Am seriously considering buying this old truck. Need to haul horses, firewood etc. have been reading the threads here and think I may be getting the old Ford truck fever! I have little experience with Fords...but I kept a 1961 Dodge panel wagon as a daily driver for 17 years, 'she' taught me a lot . Now I am in need of a workhorse. Seems like the camper special would fit the bill, cept for the gas mileage, but I will be keeping pretty local. Any imput would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Sure. These rigs are relatively cheap to keep. It beats a $400+ monthly truck payment.... Add a proportioning trailer brake if yer gonna haul a horse trailer.

What transmission? C6, NP435, or T-18?

 

Preventative maintenance,,, staying on top of it. My 66 F100 is my daily driver (usually, unless I'm driving one of the others in the fleet for exercise!) I noticed my brakes weren't "right" pulled Shrek in the garage, and looky there,,, got a small leak at the splitter on the rear axle... 2 new lines bent to the most ugliest shapes possible,,, got my 14 yo daughter out to do the pushin, and bled them out, all is good! The main thing is just payin attention to it. I drive all of mine anywhere I want/need to go, and maintain them accordingly. Now I will be the first to admit,,, $h~t happens, but you can minimize it.
And YEP,,, ain' no payments here!! Just to the Gas stations and NAPA!!!

 

You could do worse.

There are a couple of upgrades you might want to make, mainly for reliability's sake (the electronic ignition comes to mind). Keep a spare set of points in your glove box otherwise... and the feeler gauge... point-oh-one-eight... and the screwdriver you need to get the points loose.

I also keep a brick & a nice fat wood block in the toolbox under the bed... it supports the jack if need be. Also, I got tired of using the star wrench, so I went and got a long 1/2" breaker bar, a 6" extension and the correct size impact socket for the lug nuts. That stuff and the heavy-duty jumper cables all fit inside the tool box.

The FE engines are pretty easy to work on for the most part, but occasionally get some strange problems. Folks in the forums here a very generous with their advice, and a lot of it is actually accurate. If you run into problems, this place is a good resource.

I once fixed a broken throttle linkage by "borrowing" a linkage clip from a place where the linkage didn't move; the place that didn't move got immobilized with a piece of bailing wire that I found at the side of the freeway off ramp. I now keep a package of spare linkage clips in the glove box.

But as you said, if you want gas mileage, this isn't the truck. If you want something to haul or to pull, it can do a good job.

 

In my experience, a GOOD set of points (Standard Blue Streak) well save a lot of hassle. Mine runs better with the points than it ever did with the electronic... Go figure.

Since you drove that dodge, I think you'll have an idea of what your getting into. I have a (slightly) newer truck and they we're definitely built to work. Hauling firewood is why they exist, I see more of them doing that than anything.

One of the best thing's I ever did to mine was put on a 3G alternator.

Also, was the one your looking at driven regularly and maintained? Or has it just sat around? If it's just sat those can be huge can-o -worms. I can speak from experience there.

Sam

 

Thanks for replying. It did sit for years but is now being driven daily. I just painfully posted an intro...am better with a wrench than this dang iPod...but having said that I must confess that I am not the world 's best mechanic ,by any means. I am willing tho, as long as I have a love for the vehicle...I ended up doing a whole lot of major work on my panel truck, as I found an old navy parts vehicle and was able to glean a "new" tranny, rear end etc. I was younger then...I guess what I am trying to figure out before I get into this is, will I love it enough to be willing to 'put on my mechanic's hat'. ? I currently am richer in time than money.

 

Missed the first post this morn. Sorry about that. In the deciding stage yet the suggestions will be pursued if or rather it is starting to lookalike WHEN, this becomes a reality....My understanding is there are a few ways to get more gas mileage...plugs...fuel additives....?....the guy who is selling ,resurrected her after she sat in a building in the woods for many years .(southwest colorado 8000 feet)...he said there was mold all over her. He thinks highly of her but his wife won't let him name her....he has done the basics....and priced her somewhat high, we'll from what I have gleaned from the postings here...spent a few hours lurking yesterday.

 

Why was the 3G alternated the best thing ya ever did ?

 

I do mostly short trips and the 40 amp alt just couldn't keep up. The 3G produces 130 amps which was much better for me. No more dead batteries!

Sam

 

I have to agree, switching to the 3G charging system is the very best under $50 mod you can ever do to these trucks. Always a fully charged battery with no worries of the charge getting low on short, around town runs. Also good for adding "extras" to your truck...charger station for the phone, kids ipods,ipads, tablets and such.

 

Thank you. Haven't decided yet, trying to figure out how much I ought to offer for it. Owner asking 3800. Been for sale for a year now. Kinda worried about an automatic tranny, haven't ever had one. Also as I live at 8000 feet in colorado thinking a 4 wheel drive may be a wiser choice, tho am not planning on using it much come winter..."she" sure is tempting tho....and I have no fear about figuring out any problems due to this site! Wow! If these old Fords are as good as the folks here who are dedicated to them I shall have no worries about the green machine....what did Ford name that color anyways? Kind looks like asparagus pee!