I have the opportunity to buy a 1969 F250 Ranger camper special. It has a 390 engine in it, and the body and interior need a pretty good amount of work. It also appears to need a new radiator and coolant tank. I'm just posting this to see what others think of this truck. A few people have told me not to get it due to it's maintenance problems, but I still see some potential in it. Are there any severe cons with this particular truck/engine? Any input would be well appreciated, I'm hoping to buy my first Ford vehicle that will be 100% mine. Right now, I share my dad's '06 F350. Would love to have my own. Thanks to anyone that can provide some info here.

 

Well in regards to the maintenance, it does take some effort to maintain an older vehicle like that, but that is part of the enjoyment; knowing you can fix most things yourself without having to spent a lot of money.

 

How hard would it be to find replacement parts for something this old? I know if I do buy it it'll need a coolant tank, a radiator, and some oil to be cleaned up. The coolant tank I assume wouldn't be too hard to find, but what about a radiator?

 

Readily available from wherever you would normally purchase parts like that (autozone, NAPA, pep boys, etc). I bought mine on ebay from one of those cheap Canadian sellers. So far it's holding up ok but I was warned against buying those cheap imports.

 

When you say "coolant tank" what are you refering to?

There were TWO different radiators used in these trucks.

If the SUPER Cooling radiator is present, the radiator support is different.

You cannot use a non Super Cooling radiator with a Super Cooling radiator support because the Super's opening radius is much larger. The smaller radiator's flange (mounting) brackets will not bolt to the support.

The Super Cooling radiator has a HUGE top tank, almost 5" wide, it's wider than the radiator core.

The Standard/A/C radiator's top tank is almost the same width as the core.

If the truck is a Camper Special, it prolly has a Super Cooling radiator...these are hard to find, so you would be better off having it recored by a radiator shop.

These truck originally came with fan shrouds. The shroud used with the Super Cooling radiator is different than with the standard/A/C radiator.

If the fan shroud is present, look on the upper drivers side corner for the FoMoCo ID number. If it's C8TA-S or D3TA-DA = Standard/A/C radiator fan shroud.

If it's C7TA-H, D2TA-HA, or D3TA-JA = Super Cooling radiator fan shroud.

 

By coolant tank I mean the tank in the lower right hand corner in the engine. As for the radiator, I would have to go look at the engine again, I'm not sure which one it is. All I want to know is is it worth buying in the condition it's in (I can post pictures) for the price of $1200.

 

Sounds like you are talking about the overflow tank. You could buy something like that from one of the companies that make restoration parts, but what I would do is hit the junkyard and find one off any other vehicle, without regard to brand, etc, that I think will work well and then bring it home and fab it up.

And thanks for reminding me cause I need to get an overflow tank for mine as well as a windshield reservoir tank.

 

Just what I thought you were refering to:

Aftermarket coolant recovery tank, available from a gazillion autoparts stores.

Ford did not factory install any coolant recovery tanks on trucks of this vintage, except 1971/72 F100/250's with the 240 I-6.

Beginning in 1970, Ford offered a "fitz-all" universal coolant recovery tank kit...at the parts counter (DOAZ8522A).

It was identical to what autoparts stores sold.

 

Alright, that sounds easy enough to find. Thanks for everyone's help.