Found a truck, what do I look for before buying?

[seven-t]

Hi folks. Great site and members.

I've been looking for a vintage truck to tow my race car to the track (my air cooled VW bus just isn't up to the task!) Yesterday I spotted a Ford parked in the driveway, inquired, and found the individual wanting to sell. (In casual cost discussions we arrived at $800)

It'd been a long day and I didn't have much time, so about all I did is checked the body for rust, straightness and/or bad repairs and wrote down the VIN. It appears to be a 1970 F250 Custom Sport with a 360cid - clean, straight and dry body, looks like it could be the original paint (2-tone greens).

The individual didn't know much about the vehicle, it's drivability or whether it runs (the story is he bought it from his boss 7 months ago, drove it 60 miles home and found it lost "pressure" going up hills and parked it). Whatever.

An impulse buyer by nature, I'm going back REAL soon to look it over carefully . . . so my question/inquiry for you all, is, what do I look for??? I've read a bit and know p/s and p/b would be a plus. Any way to confirm the engine is original? What features / options / hacks are good to avoid? Any info y'all could provide would be a great help. Thanks.

[AlleyCat]

Hi, welcome from Pennsylvania. Sounds like you've found a good truck to start with.Yes power steering and brakes are very desireable options.In fact most any option over the base models is a plus.The pressure the owner is talking about is most likely oil pressure.It could be an internal problem or something as simple as a sender failing.Look at the valve covers for an emission decal and under the coil bracket for a metal tag as these can help determine the year of the engine.As far as the price goes I'm not familiar with what these trucks are worth in California but I can tell you a straight, rust free,Styleside bed would easily bring $800 in western Pennsylvania.Good luck.

[seven-t]

Thanks, Clay. Good counsel.

[71 LONG BED]

...the story is he bought it from his boss 7 months ago, drove it 60 miles home and found it lost "pressure" going up hills and parked it.

The heads sometimes get the oil drains plugged and all the oil stays up in the valve covers , that's a possible cause for the pressure to drop.
As far as rust, check the drip rails (or rain gutters) for rust. Make sure there is still seam sealer in there. Also, look under the front fender toward the front of the cab at the cab mounts. Make sure they are still intact. Inner fenders are know to rust out as well, especially under the battery tray.
There is no real way to tell if the motor is original. If it is an FE block, the 332, 352, 360, 390, 391, 406, 410, 427, & 428 all look identical. You would have to measure bore and stroke. If I had to guess, I'd say it isn't a 332, 391, 406, 410, 427, or the 428. Possibly a 352, but probably a 360 or a 390. If it is a 352 it has a 4.002 in stroke and a 3.500 in bore. But since it probably is a 360 or 390 you'll have to measure the bore because they have the same stroke of 4.05. The bore of the 360 is 3.5 and the bore of the 390 is 3.784. Hope this helps. Oh yeah,

[seven-t]

Thanks John - I'll check those places specifically for rust, won't concern myself with the motor displacement at this point. (I'm going to need a set of mirrors like you've got on your green truck!)

Ken

[FLATBEDFORD]

Welcome.

Hey 71 Longbed, I thought that the difference between 352, 360, and 390 was the stroke, not the bore?

[RedneckTexan]

Howdy from TEXAS!

[69rangerman]

Not familiar with the FE's but it'd probably be worth popping valve cover for a look, pulling a plug, and seeing if the owner will try to start it to check for scary noises.
You could also check signals, horn, lights etc with key to acc. position.
Give the e-brake a shove.
Check radiator for scary floaties or rusty water/no water.

A big repair is also checking the bottom of the radiator support where it bolts to the front frame rails. Particularly on the pass. side the battery will leak acid down into that neat little pocket where it can't get out except rust it's way through.

Sounds like a good deal. 800 would leave you plenty to tackle stuff later as needed.

Welcome from Florida!

[flyboy2610]

If it's in any kind of decent shape, grab it!

[Wes]

Hi and well come Neighbor, 800.00 is good price for any running no smog truck, in Kali is pretty good. This 1 "sounds" like a bargin.

Hey John you got yours bores and strokes backwards

[AlleyCat]

Welcome.

Hey 71 Longbed, I thought that the difference between 352, 360, and 390 was the stroke, not the bore?

I can help on this one.
352 has a 4.00" bore. 360 and 390 have a 4.050" bore
352 and 360 have a 3.50" stroke. 390 has a 3.784" stroke.

[seven-t]

Thanks, all - I looked it over, shot a few photos, will post tomorrow . . . . still liking the truck, though would like it more if it had disc brakes in front.

[fourtss]

I'm pretty sure a disc swap is easy on these trucks, better jump on it

[RebelRider]

from another Missourian!

[mrsnicks]

Might want to buy/borrow a compression tester and see what kind of compression the cylinders have.

Should not vary more than 10% between all the cylinders.

Patrick