1979 Fords

Hey all!

Thanks for stopping in.

I've been perusing around at '79 fords. They are special to me as my dad had one. I always dreamed of fixing his up, but misfortunes struck. Times were tough, and both parents were laid off. Pops sold it to feed us kids. It wasn't very nice, and would have needed a full overhaul anyway. Still, the alure was there.

His was two tone green originally, regular cab, lwb. V8. I still remember the smell of the exhaust. What a wonderful smell it was.

Anyway, my point. I'm looking to buy one eventually, and actually found one locally. I want advice on what to look for. Things that should be addressed. What would be a good value? What type of maintenance questions should I ask the seller?

The one I found is a '79 F-250 Ranger, camper special, automatic.

1 owner. 50,264 original miles.

They are asking 15K for it. I'll edit in some pictures later.

Anyone, feel free to add their thoughts. I'm new at buying Old used trucks.

 

I will tag the vehicle savvy folks here I know.

@bmf4069 @Darkness

 

I like the style of those, unfortunately I don't know much about them. I had the same dream when I was young but my dad drove a white 83 F100. As a kid I wanted to fix it up and, you guessed it, paint it black.

I would find out what suspension it has up front, not sure if that has twin I beam. Ask about general maintenance.

 

Not sure what the wiring bundle is by the brake pedal, or how bad the water intrusion is above both doors. Both very good reasons to drive the price down

 

I crawled under, and peeked around. Looks like just surface rust on a few choice spots like it has been garage kept all these years.

Engine belts look kinda old, and dusty.

Even with all that I'm having a hard time not drooling over it because I wouldn't have to travel for a good clean truck.

Most examples I've found on the internet are 5-8 hours away one way trip, and not in the best shape. Most are just rolling chassis/body no motor

 

@Darkness thank you for your input. I appreciate the honesty

 

That is super clean, wow. The dash looks a lot like the one my dad had. Even as a kid I thought square gauges were strange. That brings back memories.

 

Pops had replaced his transmission at one point in time. To start his you had to hold the gear shift between Park, and Reverse.

It served him well as an anti-theft device until I figured it out when I was 9... I tore through the yard like a bat out of hell.

That Big V8 screaming the whole time. I, of course played dumb when mom, and dad finally convinced me to stop.

Its a miracle I didn't hit one of the many trees we have.


Many, Many memories are flooding back for me as well.

 

I have a ‘95. That sucker looks cleannnnn. I would say that is a little steep for a 2 wheel drive but it’s all willing on what someone wants to pay.

I paid up for mine and was having the same issue you are. They were either super far or super beat. I justified paying a little more since I was able to look at it, it was the combo I wanted and it isn’t going anywhere EVER! Lol it’s easier to pay when you know you won’t need resale but I will say these trucks are getting expensive. Good luck in your search

 

Yeah, very few are local. The few that are, are simply not for sale. The ones that are for sale have Cracked block, No transmission, no lights, wiring harness has been chewed by rats... You name it. Lots of beaters to be had, but I've already got one hell of a project out of my Tundra. Most of the beaters are 500+ miles away...

Thank you for your well wishes @DaBoro54.

I've been eyeballing the photos I took/posted.
Driver's side: Above the door the rust may be deep, and is just now finally bubbling out of paint. By the footwell the rust seems to emanate from the Trim piece, and into the floor pan. Same thing on passengers side.

There appears to be some wiring bundles under the dash on both sides... I really hope that's for the CB.

Spoke with pops. He thinks that it is priced $13,000 over what it should be. He believes anything over 20 years old is simply not worth the time/money/energy to fix.
I guess he thinks that it would be better for me to buy a rolling chassis, and body for $500-$1,000.

I think that if they could be talked down to 8-10... might be ok.

 

These two pictures. Top of the door, and where the light green meets the floor by the parking brake.

 

I've got nothing in that either. I drove my buddy's back in high school that had a 3 on the tree. That was.... different. But with anything this age, theres probably not many "problem" areas, just the whole truck. If it doesn't have rust, I'd jump on it.

 

Looks good , the windshield has been replaced . I believe it’s supposed to have chrome mouldings around the windshield.

 

I had wondered about that. I have no photos of dads truck, but I had a vague memory of chrome there.