1983 f-600 questions

[STLfirewood]

Going to look at a new to me chipper truck. Nothing special just a back up to my F-550. It's a 1983 Ford f-600 with a 13 of 14ft box. It has new rear tires and 55k miles. Guy says it runs and drives great. What should I be looking for. What problems are these trucks prone to have. The truck has a 370 engine. What is the best MPG I can see with this. I know it won't get much but there is a big difference between 5 and 8.

Thanks Scott

 

[arbor pro]

I've owned three '83 fords over the years. I believe two were f700s and one was an f8000. The f700s had the 370 gas engines and the f800 had a detroit diesel. All ran real well for me. I believe the only real issues I had with any of the trucks was with clutches and rear ends. Nothing too major though. No engine or tranny problems. One truck was a straight 5 speed and two were split shifts. It was the two-speed rear end on the f800 that I had problems with.

I'm certainly no mechanic but, as a past truck owner, i think the '83 fords are really well built and pretty reliable.

As for fuel, it's been a while but, I think I got closer to 8mpg. I don't recall it being too bad.

I think we may have had alternator problems with the trucks as well but, show me a ford that doesn't have alternator problems.

 

[CalTreeEquip]

370 is a dog.

I don't like the Ford 370, its a dog, no power, burns lots of gas, the 330 was a much better engine but what can you do. Check the plugs, make sure they are not showing signs of rich burning. What happens on those is the vacuum advance on the distributor can fail and cause the engine timing to be off, that will burn up your pistons.

 

[loadthestove]

A friend has an F700 and the only complaint he has ever had was over the brakes.They work good but are expensive to repair.His truck has hydraulic brakes that use the Girling wheel cylinders.They are around four hundred dollars a wheel to replace.
Some really good info can be found at this site
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum232/

 

[willsaw4beer]

http://elmira.craigslist.org/cto/1526545691.html

What do you guys think of this? Wasn't worthy of a new thread but since this one's already here...

 

[Mikecutstrees]

DOT in NYS goes by the door tag not the registered weight. So that would need a class B cdl..... Mike

 

[willsaw4beer]

DOT in NYS goes by the door tag not the registered weight. So that would need a class B cdl..... Mike

So that's it, no getting around it? I would be scared to have that much weight on an old pos like that anyways..

 

[Mikecutstrees]

Bummer eh. I found that out buying a bucket truck. States differ. Mike

 

[willsaw4beer]

That's kind of dishonest for the guy to sayright in the ad that you don't need a special license.

I see you have a Dingo in your sig. My boss keeps talking about buying a Dingo for stonework but until then it's just me and the wheelbarrow..

 

[Mikecutstrees]

Best investment I ever made. People make fun of it till the see it weave through a backyard, pick up 900 lbs and put it into the truck without making a mark on the lawn. I paid 5K for it with a new motor. Great machine!.... Mike

 

[willsaw4beer]

$5k is really cheap isn't it? I might have my numbers crossed but aren't they like $17k new?

 

[Mikecutstrees]

5K is really cheap. I got a great deal. There are some nice deals out there if you keep looking..... I think they are actually 20+ new.... Mike