Well I was supposed to sell my '78 today, but the guy never called me. But me and a buddy were sitting around it talking when he asked why, instead of taking a loan out on a newer truck, why don't I just take out a personal loan and use it to rebuilt this one. He did that to his jeep after he won a fight with a Bravada. I got to thinking about it and it doesn't sound like a bad idea really. So I just wanted to see what you guys thought about it. I figure about a $3k loan would easily get it presentable and driving good.

 

eh. I'm split.

Of course, my initial reaction is, KEEP the truck!!!

...but 3K is a lot of money...might be better spent buying something newer and or smaller.

Flip a coin.

 

the trouble here is, if you spend 3000 on it, will you make it back if you sell it in the future???? (most likely not) BUT thee is a personal satisfactio nand pride when you polish off that truck, i redid alot of my 1990 f150, all that is left now is the bench seat and a new bumper( thankyou deer) but i have about 4 grand into it, ill never get it back, so ill keep it as long as i can tolerate it..... the value is about 400 bucks stupid KBB..... what you should ask yourself is, :if i spend 3 grand on it will i ever need to sell it, or trade it??" itll be a loss unless you can find a sucker to buy it.... i love the 72-78 fords... and would love to do a ground-up on a 4X4 78... that would be awesome, but, if the value of such a truck is 2000 . . . . id be at a loss before i started, that why i would make it my truck for many years

only you can decide this question... good luck... got pics??? show us your 78!

 

At this point it's pretty much between rebuilding the truck for say $3k or buying a newer truck for $10k or more. I doubt if I had to sell it I'd get everything back, but once I put so much sweat and blood into something I'll keep it till it absolutely dies, then probably rebuild it again.

I talked to a couple wheeling buddies this weekend and they have pretty much convinced me that this is the way to go. They both have yards of parts for these trucks, and told me anything I needed was mine. So it should be even cheaper that way. And there is always the cool factor of the old truck. They seemed to think it would be a great tow rig for the Wrangler too. So I'm not for sure yet, but I'm leaning very hard in the direction of building it.

zstangkreson, here she is

 

Which brings up two excellent points...

How many dollars is the "cool factor" worth to YOU?

and...it is darn near ALWAYS cheaper to fix the rig you have, rather than purchase a new one.

That being said, my $300 rusty old pick up truck just keeps starting and doing whatever I ask of it, so when it breaks and needs a $12 part, I just fix it and keep driving it.

 

I have some 3/4 ton axles you can put under it if that helps make your mind up any. And some new doors with the regular mirrors and a grill insert and a front bumper.

And a bed and some lift kit parts and ....and .... and....its alot cheaper to fix it yourself in the long run.

Just remember to make it MECHANICLY RELIABLE FIRST, what makes it stop and go
is #1, then take of the rest.

I love it when you get a thumbs up from a fellow truck owner, ask Unk Bob ol kabluie got its pic taken running down the hwy 65 to a FTE G2G.

 

I'm not sure if I need the 3/4 tons for just driving and towing...but I do need the bed...doors...bumper...and a ton of other stuff lol. I'm not thinking of lifting it right now either, maybe down the road.

We took it out on the road a little today again, and it really does drive good. Only two complaints, the brakes are a little soft and when you step on them it pulls to the passenger side. It also bogs when the throttle is open about halfway...not sure why but otherwise the engine runs great. Once I get those few things resolved I think it'll be mechanically reliable. The body is what's gonna need the most work.

And yeah it's really nice, I got a thumbs up just driving around today from someone in a Superduty.


edit: forgot to add but a good wheeling friend gave me this today. No dents and slats missing, and it shined up pretty nice.

 

That's a VERY good friend, sounds like you might need to get your front rotors turned or put on new brake pads to fix the pulling issue.

Do a brake bleed of the system to take care of the soft pedal, hopefully you do not need a power brake booster?

I thing a carb rebuild kit would fix the bog issue or just a little tuning.

 

Yeah, he is a really great guy. Basically throwing whatever parts he can think of at me.

I was thinking all new pads and turned rotors when I do the hub bearings. Also definitely gonna bleed the brakes.

I did rebuild the carb when I got it (leaking gas out the accelerator pump) but I didn't do any tuning on it mostly because I don't know how. The only tuning it needs though is the idle turned down and whatever needs to happen to fix that bog. Is it very hard to tune them?

 

Good call on the brake idea should fix it, sorry brother carbs are NOT my dept. The bed and doors are yours, to big to throw at you though. lol

 

On that soft brake pedal, pull the rear brake drums, clean everything. Make sure the rear brake shoes are good, and mostly make sure they are adjusted out. That's a sure soft pedal fix too.
Rich I forgot about getting our picture takin going down 65. THAT was the year Tim and I didn't have ANY heat in Ka'Bluey. We sure did a nice patch job on that firewall when we took all the a/c stuff out.
Unk Bob

 

If this friend of yours has any of these kind of parts sitting his way. I'm all about them. Rich we need to go shopping in your back yard. What do you want gone???? Kids start school in a few weeks (HELL YEAH) and I'm gonna start working on MY trucks.
We drove Tim's Ranger around this evening. Played with the timing abit. Running really nice until it's been going 30 minutes or so. Then it pretty much falls on it's face. It isn't hot, gauge shows good. I even put a thermometer in the cooland, just 170 degrees. Timing marks are all good. Really wondering about a clogged cat. Checked the engine with a vacuum gauge. Showing 20-25 inch's on a cool engine, and smooth. NOW it's fluctuating abit 20-25 back and fourth. We did notice when the brake pedal is pressed, the engine smooths out. But still will die, we barely got it home tonight......


Unk Bob

 

Thanks Rich, I appreciate it. I can't wait to go shopping in your backyard either lol.

Bob, I'll try all that and see what happens. Thanks. And what are you wanting? Between the two of them they just might have it.

 

The Last time I went shopping in his back yard I spent $800

 

Haha, I'm sure I'll be spending that much if not more. I'm also thinking about having a body shop do the patch panels...so I'm definitely going to need to take out a loan on all this lol.