Fire Damage
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From: Okie
Fire Damage
My 79 F150 caught fire, burned the interior and engine bay before I bought it for a parts truck. It has a 400 and 4 speed (T18?) tranny. It's a 4x4, and I already robbed the front axle.
I wouldn't expect the engine to be worth anything, since that's where the fire started and did most of the damage.
Would the trans and transfer be worthwhile to pull out and reuse or sell? Could the cab and fenders be salvaged or would the heat have torqued them too much? And the dash - would it sand blast OK and 'fit' well enough to use again?
I obviously didn't plan on using these parts, I pulled what I needed so far. I don't want to sell anything that would end up being a problem for someone else, nor do I want to go to the effort to pull stuff if it's not worth it.
What do y'all think? Thanks!
I wouldn't expect the engine to be worth anything, since that's where the fire started and did most of the damage.
Would the trans and transfer be worthwhile to pull out and reuse or sell? Could the cab and fenders be salvaged or would the heat have torqued them too much? And the dash - would it sand blast OK and 'fit' well enough to use again?
I obviously didn't plan on using these parts, I pulled what I needed so far. I don't want to sell anything that would end up being a problem for someone else, nor do I want to go to the effort to pull stuff if it's not worth it.
What do y'all think? Thanks!
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Joined: Jul 2009
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From: Canyon, TX
Wow, reading the thread title I thought I was going to see your nice 77 up in flames! Glad it wasn't that truck.
As it happens I need a set of 78-79 bumper guards....I bought a set on ebay that only fit 73-77 bumpers, not realizing there was a different. I'd trade you + cash although mine may not be exactly worthy of going on your 77.
As it happens I need a set of 78-79 bumper guards....I bought a set on ebay that only fit 73-77 bumpers, not realizing there was a different. I'd trade you + cash although mine may not be exactly worthy of going on your 77.
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From: Okie
Wow, reading the thread title I thought I was going to see your nice 77 up in flames! Glad it wasn't that truck.
As it happens I need a set of 78-79 bumper guards....I bought a set on ebay that only fit 73-77 bumpers, not realizing there was a different. I'd trade you + cash although mine may not be exactly worthy of going on your 77.
As it happens I need a set of 78-79 bumper guards....I bought a set on ebay that only fit 73-77 bumpers, not realizing there was a different. I'd trade you + cash although mine may not be exactly worthy of going on your 77.
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^^^Looking at your sig, you already have a 79 Bumper. 77 wouldn't have had that slot in the license plate area. 77 bumpers had a slightly different contour as well.
But if you're interested in parting out...I'd be interested in the side markers, and the signal lamps up front and the tail lights.
But if you're interested in parting out...I'd be interested in the side markers, and the signal lamps up front and the tail lights.
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Joined: Jul 2010
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To try and answer your questions, the trans and transfer case might be ok. You'll have to pull them to tell. Looking at the picture of the dash, where it's burn and immediately rusty, I would not reuse that. Same goes for the cab. It depends on what the fenders look like. My experience is when the metal gets burnt that bad and then rusts right away, it's really hard to kill the rust and make it look nice again. As cheap as those parts can be found, it's not worth it in my opinion to try to save them.
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From: Okie
^^^Looking at your sig, you already have a 79 Bumper. 77 wouldn't have had that slot in the license plate area. 77 bumpers had a slightly different contour as well.
But if you're interested in parting out...I'd be interested in the side markers, and the signal lamps up front and the tail lights.
But if you're interested in parting out...I'd be interested in the side markers, and the signal lamps up front and the tail lights.
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 1999
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From: 15 miles west of Venus
My guess is that there is no damage to the trans and axle. If the engine is not stuck, I would put some rocker gaskets on it, replace the burned stuff and it will likely do fine.
Many years ago, we bought an engine out of an early 70's VW bus that had burned every flammable molecule out of the entire vehicle. The carb melted and ran all the way to the valve pockets. We unstuck it with long wrenches and diesel fuel, honed it and re-ringed one cylinder, valve job and ran it probably 100k miles. It was one of the best we ever had.
The sheet metal will likely be wavey from the heat, not that it could not be fixed.
Working on burned vehicles is nasty work.
Many years ago, we bought an engine out of an early 70's VW bus that had burned every flammable molecule out of the entire vehicle. The carb melted and ran all the way to the valve pockets. We unstuck it with long wrenches and diesel fuel, honed it and re-ringed one cylinder, valve job and ran it probably 100k miles. It was one of the best we ever had.
The sheet metal will likely be wavey from the heat, not that it could not be fixed.
Working on burned vehicles is nasty work.
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