I'm waffling on this...

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DurocShark

DurocShark

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My father-in-law lives in Cali, I'm in CO. He has a 1973 F350 4-spd/390 he's had since it was new.

The truck got a new engine in the 90's, but the rebuilder screwed up a valve guide, so it burns oil. It has sat ever since, never being registered or insured. (My FIL isn't the most motivated fellow in the world.)

He said I could have the truck if I really wanted it. But 15-ish years of no registration is interesting. Also, I'd have to replace all the rubber (tires, belts, hoses, etc) and flush all the fluids before I could even think about driving it back to CO.

I like the idea of keeping it in the family, perhaps passing it to one of my kids at some point. I like the idea of having a truck. I miss my old S10.

I'm debating whether it's worth the $$ or the hassle. There's a used tire shop close to my FIL's house, so I could get tires cheap good enough to get home. Belts and hoses would run about $100, and $50 for fluids. I'd bet the wheel bearings are flatspotted from sitting in one place for so long, but that is worth the risk.

The registration is a big question. I'd bet CA will give it to me without lube if I try to reg it there. I'm calling the CO DMV Monday to see what I can do from this end. They may be more forgiving. ;)

Anyway, anybody have any thoughts?
 
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contact an auto transport company and see what it would cost to have it shipped to you. It may be cheaper than insuring and taging the vehicle. Some states have a 30 day temporary tag for such things but Im not sure If California is one of them.
 
I am willing to bet the vehicle isn't even in the Calif. DMV files any longer. Give them a call with the vehicle info to see what they say. Just make sure you get the "pink slip" before you move it. I would vote for having it shipped to you in CO, might be a lot less hassle. Valve guides aren't that big a hassle to repair. Just think you won't have all the junk in the way if you want to work on it. Probably need a Carb(remember those) rebuild also.
 
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DurocShark said:
My father-in-law lives in Cali, I'm in CO. He has a 1973 F350 4-spd/390 he's had since it was new.

The truck got a new engine in the 90's, but the rebuilder screwed up a valve guide, so it burns oil. It has sat ever since, never being registered or insured. (My FIL isn't the most motivated fellow in the world.)

He said I could have the truck if I really wanted it. But 15-ish years of no registration is interesting. Also, I'd have to replace all the rubber (tires, belts, hoses, etc) and flush all the fluids before I could even think about driving it back to CO.

I like the idea of keeping it in the family, perhaps passing it to one of my kids at some point. I like the idea of having a truck. I miss my old S10.

I'm debating whether it's worth the $$ or the hassle. There's a used tire shop close to my FIL's house, so I could get tires cheap good enough to get home. Belts and hoses would run about $100, and $50 for fluids. I'd bet the wheel bearings are flatspotted from sitting in one place for so long, but that is worth the risk.

The registration is a big question. I'd bet CA will give it to me without lube if I try to reg it there. I'm calling the CO DMV Monday to see what I can do from this end. They may be more forgiving. ;)

Anyway, anybody have any thoughts?
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Not exactly sure in your state but in NE, as long as a SALE takes place, you would not have to pay any back-registration fees or. That sale has no minimum, I have purchased a vehicle from a relative for $1 before. A sale is a sale in the eyes of a law. I did also have to pay sales tax on that sale but at 7% of $1, it did not break me.:wink: I also had to pay to have a new title made in my name but you need to do that if it is a gift as well. Please look into this yourself as I don't want the blame if your laws are different.

Landon
 
Before you sink a bunch of money into tires, etc, why not rent a 4000 lb capacity trailer (u haul has em here) and get it to you home?

That way if the truck can't be easily fixed, you can part it out on E-bay and get your towing expenses back. 1970 model truck parts (OEM) are pure gold!
 
Not sure about CO, but most states have a "salvage" title provision. This means vehicles with a bill of sale can be titled with a salvage title and registered for road use after an inspection.

In many states, no title is even required after the vehicle is 25 years old
 
I had a 390 in my old 68gt mustang. It's one beast of an engine. If the body & frame on the truck are solid I'd probably take it, It is after all a classic. I would not even want to think of gas prices though lol. I probably got about 10-12 MPG in my stang but I was paying .99c a gallon and it took me 20 bucks to fill. These days my crappy grand am rarely sees a full tank of gas @ 90 bucks a tank.
 
besides the parts you listed, there will be many more that need replacing...rubber wears out or deteriorates with time...bushings, ball joints, brakes, ect plus fuel pump, filters, dropping the tank, flushing the radiator (possible with this much time sitting, lot of internal motor parts need attention/replacing)


the truck needs to be inspected first before jumping in unless you got some cash on hand or want to take your time and do a restore

rust could be another factor and will just destroy any budget

bottom line is it can be a daily driver, how safe it will be depends on how much work and money you spend
 
Title expert here:

As pointed out earlier in the thread, you need the original title. Ask the FIL to find it. CO has sales tax I would assume. When you go to the DMV, the sales price will be too low for them to accept without appraisals from dealers on their letterhead. Therefor they will look up the value in their system and charge you sales tax based on what they think it is worth.

In my opinion, transport from California to Denver would run about $500, however, you would have to make sure that the transport company could WINCH that truck onto their trailer and be able to unload it with no starting. They normally drive cars on and off the trailers. Speciality guys would charge you more for those services.

Any rust through from sitting that many years? Paint completely gone? Interior could be completely rotted away from being in sunshine for hours and hours a day.

The starter, points, sparkplugs, could all be in rough rough shape too. Unless you are mechanically inclined, and want to mess with it, I would pass.
 
This truck gets started every week... So the thing can be driven onto the trailer.

No rust to speak of, some surface "patina" is all. Yay!

Title is in hand. Double Yay!

Paint is faded. Interior shot. Starts up pretty nice though. I checked it out last time I was in CA (2 years ago).

I forgot a battery. I'd need that too. I won't trust the one in there, even though he's kept it on a maintainer the whole time so he can start it for its weekly warm up.

Thanks guys. I figured transport was more expensive. I popped a query to a broker a friend worked with for his VW Bus.
 
In ca. you are responsable forall back fees for 7 years after that it is no longer in the system. You would be much better off trailering it back to you. I needed to bring a pu from texas to ca. I bough a new flatbed tlr for $1100 drom the manufacturer, hauled the trk back here the sold the trailer for $2200. sweet deal for me
 
One other good reason to trailer it back or have it hauled. YOU wont have to have it tagged in Ca, and if you break down coming back from Ca it may cost you a whole lot more than towing or trailering. You might also look at renting a tow dolly for vehicles. I believe uhaul rents them, and i have made my own before.
 
Also remember that once you have the engine opened you may as well do the rest of the valves up to spec to ensure that another one won't go bad just after you put it back together. Hardened seats and valves should also be looked at for the nolead gasoline that is used today. Like someone stated, don't forget the carb rebuild. Rock Auto is a good place to start looking for parts for older vehicles.
 
Of course I can't comment on the USA rules and regs, but I'd give my eye teeth to tinker around with that F350!! :biggrin: I used to have a F250 as a company 'car'. A small part of me died when that pick-up went:redface:
I honestly think that if I could just afford the fuel costs in the UK, then I'd get one here.
I remember visiting one of our company branches in Mount Pleasant PA and there were several in the car park. :rolleyes:
 
Yeah, it's a beast of a truck. I had a 390 in my 71 Ford LTD way back when. (Bought it off my wife's ex boyfriend... hehehe) That thing could walk and talk.
 
I don't know the first thing about mechanicals on a truck or vehicle... always costs me to have repairs done... but a few years back, my step father's old 1971 Chevy came my way... it had a 6 cylinder in it, dripped oil all over my driveway, but ran everytime I needed a truck... I finally changed the valve cover gasket and water pump... first and probably last time I'll ever venture into auto repair, but stopped the oil drizzle and water pump rattle... hauled my boat for a couple of years with it and was a great vehicle... only problem was it was beginning to rust out in the body... I had holes big enough to throw a cat through under both doors and a hole in the floor board under the seat... was afraid one day I might fall through if I hit a bump too hard... a young Mexican knocked on my door one day and asked if I wanted to sell it...I said no, but he asked how much if I might want to sell... I gave him a price thinking he would say no and leave.... he pulled a wad of $100's out of his pocket, so I sold the truck.... kind of wish I hadn't now, but probably would be just a rust heap by now...
 
Chuck a rust heap he probably sold out for scrap metal. My dad had an F150 Ford sitting on his farm. It wouldn't start, was rusting out. My mom was having a garage sale and truck with a trailer pulled up. A group of guys got out and looked at anything metal and one guy went to my dad and asked him about the old Ford. He made him an offer and my dad took it. I drove up about the time the were winching it up onto the flatbed. I started talking to the guy and found out he was going to sell it to a scrap yard for "weight" he called it. Said if he did it right he would get the cost out of it plus. But there was times he did not play his cards right on a weekend and spent more then he brought in.
 
If it runs take it home

The thing is even if you wind up not wanting it - there will be some collector who wants to restore it and take it to auto shows....
Officially in most states if it's over 25 years old it is an antique which makes it elgible for some special treatment.
 
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I have a 1992 F-250 XLT that I purchased from a friends estate, it has the 7.5l which is a 4??ci, but I forget. I just call it my bleeping gas hog, with gas at almost $3.70 a gallon here in Utah. I only use it for hauling stuff as I am not sure about the transmission. I get a lot of attention at Home Depot from people about the truck. I have always been a Chevy man myself but this was a good friend of mine who passed so it is nice to have it around.
 
I've gotten a few quotes back to have it shipped. From $600 to $975. They're all brokers so whatever. I have a reference to a place, Red Carpet, that a friend used to get a Buick Grand National from NM to FL, so if they're not too far off, I'll go with them.

I'm thinking it's worth it to ship it in. I love classics anyway, and since I don't have my VW Bus anymore, need a wood hauler. This will work out for me quite nicely.

Now to convince the wife I need $600+ to get it shipped...
 
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