so last sunday i was driving home from a friend's house and i saw an F250 regular cab long box for sale on the side of the road and i know the owner of the truck so i stopped in and asked if he got his daughter's pit bike back (it was stolen like 1-2 weeks ago) and then i asked about this truck.. decent looking has the usual ford rust spots, cab corners and right in front of the rear bumper.

its an 1981 Ford F250 reg cab long box body sitting on an 83' or 84' 4wd chassis, bench seat 351windsor 4 speed, new ball joints, new transfer case (old style 4wd shifter), new tranny, comes with a complete engine gasket kit too. etc.. it was sitting for a couple of days and he pumped the skinny pedal a couple times (carb'd) and it fired right up.. we let it sit there running a few mins then took it for a ride and its nice for an old truck.he wants $1000 for it but he said he'd take $800..

i told him the only way i'd be able to get it is if i make monthly payments and he said thats alright. i can afford a $200 a month payment as i dont have a credit card and stuff anymore.. and i'd pay him at the beginning of each month like around the 5th day because my only expense for that cheque is $200 for rent..

im going to stop in at the insurance company today while im in town and get them to price it out and see how much insurance would be.. my S15 is still for sale and i'll be keeping the ranger and i'd use this truck for a DD/bush truck and drive it the same amount as i do my ranger. im going to take a closer look at it today, mostly how many kms are on it, what does the underneath look like... i'll grab some pics today.
what do you guys think?? right now im just trying to figure out if i can afford to drive it.

 

If you dont know if you can afford it and you already have two trucks, one that you are trying to get rid of i dont see the point of buying it if your not going to be hauling something bigger where you would need a bigger truck.

 

an $800 truck will always be worth $800 or more if kept in running condition. The problem is how much will it cost to keep it running.

 

Post up some pics.

I know mines not an '81 but it is fun to cruise around the old ford sometimes! BTW make sure to check for rust above the wheel wells.

 

get it the old fords are fun heres my dads old 85 f250 460 passes everything but a gas station

 

I miss my old 84 F250HD...I had a 460, bored out to a 512 and it was passing everything but a gas station too....but man that thing could drive up the side of a building!!!

You need to do what you can afford!

 

Personally, I think you should pass on this and save some money just in case this comes up again....

https://www.ranger-forums.com/f90/go...e-banks-98681/

 

I also miss my '83 F250 4x4.

As someone said if you really can't afford it may be best to pass on it. It sounds like it has the normal rust issues. The floor on my 83' was starting go under the carpet. Couldn't really see it and looked in ok shape from underneath.

If you can fix the rust yourself and keep it running than it might be worth it. Get that s15 gone and it would possibly be a no brainer.

Edit:
Just read the post Crunchy put a link to. I agree with him. Pass on this for now.

 

hmmm... ya it has the usual rust spots but im not too worried about that.. im going to be towing a 6x12 single axle trailer with racing mowers, tires and hay bales in the next couple months.. i was looking at the truck again yesterday (course i forgot the camera) and it would do everything i need it to do.. it needs ball joints though.. i went to the insurance company yesterday too and its cheaper to insure this truck than the ranger.

i have been figuring out what i can afford and i think i can afford this truck.

 

i was talking to the owner of the truck before i left for california and he has offered me a job working on a small drilling rig up in central/northern BC so i might go up there and work and buy the truck the first pay cheque.

i've been thinking about it and once i talk to my dad i think im going to buy it.. if it turns out that i cant really afford to drive it as a daily driver i'll keep it still and buy some insurance thats for "pleasure use only" so i can only drive it like 6 days a month or something and i can afford that.

behind the wheel well on the passenger's side is dented up because the tire or something fell off a long time ago and bent it.. but im not too worried about that..

 

You said it had new balljoints

 

^^^ ya i did say that. but i thought it HAD new balljoints but apparently it NEEDS new BJ's i'll get some pics when i get home.

 

If you have to think about whether or not you can afford to drive it, you can't afford it. If you needed a tow rig, that would probably be a good candidate

 

finally i got internet again...im on the road heading back from Disneyland...

uhh... something is telling me to buy this truck. i was thinking about it and i could fit 2 quads in the back of it, stand one up on its *** and the other normal straight in...

 

I like!
My grandpa had an 87 or 88 F250, diesel, extended cab, long bed, manual trans. I will always have a special place for that era of Ford trucks, I would love to have a clean one some day.

 

Not to take away from the thread but, these old trucks are indeed great. sounds like a good deal, ball joints arent bad on these just some disassembly.

here's my 88 F-350 Custom 7.3IDI 5 speed 4x4

 

^^^ hey thats a clean looking truck!! you dont see many of those old trucks driving around without rust anymore.. haha

 

it has a little rust around the wheel wells, and over the wheel wells in the bed but thats it. and thanx.

see, more motivation to get the one u were talking about!

 

yup!! haha... i'll see if i can get some pictures of it today.

 

well im thinking about getting the truck today.... yay.. he's throwing in a set of 33" rubber, running boards, 8" subwoofer, and a couple of other little things all for $800 bucks.

 

Where the hell are the pics of the new truck?

 

ah well i havent bought it yet, friend of mine had plans today. but once i get it i'll get some pics.

 

 

haha ya it is. i've been thinking about it lately and i might wait another month and see how the job is going first then if its alright i'll buy it then. but i could maybe grab some pics of it.

 

those are great trucks. easy to work on and parts are not that expensive. run forever if taken care of. my dad has 2 he uses one with a 83 300 six 4 speed the other with a 86 302 auto. he uses the 302 to haul wood because it uses more gas. i'm looking at a 79 351 mod my self wanting something i can still work on myself! that means a lot when it comes time to do repairs.