My first post here. I left the house on my daily delivery run this morning with no thought of looking at a truck.... stopped at a local mechanic's shop and there she was (is). 1984 2 wheel drive F250 XL 460 C6 transmission. Odometer shows 19000 miles, the condition had me thinking maybe actual but the owner thinks 119000. The truck appears to be in very good condition, almost perfect body (one very small ping on hood), good glass, perfect interior.. absolutely no rust anywhere. The undercarriage of the truck looks almost new. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate the truck a 8. The mechanic has a very good local reputation, he took the truck in on a land deal. He said it was always kept in a garage (from the trucks appearance I believe him). Only negative I saw was thin paint on part of the hood and the top of the cab. The bed looks like nothing was ever hauled in it. Reese hitch under the rear bumper, no sign of a 5th wheel hitch having been in the truck. I took it down the road everything works as it should, slight engine miss the mechanic said was the brake booster leaking. My question is what gear ratios were available on this truck and with easy driving on mostly 2 lane roads 45 to 55 MPH what fuel milage should I expect if I buy the truck?? I would mostly drive it without a load but do sometimes pull a trailer with 2 to 4 horses. I have driven a 1992 Dodge Cummins for the last 12 years, have never liked the looks of the Dodge but the mileage is good. I know the Ford will not be close to the Dodge's mileage. This Ford has me about to switch. Asking price is $2500.00 on the F250

 

Well the EPA rated the 84 with the 351 at 14 city/17 hwy. Adjust for motor size and age from there...my guess maybe 12 tops.

 

If the truck really is in as good of condition as you say it is, then I'd go for it. But beware that your mileage isn't going to be the same as the Cummins', like srercrcr said, 12-13 mpg's is the max I'd expect.

Ford put either 3.55 gears or 4.10 gears in the F-250's. I don't recall seeing higher gears then 3.55's in an F-250 or F-350, but you never know. If you do tow a lot, those 4.10's are nice, but you rpm's at 65 mph will be around 3000. Let's see some pics of the new beast!

 

One time I got 11 mpg... almost 12, and then I realized I miscalculated and really got 9.5. I normally get 8.5 - 9 around town, and less on the highway, where it has to rev to 3,000 to go 65.

...and I am very gentle on the throttle.

My engine runs great and is tuned as perfectly as a shop-owner with a friend who is a crew chief on a roundy-round team (read: carb expert) can be.

I did get a bump in mileage when I changed the timing set to a pre-'71 version (straight up).

Enjoy your new truck, and don't worry about fuel economy... it won't help.

 

I'm more inclined to believe the MPG figures Big O Dave provides. 9 MPG sounds about right for a 2WD F-250 with C6 automatic. The difference in gear ratio from 3.55 to 4.10 may make a 1 MPG difference +/-.

Most long bed 1980/1986 C6-351W's barely averaged 12 MPG unloaded.

Pulling a loaded 4 horse trailer you can expect 5.5-6 MPG average. The engine will pull with no problem, but gets really thirsty.

The bottom line is actual fuel cost. If you are buying Diesel fuel for your Dodge that gets 15 MPG loaded, then 5.5 MPG loaded on regular gasoline will cost slightly more operate. Notice I wrote slightly because there is a large discrepancy between the two fuel costs.

Most of the ranchers in my little corner of Texas got rid of the big block gasoline engine trucks in the early 80's when Diesel power became more prevalent at the dealerships and looked like they may be around to stay for a while.

I would side with the Diesel 1 ton for hauling horses more than once a month, be it a Ford, Chevy, or Dodge.

 

Thanks for all the information, my present plan is to keep the Dodge for longer trips when I pull the trailer and use the Ford for some of my more local trips. I just really like the looks of the early mid 80's Fords. I was hoping the Ford mileage would be closer to 10 MPG when pulling.
If I can educate myselt on posting pictures I will post some of the 1984 250. Again thanks for the help
Rick