screws only 1 screw held cap on.
I wish my camera would have higher resoultion so I could post pictures of the repairs. And my favorite repair is the one with soldering the ignition switch so it won't need a key. If I use the keys it turns to ACC only. Fixed heater core leak by removing hoses from core and connecting them together to bypass core. Welded the gas tank leaks to the mounting straps, I had to replace the tank and straps. On the plus side I know that the truck had 2 engine fires before I got the truck. I got it free for the hauling. Almost forgot about the tires, Wilderness AT someone fixed the tread using blue silicone sealent. First thing to go were the tires.

 

I don't know if this qualifies, because I saw these when I was working in a brake shop.

Candidate number one rolls in with a beat up farm truck, early 90's F-series. Says the brakes feel "funny" and there are strange noises coming from the front end. We carefully drive it in, lift it, and inspect it.

Someone had replaced the pins that hold the calipers in place with BALING wire. Wrapped it around the caliper 10 or 12 times and called it good enough.

Candidate #2 rolls in with an orange, ugly as sin, mid to late 80's K5 blazer. Says he just bought it and he thinks it doesn't stop the way it should. I didn't get to drive it the way that it was, but the pedal felt like pudding and it just wouldn't stop.

Deep breath here....

PO had completely removed the rear brakes except for two worn out shoes on one side and a lone parking brake cable. Steel line had been cut off before the flex line, and the steel line had been removed off the axle entirely. The drum on the other side had nothing in it. No shoes, no hardware, no wheel cylinder. The wheel cylinder on the other side was just there to keep the shoes from rattling around.

Both bleeders on the front calipers were broken off. Fluid leaked out of the caliper seals. The master was shot, and the rotors had grooves in them so deep you could have camped in there.

We fixed it all. Total damage, over $2k. And he paid it.

 

That's awesome!

 

I bought my 82 F350 4wd in 84 for $4000 because;
The cab, nose and doors were perfect but the bed had about 50 small dents in it from the original owner loading firewood in it from a distance.
It also had a broken out back window.
The tailgate came in the bed, it was "U" shaped from him carrying telephone poles to line his driveway, with the tailgate "up".
He also spray painted over the white letter "R" on the tailgate (FORD lettering) with red spray bomb (red truck) and drew an "O" with white paint brush so it spelled out "FOOD"
(keep in mind this was a new truck!)
Also, this was a stripped truck from the factory and came without a radio so he cut the dashboard from the passengers door to the heater (BIG HOLE) and put in a battery powered ghetto blaster.
I still have the truck and over the years invested over $45,000 into it.
Swapped in the Monobeam front axle.
Dana's 60 and 70, Both power locked with 4:56's, stock widened rims to accept 35 x 16.5's (factory white rims)
4" lift with 6" rear springs (no blocks- no axle wrap)
Radically built PAW 460 motor with built C6 trans
Front and rear sway bars
Loaded with factory options
Changed interior over from brown to black with velour seat and headliner.
Sony 500 plus watt stereo
Original red color (base coat-clearcoat, diamont system) by Connecticut Custom Car
This truck is probably one of the nicest looking trucks in the area and it screams (trucks shouldn't go this good!)
And I don't drive it anymore, maybe 25 miles a year just to get an inspection sticker (too many other projects)
Maybe I'm just getting old!
Steve G.

 

You just gotta love those previous owners dont do anything right and somethings you dont really notice untill you buy the vehicle..

 

I bought my 86 with 169k miles and it was pretty hack free. The smog check valve behind the engine was broke and wired back in place. That's about it. I did drill a 1" hole in the inner fender to aid in a heater core swap, but that was before I decided to keep the truck...

93 Mustang... Hack free.

70 Chevelle Malibu (307)... 57k original miles, owned by the proverbial old lady. Hack free and never abused (till I got it...)

83 F100... Where do I start? I pulled 30 feet of "lamp cord" wire out of the truck... He used it everywhere and some of it was totally useless. He wired the reverse lights to a switch on the dash. They didn't work. I hooked them back up to the trans and removed his repair and they started working... Bucket seats mounted with sheet metal screws and locked in position. Wood box center console. House paint brushed on... Two tone!

David

 

My 1981 was pretty much hack free as well when I got it on my 18th birthday. I'm now 34.

The floor mats wore out, I went and put household carpet in it, and glued the seams, It looks alright, especially dyed the right color. $25 dollars for everything, but I cannot wait until I can afford new carpet however.

I also did the duct tape of the seat on the drivers side. At least I put a seat cover on it to cover that up.

Oh I have two screws holding the left side of the tailgate together, until I can have it welded by a friend of mine. This is the 3rd tailgate I had on the truck, even the factory Ford ones seem to be crappy. I will probably primer and touch up the paint when it gets done however. See below.

I put more scratches in the paint than I can count, and the dreaded hood peel has begun on the drivers side so I touched them all up. More touch up paint than real paint on it now it seems. But I'm keeping it rust free. Cant wait until I can afford to paint her.

that reminds me I need to buy more touchup. $25 a pint and it lasts me around 5 years.

I found that the U-pull-it yard is my best friend however, cheap affordable parts so you can fix things the right way, and you can get really cool factory options like the underhood lamp, and the underhood toolbox, for $5 each, when you know where to look. When you are on a tight budget such as I am, the u-pull-it, is a lifesaver.

Broken water pipe in the wall of the house just cost me my carpet, or paint job again. :S

----------

What I can't understand however, is why someone would put a Gillig school bus heater, inside a 1972 F-250, cut out the firewall to mount it, no defrosters, etc, when all it needed was a $15 heater core.

Or the guages, the instrument voltage regulator was toasted, so instead of finding one in a wrecker. About $1 each and thousands to choose from, he bought an aftermarket guage pack, and totally screwed the wiring up to where everything in the truck was being ran and charged through the ammeter. It was melted and catching on fire.

Replaced a $7 tailight, with a piece of red plastic he fabricated.

Oh, the switch on dash for backup lamps when the neutral saftey switch just needed to be put back on, hanging loose...

Stupid stuff like that... I cannot understand.