'79 F150

[LargerCharger383]

Hey, I'm looking at one of these for pretty cheap.  It has rebuilt engine/tranny 2000 miles ago, 4x4, kinda rusty.  The only thing is that it needs a new rear seal.  anyone know how complicated the is on these trucks? I know its a ford, but i need a parts hauler for swap meets 

[jackel440]

   a phord 
put the keys down and walk away very quickly
sorry couldn't help it.shouldn't be any harder than any other rear seal to fix.suxs removing the trasnfer case and tranny.I had an phord with a 302 in it and it was the biggest gas hog i ever drove.thank goodness it was free.
how bad is it leaking?if not too bad just drive it.and then again if it just has 2000 miles on the O.H. what else did they do wrong to it.
good luck

[Charger_Fan]

Complicated? They're anything BUT complicated. The only thing electronic on the whole truck is the ignition, everything else is as basic as can be.
I agree, it depends on how bad it's leaking. If it's a real gusher, then I'd change it...but if it only goes through a quart every 1,000 miles, bag it.
Removing the trans & transfer case won't be too terrible with a decent floor jack. You'll need to drop the oil pan to get to the rear main, but being a 4x4, you should have plenty of room.

[Chatt69chgr]

I had a 73 F100 with 302.  Ordered it.  Paid $2950.  Hard to believe you could actually buy a new truck for that kind of money then.  It had a 4.11 rear and ate gas.  Got 10 mpg loaded or empty.  I had it 29 years before I sold it for $250.  In its later years there was always something going wrong which meant a constant outflow of $$ to fix it.  Later, I bought my son a 91 Nissan 2wd regular cab pickup 3 yrs old with 36K.  The only thing we ever did on it was replace the clutch at 100K and the starter at 150K.  My brother has this truck now and it still runs fine with about 180K on it.  I bought a 97 Nissan from my neighbor that was 6 months old and drove it out to 100K before giving it to my son.  I replaced a brake master and an ac line that was improperly manufactured and leaked.  O/W, no problems.  These little trucks are almost bullet proof.  Reliable and cheap to operate.  So for a little swap meet and parts hauler I would get one of these.  I will say that my last truck was pretty over the top.  It's a Dodge Hemi Quad 4X4 1500.  I really like it but it cost a lot of $$ and gets less gas milage than the Nissan did.  About 15 mpg.  It was my retirement gift to myself.  Good luck in your truck search.

[wetfeetmi]

I have 3 ford trucks...'97 f-250 2 wheel drive diesel crew cab shortbox that gets an honest 21 mpg if i keep my foot out of it. It has 247k miles and had to put a steering box, ball joints and a transmission in it last year. A '92 flareside reg cab 302 auto that gets 17 mpg., and an '89 f-250 plow truck with 250k miles 6.9 diesel. I had to put a trans in that one 5 years ago. The '97 and '92 are beautiful. The plow truck is getting a little rusty. I LOVE them all. I have had great success with my fords. If the '79 you are thinking about is a good one, go for it. I would advise getting the oil leak fixed and I think you will like driving it more (and you won't be polluting). Good luck. My first truck was a '76 shortbox stepside 302 and I loved that one too. drove it 4+ years with no problems at all. Happy trails

[LargerCharger383]

I know it's a little much for a parts hauler, but I also live in WI, and the winters can be brutal.  I'll definately get use out of the 4x4 out here in the country.   

I got the truck for $400 and I'm hopefully picking it up this saturday.  I figure even if it isn't what I want, I can sell it locally for a profit with a newly rebuilt engine and trans plus working 4x4... I'll post pics when when I get it home!

[TruckDriver]

Where are you about in Wisconsin, My neighbour just sold his old rusty ford pickup

[LargerCharger383]

I'm in Mukwonago, 30 min south of milwaukee. the truck I bought is in Plano IL though...cool to hear from another WI resident though!

[Silver R/T]

Id save money for something better

[Charger_Fan]

For $400, I don't think you can go wrong. If the engine blew up tomorrow, you could easily get that money back parting it out.

[TruckDriver]

I'm in Mukwonago, 30 min south of milwaukee. the truck I bought is in Plano IL though...cool to hear from another WI resident though!

Oh hell, your not that far from me then. I'm just north of West Bend. Your about a hour or so away.

[The70RT]

Like most would agree the 73-79 model ford went a long time with reg maintenence. Owned ford trucks practicaly all my life. Pulled lots of chevys and the c-6 trannies are pretty much bullit proof this side of nuteral slams.......gass hogs...yeah....most 4X4 will be though. My 318 2wd dodge only gets 13-14 hwy...350 gears....your looking at maybe 10.