Going to look at a 68 F100 Camper Special tomorrow for a project for my 14 year old son and I thought I knew a lot about cars but once I started looking at these trucks online.....oh boy, what am I getting into?

Talking with the seller, he said it is 4x4, has a recently rebuilt 390. Has a 9" rear end, 4 speed manual w/granny gear and the front differential has a leaky seal. From the pics online, it does have some rust but I expected that. It runs and drives.

As of right now, we want to make it into a daily driver that looks and runs ok and not looking to make a show truck out of her.


For a $1500 truck, what should I look for as far as the BIG concerns?

Thanks for any info you may have and I am looking forward to learning from everyone.

 

Sounds like an awesome first truck for your son! Rust can be a big problem with these trucks, depending on where you live. Make sure to check the floor boards and rockers really well, and try to take a look at the mounts where the cab is attached to the frame. the seal on the front differential shouldn't be a huge problem.

 

D, That truck will be pretty expensive to operate, maybe 8mpg. Camper Special was a order group that had items listed that could be ordered with the vehicle.
numberdummy will be more help with that.

Can your young son afford to drive it, should you go with it?

I'd keep the hand brakes dragging a little while looking at it, if it were me.



John

 

I can't remember if I read it on here or another site, that the camper specials didn't come with 4 wheel drive until a certain year(after 68 anyway). It has a normal rear bumper not the large step up type that I have seen on the Camper Specials.

I do know about the lack of gas mileage, but are you talking 8 mpg with an empty truck or 8 mpg hauling a load?

 

D, Sellers come up with all kinds of stuff on sale day, 352s & 360s become 390s. I was thinking the same thing about a 4X4 CS.

It won't matter much about load 8-10 is what you need to zero in on. I have got 13.5 with mine, but don't think it is doing that now.

That can be expensive for a teenager. He will have to live for the gas pump.



John

 

I guess I should be used to it. I have been driving a 98 Dodge Durango with the 360 in it, getting 14-19mpg.

But with the teenagers everything has doubled. Hunting license, equipment, clothes, why not gas too.

I have been looking up info to check the VIN to see if it is a 390. What mileage would a 352 or 360 get in that truck? As a new driver, he will not be hauling anything except @$$.

 

8-10mpgs for most of these ol trucks, loaded or unloaded is not a factor. They just don't do much better. I grew up with them and have been around them all my life. They make lots of torque, pull like a train, and love gas.

The FE was a 1950s design when gas was $.17 a gallon.

I remember back to my first car and was thinking how everything I made went to it, and maybe movie tickets for my date.



John

 

Well, I did it. I brought the old girl home. VIN shows 360 (Y) code. I guess I don't really care since it runs well. After looking close, a previous owner half @$$ed some front cab mounts in there. They are solid, but you can tell it's not right and he made them to fit up to what good metal was in there. I showed it to my neighbor who is an older gentleman and other than it being a Ford, he said most of the bad places on older trucks weren't too bad.

I had a good workout on the drive home and don't think I ever driven a truck with manual steering.

The brakes will stop, but I quickly learned how to plan way in advance for my turn.

I have a couple more questions for now but probably 100's to come.

I noticed a bottle of lead fuel additive in the cab and my neighbor said the engine will burn up if I use Unleaded fuel.

What would it cost to have it converted over to a unleaded gas engine? Or is it not worth the trouble?

Do the front cab mounts connect directly to backside of the floorpans? I can't tell if there is another piece of metal between there.

Do they make a book called "Welding for Dummies"?

On the VIN Data Plate, the last number on the bottom right shows 422114 after the 4000 RPM #. Is the District code just the 1st 2 digits? and what do the last 4 digits mean?

 

D, Just run 87 pump gas in the truck. When the day comes for a engine rebuilt you address it then. I'm not sure of the year but many of the 360s were prepped for unleaded gas.

Now you know why we all talk about 73-76 donor trucks.



John

 

Welcome to FTE

Camper Specials were not available with 4WD until 1977.

Ford did not install 390 engines in 4WD's.

On sale day...360 engines magically become 390's.

1968/76 F100/250 4WD: The only V8 available was the 360 2V.

The engine code is the 4th digit of the VIN.

1968/72 F100/250 4WD: A = 240 I-6 / B = 300 I-6 / Y = 360 2V.

Besides the horrid 8-12 City MPG (regardless of what V8 or 6 cylinder engine it has), here's a couple of other things to consider:

Power steering was not available with 4WD's until 1973.

Disc brakes were not available on 4WD's until 1976.

DSO: 422114

42 = Fargo ND Ford District Sales Zone Office, where the original selling dealer ordered the truck from.

2114 = Domestic Special Order number. The truck was ordered special by the original purchaser, not "bought off the lot."

When a vehicle has this 6 digit DSO, either something was installed that was not available as an RPO = Regular Production Order.

This can be a special transmission, a PTO, special body...the list is endless.

Or...

If the vehicle was painted a non standard color, there will be no COLOR code listed on the Warranty Plate.

If whatever item that was "special" needed attention, the dealer contacted Ford, read off the 6 digit order number.

Ford looked up the order number, then told the dealer where the parts (or paint code) could be found.

If this truck was not a special order, the DSO code would only be two digits (42).

 

Here is all of the info from the VIN tag

F11 Y K C71015 131 J F110 3 4 A 08
F100
360 cid
Kansas City
Jan 1968
Long Wheelbase
Rangoon Red
4x4 5600 lbs GVW
Med Beige and Black interior
NP 435 4 Speed
3.5 Ford Rear Axle Ratio


04500 175 4000 422114
4500 Max GVW
175 HP
4000 rpm
Fargo Distrisct Special Order

If all of this is correct, I wonder what the special order was? There are no Camper Special badges anywhere or holes where they would be. It has double springs in the rear and a different tailgate has been installed.

My son and his buddy laughed when we shut the hood and we heard rust land on the garage floor. I told my son not to laugh because it is going to be his job to get rid of all of the rust.

 

I just bought a 67 and mine has the same feature. The good news is, the more things you take off, the less rust seems to fall off when you close the hood.