So, i was driving along today when the guy in front of me slammed on his brakes and stopped but my brakes werent apparently as good as his and i didnt stop and slammed into his *** end, which left my truck with a bent up up, heater core and radiator pushed back, bumper destroyed (bent), radiator mont completely bent, passenger front fender slightly bent, headlights gone, grille gone, its a 96 150 i-6, 130,000, 5spd, 4x4, 3.55 lsd, xl, manual lock out hubs, heres wat it looked like before:
i will be uploading pics of the aftermath shortly, but is it really worth dumping alot of money into this truck or junk it and try to find something else, P.S. there was no insurance on the truck just liability so im not getting jack **** fom the insurance company and i dont now how much ill get from the junk yard, any input is welcome

 

 

IMO, update.


your insurance wont cover you jack, and its gonna take awhile before she would be running again. plus you'd have to drive it around without a front clip for awhile unless you have the money up front :]



get a nice reg. cab 97 - 03 model.



you could even go with a diesel if you actually use your truck

 

the heater core is located behind the glove box.

 

That's a good looking truck - don't see the typical rust lines above the rear fenderwells, etc. The mechanics - the 300, transmission, etc. - will support many more miles than what you currently have.

Look at the difference in its current wrecked value versus what the truck is worth to you, considering that you know it and its quirks.

If you do the bulk of the body work yourself, I suggest it would probably be worth keeping. Get a body shop involved to any great extent, eh, doubtful.

The used vehicle market is ripe, at least in this area, for those who have the financial power to purchase, so stepping up in model years is not a totally bad idea.

I would think you're talking about the A/C condenser coil being trashed (sits in front of the radiator), not the heater core.

At any rate, do your research and gut check. When you have all the necessary information, the decision becomes easier.

 

damn man.. too bad.

 

if the frame isn't bent i'd keep it, thats a nice truck and its got the legendary 6...hold on to it if you can if not let us know if you part out

 

yeah, sorry i meant a/c, but idk, id love to get a 250 diesel but i loved my truck and seeing it sitting there smashed, is the worst feeling in the world! i would have rather broken my arm in the wreck than for my truck to be totaled, i went on lmc truck.com and priced out all the parts (new) and its like 2,300, but i figure if i could find a truck at a junkyard with a good front end as a donor (unlikely but possible) it would be a lot cheaper but id still have labor and painting, and stuffing the airbag which is like 1,200$, it is definintely the worst descision ill ever have to make. im gonna see if the body shop'll give me an estimate, but the rest of the truck could be parted out for a decent amount of money (i think). thanks

 

pics of wreckage please

 

damn good looking truck, in my opinion i would spend the money to fix it, but thats me, im a sucker for good looking trucks, just like women.

 

lol, i hear ya. im getting an offical estimate tomorrow, i wanna try and find a "donor" truck (92-96 with a good front end) that would cost idk, maybe 500-1000$ to use instead of buying all new stuff from lmc and crap, it might be cheaper that way, i hope. and does anyone know how much it cost to repack airbags? 1,200? and pics are coming, will be posted either tomorrow or sunday night, it almost made cry, to see my baby crushed. thank god for

 

I would part it out and get the 250 diesel they are never the same even after a very well done job on fixing them. Plus the memories of it being wrecked will always be there for as long as you have if after it is fixed.

 

hmmm, interesting idea - a donor truck may be a better deal financially that buying pieces-parts from a junkyard - have to file that idea for future reference!

As far as airbags - gut check time again - do you really want to spend that kind of money to replace it/them, or do you feel secure enough with seatbelts only?

Or would the donor truck have them available for transfer - perhaps a steering wheel swap would cover all the details?

 

i wasnt sure if u were required by law to put them back, but if its up to me, screw it, ill take my chances. donor truck or junkyard will be cheaper than lmc or anywhere new. i still dont know tho, funds are limited, i might be driving the 69 around for a while.

 

If you're attached to your truck, I'd go ahead and try and fix it. This is what I did with my dad's 1994 Bronco. He rolled it in a snow bank, insurance totaled it so I bought it from him, but the front was munched; needed both front fenders, hood, headlights, grill, radiator support, and some other odds and ends. I knew that this would be my beater truck, something family could use if they came into town, so I went ahead and fixed it myself. I've put about $600 into it, bought all the panels from the local salvage yard (they actually had a donor truck with all the front pieces, but I only needed the hood, so they do exist), and bought all the lights (lens) from ebay. I've got pics of the rebuild in my gallery (click on the little camera thingy), and I can answer any questions for ya if you decide to rebuild it yourself. I never actually did anything like this before, so I just started to unbolt things, keep everything organized, and I made it through without any real hitches. It was actually pretty fun, but my wife didn't see me for a week while I was fixing it up. Basically, it went from this:



During:



To this:



Then again, I can vouche for the F250 diesel, they are saweeeet.