Looking for a potential donor truck for the F150 I recently purchased, I saw an ad in the local paper that caught my eye. All it said was: "1987 F350 motor blown complete $600" and the phone number. Assuming it was a two wheel drive standard cab longbed, I called the guy (Bob). Surprisingly, it was a crew cab 4X4 dually. It had a 460 that was blown and it had been sitting for a couple of years. The town was over an hour away from the house, but I figured it was worth a drive to take a look at it and see what he had.
I made the trip out on Monday, May 23rd. This is what I found:
I'm pretty sure that this truck is not an actual Super Duty, it just has different fenders than stock. Actually, I believe the entire front end has been replaced because it's got the 87-91 front end but it's listed as a 1985 on the title. It has the 80-86 dash as well.
As you can see, it's a pretty straight truck. And here's when I started to get excited:
That is a genuine kingpin Dana 60! The guy wanted about half of what it alone was worth for the whole truck! I couldn't believe my good luck! Thinking it must be too good to be true, I asked him some more detailed questions.
Bob worked for Metro New Holland (a small independent New Holland dealership) for several years until 2008, when the owner of the company dropped a crate 460 in this truck. He let one of his younger baler mechanics use it and less than a thousand miles later, one of the head gaskets failed and the engine over heated. So the truck ended up sitting in a corner of the yard for several months until Bob offered to buy it, thinking he could replace the head gaskets and have a 4X4 full-size truck with a basically new engine for about $1K. He towed it home with the intention of replacing the head gaskets. Once he pulled the heads off the motor, he realized the block had cracked (apparently the crank had broken too). Not planning on buying a whole new motor, he got discouraged and the truck sat from 2008 until present. He had been out of work for almost two years, was several months behind on his mortgage, and was having health problems when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to get around to fixing up this truck. So he ran an ad in the paper. I happened to be the first to call.
I checked the VIN on the dash against the VIN on the title and they matched. Problem was, Bob hadn't transferred the title into his name when he bought it from Metro New Holland. So I told him the only way I'd buy the truck was if he rode to the Department of Licensing with me and we figured out what was required by the State of Washington. He agreed, so we took about a 45-minute drive, took care of the paperwork and I drove him back to his house.
Here's a pic of us loading it on the rental trailer I drug out to Bob's house on Tuesday, May 24th (we pulled the outer rear wheels off because they would have blocked the taillights on the trailer had we left them on):
It's also got Firestone Ride Rite air bags in the rear, a B&W fifth wheel hitch in the bed and the cab marker lights (you can see those in the pics). In the rear seat is a (basically new) Edelbrock carb and intake manifold, plus a bunch of marked parts from the 460. The interior is in decent shape, it's not hammered but it's not show condition either.
Considering the price of scrap in the area right now, I'll probably end up with about $175-200 worth of steel that I won't need off this truck as it sits. It's also got a C6 tranny, which isn't my first choice.
This truck needs a new motor and I'm not too keen on the transmission it has; I'm seriously considering a DT 360 repower with some kind of medium-duty tranny and rear end. I've got my eye out for a DT 360 on craigslist, but no luck so far. The idea is for power in the 600-800 hp range. I'm not stuck to that, but that's the plan for now. It'd be great to top 1500 hp, but I don't think I want to spend that kind of $ at the moment. I'm not in a hurry, so I'll buy the engine, tranny and rear end as I find them (for reasonable prices).
I made the trip out on Monday, May 23rd. This is what I found:
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I'm pretty sure that this truck is not an actual Super Duty, it just has different fenders than stock. Actually, I believe the entire front end has been replaced because it's got the 87-91 front end but it's listed as a 1985 on the title. It has the 80-86 dash as well.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
As you can see, it's a pretty straight truck. And here's when I started to get excited:
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
That is a genuine kingpin Dana 60! The guy wanted about half of what it alone was worth for the whole truck! I couldn't believe my good luck! Thinking it must be too good to be true, I asked him some more detailed questions.
Bob worked for Metro New Holland (a small independent New Holland dealership) for several years until 2008, when the owner of the company dropped a crate 460 in this truck. He let one of his younger baler mechanics use it and less than a thousand miles later, one of the head gaskets failed and the engine over heated. So the truck ended up sitting in a corner of the yard for several months until Bob offered to buy it, thinking he could replace the head gaskets and have a 4X4 full-size truck with a basically new engine for about $1K. He towed it home with the intention of replacing the head gaskets. Once he pulled the heads off the motor, he realized the block had cracked (apparently the crank had broken too). Not planning on buying a whole new motor, he got discouraged and the truck sat from 2008 until present. He had been out of work for almost two years, was several months behind on his mortgage, and was having health problems when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to get around to fixing up this truck. So he ran an ad in the paper. I happened to be the first to call.
I checked the VIN on the dash against the VIN on the title and they matched. Problem was, Bob hadn't transferred the title into his name when he bought it from Metro New Holland. So I told him the only way I'd buy the truck was if he rode to the Department of Licensing with me and we figured out what was required by the State of Washington. He agreed, so we took about a 45-minute drive, took care of the paperwork and I drove him back to his house.
Here's a pic of us loading it on the rental trailer I drug out to Bob's house on Tuesday, May 24th (we pulled the outer rear wheels off because they would have blocked the taillights on the trailer had we left them on):
You must be registered for see images
It's also got Firestone Ride Rite air bags in the rear, a B&W fifth wheel hitch in the bed and the cab marker lights (you can see those in the pics). In the rear seat is a (basically new) Edelbrock carb and intake manifold, plus a bunch of marked parts from the 460. The interior is in decent shape, it's not hammered but it's not show condition either.
Considering the price of scrap in the area right now, I'll probably end up with about $175-200 worth of steel that I won't need off this truck as it sits. It's also got a C6 tranny, which isn't my first choice.
This truck needs a new motor and I'm not too keen on the transmission it has; I'm seriously considering a DT 360 repower with some kind of medium-duty tranny and rear end. I've got my eye out for a DT 360 on craigslist, but no luck so far. The idea is for power in the 600-800 hp range. I'm not stuck to that, but that's the plan for now. It'd be great to top 1500 hp, but I don't think I want to spend that kind of $ at the moment. I'm not in a hurry, so I'll buy the engine, tranny and rear end as I find them (for reasonable prices).
