Well its been a while and I figured i would update this thread. I sold the Ford in june as it needed a few things that i did not want to repair such as bushings, balljoints and wheel bearings as well as a steering column and front brakes. I ended up buying a 84 Chevy K20 with a souped up 350 and a turbo 400 with a shift kit in it. it has been a great truck and i did a few things to it, daily drove it for the last 5 months and took it to the Hiawatha National Forest in August. I sold that truck last Saturday and picked up a 97 F250 4x4 7.3 for 3k.
While i miss the F-150 as it was a great truck, I am really enjoying the comfort the extended cab has to offer. I buy and sell cars and this rig will be a daily driver, hauler and exploring rig. With 317,000 miles it runs great, fires right up in the morning when cold and still has the original injectors and E40D Transmission. I bought from the original driver, he claims the company he works for owned it since new and that he was the only driver and bought it off them. There are about $7,000 worth of mechanical recipet since 2011, and he repainted the entire truck in 2011 as well. The interior is literally like new aside from a worn out driver's seat cushion. There is no frame damage from the accident and it needs a hood, right front fender, core support and a grille/bumper.
For now I am just going to put new pads/rotors in the front, new tires and worry about the cosmetics a little later. I am going to leave it mostly stock for now aside from freeing up the exhaust a bit (catalytic converter) and adding a 6637 filter. I would like to swap the ttb for a D60 front axle but that is a back burner project for now although I did find a rusty 1985 f350 4x4 dually for $1,000 so if i can pick it up for 750 or less I will have a Dana 60 in the front.
I do need tires badly and am looking at general grabber At2's in the 235/85/16 size 10 ply that originally came on the truck. I am considering going to 285's but I dont want to upgrade the tires and have the wear out prematurely due to the front end. The tires on it now are worn worse on the outer edge than the inner edge by a long shot. The grabbers are $577.12 shipped to my door from tire buyer.com and I will mount/balance them at work. If anyone has any suggestions on tires that would be greatly appreciated.
Here is a before and after picture of the chevy. All i did to this truck was paint the chrome black, re painted the wheels, grille, bumpers and truck bed coated from the body line down. Added a cb which i now have in the Ford and drove it. Had new tires and brakes when I purchased it along with a fresh true dual exhaust. It was a great truck and drove very well for a 30 year old pickup, even on a 400 mile trip north. I put 1,500 miles on this truck loaded down and hauling a trailer in 10 days and it didnt skip a beat. Averaged 13.5 mpg why loaded too which was impressive for a carb'd 350.
I also included a few pictures from my vacation. Me a nd a buddy traveled from Chicago to Rapid river, MI on a Thursday and made it to The wetmore area to make a campsite for the week on Friday. We pitched a tent deep in the woods, rode our dirt bikes (1977 Suzuki DS100 and 1975 Suzuki ts125) about 600 miles and took the chevy on some trails in the Hiawatha national forest until the next Friday when we headed South to Suring, Wi to split firewood for my grandfather and enjoy the lake. It was a great trip and quite interesting in a 30 year old pickup with 40 year old endure/dirtbikes. Cooked all our meals over an open fire and stayed away from town as much as possible. The U.P is a great place to camp and ride with many beautiful sights. Checked out the pictured rocks national lakeshore as well as the musising falls and enjoyed some great Pastys at Muldoon's, known for the best pastys in the U.P.
Before
After
U.P.
New F-250
