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Central ND | Realistically you need to look to the future and forget the past, so move up ten or 15 or 20 years newer and look to the future.....and don't look back...
>>...And don't let the old timers tell you how reliable the old stuff was. It was cheaper, but troublesome as well. They remember that because they most likely didn't see the miles or use we demand from vehicles today. Granted, some things were build much better back in the day...... ENGINES and their performance and longevity were NOT one of them.....
>No, just no,......money pit... its 65 years old heck its older than I AM and that not saying much for a truck. You will find a lot of issues to cuss at and spend time and money on.. I would be willing to bet it already had camshaft bearing issues(those had oiling problems as well as up in the top end) and all worn out rocker arms in the valve covers and IT is on good shape body wise because it was let setting unused due to issues like that. The brakes will suck and the parts and boosters will be unavailable., the valves wont be a sodium valve and are already burn out.. ETC, the list goes on and on. Probably doesn't have power steering yet.......I have had a 292 in a 2 ton (63) that had roughly 80,000 miles total until I ditched it 15 or more 20 years ago.. That frankly was about the life expectancy of a vehicle back then...... To get there I had stuck many many thousands of $$$$$ into that engine that was overhauled and again short lived. it was good for its time...... but those old days are gone forever and over.
>>I also have a 5.4 that is 40 years newer in a half ton and parts are available>> EFI << and electronic ignition...Its electronically controlled and there si NO WAY you would talk me into going back to points and a carburetor for any reason in a vehicle......and its reliable.... it has pulled NH3 tanks and spreaders loaded and bumper cattle loads for thousands of miles and I have stuck only coil packs and spark plugs, intake manifolds and exhaust manifolds into it in almost 300,000 miles and it still gets 15 to 20,000 miles a year still.
Brakes are undersized, the boosters are usually undersized as well. Our 2 ton had just a booster on the master cylinder, similar to what a passenger car would use. It weighed 8600 lbs with the wood box. Brakes sucked. 2 speed rear axle. You ran the engine pretty hard to run 60 mph empty.
My elderly uncle and twin brother had a 1/2 ton pickup with a 292 in it back in the late 70,s ... they were no mechanics by any means but babied every engine they ever owned and drove slow everywhere.......I always heard about how great for pickup v 8 this and ford pickup v8 that. And It made me laugh as a kid as it was so badly worn out that it left a solid cloud of smoke every time they came up or down down the driveway with it.
>>RIP UNCLE Art and brother....<
Edited by School Of Hard Knock 12/10/2025 15:12
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Wanting Input on Purchasing an Old Truck
