Wanting to buy a 1979 f100

[DuckRyder]

It is the last year of the Dentside. Pretty much parts from 73-79 will fit it (save for the square lights) it is a pretty simple vehicle and parts for them are reasonable (and reasonably available in Pull A Part usually).

If it isn’t horribly rusty or hacked up it would be a good thing to learn on.

Try out FORDification.com (.net is having issues) and the guys will help you out when needed. Got any pictures of it?

 

[Nick1994]

Those old trucks you’ll be constantly working on. Like, to an extent that it isn’t fun.

Some old cars are fun to tinker with but I think you should have a reliable daily driver. I tinker with a 1970 VW Beetle. There’s tons of resources to learn how to work on and I have several other cars that can get me to school/work reliably.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Those old trucks you’ll be constantly working on. Like, to an extent that it isn’t fun.


^^This times a million! My best friend bought a pristine yellow 1960 F-100 a few years ago. It was just one headache after another. Everywhere he went in it,it'd break down and leave him stranded. I can't count the number of times I had to go pick him up. He got rid of it asap! Funny thing,everyone called it "Bananarama"!!

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Those old trucks you’ll be constantly working on. Like, to an extent that it isn’t fun.


^^This times a million! My best friend bought a pristine yellow 1960 F-100 a few years ago. It was just one headache after another. Everywhere he went in it,it'd break down and leave him stranded. I can't count the number of times I had to go pick him up. He got rid of it asap! Funny thing,everyone called it "Bananarama"!!
Yup, I have a neighbor who bought an old pickup 10 years ago from another neighbor who was the original owner. It’s a 1970 GMC and it had 27k original miles on it. He has replaced just about everything that’s possible on the truck. It was in beautiful condition except for the faded paint but he wanted to keep it original, exhaust work, hoses, pulleys, tons and tons of carb work, fuel pumps, clutch, cooling system parts, alternator, starter, exhaust manifold, trying to get it to pass emissions, total brake system replacement, it just goes on and on.

 

[taztheman]

So you don't think I should buy this old of a truck even if Im only driving it occasionally . What goes wrong with them? But I am still going to look at it regardless but I will definitely take that into consideration that I will having to be fixing alot of thing on it.

 

[DuckRyder]

It is borderline stone ax simple...

There is absolutely nothing about these trucks that is more prone to issues than any thing else of similar vintage. The problem is that there is no telling what has been done to it.

I prefer the earlier ones obviously...

 

[RTexasF]

That $850 could be $8500 before you even blink! Let it go.

 

[emmett442]

I just bought a similar vintage truck earlier this year



It's been a ton of fun. At first I thought it'd be an occasional driver, but it's been so much fun that I nearly daily drove it all summer. I've owned it since May and I've put about 3500 miles on it already!.

Sure, they're old and they'll have their little problems. But the beauty of these old trucks is that you can fix anything with a little time and a super basic tool set. Nothing difficult, no specialty tools, everything has miles and miles of room to access. If you've replaced the batteries in your TV remote control before, you can repair anything on these trucks.

I planned in advance for a lot of stuff. I got the truck home, looked it over, assessed what I wanted to replace. Ordered everything on RockAuto in one order and worked on it as I found time; continuing to drive it between "projects" - most of which were probably 1 hour a piece, 2 at most.

I don't think there's anything to be afraid of. If you pay fair price for it, you can recoup your money if you decide it's not for you or it becomes a hassle. The only way you will find yourself "stuck" is if you over pay.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Those old trucks you’ll be constantly working on. Like, to an extent that it isn’t fun.


^^This times a million! My best friend bought a pristine yellow 1960 F-100 a few years ago. It was just one headache after another. Everywhere he went in it,it'd break down and leave him stranded. I can't count the number of times I had to go pick him up. He got rid of it asap! Funny thing,everyone called it "Bananarama"!!
Yup, I have a neighbor who bought an old pickup 10 years ago from another neighbor who was the original owner. It’s a 1970 GMC and it had 27k original miles on it. He has replaced just about everything that’s possible on the truck. It was in beautiful condition except for the faded paint but he wanted to keep it original, exhaust work, hoses, pulleys, tons and tons of carb work, fuel pumps, clutch, cooling system parts, alternator, starter, exhaust manifold, trying to get it to pass emissions, total brake system replacement, it just goes on and on.


Sounds like a case of total and complete incompetence.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Those old trucks you’ll be constantly working on. Like, to an extent that it isn’t fun.


^^This times a million! My best friend bought a pristine yellow 1960 F-100 a few years ago. It was just one headache after another. Everywhere he went in it,it'd break down and leave him stranded. I can't count the number of times I had to go pick him up. He got rid of it asap! Funny thing,everyone called it "Bananarama"!!
Yup, I have a neighbor who bought an old pickup 10 years ago from another neighbor who was the original owner. It’s a 1970 GMC and it had 27k original miles on it. He has replaced just about everything that’s possible on the truck. It was in beautiful condition except for the faded paint but he wanted to keep it original, exhaust work, hoses, pulleys, tons and tons of carb work, fuel pumps, clutch, cooling system parts, alternator, starter, exhaust manifold, trying to get it to pass emissions, total brake system replacement, it just goes on and on.


Sounds like a case of total and complete incompetence.
Where’s the incompetence?

 

[emmett442]

He's only had it 10 years - "tons and tons of carb work" and "trying to pass emissions" are flags to me.

Every carb I've ever done was a once-and-done affair. Not sure about the need for tons and tons of carb work.

Again, there's nothing difficult or complicated about these old trucks. No reason to fear maintenance.

 

[Jarlaxle]

What he said.

 

[taztheman]

Well I went and looked at the truck yesterday. And I am glad that I wasn't planning on buying it. It had more rust than Ive ever seen on a car and the engine had lots of problems. But I am not going to be stopped from trying to find an older work truck for around $600.

 

[JasonC]

The best value in an older truck is the 87-95 Chevy/ GMC trucks. With the 87 you get a square body with TBI and the 88-95 gets you the newer body style with TBI. Easy to work on, cheap parts and millions of them.

 

[4WD]

+1
Had a 95 GMC 4WD for years and gave to my son … body parts dipped and no rust