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Plans for my 'new' '99 F-250 with under 50k
Long story short, my grandparents in Oklahoma bought a '99 F-250 super duty 2wd extended cab long bed brand new mostly to pull their 5th wheel camper after grandpa retired. Being as they were farmers their whole life, it's always been in one of the sheds and rarely driven in bad weather. Aside from some of your standard farm truck scratches and tailgate dings, it's in excellent shape with only ~48,000 miles on it. There's no rust anywhere, no stains or rips in the interior, and no dummy lights on, or anything like that. I had been keeping it running (mostly just recharging the battery and driving it every now and then) for the last ~5 years after grandpa passed as grandma never used it. It's been living at my place for the last year or so and it looks like I'm going to end up inheriting it, so I'm thinking of any mods I might want to do.
I'm not looking to go crazy with mods by any means, but enough to make it 'mine' and perhaps spruce it up a bit. I'm pretty new to the aftermarket world on these trucks, so pardon any n00b questions. Here's a list of things I have in mind thus far: Wish list: - roll-up tonneau (TonnoPro LoRoll Tonneau Cover - SHIPS FREE) - new speakers (the old ones are totally shot - 5x7's all the way around, I believe) - power folding tow mirrors to replace the little bitty stockers (junkyard / feebay?) - manual locking rear diff (really don't know much about these diffs yet other that it's a 4.10 - 4wd with an LSD would have been ideal, but I think I can get away with a locker for most everything I use it for such as boat ramps, hauling firewood out of the woods, anything involving dirt/mud, a slight incline, and wheel articulation, and some occasional snow) - something to prevent the wheel well rust from starting. Perhaps I can just pull out the foam stuff back there and load it up with rhino lining and drop in some proper wheel wells? Undecided list: - bed liner (probably should be on the wish list) - topper - small custom subs (sub/speaker building is a bit of a hobby of mine) - something to smooth out the ride a bit. I believe the tires are at 70 PSI for the camper. I'll start by dropping them to ~50 and go from there. I've heard good things about billsteins and I've thought about some air bags, but that's a lot of $$$. - alarm system - radio head unit (depending how the stocker sounds with aftermarket speakers) I think that's about all I had bouncing around in my head for now. I mostly just wanted to get these all recorded somewhere, so I figured I'd just go ahead and post up and let you all chime in with your thoughts and expertise. Pics will be coming soon. |
XL, XLT, Lariat?
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5.4 XL......
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Very nice and welcome to FTE, My last truck was named Clifford and it fits your new ride as well.:-drink
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I am sorry to hear about your grandfather. But I am happy you are able to give his truck a good home.
On the '99 it is nicknamed cup THROWER. Before you find out why from firsthand experience, do yourself a favor and upgrade the in dash cupholder. 2000 and up year model Super Duty has the upgraded design, I believe up to '02 are a direct fit and '03 & '04 require slight modification. Otherwise, get used to keeping your hand on your drink the whole time. I am not a toolbox fan, but I am leaning toward getting one for my Super cab. I got used to my single cabs & being able to stash a bunch of stuff behind the seat but there is no behind the seat in a Super cab. It is really cool how the back seat folds down on the '99 though. I like that better than the way the later models fold down. Mine came with the bigger tow mirrors, but if I were to upgrade, I would go with the larger '08 and up style mirrors. Some of the cheaper brands have received complaints of wavy distorted glass. Forum sponsor 1A Auto has been highly recommended by many forum members for their high quality mirrors + installation package. For instance, the 1999 SD has a round mirror connector and about 2002 or so it changed to a rectangular connector. If you order the later style mirror kit from 1A Auto they can include the correct adapter to make your mirror installation plug and play instead of requiring spliced wires or tracking down the adapter somewhere else. If I had your truck, I would change the running boards that are on it. I have Westin chrome tubes on mine. When I first got my truck I didn't like the way they looked but they work great and the look has grown on me. Keep the mudflaps. It looks like the fronts are integral to the running boards so I would want to match the fronts to the rear mudflaps. Consider getting some high quality floor mats and seat covers to protect the pristine interior. You will be really glad you did later, especially if you actually use it like a truck. Tire pressure is fine at 50 pounds if you are not towing or hauling anything heavy. But don't forget to air up before taking off with a load. In my opinion, a lot of people will go overboard to personalize a truck with "fad" accessories that do nothing to improve the usability of the truck. Before you dump a bunch of money into "personalizing" it, drive it around some more and get a feel for it. Appreciate it for what it is instead of trying to make it into something it's not. Look through the picture threads in the Super Duty forum, "Ultimate SD picture thread" & "pictures of SDs working" to see what other people do with their trucks and get some ideas. |
Thanks for the tips Sam! I hadn't heard about the cup holders thing, but I do agree - they are a bit flimsy. I rather like the running boards actually. They protect the rocker panels a bit from stuff and really work quite well. I've only scraped them a couple times so far. :) It's been living at my place for the last year or so and I've used it for hauling lumber, cars, bed full of mulch, etc, so I've definitely gotten familiar with it already.
I went to Best Buy today and A/B-ed a bunch of speakers and picked out my favorite of the bunch, which was a set of JBL GX862's. Amazon had them cheaper, so I asked if they would price match. They said they did, so I showed them the link on (internet site). They looked it up for themselves and they gave me some bull excuses and ultimately would not price match. I now remember why I didn't like Best Buy and haven't bought anything from there in years. Greasey little weasels. Anyways, I've got a full set headed my way. Should be here sometime this week. :D Hopefully the stock head unit sounds decent enough to keep. I don't expect anything super high quality, so I expect it will do fine. |
Well, I've had the JBL's in for a bit now and the sound is.....ehh....ok, I guess, but there's definitely a bunch of clarity to be had as well as there's no 'real' bass under like 80Hz. I'm debating tossing a head unit, but I hate messing up the stock look of the dash...
This is my current favorite head unit with 13 band EQ and some bells and whistles that I would probably use, but I probably won't actually buy a head unit for a while longer. JVC KD-R970BTS CD receiver at Crutchfield.com |
Gray carpet with tan seats, dash, trim pieces and headliner that's a first. Congrats on the truck.
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