Hey all,

I'm buying my first truck, and I'm sure I want it to be a classic Ford. I really like the 1960-1966 trucks.

I've got it pegged down to two trucks, both about equal in body condition.

One is a 1966 F250 Special Camper Edition for $1450. It's got a transplanted 429, Edelbrock air intake, and Holly high performance carb on it with new exhaust and brand new remanfuactured gas tank. The interior is in okay shape. The key to the ignition doesn't work but there is a separate toggle key setup wired in line with it. The key to the built in tool box on the right side doesn't work. IS that easy to fix? The gentleman selling it got it from a tow yard a year ago and before that it had been sitting since 1987. So half of its life it was not used. Not sure of the mileage though.


THE OTHER TRUCK is a 1966 1/2 ton long box pickup. The guy is selling it for his dad. It runs great and has been a daily driver. It's got a 352 in it and looks to be pretty good. Not a lot of rust. Like I said -- similar body to the other F250 above. This truck is $1995.

My needs are a short commute (5 mile) daily driver and weekend hauler for my wife's various garden projects and Craiglist addiction (seems like every week I'm bugging a buddy to help me go pick something up for her).

What truck do you think is the better way to go? What would you do??? My concerns are reliability, gas mileage, and coolness. !!!

Any help you can give would be great! I'm a first time poster, but once I settle one one of these babies, I'll be back! Selling my 1967 Mustang to finance the whole deal ...

 

Between those two, just based on your description I'd go for the F100 an offer something like $1500-1600.

 

Welcome to FTE! I would go for the f100 just because the 250's are built stiffer than today's one tons. It's also a driver, the other one has been sitting a lot. It will need seals and whatnot, its the whatnots that get you. Rich

 

Welcome to FTE

How reliable do you think a 44 year old vehicle will be...that you know nothing about?

MPG? These trucks have the aerodynamics of a brick, figure no more than 8-12 city MPG. You might get 17 MPG on the highway if you drive 55.

The coolness factor is in the eyes of the beholder, which also applies to value. Right turn Clyde!

 

Ha ha ha You guys are pretty cool. And you got the Philo Beddoe reference! ha ha ha

Thanks for the feedback. I suppose I'm not looking to get really great gas mileage, but more than 8 or 9 mpg would be preferred. Any idea what kind of fuel capacity these 1966 Ford's have?

One cool thing about the F100 is that it has "one extra saddle tank in the box." I think that sounds pretty cool.

Coolness wise I think any vehicle made before 1970 is pretty cool, and I think these are both pretty sweet.

The alluring thing about the F250 is that it has "New- carb, belt, gas tank, wheels, tires, wires, points, brakes, air filter, and plugs."

I'm going to go up and take a look at the F100 tonight after work. Hopefully it will be in good shape, and maybe I can take Mazlem's advice and offer a little less. I'm not out to screw anybody, but the less the price the more I have left over for parts and "whatnots." !!!

 

Welcome to FTE!

I agree with Rich....you'd be much happier with the F100.

Regarding mileage, since it's a part-time driver, you'll likely be more concerned with dependability than mileage...and a daily driven truck will likely be more dependable than a junkyard-built truck.

BarnieTrk

 

Do not make an offer until you have thoroughly inspected these trucks for rust!

You live in the rainy PNW. Look for rust in the cab mounts, cab corners, radiator support, floor pan, drip rail mouldings, engine supports.

Be advised that ppl have used bondo and undercoating for years to hide the sins. A magnet can be used to find bondo.

Do not let "buck fever" take hold when buying something. These trucks are not rare, and are not worth very much...except to ppl in the rust belt.

The F100 is prolly mostly original since it has the 352. The F250 has a swapped engine, maybe the transmission, and who knows what else.

Quality of workmanship is the most important factor when things are swapped around.

* Do NOT believe one word that sellers tell you! Private sellers can lie just as well as used car dealers, lawyers.

 

Philo, Welcome from South Carolina!
I would recommend the F-100 even if the 250 were nicer, simply because it is easier to do creature comfort modifications to - unless you want the F-250 for heavy duty use.
Further, since the 429 is not a factory installation, that means that a non-standard motor mounts system has been used. Although Ford put 385 series engines in the '70s trucks, and you can use them to put a 385 into a '66, most people do not know that, so I would be concerned they will keep the engine firmly in place. Those engines are so strong that aftermarket motor mounts and homemade mounts for 385s have been known to rip, almost giving the driver a fan blade for a hood ornament. If you end up drooling for the 250, check the motor mounts out to make sure they are sound. If factory, each side will have 3 pieces, a cup bolted to the block, wiiide perch bolted to the cross member and an insulator in between. The dead giveaway will be 2 long cross-bolts in each motor mount.
The 250 rear axle will be a Dana type, and the gear ratio options are very limited. Check the rear axle on the F-100, most were a Ford 9" (nine inch). If it is a 9", the backside of the axle will be plain, with possibly a fill hole. If there is a ring of bolts on the backside of the axle, it will be a light duty Dana (and still with limited options).
Good luck either way!

 

WOW! You guys are a real wealth information! This is great. I feel like I'm not stumbing into this blind anymore. The more I read, the more I think you guys are right, and that the F-100 is the way to go. The thing that really puzzled me about the F250 guy is that he says he "priced it out" and that it was worth $5000 as is. He kept emphasizing that it could be worth a lot more, that he spent nearly the $1450 asking price on the fuel tank, carb, and air intake alone -- yet wouldn't really explain why he was taking such a hit and asking for such a low amount. That alone made me very suspicious.

I'm headed up across the river to Vancouver after work to check out the F100. Thanks for all the tips on what to look for. My mechanic mentor/guru down in Salem told me also to pay attention to how nicely it starts up, check the dipstick and oil cap for moisture, and to of course check for oil and other fluid leaks.

One really cool thing about the F100 is that it has a CB with the old am/fm/cassette player. I think I only have one tape left from the old days, Black Sabbath, so that could come in handy once again. Also, I haven't been on the CB in years. Would be a blast from the past.

Thanks again for all the advice and keep it comin! I'm learning a lot from you guys!

 

You need to remember that sticking money into your old common car or old truck never ever gets a return in most all cases. These are not Shelby big blocks that are worth bucks when restored. This is not like putting in a new $15,000 kitchen which would increase the value of your house. Houses have definite yardsticks to be measured by while old trucks don't. Maybe the only things that might get you back the money you put in would be power steering and disc brakes. Of course, that would be for the parts as I would never pay someone what they said labor cost. So, that being said, they are only worth what someone will pay.

Therefore, you ignored most everything the seller says why his truck is worth this or that. He quotes NADA then so what. They are very unrealistic. He says he saw one sell for this. Really? Where? This whole business has gotten way out of hand in the last few years. With professional restorers looking to flip vehicles to big auction houses. You can see Craigslist with people telling you how rare their slant six 1963 Valiant is and why you could get even more if you restore it. Last week I saw an ad for a 1956 F-100 with a supercharged engine and leather interior. The seller was so full of himself and thought this was the ultimate must have truck. His price...drum roll please.... $155,000 tada!

 

tbm3fan -- I loved your anecdote. Had me literally laughing out loud.

Well guys, I just looked at the '66 F100. It's a real beaut! Starting out under the hood, everything looks stock. I have a 1967 Mustang and the insides had a real similar, simple feel. It's the 352 but with an old aftermarket air intake. Everything looked in good condition. The sparkplug wires looked failrly new but the guy recommended replacing the distributor cap, plugs, and wires just for GP. The battery and mout looked real clean. I checked the oil and under the oil cap for moisture and found everything to be okay. No grime or grit in the oil -- looked real clean. The engine started right up with no problem. He said it's real cold-blooded like that. There's a choke but he said he's never had to use it. (Whenever he got into a tough question he would insist that it was his old man's truck and so he didn't have the answer, but whenever it was something to do with a potential positive, he told me how he drove it a lot lately and how all was gravy.) All the lights, electronics, and gauges work. There's even an old "ah-ooh-ga" style original horn in there (I think it's original at least) but also a horn on the steering wheel. The hazard lights work great. It's an automatic with Park-Rev-Drive-1st & 2nd (2nd marked by a green dot) -- and Low. The eBrake worked fine as did the brakes. One small problem was that the truck starts in Park but you have to keep the eBrake on because the gear will slip down into Reverse from Park. He said this can be fixed by adjusting a small nut/stud on the gear mechanism and that he would do that for me tomorrow if I decide to buy it. He said it's no big deal (?).

The interior is great! It's a Custom Cab with aftermarket headcovers. The seat upholstery is all original -- even has the Ford emblem on the back. The original colors of the truck were two-tone, white on top, red on bottom. Right now it has a cheap red paint job on with a primered tailgate. The tailgate was stolen off the truck a few years ago and he got a new one off another old '66 and primered it red to match. He did a great job. I didn't notice at first. The bed is nearly immaculate except for some holes in the top where perhaps a camper mounted on. Having a camper on top would explain why the bed is so rust free and scrape free I suppose. The aftermarket fuel tank is about the size of a wheelwell, located on the driver side just in front of the wheelwell. There's a mechanical toggle switch to the left of the driver's seat that you use to select the reserve tank.

The body is really straight. No problems. One teeny little rust spot above the tool box. The tool box worked, too. Actually, the key fit in but wouldn't unlock. Maybe a little WD-40 would do the trick. Oh yeah -- speaking of which, there was an old, old style alarm wired in. The alarm looked to be about the size of the old "ah-ooh-ga" horn but the key was not a normal key - it was like those old keys from bus lockers or something. That key didn't turn the alarm on or off and I have no idea if it would work if it did.

I took the truck for a drive and it handled great, sounded strong, no sputtering, no weird sounds, the brakes were about what I expected - really needed to lay into them like you do on my '67 Mustang. The only thing was that when I came to a stop at one stop sign, it died and I had to restart it. He said this was because it was cold but that it wouldn't happen once it warmed up. It did this at the end of my five minute trip as well. IS THIS AN ISSUE FOR ME TO WORRY ABOUT???

I know looks aren't everything but I just can't stress how great this truck looks for her age. The front grill and bumper are all original and undented chrome, the back bumper as well, the paint is a cheapie job but the body is great. Like I said, no rust. I looked in the trouble spots that one of you mentioned above and didn't see anything to be worried about. The doors all worked great along with the windows. The locks, too.


Basically, I just fell in love with this girl. My wife says I can get it. Woo hoo! But what do YOU GUYS think? He wants $1995. He's pretty firm. Sounds like a fair price to me.

Any last advice?

 

Let's hope that adjustment works. But if it doesn't (and I suspect it won't help a darn bit-ask yourself why the seller never bothered to fix it before)...the usual cause is:

Bolted to the bottom of the upper steering column flange is a half moon shaped spring steel detent aka shift gate.

The shift lever has a tab on it that fits in between the individual gates. \ I I I I I /

What happens to it: Ppl put the shift lever into Park before setting the hand brake. This causes the truck to roll...just enough...that the parking pawl inside the trans locks up tight.

Now...the shift lever has to be YANKED out of Park to free up the parking pawl.

Sooner or later, usually sooner, yanking the shift lever causes the individual gate between Park and Reverse to snap off.

FTE member camperspecial65 (Don) has some of these detents that are next to impossible to find. Don lives in Olympia WA and is very knowledgeable on these trucks.

btw: Do not use WD-40 as a lock lubricant, as it attracts dust. Use graphite instead.

 

Last advice? Buy it!

only you will know if it's worth the $1995. Obviously you're call. I bought my '66 short bed for $1500 last year. I initially looked at it 6 months prior and they wanted $1800. I told them I had $1500 to spend. They contacted me later and offered to sell it for the $1500. Again, your call. I love my '66 and it's getting worked on this week to get her running.

The other guys (that posted and replied) are definitely WAY more knowledgeable than I so they might have better advice for you. Good luck and keep us posted.

Dan

 

Tell me about it. Called Green Sales, as their site said they had one last night, and they did. Just one. Have never seen what one looks like but am going to take it down to the Hornet and ask Tom if we can make one using my template. I know I could get many from the high tech machine shop that made TBM fittings for me in the blink of an eye. Only this part is not from a plane so I can't impose.

 

I think I saw the 2 trucks you were looking at on CL here in Portland, from what I can tell, F100 in Couver is the way to go, however it is all up to what makes you happy, its your money, BTW Welcome, IO am in Molalla, Or.