Cash or vehicle in trade for compensation: What would you have done?

Joined
Mar 19, 2022
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Location
Central Mississippi
Rebuilt the entire front end, diagnosed a misfire, replaced the distributor, and repaired a leaking wheel cylinder on a 94 s10 pickup. Cool.
Me and the old guy got to talking when it came time to pay the labor ~450-500 was what I was gonna charge him. He's been a good friend of the family for years.
It caught my eye.
It lured me over for a look
It was calling my name.
1988 f350. 7.3 idi, 4x4, 5speed, extended cab long bed.
Oh sweet mama....
I asked him how long it's been sitting there and he tells me since his dad died in 2017.
Cool.
He asked me if I was interested,and I was but before I said anything I went and did some rooting around.
Engine spins 360 degrees? Check.
Oil is free of visible water? Check.
Does it have any form of coolant in it that dosent look like mud?check.
Hes digging up the title for it. I'm going back Sunday to see if I can get it to bust off and run with a slight amount of tlc.
No rust. But the truck is green from sitting there.
He said the only issue was that it would need a little spurt of ether to wake it up in the mornings. It wouldn't need it the rest of the day.
Hmm. Probably either return lines or glowplugs and glowplug controller... no biggie.
I feel like it's a pretty good deal. I could get my labor costs back out of it running or not running.
Like gmt-400 chevy c2500 (which I have one of.. nv4500, tbi350, sclb) the late 80s idi ford is another dream truck of sorts. Especially with the 5 speed and 4x4....
Idk. I just wanted to basically say that I had a good weekend hope it turns out to be a runner.
What would you have done? Cash or truck?
 
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Sounds like a great deal to me for all parties involved + Dad's truck went to a good home. Pics?
 
I had to read that twice, to find out you were talking two different pickups.

I thought, how do you diagnose a misfire, without the engine running?

Just me being stupid in my old age as usual!:confused:
 
The ether to start it is a little bit of a red flag. Ether and hot glow plugs don’t work well together. It sounds like you know what you are doing though.

The same truck new today would be what, $80K? Go for the truck.
 
If just 1 glow plug is bad it will shut the rest of the system down. Don't use starting fluid on it! It can knock the pre cups out of the heads.

There is a grey plug on the pass side fender well that all the engine electronics go through. Alt,glow plugs,temp sender etc. It often burns up and kills the glow plu circuit.
 
How is Mississippi on rust? Sure it's southern, but are you far enough from the coast that salt air isn't an issue. And isn't it brutally humid in the summer and rainy that would accelerate rust? Kinda like the Florida car conundrum. You would think they would all be rustfree, but you see them rusted pretty bad from the salt air.
 
I
How is Mississippi on rust? Sure it's southern, but are you far enough from the coast that salt air isn't an issue. And isn't it brutally humid in the summer and rainy that would accelerate rust? Kinda like the Florida car conundrum. You would think they would all be rustfree, but you see them rusted pretty bad from the salt air.
I live about 3 hours away from the coast. Rust is almost a non-issue in my area. You'll see some older vehicles with a "patina" but that's about it.
 
Truck for sure and old IDI 7.3s are tolerant of ether to a point. Don't go crazy with it. 5 speed & 4x4 is a deal to me.
 

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