First Car-1978 f-150?
#1
10-14-2009 | 03:45 PM
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First Car-1978 f-150?
I am looking for a dependable durable but useable pickup. I have never owned an automobile. (I'm 20 years old) I am looking at an old beater 1978 f-150 with a 351 cleveland. I want to know if this is a reliable engine that I won't need to throw alot of money in. It has 78,000 miles on it, and I test drove it and it started like a brand new car, and drove surprisingly well. I'm buying it off a mechanic who told me he never had ANY problems, but that could be horse**** as far as I know. Is there any problems that are associated with these engines I should look out for? any help or information on this truck would be of great help to me. thanks
#4
10-15-2009 | 05:59 PM
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 4,956
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From: MD
The 351M/400 engines are gutless in stock form. It's a shame to only rate a big V8 at 150HP. Also, they were infamous for cylinder wall cracking. Otherwise, they are OK. Not my personal preference, but if it runs good without issues, you're good to go. They were popular in '77/79 F-series & Bronco.
The important thing to ask is, has it been rebuilt? A 351M/400 stand a better chance if they've been rebuilt before.
The important thing to ask is, has it been rebuilt? A 351M/400 stand a better chance if they've been rebuilt before.
#5
10-16-2009 | 02:41 AM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,061
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From: London, Ontario Canada
First off welcome too FTE.com and too the Dentside (73-79) area, and these old trucks are perfect vehicles, personally i would pick a 73-79 Ford truck over anything built in the past 30 years, i just like there look and the way there made, its nice to be able to work on your own truck, with out some fancy computer needed to fix some computer glitch, and generally there is tons of room under the hood, and in all truth's these trucks are built like tanks!
now back to your issue,
if that Mechanic's even worth his salt he should know the difference between a 351M and a 351C, so i would bring that to his attention, and see what he says, i have seen so many 70s Ford cars and trucks for sale listed with having a 351C but 9 times out of 10 its a 351M or 400 and sometimes even a 351W can turned into a 351C come selling time, just like how 302w's magically become BOSS motors or the famous line, "ya it came out of a Mach 1" all this is just hype, and i hate to see people get taken for a ride, so do your research and then you have a fighting chance when buying a 73-79 Dentside,
you can't go too wrong, just make sure there is no huge rust problems, check the cab corners, the doors, the bed and tailgate, and the frame, and go over the mechanicals with a fine toothed comb, and you should be fine, just keep up on fluid changes, and tune ups, and don't cheap out on parts or fluid, and you should be fine, and when in doubt buy the part or fluid that costs 5-15 bucks more, trust me its worth it! cheap parts or cheap fluids can spell disaster in the end,
but good luck, and we will be waiting to see some pictures of this truck in question, and any other possible 73-79's your thinking about locally, trust me you'll be glad you got a dentside, just freshen up on your research on them and the basics and you will be Golden!
-Brent
now back to your issue,
if that Mechanic's even worth his salt he should know the difference between a 351M and a 351C, so i would bring that to his attention, and see what he says, i have seen so many 70s Ford cars and trucks for sale listed with having a 351C but 9 times out of 10 its a 351M or 400 and sometimes even a 351W can turned into a 351C come selling time, just like how 302w's magically become BOSS motors or the famous line, "ya it came out of a Mach 1" all this is just hype, and i hate to see people get taken for a ride, so do your research and then you have a fighting chance when buying a 73-79 Dentside,
you can't go too wrong, just make sure there is no huge rust problems, check the cab corners, the doors, the bed and tailgate, and the frame, and go over the mechanicals with a fine toothed comb, and you should be fine, just keep up on fluid changes, and tune ups, and don't cheap out on parts or fluid, and you should be fine, and when in doubt buy the part or fluid that costs 5-15 bucks more, trust me its worth it! cheap parts or cheap fluids can spell disaster in the end,
but good luck, and we will be waiting to see some pictures of this truck in question, and any other possible 73-79's your thinking about locally, trust me you'll be glad you got a dentside, just freshen up on your research on them and the basics and you will be Golden!
-Brent
