Nice find! It looks like a keeper.
They can go ahead and strike-- I got my truck.
- Thread starter eljefino
- Start date
The biggest pile of sheet ever produced is and always has been the E4OD. I had one in it's first year. I was a ford fanatic prior to this brand new purchase in 1990. I have bought many a new vehicle since then, never a ford again. As a matter of fact, if the current strike drives ford to bankruptcy and all of its employees lose their jobs. I will just smile to myself and consider it justified in the karma sense.
Drove it home!
Probably needs a full tune up, felt a very light skip when I got on the gas at medium throttle. Rockauto shows parts cheap enough. Not buying counterfeit crap on ebay/ amazon.
Rides very, very soft. Probably 20 lbs in all the tires, LOL. I brought an inflator but those things take way too much time.
Gas gauge was on E, so I bought a gallon, figuring I was nine miles from home so how bad could my MPG be? Gauge jumped up to 3/8.
Smells a little inside. The power windows are busted but I opened the triangle vents to let it air out.
Battery is a midgrade walmart from 2/22. I hooked up an unregulated solar panel to charge it. Cranks slow. Obviously hasn't been driven lately.
Tranny code says E4OD. Has nice quick firm shifts. Had the same tranny in my RV behind a 460. The 5.8 is a torque monster, too, just chugging along at 1700 RPM.
Speedo pointer aims at six o'clock. Odometer adds up so it's not a cable, will go searching for clusters on ebay.
My 91 Dodge Dakota 2.5 5 speed got an honest 25 MPG, but it's not a full size truck. 4x8 sheet goods had to lay on one wheel well. And it was stupendously slow.
Engine smelled "hot", probably hasn't been warmed up in a while. Might have roasted some acorns stashed wherever.
Probably needs a full tune up, felt a very light skip when I got on the gas at medium throttle. Rockauto shows parts cheap enough. Not buying counterfeit crap on ebay/ amazon.
Rides very, very soft. Probably 20 lbs in all the tires, LOL. I brought an inflator but those things take way too much time.
Gas gauge was on E, so I bought a gallon, figuring I was nine miles from home so how bad could my MPG be? Gauge jumped up to 3/8.
Smells a little inside. The power windows are busted but I opened the triangle vents to let it air out.
Battery is a midgrade walmart from 2/22. I hooked up an unregulated solar panel to charge it. Cranks slow. Obviously hasn't been driven lately.
Tranny code says E4OD. Has nice quick firm shifts. Had the same tranny in my RV behind a 460. The 5.8 is a torque monster, too, just chugging along at 1700 RPM.
Speedo pointer aims at six o'clock. Odometer adds up so it's not a cable, will go searching for clusters on ebay.
My 91 Dodge Dakota 2.5 5 speed got an honest 25 MPG, but it's not a full size truck. 4x8 sheet goods had to lay on one wheel well. And it was stupendously slow.
Engine smelled "hot", probably hasn't been warmed up in a while. Might have roasted some acorns stashed wherever.
Lol that’s not even the worst Ford transmission of that era! A4LD??? Anyone? Anyone?
For me personally the worst transmission I’ve owned has been the 4L60. I had two K1500s with it and both I got rid of due to the ol slip, slip, bang! There was a whole lot I liked about the 88-98 GM trucks but the 4L60 and front end rebuilds every 50k was the end of the line for GM trucks and myself.
I’d probably take a square body again if the price was right but it never is on those things anymore.
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Wonder how much that fuel mileage would be towing 13K, I imagine it would be 0 pretty quick as the little 2.7 turbo would blow up.=zero mpg=not very efficient
There is of course the original statement I was arguing with with 25 mpg = ridiculous claim, even as an average. Your graph is great but does not support the claim of 25mpg average, not even close.
Does the 351 have the Bosch type port EFI? This has gotta be the best part of the '94 Rat, I use it to maintain a newish battery with a wall wart, and to occasionally shift something in my yard. The main reason I keep the Rat is that it starts so easily, it makes me smile. 
Oh...I have. But it's easier on the Internet!
My neighbor had that truck (it might have been a 1990) with the straight six....it had 300k when he sold it.
A friend told me a story about that engine...he knew a guy who bought a used one that was making noise...he asked the guy if he had checked the oil....the guy said “No”....when they checked it it was bone dry....they filled it with oil and it was quiet as a mouse and ran for years after that...a great engine that was nearly indestructible.
PS: To the OP....nice find.
Last edited:
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- Mar 5, 2024
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- 43
How much you pay for it? Not a bad looking truck.Well I've been on the hunt for a while now. My pandemic-era beater Silverado runs mint but is nickel and diming me. EVAP issues. Funky gauges that go berzerk. Soft rocker panels. Awful spray-paint job. Generic TPMS sensors going out (this one is my fault). I think I got it to hold its antifreeze after replacing both a cracked surge tank and a three-way hose connection down by the water pump. It fits my whole family going up to camp if I leave someone behind. So, in short, I've been shopping. Even considering another trip to North Carolina for something rust-free. Strongly prefer something pre- OBD-II because this electrical stuff is interfering with my state inspections.
Went to look at an S10, that "all it needed was a fuel sender." It was at some backyard mechanic's with the bed off while I looked at it. OK, cool, fix the $50 sender that broke off at the top off the tank then run it on the 20 year old gas and get back to me. Plates expired in 2003. It was, TBH, a solid truck.
Looked at a Chevy half-ton, rotted out.
Looked at a 93 F250, lots of clunking, replaced floorboards, self tapping screws, rotted brake lines, soft brake pedal. Honestly was a contender if nothing else appeared.
Messaged on a 300k Silverado, dude said I'm busy this week, but will get back. Why the ad then? Never got back. Messaged on a F150 straight from Kentucky that needed a tranny. Same run-around.
OK this is the part where I talk about the truck I actually got.
91 F150, shows up on Craigslist, which is how old people communicate, last Sunday. I message the guy same day. He calls me back on Wednesday, but my phone is flaking out so I miss it. I get my new phone and an playing with it on the way to my kids' track event and find the voicemail. Call the old dude back and he says someone's coming today (nuts) but I can come this evening (yay.) Show up and it's still there. It has an extra-cab so there's room for the wife, dog and both kids.
Truck was in Arizona from 1991 to 2002 when my seller bought it. He lives in a lake house and only drove it on the private road to the brush pile and used it to launch his boat. "100 miles a year" he says.
Door sills are good. Fenders are good. Spring hangers good. Front spring mounts on the frame are good (OBS Ford people know what I'm talking about.) Radius arm brackets are bolt-in which indicates they were replaced, also good. Tiny bit of crude bondo on the back of the cab. Meh.
135k miles. I'm offered a test drive. The ad said nothing about the engine. Old man opens the hood and simply says "it has the big motor." 351!
We go up and down the road. Firm brakes, firm shifts, no clunks. "It has positraction" the guy mentions. More good news!
I pull back into his driveway and let it run to charge the battery. Turn the AC on. It blows ice cubes. "This works?" I exclaim, trying to play it cool. "Yes, I took it to the garage, they put something in" he modestly replies.
"What were you asking?" I ask, and I quote him his price. He affirms that's the price, but interjects, "I can go lower."
A gentleman never talks, but I got it for somewhere between a paycheck and a paycheck with OT.
We stood on the driveway making out the paperwork, and the dude starts philosophizing about what life's going to be like after twenty years without his faithful companion. Hand over the keys, Grandpa, LOL.
It darkens my driveway come Monday, when I get plates.
It needs:
water pump
power windows fixed
speedometer fixed
Rear gas tank fails inspection for rust, so that might just... come out and stay out.
View attachment 181245View attachment 181252
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- Mar 5, 2024
- Messages
- 43
The problem with older vehicles once you replace one part it over works the other parts..Well I've been on the hunt for a while now. My pandemic-era beater Silverado runs mint but is nickel and diming me. EVAP issues. Funky gauges that go berzerk. Soft rocker panels. Awful spray-paint job. Generic TPMS sensors going out (this one is my fault). I think I got it to hold its antifreeze after replacing both a cracked surge tank and a three-way hose connection down by the water pump. It fits my whole family going up to camp if I leave someone behind. So, in short, I've been shopping. Even considering another trip to North Carolina for something rust-free. Strongly prefer something pre- OBD-II because this electrical stuff is interfering with my state inspections.
Went to look at an S10, that "all it needed was a fuel sender." It was at some backyard mechanic's with the bed off while I looked at it. OK, cool, fix the $50 sender that broke off at the top off the tank then run it on the 20 year old gas and get back to me. Plates expired in 2003. It was, TBH, a solid truck.
Looked at a Chevy half-ton, rotted out.
Looked at a 93 F250, lots of clunking, replaced floorboards, self tapping screws, rotted brake lines, soft brake pedal. Honestly was a contender if nothing else appeared.
Messaged on a 300k Silverado, dude said I'm busy this week, but will get back. Why the ad then? Never got back. Messaged on a F150 straight from Kentucky that needed a tranny. Same run-around.
OK this is the part where I talk about the truck I actually got.
91 F150, shows up on Craigslist, which is how old people communicate, last Sunday. I message the guy same day. He calls me back on Wednesday, but my phone is flaking out so I miss it. I get my new phone and an playing with it on the way to my kids' track event and find the voicemail. Call the old dude back and he says someone's coming today (nuts) but I can come this evening (yay.) Show up and it's still there. It has an extra-cab so there's room for the wife, dog and both kids.
Truck was in Arizona from 1991 to 2002 when my seller bought it. He lives in a lake house and only drove it on the private road to the brush pile and used it to launch his boat. "100 miles a year" he says.
Door sills are good. Fenders are good. Spring hangers good. Front spring mounts on the frame are good (OBS Ford people know what I'm talking about.) Radius arm brackets are bolt-in which indicates they were replaced, also good. Tiny bit of crude bondo on the back of the cab. Meh.
135k miles. I'm offered a test drive. The ad said nothing about the engine. Old man opens the hood and simply says "it has the big motor." 351!
We go up and down the road. Firm brakes, firm shifts, no clunks. "It has positraction" the guy mentions. More good news!
I pull back into his driveway and let it run to charge the battery. Turn the AC on. It blows ice cubes. "This works?" I exclaim, trying to play it cool. "Yes, I took it to the garage, they put something in" he modestly replies.
"What were you asking?" I ask, and I quote him his price. He affirms that's the price, but interjects, "I can go lower."
A gentleman never talks, but I got it for somewhere between a paycheck and a paycheck with OT.
We stood on the driveway making out the paperwork, and the dude starts philosophizing about what life's going to be like after twenty years without his faithful companion. Hand over the keys, Grandpa, LOL.
It darkens my driveway come Monday, when I get plates.
It needs:
water pump
power windows fixed
speedometer fixed
Rear gas tank fails inspection for rust, so that might just... come out and stay out.
View attachment 181245View attachment 181252
But hands down would a new vehicle be more expensive or Worth the payments every month?
Say you put in $50-$400 every other month or two on a old vehicle vs $500-$800 payment for a new one every month .plus insurance.
A two-week paycheck with healthy overtime.
It's been nine months, and it just rolled over its first thousand miles in my care.
WOW. When I get a new-to-me beater - I always end up stress testing it in first couple weeks, which often breaks the 1000 mile mark, or gets very close.
Strike 
How good does that work when most everyone gets a layoff notice a year or so later. The ones building cars and trucks don't seem to understand that normal folks have to be able to afford the crap they are building. The manufactures just can't keep sending them to a crusher.
Well I guess if the bail outs hit then they can. Because they will never sell them at a reasonable price.
How good does that work when most everyone gets a layoff notice a year or so later. The ones building cars and trucks don't seem to understand that normal folks have to be able to afford the crap they are building. The manufactures just can't keep sending them to a crusher.
Well I guess if the bail outs hit then they can. Because they will never sell them at a reasonable price.
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