which beater truck

[Diamondpilot]

In a perfect world I would choose a 78 or 79 rust free ford f 250 or 350 with the dana 60 front axle, T 18 four speed with granny gear, 205 gear driven transfer case, 4 10 gears and a 300 6 cylinder for the ultimate bullet proof combination. Good luck finding that

My buddy Brian had this truck in High School but I believe it was a early 80's model. His dad had bought it brand new. It was a long bed, 2 tone blue, and a bench seat. I remember it had a factory 3 or 4 inch lift, the strait bullet proof 6 cylinder, and the 4.10's with a 4 speed. We used to joke that it could do 0 to 60 in three tries. But man was it reliable even with the lift and big tires. Had tons of low end grunt and was a great all around truck.

Chris

 

[R_Walter]

My buddy Brian had this truck in High School but I believe it was a early 80's model. His dad had bought it brand new. It was a long bed, 2 tone blue, and a bench seat. I remember it had a factory 3 or 4 inch lift, the strait bullet proof 6 cylinder, and the 4.10's with a 4 speed. We used to joke that it could do 0 to 60 in three tries. But man was it reliable even with the lift and big tires. Had tons of low end grunt and was a great all around truck.

Chris

I'm thinking the last year Ford used the 205 transfer case was 78 or 79.

 

[ohioboy]

I think it will be tough to find a decent fullsize 4x4 for 2500 bucks, tough but not impossible.........

I agree, but it's worth the effort. When hauling/pulling a relatively significant amount of weight one should do it safely/properly.

I'm not a Ford-or-walk guy or anything, but the older Fords seem to take a pounding better.
They do rust, but re-pop panels, tanks, etc. are relatively cheap.

You probably wouldn't want to have it valet parked at the local five-star, but a flatbed/stake sided truck with a nice strong forward bulkhead would be really practical.

 

[Egon]

valet parked at the local five-star

Why not??

 

[schmism]

what are you thoughts of an '88 F250 4x4? 351W Rebuilt w/23k on it. C6, 4x4 $1000, runs

i know the ttb front axle isnt known for its strenght offroad.... and im not fond of an auto.... but for $1000?

 

[davitk]

the extra 600.00 must be for the spare seat

 

[rdbrumfield]

Yes, that should work. You can also count lug nuts, the 3/4 ton will have eight instead of five or six.

One detail on any recent 3/4 ton truck/van/suburban: They all come in a heavy duty and light duty model. The heavy duties have a full floating rear axle (with the big hub sticking out in the center of the wheel. The light duties are a semi-floating axle, basically the same as a 1/2 ton but with eight lugs. Suburbans and vans don't get the full floating axle until the one ton.

Other components are beefier on the heavy duties but the axle is the giveaway.

Sorry Rob, the chevy 3/4 ton came with 6 lugs on some. A friend of mine bought one and I asked why he wanted a half ton, he called the dealer, it was a 3/4. Then there was the heavy duty ones also. He did however pull his 35hp with loader and emplements with it for some time.

 

[Diamondpilot]

what are you thoughts of an '88 F250 4x4? 351W Rebuilt w/23k on it. C6, 4x4 $1000, runs

i know the ttb front axle isnt known for its strenght offroad.... and im not fond of an auto.... but for $1000?

I would buy that in a heart beat for $1000. Looks like a good strait old truck.

Chris

 

[Builder]

Looks like it has a lot of rust on it and more to come.

I had that exact truck. It was the first new truck I ever bought except it was green and a ZF5 manual.

The TTB isn't terrible, just look at the front tires and you'll be able to see if it's eating front tires or not.

Price says $1,600. Did he come down to $1,000?

 

[schmism]

found a truck.

1985 C30 chevy. Dump bed with plow. $1500

crappy pic from tonight after i got it home.

more pics to come, got some wireing issues to sort out, like dash gauges, tail lights, etc.

tires are decent-good all the way around, breaks were strong with good pedal least empty they were.

Plow works all directions, but again lights (wireing) needs attention.

Needs a tuneup and some general TLC under the hood but nothing major.

4? speed... 3 spd with Low clutch pedal had good feel.

Overall im happy.

First on the list is sorting out wireing and new guages.

 

[schmism]

Price says $1,600. Did he come down to $1,000?

ya even moved to $800. so the wife and i drove 2.5 hrs to pick it up sat. wouldn't start, wouldnt even turn over. (either starter was fried, or the motor was seized)

It was my guess it hadnt run in months as it wasnt moved from the spot the pic was taken from.

I told the guy to let me know when he gets it running, we could arrange a place to meet halfway between us. I highly dought ill ever hear from him.

 

[chvet73]

For serious hauling a 3/4 ton is the only way to go for enough power and safety. Best truck move I've made was to go from a 1/2 to 3/4. No comparison between the to. For every day use a 1/2 is fine but it does not cut it when it comes to serious safe hauling.

 

[Builder]

I'd take that even further and just get a 1-ton. Then you have lots of extra pin weight available to you that a 3/4 ton doesn't have. The price difference between the two is about the same as a case of beer on a beater truck.