My old 89 F-150 that I've had since July proved to be a nightmare, it ran great till a couple weeks ago, head gasket blew but it was still drivable though pretty rough. Body is in great condition but the engine is now shot, couldn't even get it to fire up tonight. So I set off in search of a new truck, and avoiding Fords. Finding a Chevy/GMC 4x4 long bed that is in good shape but under $6500 proved impossible for my 50 mile search, so I set out for wider range. Finally found the perfect fit...in Michigan just south of Detroit
Shot of the old beast, 351 V8 engine...loved this truck but damnit, only paid $1450 for it back in July and got what I paid for apparently. Still like that old classic look though, going to miss her when shes gone. But wasn't going to let it nickle and dime me to death like my old 89 Ford Bronco II did.
Then came the road trip. Found this little gem hiding in Michigan and decided to go for it. Took off yesterday morning on what was supposed to be a 3-4 hour drive...5 hours later we finally made it after getting turned around and lost in Toledo, Ohio
Make it up there only to realize that the pictures are just a little deceiving though it really is a nice truck. Just some cosmetic issues that need some attention. Bed has a drop in liner, fully rusted under it with no paint left, but no soft spots so it can still be saved. Passenger door needs an outside handle and some work, it still opens from the outside but must unlock from the inside as the key will not work. But other then that theres really not anything major. Passengers side window tint needs redone, its a little warped and makes a nice blur. Has a new tailgate, hints why its missing any logos. This truck only had one previous owner before going to the dealership, managed to get in contact with him and find out why the tailgate was replaced since the Carfax report had no wrecks. Apparently he managed to back into a loading ramp with the gate down and crunched it pretty well about a year ago
But I've done that to a truck in the past so its no big deal.
Decide its still worth the money and get all the paperwork filled out, the friend who took me up there had to leave so I was left on my own for the return trip. Get everything finished and the office lady returns with the transit plate I needed to legally bring it down to Indiana. Take off and begin the long journey home, taking an alternate route to avoid Toledo. Its dark within the first 30 minutes of the drive. After several stops in little towns to stretch and over 100 miles on SR-12 in Michigan I finally dropped down on SR-9 and made it to Indiana. Thats when things got interesting. Several small towns later and 150 miles traveled, I passed through Albion, Indiana. Streets were brightly lit so I figured it was just my eyes playing tricks when I got back into the darkness. Headlights seemed a little dim
Didn't take long before I realized it wasn't my eyes...headlights really were dimming down and fast, 10 miles south of Albion which was the closest town, it dies, took a lot of effort to get it off the road with no power steering. Of course...50 miles from home and the alternator goes out
So I'm stuck in the cold for over an hour waiting on my friend to come pick me up. Get farther south into Columbia City and found out all the auto parts stores closed at 9PM...it was now 9:30PM
So we turned towards home and left it sit on the side of the road
Managed to get a new alternator this morning and returned to the truck, got it up and running again and finished the 200 mile journey. And now it runs perfectly fine, called the dealership up and even though I bought it as is with no warranty they are going to reimburse me for the $200 in parts. It would be one thing if I had it a few days, but when it didn't even make it home...I was ready to go postal
But just a minor speed bump, everything else seems to be just fine. It hopefully will have a long life with me. Getting the exhaust replaced when tax time rolls around, probably going to dual strait pipes since its cheaper. But the current exhaust is about shot
So here it is...my new toy.
(Dealership photos since I haven't had the chance to take my own yet)
1997 Chevy 2500 Extended Cab 4x4. 97,300 miles, 350 Vortec V8 engine. Once the little minor cosmetic issues are fixed up this thing will be near perfect.
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