1986 Ford that's been sitting since 2008 -- what to expect?

[bringbackpluto]

Hey guys/gals, there's a local camper van for sale with the cabin over the roof. "95k miles, has clean title, all working parts & tires + spare but not working now. Was fine when parked in 2008, after maintenance done, but may need some general maintenance to get running again, primarily carburetor work, fuel lines, battery."

What am I getting myself into here? The owner says I can do the work on their property to get the van running again rather than have to tow it off. I'm not super handy but I can do some regular repairs on my vehicles. How much work is this? How much money? Specifically talking about getting the van up and running. I'm not worried about fixing up the inside, that part shouldn't be too hard.

I already know I'll have to get new tires since they're so old, and a new battery, so there's around $500~. How much more am I gonna have to sink into it, anyone have a guess?

Thanks!

 

[DaveNay]

Mouse poop.

 

[dar395]

Mouse poop.

WoW! that is knowledge that a lot of buyers over look, but yes "mouse poop" is standard after two years of sitting!, unless really cheap I might pass, it is easy to head over to www.RockAuto.com and fill a make believe cart just to see the appox cost, but with 1999 - 2004 vans on the market in the 2-4000k prices and the great 5.4 in the ford's and 5.3 in the GM's you may be better off shopping around.

 

[bringbackpluto]

Haha thanks. They are asking $1000 but I am certain they would negotiate a lot on price. I am thinking I might be better off looking for a newer van and I could always hit them up for parts! It's got 2 awnings and I could probably repurpose some of the interior parts too.

 

[dwh]

I paid $200 for a '76 Ford camper van that had been sitting for 15 years. 70k miles (now 160k).

Tires (and 16" wheels to replace the 16.5s). The tires and wheels were new factory takeoffs I got from a tire shop that had put fancy wheels and tires on a new truck. Cost me $250.

Batteries (engine and house), oil change, coolant system flush, belts and hoses, cap and rotor, plugs and wires, new fuel lines, rebuilt master cylinder and brake system bleed, replaced leaky power steering pressure hose, recharged a/c. Did it all myself, cost around $350 I guess.

Replaced the leaking sink faucet with a new bar faucet from Home Depot, replaced a leaky valve on the toilet, replaced the leaky fill hose for the water tank, new two-stage propane regulator and a couple of custom made propane hoses, later had the propane shop put a new fill valve and bleeder on the tank and test and re-certify it. Another $250 or so.


After that, just normal maintenance for another 90k miles. But it's definitely on its last legs, everything from the springs to the door locks is worn out and there are a few spots where the rust is getting a little serious. But I don't care, I just use it and put as little money in it as I possibly can. Probably get something else soon. Been keeping my eyes open for a good deal.

 

[bringbackpluto]

I paid $200 for a '76 Ford camper van that had been sitting for 15 years. 70k miles (now 160k).

Tires (and 16" wheels to replace the 16.5s). The tires and wheels were new factory takeoffs I got from a tire shop that had put fancy wheels and tires on a new truck. Cost me $250.

Batteries (engine and house), oil change, coolant system flush, belts and hoses, cap and rotor, plugs and wires, new fuel lines, rebuilt master cylinder and brake system bleed, replaced leaky power steering pressure hose, recharged a/c. Did it all myself, cost around $350 I guess.

Replaced the leaking sink faucet with a new bar faucet from Home Depot, replaced a leaky valve on the toilet, replaced the leaky fill hose for the water tank, new two-stage propane regulator and a couple of custom made propane hoses, later had the propane shop put a new fill valve and bleeder on the tank and test and re-certify it. Another $250 or so.


After that, just normal maintenance for another 90k miles. But it's definitely on its last legs, everything from the springs to the door locks is worn out and there are a few spots where the rust is getting a little serious. But I don't care, I just use it and put as little money in it as I possibly can. Probably get something else soon. Been keeping my eyes open for a good deal.

That's not too bad at all. I imagine it's pretty easy to work on the van, right? I think both should have the engine bay that can be accessed from inside the van

 

[dwh]

That's not too bad at all. I imagine it's pretty easy to work on the van, right? I think both should have the engine bay that can be accessed from inside the van

Yea, not bad at all. Most everything is under the hood. Pop off the doghouse cover when changing plugs/wires or air filter.

One of the spark plugs is a bi*ch to get to if it has the 460. I've had a couple three of these and I just use a holesaw to make a 3" hole in the inner fender and no more problem.

 

[broncobowsher]

Nothing specific to the van, but in general for reviving any vehicle that has been parked for a decade.

Any gas in the tank is garbage. Don't try and run it, don't try to dilute it. It is varnish and will screw up valves and rings. I've dealt with 3 engines that were brought back to life but run on bad gas, all with bad results. But fresh gas has always been trouble free. Well at least with what bad gas does to the top end.

Tires are shot. Don't care how much tread is on them or how the look. You have anywhere from 250 feet to 250 miles before they separate and destroy stuff. They will be square pegs as well. Fine for test drives around the block but that is it.

Brakes. Fluid and rubber has gone bad. They will work just long enough that you think all is going well than they will start failing on you. Even little things like wiper blades and the rubber window gaskets and door seals.

Why was it really parked in the first place? People don't just park a perfectly running car and decide to quit using it. There is always a reason for it. Maybe the camping season was up and in the off season some life event happened and it never moved again. That would be good. More typical is there was a long list of little problems that all added up and something broke the camels back and it was parked.

Back to the fuel system. Fuel pump diaphragm will have gone hard while sitting. If it doesn't spew fuel onto the ground it will pour it into the crankcase. Probably not right away either, after you get it running for a bit. And while it is working it won't pump to the full potential. So under long high loads the fuel bowl will suck dry, or at least low and lean out. You will chase that drivability issue with new fuel lines, fuel filters, and carb rebuilds (it will probably need a carb rebuild as soon as you get it started). When the pump decided to drop it's load and you put a new one on it will fix some of the drivability issues.

Add anything that ages regardless of being driven or not, like the drive belts, will still have been aging while parked. Any electrolysis in the cooling system will have been eating parts away for all those years as well. Rubber parts that normally age fine and day to day operation that would have kept them limber will have either gone hard and will crack and fail, or will have gone to goo.

Expect the unexpected. The last old Ford truck I brought back to life had the front crank seal shatter and chunks of rubber fell out as the oil leak started pouring oil out the front. That was just after the seized waterpump was replaced. With water flowing the radiator started springing leaks faster then we could patch them. The brake light switch went bad as we woke up the electrical system and slightly stuck on running down the battery overnight. Most of the electrical switches didn't work at first, had corrosion on the contacts. After cycling the switches a hundred times or so they generally worked fine, except the ignition switch that was working fine started to not give a start signal.

Pull the dipstick and wipe it clean. look for etching of the dipstick where it was sitting in the oil. That was caused by storing the engine with old oil that had gone acidic. That etching happened while the vehicle was stored. That same etching went on everywhere in the engine that had oil against it (mostly bearings with the oil feeds)

The valve guide seals will tend to fail and you will start smoking and using oil through the top end.

 

[Mwilliamshs]

My 1989 Ford has 35k original miles. Sat for about 12 years straight then another 3 then another 2. Have since driven 11k. Replaced battery, battery cables, starter, fuel pump, injector o-rings, fuel pressure regulator, all brake hoses, 1 caliper, all brake pads, shocks, tires, vacuum hoses, heater hoses, radiator hoses, brake fluid, coolant, oil, power steering return hose, AC o-rings, AC compressor, fan clutch, fan belt, door weatherstripping, window weatherstripping, and greased and oiled any and everything I can. Van was cheap, parts are cheap, and she's never left me stranded.