3 Options, What Would You Do...

[LOGANSTANFORTH]

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1. 198X 7.3 mechanical F350, extended cab, automatic, 2wd dually, needs 2 dually fenders and a hood, needs paint, has cooling issues, tires are ok, $$$1,200

2. 198X 6.9/7.3 (cant figure out yet) mechanical F350, extended cab, automatic, 2wd dually, banks turbo kit and gear vendors unit, body is decent but interior is shot and needs paint horribly bad, runs kinda rough from setting a long time, needs tires badly, $$$2,000 obo

3. 1991 F-SuperDuty 7.3 F350 regular cab, automatic overdrive, solid beam axle 2wd dually, 9 foot tool truck body, NEW jasper engine and jasper tranny, NEW injection pump, NEW a/c compressor and alternator, comes with NEW 100 gallon fuel tank in bed with NEW electric pump, NEW tires, $$$2,500



number 1 has the price, 2 has the stuff i want to do to a 7.3, but 3 for the price you cant beat all the new stuff plus its already leaf sprung so a dana 60 will bolt right under it when i want to convert it to 4x4.....what would you guys buy?????

 

[blaster77]

well if needed you could probably sell the fuel tank from number 3....i bought mine for $300 so that would put you with $2200 in the 3rd option

 

[Exekiel69]

3 .more characters for this post.

 

[84TD]

I would but 2 and 3 and make 1 sweet truck. Then sell the left over parts.

 

[Agnem]

Number 3 has too much new stuff to be worth only that amount, so there are problems with it. You didn't mention what kind of axle ratios these have, so that may be a factor, but I'd say interior parts are cheap. Turbo's and GV units are not! Buy number 2 and rebuild the interior, or better yet as was mentioned, but 1 and 2, and combine them. You didn't list any milage figures either, but it's bound to be high, so figure you'll need to throw a good bit of money at either one to rebuild it to daily driver status.

 

[Dirtleg]

If you are planning on having a 4x4 start with a 4x4. Front axles for these trucks do not come cheap these days. It will probabaly cost you an additional $1000 for a compararble truck on initial purchase but believe me you can't put one in there for that. Plus your labor.

Other than that I would go with option 2 if the motor checked out healthy.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

Out of those #3. It sounds like the first two will nickel and dime you to death.

 

[7.3shrk]

If you are looking for something to drive right away, go 3, but if you have time, and something else to drive, #2 is the best bet.

 

[towcat]

better check the license and insurance costs of #3 before you buy it. I own two of those in towtruck form. #2 would be a better choice if you aren't using it for commercial purposes.

 

[Diesel JD]

So the 450 will kill you with insurance then? Hmm, I'm partial to 6.9 motors but I like the F-Superduty especially if its going to be working for you. Its probably waay overkill for a DD or project truck unless you just have the money to throw at it. Aside from insurance it will not get the fuel mileage that a 250 will get expect 10-14mpg depending on a variety of factors. From all of Kenworth's complaints at the other site, I surmise that a 4X4 swap is not easy or cheap on a 450. They come with 5.13 or 4.88 gears, and I think the highest gear you can go with on a Dana 80 is 4.10s. It'll be a screamer unless you swap to the 410s which won't be cheap either. That being said the 450 is overbuilt and if you do have a legit use for it and can afford it its a great work truck and you can really load them down. They have a higher sticker weight and you could probably even go over that. What Mel said is right about it being on the cheap... check good before you jump on it. Perhaps someone has spent way too much and just hates it and wants it gone so has priced it to move. The E4ODOA isn't exactly a selling point either.

 

[LOGANSTANFORTH]

a guy at a local car lot has #3, he bought it at a equipment auction, we think it came from the airport, he took the huge winch off it and now is selling the truck on his lot, i think we are getting it friday, we are trading him a 1991 ford explorer for 800 and a 7x7 spa, my dad works for a pool/spa company and we got one that had some issues and we are fixing it and selling it to him for 1000 bucks, he was asking dad if he could get him a good deal on a spa. so that will be 1800 of the 2500, plus we are putting a couple hundred down. plus im selling the 9 foot toolbox body for like 1000 and its in perfect shape, so that will go directly to the truck. plus the truck should have a PTO on the tranny from what ive read so i will like that. with the super duty, my 90 dodge diesel and 1993 mercury grand marquis will cost less than 200 a month with me and my dad as drivers...

doing the 4x4 swap wont bother me, i like screwin with stuff , no matter what i buy, im going to BUILD it, i hate stock, thats why my ranger is getting 8.5 inches of lift as soon as i get it to florida, i got the tires and the lift, just need to get the truck here.

 

[towcat]

Here's a word of wisdom when it comes to buying ex-airport equipment. first...be sure to check the blowby. pull the oil filler cap and check the smoke output. why? the equipment spends most of it's life lideling. That is the hardest on a motor. second....be ready to change injectors and the pump. why? airlines don't buy diesel for the ground equipment. ground equipment gets jet feul just like the planes due to the fact it's availible in serious bulk quantities. kerosene( plus a bunch of anti-gel additives) is a very dry feul. as a result it's very ******* Ip's and injectors. once you start feeding it a steady diet of #2, the pump and injectors are not long for this world. how do I know this? I've bought surplus equipment from UAL for 15 years. Some lessons are learned the hard way.