After getting screwed over on ebay by winning a truck and having the seller back out, I was able to find a better deal close to home for a truck in slightly rougher shape, but with a more desirable color combination IMO.

I just won the truck today and will be picking it up this weekend.

This baby is a 1978 F150 manual trans swb 4x4 with the Lariat package. The truck came stock with a 400 and the current owner who purchased it in 84 dropped in a 460 some time a while back.

Before the restoration commences the first thing I'm doing is taking the ugly brush guard off.

 

Nice looking truck. What did you give for it an what is the history on it?

 

I don't think I'm going to beat out the kind of prices people are usually throwing around on here. But I wanted this specific truck with this specific package.

I got it for $3200. The previous owner is a nice older gentleman, and after purchasing the truck in 84, he was having troubles with the 400 so he dropped a 460 out of an F250 donor. I was his son's daily driver to high school and college, and for the last 9 or 10 years he has used the thing as his brush truck. You can see from the pictures its' red with the white side stripe and the white hood, which is going to look absolutely sweet when repainted. I figured the interior would be red as well and thought it was because the it was getting dark when I viewed the truck, but the pictures I took reveal it's brown. He owns a lot of acreage in the middle of nowhere. He's got a 79 tan with white sides Ranger XLT 4x4 with a long wheelbase in very good condition that he mentioned possibly selling as well that my dad might pick up. In a discussion with him it seems he loves the old dentsides but he doesn't know a damn thing about how to work on them, he said he's been a carpenter his whole life. So if something is broken on his vehicle, he has to find someone else to fix the problem. He's thinking of using his 2003 dodge deisel as a brush truck and getting something new to drive around town, so I think the guy definitely has some FU money. And he also showed us his light blue 68 mustang Convertible, which was a pretty car. This led to my father who I brought along and him having a very long convo. My dad has a 66 GT350H Shelby, we just finished restoring in June. I'm looking forward to fixing up this old dentside and chronicling the journey here on FTE. I want the thing to look completely stock, except for larger tires.

 

Love the hat holder!

 

Don't worry about the deals that others find. Just be happy with your new toy. My new bronco is the same color combo & I love it.
Nice looking truck & have fun.
John

 

Sometimes, a truck someone get a deal on has more issues than they care to speak of. I got a helluva deal on a truck a few weeks ago, but it still needs plenty of work. It's amazing at what you find out on a daily basis when you really get to looking after you buy these things, but that's part of it. I just found the right guy at the right time. If you are happy, that's all that matters.