About to pull the trigger

[Brutis]

I am looking at buying a 1993 F-Superduty and would like some opinions.

Its undercarriage is in nearly flawless condition, has a small amount of rust around the fenders, runs and sounds great 95,000 miles. Still has original injectors and return lines. Everything works except the wipers and left turn signal- Owner says he'll have that fixed. My plan for the truck is to swap my current truck's box onto it and run it as my daily driven work vehicle.
I measure center of front wheel to center of rear wheel and from the back of the cab to the center of the rear wheel and it matches my current truck. It's a 1993 and mine is a 1990. Is their anything else other than wheelbase I should be looking at? It has a flatbed on it now - should my cube bolt right on?

He wants $3,500 I was thinking about offering $2,800. What do you all think?

I can't wait to have a running IDI again!

 

[Brutis]

Any thoughts on this beast of a truck? Any issues I should be aware of?

Thanks

 

[towcat]

hell-
if you come out to kali, I'll give you a glider chassis All you have to do is put in a engine and trans. I'll even leave the wiring alone. I hate to have to scrap a good truck, but kali insn't changing their tune on killing F450's

seriously tho, if the one you're buying is rust-free, you're in good shape

 

[ocnorb]

The box should bolt up if it is made for a standard long bed. No worries there.

Only 95K is amazing. The best advice I can think of is to check your coolant SCA's and ask the owner if he included that as regular maintenance over the years.

 

[ocnorb]

hell-
if you come out to kali, I'll give you a glider chassis All you have to do is put in a engine and trans. I'll even leave the wiring alone. I hate to have to scrap a good truck, but kali insn't changing their tune on killing F450's

seriously tho, if the one you're buying is rust-free, you're in good shape

Towcat I have two questions.

1. What the h#$l is a glider chassis??

2. Why is kali killing F450's?

 

[1994IDI]

More folks will chime in with what to look for, but with 95,000 miles and that price, I would say it looks like a good deal. SCA's is always a big one to look for though. Good luck, and let us know.

 

[jhnlennon]

If it truely is a F-Superduty be aware that insurance companies will only register it as a Commercial vehicle meaning it will cost roughly twice as much. Anything over a F-350 and its automatically a commercial vehicle(they check the vin and go by GVWR). Not to mention the registration will cost you roughly 300 a year for 14k in wisconsin. Just turned down a screaming deal on a 93 superduty because of that. I realized it would cost me almost 900 bucks a year just to insure and register it. A F350 would be half that for me.

 

[towcat]

Towcat I have two questions.

1. What the h#$l is a glider chassis??

2. Why is kali killing F450's?

1....
a glider chassis has no motor or trans and some, no rearend. they are intended for reusing a older motor into a newer body. this mainly happens in the heavy truck world, not ours.
2......
in a nutshell, kali is killing older diesels who cannot be retrofitted to 2004 emissions specs in 2013.

 

[Brutis]

Thanks for the replys! I think I'll do it if no one chimes in with a reason not to. As far as the insurance and registration goes I figured it might cost more, but I already have to jump through CMV hoops in WI and MI b/c of interstate commerce regs. So hopefully it won't kill me. What is killing me is having no truck.

Thanks again guys!

 

[icanfixall]

My thoughts why you wouldn't like this rig is its has all the above plus rear end gearing availability. I think 5.13 or 5.26 is as low as can can be had. Its not like an f 350 where you can go to 3.08. The plus side would be much bigger, better brakes and 10 lug wheels.

 

[snicklas]

1. What the h#$l is a glider chassis??

1....
a glider chassis has no motor or trans and some, no rearend. they are intended for reusing a older motor into a newer body. this mainly happens in the heavy truck world, not ours.

If you have a "big truck" dealer in your area and you have seen a truck, with the steer axle and wheels, the hood and cab bodywork and 2 empty framerails out the back, and almost all of them I have seen have 2 empty 55 Gallon drums sitting under the back of the 2 rails. This is a glider.

I believe this was/is a more cost effective solution, if you have a rig with a good drivetrain (Engine, trans, and drive axles) and the body or frame are trashed.... (wreck, overloaded and broke, in a use that will rot out the metal quick like a salt, or fertalizer truck). You by a glider at a fairly low price.... I remember years ago seeing the really nices ones going for $20-30k and have your drivetrain swapped over. This total cost is much less than $100K+ for a complete new truck.......