Fellas,
I have a 95 F-150 sc/sb, 351/E40D that I bought new. Now has 150,000 miles of southeastern Michigan winters (salt) on it. I've done all the maintenance on it (religiously I might add). Runs/drives excellent. But the rust is gettin' bad. 3-4 finger size holes in the rear wheel wells, door bottoms are gone, and the supercab bottom is finally starting to rot. Also, oil pan #2 is ready to go, and the rear main seal is leaking finally (I HATE leaks) and that pan swap 5 years ago sucked.

Would you buy a say.....02-03 with 45000 miles (12000 bucks), or fix the rust on the old girl? I see the body/mechanical advantages of the newer truck, but I also see that I bought this one new, and driving it is like using your favorite old baseball glove; that is it fits great, is comfortable and is easy to use.

Thanks,

 

I lived in Toledo, Oh. for a long time. I had a Falcon back in the 70's, 289, 3 speed then. I loved driving that car, it was just plain hot. It had the Red, White and Blue paint scheme, USA emblems on the rear fenders....very cool. Ran like a scalded dog.
The body was one big rust spot. Fenders, bottoms of the doors, rear quarters, trunk.....it was pitiful to look at. I spent a gazillion hours patching and sanding and priming......never had the equipment to cut the bad metal out and replace it so I could only Bondo it. Rust just kept coming back in new spots.
That's what you face if you keep it. Is it worth your time and effort? I guess I thought so. I kept it cause I loved it until the motor went south. Then just parted it out and scrapped it. I still wish I had it.
My opinion.......even if you cut out the rust and put new metal in.....there will be more. If that doesn't bother you and the truck "feels" good then keep it. If you do the job right it might take a good while to get "bad" again.
Buying a different one is easier but you have no idea how it was used and maintained. Your's you do.

Good Luck
Bob

 

i think most of us will vote to fix it. my personal opinion would be to spend the $$ to fix it. i have no idea how to fix any of that rust, but i still think i'd pay to have it fixed as opposed to getting a newer truck and possibly taking on payments.

 

well, saying from experience...
I'd pick up the '02 and trot it over to Ziebart..

then do a body-off on the '95

and have TWO!

 

Take a drive to a wrecking yard in the West with a trailer and get another body... It might be cheaper and less work in the long run. There are quite a few good bodys left around here. You might even consider a complete donor truck.

I personally can't afford cash for a new truck and I hate payments as bad as leaks. LOL!

 

I just did all that on my '90 last year, see the gallery pics. Picked up a complete box and a pair of doors from a dealer that brings up parts from the south, bought all new front end sheet metal, bolted it all on and delivered it to a local body shop to cut out the remaining rust and apply some fresh paint. Cost me about $4500 all tolled. I'm happy.. the powertrain is solid, the truck looks sharp, and there are fewer and fewer of this bodystyle on the road all the time so it stands out more. It's easy to work on, parts are dirt cheap, and for the amount I use it I can't justify buying a new one. I like fixing stuff so that factors into the equation for me. If the wife's lanscaping business takes off we'll be looking to upgrade the Ranger to a 1-ton, that will probably be a newer truck but if I find a solid '96 or '97 in this body it'll be hard to resist.

 

Take a weekend "junkyard" vaction either south or west.

Bolt on the bed & doors, trailer the cab back...

Throw a crate motor at it & go on about your bid'ness.

Your way ahead of the game than the 12K &/or payment.

Good luck with your choice.

 

I think you have that backwards. The 1995 and older trucks have the body/mechanical advantages over anything newer.
Some trucks newer (within two years) than the 1995 still have the OBD I system (EEC-IV) but I would never consider anything that has an OBD II (EEC-V) system.
Also if it does not have a 4.9, 5.0, 5.8, 7.3 or 7.5 engine I would not have it either.

 

I'd fix the 95. Having a new truck is always fun, but I'm sentimental, and it would be hard for me to give up on a truck that has served me well just because of some rust. For me, the oil leaks are worse than the rust. It seems that once an engine starts leaking oil you cannot stop them.

 

I just finished a complete rebuild on my 94' with 152k on it. I researched and looked at several newer trucks. I could not come to terms with the unknown of buying another used truck. I could not afford a new one. So I started ripping into it. New front fenders, Rad support, rear fender patches(I used fusor, no welder). I am by no means a body man, but with the internet,a few beers and couple good friends anybody can learn. I ended up with about $2500 and 3 months of solid weekends and evening working on it. The end result was fantastic, but the work and patience required to get there was trying. I'll try to get some pictures up of the rebuild.

 

Keep the old one. Those newer modular engines are poop. And what's to stop the new one from rusting the same way this one has??

 

I am needing to put new panels on my 88 f150. What are you refering to when you say fusor, and is it better than welding?

 

Here are the instructions on how to do it.
http://www.lordfulfillment.com/upload/RP3004.pdf

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Hey Bill, just out of curiosity. Why do you always put a slash at the end of your posts? I've always seen that and wondered...

 

Beware, with those metal adhesives. I used the 3M brand along with some welding. You will have ghost lines no matter how smooth you get the bodywork. Something to do with expanding and contracting of the two pieces of metal. It may be an option if you are not looking for perfect.
Had to do the same over the past summer.