I had my mind set on what I wanted and after many months I found it, right down to the color. 95 XLT,4X4, reg cab, long bed, I6, 5sp, a/c, power options 93k miles. Clean interior and straight body but for a some eyebrow rust. I paid 2200 but it needs work. Brakes are shot all around (even the rear drums) leaky rusty lines. quoted at 800 dollars. Needs tires and shocks and the front end tightened up. Seems the truck was stored periodically and not mechanically maintained. Must have had original coolant- I ran about 50 gallons of flush and water to finally get it clear. Shifts fine, motor is smooth and no leaks or smoke. The oil pressure gauge takes about 30-50 seconds to register a reading after cold starts. Could this be just a sending switch problem or something worse?? Did I buy a money pit? I figure for about 3k total in repairs, including body and paint and minus any more surprises, I'd have a really decent truck. Any thoughts/advice?? Thanks

 

I think you could find a better truck for $5000.

 

hey you already spent the money for the truck, might as well pay to make is like new, cause you aint gonna sell for 2,200 so if you try to sell it and get another one, your just gonna loose money, and plus this one has everyting you want. I say : FIX ER UP!

 

You can do the brakes yourself for a whole lot less than $800. Pads, rotors, shoes, drums hoses and pre-bent hard lines together shouldn't cost half that much. You'll need basic hand tools and someone to help with the bleeding. If you don't buy the pre-made hard lines, it gets more complicated.

Screw the bodywork. If it's already rusting through, it's a losing battle to try make it whole again. For $2200 just drive it till the bed falls off and replace it with a flat bed.

As for the factory pressure gauge, it's not a gauge at all. It's actually more of an idiot light disguised to look like a gauge. It is totally useless for diagnosis. Get a mechanical pressure gage plumb it up and see what it tells you.

 

Try these guys for parts http://www.lmctruck.com/features.htm

 

Click my signature link & look in the Brakes & Hubs album.I highly recommend Energy Polyurethane.
. Yes, but it's cheap & easy to convert it so it actually works as a gauge.
. Maybe - depends on what you do with it & who does the repairs.Check out FSB - all '80-96 FS 4WD Fords are welcome.

 

I agree about the bodywork. If it's rusted to the point there are holes, or about to be holes, screw it. You can slap Bondo on there all day long and within a few weeks the rust will peek through again. Not worth the time or money.

For the price you'd spend to repair the rust, at a body shop or something, you could find a bed in a junkyard with less rust and swap it out. In the NE, that's fairly unlikely though.

 

use to have an 89, had a lot of body damage from off-roading, no rust at all though. I found some cheap body panels with acme truck parts magazine. Look around for them. entire body panels primed and ready to paint for cheap. I think the front quarter panels were like 80 bucks maybe a little more! That way you get new staight body, cheap to do, and you can pick your color!

 

Any truck you buy in that price range and of that age is going to need the same kind of repairs. Do the brakes and lines right away to make it safe to drive then fix it up a little at a time. Dont waste your money on body work unless your going to store it during the winter.


-Jon

 

$80? Wow, that is pretty cheap.

The LMC catalog I looked at (was aiming to replace rear quarters) listed them at like $300 each plus a whole buttload for "oversize" shipping.