There is a truck for sale locally that, as it turned out, is the exact combination that I'm looking for. I'm still debating trying to scrape things together to try and buy it. It is a 97 ext cab, shortbox, 4.6L 5-speed with manual 4WD, Lariat with leather seats and all options.

This, to me, doesn't seem like it would be a regular combination and would be something that was special ordered...

 

I believe Raoul has a Lariat SingleCab, but with a 5.4L. The 4.6L and M5OD combination is a bit of a rarity in itself. The SCab was the only available option until 2000 when the SCrew came out, so that's not odd to see a 97-98 Lariat with a SCab

 

If it's the exact thing, I'd jump on it. I spent 6 months *seriously* looking for an f150 with specific options/colors/mileage, and only found two. One was "close" by (around 100 miles), but beat to hell, and the other was 600 miles away, and the dealer wouldn't respond to my questions.

Ended up sacrificing on color & options on both that and the mustang I bought, that I spent an equal amount of time looking.

 

I would guess a Lariat w/ manual trans/4wd is a relatively uncommon combination. Most likely a truck ordered by someone just retired ... luxury as a reward for the years of hard work, but don't trust that "new-fangled automatic crap". Several of my friends dads ordered similiar trucks when they retired.

Sounds like a nice truck ... you should jump on it if the deal is right

 

Hard to find IMO. Thats what I was looking for when I bought my truck. If i had to do it again I would look for a supercab with an 8 foot bed instead of my regular cab but the manual tranny and manual transfer case is pretty cool to me.

 

I knew that I had to at least check this truck out to see if it would be worth fixing up. I took a lot of pictures, you can see them here. I showed the pictures to my dad, he says it looks a bit rough. I showed them to my mechanic and he said that it is certainly rebuildable, and looks great from a distance, but he's worried that I might end up throwing a lot of money at it. Which, given that I'm not working currently, is not a good thing. He said that, if I can get it cheap enough, it would be worth it. Seller currently wants $1500 for the truck as it is. It currently has no brakes or power steering (leaking lines) so it has to be towed. When it was first listed, the seller wanted $3500! I'm thinking that, realistically, $1000 is about as high as I'd feel comfortable buying something like this for. I would just hate to see this truck go to waste!

I can definitely do all the work myself, that's not an issue. A perfect opportunity to practice welding! I know a lot of guys outside of the rust belt will say this belongs in a junkyard; those of us in the rust belt know this is what to expect for a truck of this age.

 

That's too much rust on structural components.

 

x2
i would keep looking, if it already needs brake and power stearing lines, im sure there is more problems along the way. My dads 97 and my 01 both came from upstate new york and look nothing like that.

Plus i can't stand working on trucks rusted like that with crap falling in your eyes and ears as ur under there

 

The exhaust is either been redone or from a newer truck, the 97 had the exhaust come out in front of the right rear tire

Sad to see trucks that rusted out

 

IMHO...if you can buy it and get to pass inspection in running order for under $3000 it would be a bargain! Definitely a cool combination of options. If you buy it for under $1500, you could always resort to swapping parts to another truck or parting it out but you will have a lot of time invested. Check the exhaust manifolds and studs that hold them on for rot/failure/cracks....compression test all 8 cylinders if possible....shine a flashlight in where the oil fill is and check if it's clean and free from sludge with no water foaming in the oil on the dipstick.....check the coolant tank to see if the coolant looks green and free from the dark contamination from engine oil mixing in which is a sign of head gasket leaks.....see if oil is dripping around where the transmission mates to the engine to verify no rear main seal leaks....I would only buy it if those things check out and you can see it run and try the clutch to make sure it engages fully in each and every gear....also make sure 4WD engages in high and low range...jack up the front and wiggle the front wheels back and forth to feel for play in ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings etc. Most of the value in the truck is if it runs and drives and if you get into fixing rust...you may decided at some point it's too much work so if the drivetrain and interior are resealable you will be able to recover your investment.

I don't remember reading how many miles are on it but anything under 250,000 is worth considering if proper maintenance was performed throughout it's life. Any chance of seeing service records for the vehicle?

 

In the ad the seller has the following items listed as needing repair:
-radiator support
-cab mount(s)
-brake line(s)
-power steering line
-fuel tank + straps
-fuel filter
-ball joint (doesn't specify which)
-rear brake pads

When I was there he started the truck up and it sounds pretty good. He has all the service receipts from 2003-now and I did a quick look through. The exhaust has been replaced recently and the tires are from 2010. There's no brake fluid or P/S fluid in the truck at all presently due to leaks. He has it in 4LO so that he could move it around the yard and keep the speed down; his property is on a rather large hill.

The truck currently has 241k km's on it.

I really, really like driving a standard but what I'm really after for a truck at the moment is four wheel drive and cruise control. I had a 97 Expedition and I made a deal with my mechanic whereby he did some work on my 00 F-150 in exchange for a reduced price on the Expedition. I called him up today to see if he'd be interested in trading back my F-150 for the Expedition once its finished; he said he just purchased about $1000 in parts for it and to trade back I'd have to give him some money plus my truck. And the Expy's not even in his name yet! I might be able to get him to fix the rust on this 97 F-150 for the balance of what he owes me on the Expy, but I'm a little wary. I picked up the Expy for $500 and ended up throwing $2500 worth of parts at it and it STILL needed work, which is why I traded it away.

Decisions, decisions!

 

Like I said, there's too much structural rust on it. Exterior body panels, no big deal. Undercarriage/frame - big deal.

 

I see you are not far away from me, just down the road really. Anyways I would say from looking at the pics keep looking. You may get it for $1000 but i see spending 2-3000 in a hurry. You may want specific options in the truck but is that worth the $$$$ for this unit? If you don't mind having that much tied up in a 15 year old f150 then do it. Keep in mind here in the maritimes you will be hard pressed to re-coup that money. People do not want to pay much for trucks nowadays.

 

I know it's not a standard but I found this looking quickly and it's more or less near you. I have no affiliation with this truck just found it searching.
http://newbrunswick.kijiji.ca/c-cars...AdIdZ358806953

 

That would be a good donor truck for someone wanting to do a manual tranny conversion on their 4x4 truck. M5OD's with the modular bolt pattern aren't that easy to find.