Keep On [Farm] Truckin'

[CaptainHenreh]

So.

Got a truck.



1992 Ford F-150. No immediately apparent rust beyond the bed being beat to death. Rear wheel drive, which is fine for hauling trash and mulch and stuff.

260,000 miles. Woof.

The good:

THE ENGINE. The 300 cubic inch (4.9l) inline six cylinder purrs like a kitten. It's newer than the rest of the truck and it shows. I had this engine in another truck before, and it missed a lot and occasionally backfired with it's stupid throttle body injection but this is a port fuel job and she's smooth as glass. This is the best truck engine Ford (and possibly anyone) has ever made and you can fight me on that. Hrsprs? Yes. Torques? Lots. But timing gears instead of a belt or chain, 8.8:1 compression means it will run on dog piss, and it's a rock-simple architecture. The last one I had I'd add oil whenever the rockers started to tick and I don't think I ever actually changed it. Just, you know, kept adding. "it's probably fine," I said to myself. I was right. I love this motor.

THE RUST. Or lack thereof. No frame or cab rust, the battery tray still, you know, exists. All good stuff.

THE PRICE. It was hella cheap, yo. Almost the same price as me renting the moving truck. Crazy.

THE SEAT. It's a big blue bench seat that's not all tore up to shit.

The bad:
IT'S OLD AND YOU KNOW IT. No airbags or power anything.

THE TRANSMISSION: Apparently original E4OD makes a pretty godawful grind around second gear. It'll grenade on me one day BUT NOT TODAY so that's what tow insurance is for.

THE 'LECTRICS: Where to begin. So every time I turn off the truck the radio loses power and defaults to "demo mode" when I turn it on. It had a spotlight installed at some point "but it's got a blown fuse"...yeah no shit, when I turn on the headlights the radio dies and when I turn on the windshield washer the wipers start running and don't turn off. It also had a light bar installed at one point by whatever Yee-yee boi owned this thing

SPEAKING OF SAID YEEYEEBOI:




Good fucking grief.

So, FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS. Get rid of those goddamn stickers. They're good valley camo but I don't want any police attention, and those thin <color> line flags are...woof. Not even really funny, these were definitely affixed unironically.

Second: I guess grab the meter and start hunting for this electrical crap. I actually hope I'll never need headlights but, better safe than blind.

Third: Prepare for transmission failure. Shifting into one of these gears is crunchcronchcrunchwrap supreme. I don't even want to pull the pan in case some metal shaving is jammed into a valve that's actually holding the whole thing together. So I'm just gonna, you know, troll craigslist for a trans.

So this isn't really a project thread. I anticipate it being more a "laugh as Rexy tries to keep this turd moving under its own power" thread. The Farm use plates are gonna stay, it's literally what I bought the truck for, and I believe I'm in compliance with the relevant state regulations.

So,

[.RJ]

Nice, no fucks given no apologies.

hows your olds project coming along

[ViPER1313]

Good pick up [emoji106] The radio losing power is likely that the constant 12v line is not getting power or was lazily also hooked to a switched 12v line.


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[CaptainHenreh]

hows your olds project coming along

So funny story I drove it to the new house and the gas gauge was pretty low but I thought "Eh, I can make it."

Narrator: He did not make it.

Tearin' ass down back roads with this loud-ass flowmasters was far too much fun and I maybe wound it out a bit too hard and long and anyway I ran out of gas about a mile from the new house. On what barely qualifies as a 1 and a half lane road. Threw a gallon of gas in there and came to a rolling stop, said 'whew that was close' and then my driver's window wouldn't roll up.

Still won't.

ANYWAY NOT GOING SUPER GREAT.

[ScottyB]

you might not like it, but this is what peak farm truck performance looks like

i love it.

you're not kidding about that engine being more simple and long lived than a Galapagos tortoise.  they are embarrassingly unkillable.  buddy had one in HS in a late 80's F150 shortbed and would regularly abuse it in ways that even my 17 year old brain knew was mechanical suicide.  not that it cared, or broke.

grinding in an E4 seems to point to a bad converter accordingly to some randos on the internet

[Kaan]

a couple of things...
1. buy some under coating and some ramps... back up the ramps and have the girls learn to spray paint. cover stuff with cheap aluminum foil if it shouldnt be sprayed. rear shackles will get eaten over time, especially if you sling mud up there. our old 4x4 needed shackle work. also spray the inside front fenders.

2. if you get bored, bedline the whole thing.

also... i think we put a system in ours for like $200 hitting sales at Critchfield. you'll want to blast your music while to drop off trash

[CaptainHenreh]

Doggo approved

[davej]

VA is funny with the tags, a guy I now got a misdemeanor ticket for taking the trash to the station in his antique tagged truck. Maybe he just needs to swap tags to farm use when he does that. The cop was sitting right by the station and had pulled over multiple antique tagged cars, sounded like something personal. Unknown if your stickers would have helped. (What's the red line? firefighters?)

[CaptainHenreh]

VA is funny with the tags, a guy I now got a misdemeanor ticket for taking the trash to the station in his antique tagged truck. Maybe he just needs to swap tags to farm use when he does that. The cop was sitting right by the station and had pulled over multiple antique tagged cars, sounded like something personal. Unknown if your stickers would have helped. (What's the red line? firefighters?)

IMHO that's absolutely what he shoulda done.

You are not required to register a vehicle (obtain license plates and decals) or pay a registration fee for any pickup or panel truck, sport utility vehicle, vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 7,500 pounds, trailer, or semitrailer used exclusively for agricultural or horticultural purposes on lands owned or leased by the vehicle's owner. Although registration is not required, such vehicles must be titled. This registration exemption applies only to vehicles that are not operated on or over any public highway for any purpose other than:

Crossing a highway;
Operating along a highway for a distance of no more than seventy-five (75) miles from one part of the owner's land to another, irrespective of whether the tracts adjoin;
Taking the vehicle or attached fixtures to and from a repair shop for repairs;
Taking another vehicle exempt from registration under any provision of Va. Code §§ 46.2-664 through 46.2-668 or § 46.2-672, or any part or subcomponent of such a vehicle, to or from a repair shop for repairs, including return trips;
Operating along a highway to and from a refuse disposal facility for the purpose of disposing of trash and garbage generated on a farm; or
Operating along a highway for a distance of no more than seventy-five (75) miles for the purpose of obtaining supplies for agricultural or horticultural purposes, seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, or animal feed. (Va. Code § 46.2-665)

Now, technically if he had the antique tags on there he must have registered as an antique, and therefore in violation but how would Officer Antiantique even know?

I'd keep a pair of plates in my glovebox if i were that guy.

[Senor_Taylor]

VA is funny with the tags, a guy I now got a misdemeanor ticket for taking the trash to the station in his antique tagged truck. Maybe he just needs to swap tags to farm use when he does that. The cop was sitting right by the station and had pulled over multiple antique tagged cars, sounded like something personal. Unknown if your stickers would have helped. (What's the red line? firefighters?)

That's irritating. Did he fight the ticket? The law is so vague when it comes to "leisure drives".

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[JPolen01]

I'm not sure how anyone could define leisure as going to the dump. It was probably a small fine not even worth fighting.


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[Senor_Taylor]

I'm not sure how anyone could define leisure as going to the dump. It was probably a small fine not even worth fighting.


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I've heard you can fight these easily by claiming you were getting the oil changed that day and made a stop on the way.

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[Goodspeed]

Lookit that sumbitch.  That is one honest vehicle right there - an automotive Clydesdale if there ever was one.  If only you could buy it a round of "It's Oil"-brand oil for the stories it could tell you.

Isn't this the last gen of F-series pickup before they got all 90's curvy and intro'd the beginnings of truck luxury?  This feels like the last of the true work trucks to me, something this man would be proud of:



Also, thank you for yee yee boi.

[.RJ]

amazing

[CaptainHenreh]

Lookit that sumbitch.  That is one honest vehicle right there...

Honest is a good description. Look at this bench seat. So innocently blue. 

This truck has no guile, no falsehoods. It is not perfect but it is truck. 

Maybe the dogs like it so much because it reminds them of themselves.

[ScottyB]

the ol bench is sort of the perfect allegory aint it?

i can hear that truck now.
"hey partner.  i got a place for ya ta sit.  its easy to get inna, and look there ya can put yer lunch pail right next ta yer dog and just brush th' fur off out th' door when we get back.  hey i heard ya workin long hours, whydunya jist stretch out on there fer a spell wit them windurs down and take a load off.  you tell me when ta turn over and we'll go grab a PBR down at th' hole."

[.RJ]

look at that big brushy american mustache, they dont grow 'em like that anymore