I own a 1996 F150 that I love. It’s a 6 cylinder 4X4, fully manual.
I live in New England and the problem is rust. The undercarriage is pretty rusty and there is rust around the rear wheel wells. Over the years I’ve replaced brake lines, oil pan, leaf spring shackles, wheels and front end parts, all because of rust. Even one of the gas tanks isn’t being used because of rust.
It runs strong and I would hate to give her up. If it were possible to buy it new I would take it over a 2014 model. I just love this truck, wind-up windows and all.

Here’s my question: Is it feasible and economically reasonable, to purchase a 1996 F150, say from one of the dry western states, like Arizona, and swap out the frame and body? Another scenario would be to buy a rust free truck and install my drivetrain, which I assume would be pretty straightforward. But what if the truck was not a 4X4 or if it had an automatic transmission?

Maybe I’m being foolish and I should just buy a decent 1996 4X4 6 cylinder F150 that is rust free. I’ve looked and if I could find one I think I would.
Thanks for reading and if you know of one for sale, please let me know.

Steve

 

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/4737868093.html 1996

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/4737868093.html 1994

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/4734764896.html 1997

A few trucks from the sacramento area - CA