when i bought my truck i drove it home before i realized the guy i got it from had taken out the k&n air filter so i had no air filter and he had took off the mufflers so the exaust from the muffler back was just swinging and the best of all is that he for some reason cut a 3" hole in the steering column where the ignition switch was and a big chunk of jb weld on it in the shape of a key to start it with still trying to figure out how to fix that hope i dont have to buy a whole steering column

 

I just bought an 85 F150 4X4 for my son. It's the std cab and long bed and looks good from afar.1st prev owner, my neighbor, removed the AC compressor and some other AC related stuff and tossed them.2nd prev owner removed EFI and put on a 2bbl. ??? The engine doesn't run very well after starting. When I got it the idle was at about 3K or more. Air pump is shot and noisey, usual hole in the floor behind driver, a few others. The door locks are had and drivers door pops open on bumps, so hinges must be shot. Pass side is bad too. A section of brake like was used to fuel pipe. Alignment is bad. It's worn out. It had to pass emissions, which it did with flying colors. I was shocked.

 

Wiring, both my trucks have had wring butchered by previous owners who are too lazy to do things properly, and it always causes dramas.

 

Oi - reading over what previous people have done is kind of funny, but not at the same time. When I bought my 84..

po said door speakers were shot. They were and so was the $200 Pioneer cd player that was left in there. Rear speakers were computer speakers without the backs. Decided to use spray foam to seal up rust in the cab behind the bench witch sealed in speaker wire that go into the bed and stop. Decided to use tin and sheet metal screws to cover gaping hole in drivers side floor, carpet covered it up and various re-wiring inside the engine compartment. Fun fun stuff...

 

All and all I've been somewhat blessed with my 85, could be much worse from all the other posts. My PO went vacuum line crazed and started plugging lines like there was no tomorrow. When I replaced the old holley with a new edelbrock, there laying on the intake manifold was an 8 inch length of hose plugged with a wood screw on one end and 1/4 in bolt on the other. I mounted that on a 'Beware' sign above my workbench.

 

the flip window on the passenger side is glued closed, that's it! truck was pristine when i got her!

ahh also the owner put a piece of extension cord inside of the weatherstripping to tighten up the seal on the door, I thought that was pretty darn smart

 

My truck is a laugh a day but I only bought it to make short hauls to the big boxes and gravel yard so...

Driver side window regulator was shot (now replaced) - glass wired up with a splintered baseball bat. Door panel held on with self-tapping sheet metal screws.

Rear brakes - both sides - put on backwards including the seized adjusters.

Front bearings - one secured with a finishing nail, the other with an upholstery staple - had fresh grease all on the outside of the retainer and nut. Nothing inside. One spindle nut lock had all the tabs bent back. Needless to say the bearings were shot (and replaced).

Front left fender was crunched, patched and spray-can painted. The white paint dripped all the way down the brown paint and the trim was secured with self tapping sheet metal screws. I guess they didn't bother to straighten the fender first as it's about an inch or so shorter than it should be.

Smog and A/C ripped out as is the radio.

The mid-frame gas tank I was told "don't ever use that one". No one knows why and I haven't worried about it.

Most of the truck is just a victim of lack of maintainance but it is and has been only a work truck.

 

Nahhh... that'd be WAY too easy!

 

The lengths some folks will go to avoid spending money is amazing!
The PO of my 86 was a "cost saver" as well. For example, the 5 pounds of bondo and chicken wire that held the fenders/wheel wells on. Yards of lampcord under the hood... going where?? The dash board smashed in a fit of rage when he broke off the shift handle and used it as his weapon of choice against a poor defense-less dash pad! And, I kid you not, a hunk of speaker wire from the positive battery lug to the solenoid!
Better to fix them than crush 'em!

 

Gee I've had a few old fords
First was a 74 f100 that they had changed the radiator and just twisted the trans line off then but in a 3" section of rubber hose to fix it.
Found out about that one in the middle of no where when she wouldnt move. That caused lots of trany problems down the road including a rebuild. Various wiring hacks that take for ever to track down.
After that been buying new and they have been hack free.
My 84 f150 has 360k on it and is only used for plowing now, actually I wont mention the fixes that I have to make just to use it to plow off the yard(something to due with pesky rodents)

 

Figured I would re-up this with some of the stuff I found on my trucks.
84 F-250
-No air cleaner or air filter assembly at all.
-Never seen so many home wiring nuts in my life.
-no parking brakes whatsoever.
-No window or door weatherstripping.
-rotors so warped it caused the dash to crack on the drive home from buying it.
Fixed it all and sold it.
Bought 86 F-250
Solid no rust truck with snow plow.86,000 original miles.Paid 1400 for it.
Noticed slight nocking and some knarly gear oil in crankcase.Guy got one over on me and sold me a truck with knocking engine.Didnt notic untill I was half way home.Good truck otherwise.
-Found that the front timing cover had hole for dipstick and was NEVER plugged,reason for knocking.
-Moron replaced lower intake with Edelbrock,COOL,replaced two of the intake bolts with longer ones on drivers side.The two that are in the middle of the intake right next to each other.They ended up TO long and broke the threaded bosses out of the head.Nice.
-Blower motor switch hard wired to battery,only works on full blast.
-Hot cold selector cable is non existant.
-Odd thing,the truck is black and has white overspray ALL over rear lenses.
-Every bolt on plow mount was loose.if not loose then gone.
-Plow switch wiring looks like he had some kind of epileptic seizer while wiring and taping it.

 

Well, i own a 1985 F250,
the previous owner decided that the AC was getting too complicated to take out, so he just started cutting the hoses.
I found one hose in the engine bay, im kind of confused by it. It looked like any other hose, (ill actually have to get a picture of this)
it looked like a regular vacuum hose, but it was cut off at one end, and at the other end there was a spark plug firmly screwed and secured in...
am I going retarded? I have never seen this before!

 

welcome to the forum, and now you truely know how we feel Jmeyer

 

It's part of the Cryogenic Pre-Ignition System, leave it alone. The other end *should be*
hooked up to the Zaffer valve.

-ct

 

yeah... about that haha
it was just laying in the engine bay, It wasn't hooked up to anything anymore