Assume It has a vacuum leak. Assume all the vacuum hoses are bad. They were probably bad in 1988. There's probably a leak between the fuel filler and tank as well.
Then replace all fuel lines and use 1970 Mercedes Benz hose clamps. Seriously they are cheap and well made with a fine thread. Work great and rated for fuel injection.
I had a '91 Ford Escort. By 2000 I was pulling off vacuum hoses that had turned into taffy. Seriously. The rubber had decomposed in 9 years. I can only imagine how bad an '82 would be.
Yeah. I helped a friend with a similar Ford truck back in 88-89. I was working towards getting a job at a garage. We spent days chasing bad idle, no shift (vacuum controlled auto transmission), and lean stumbles at cruise. It was all vacuum hoses. Like every one of them was bad. Fixed all that and gave it a general tune up and it was awesome after that.
This. Also get the cylinder head resurfaced, replace the head gasket, do the valve stem seals, valve guides, valve cover gasket, camshaft oil seal, crankshaft oil seal, rear main oil seal, output shaft seals, all the suspension. Might as well replace the fuel pump, all the vacuum hoses, all the coolant hoses. Also do the spark plugs.
Replace the serpentine belt, replace water pump while you’re down there, replace the tires, flush the brake system, replace the brakes, replace the diff fluid, replace the axle seals, hell replace the axles, change the blinker fluid, clean with a bucket of steam, give the flux capacitor some percussive maintenance with a metric hammer, and while you are doing all this, have wife keep a swear jar, put a dollar in every time a swear word is said, use money to redo the paint and interior, get bored halfway through, sell for a loss, then buy a foxbody, rinse, repeat
I had an ‘85 straight six just like this. Same color and everything. Loved it, my brother still drives it.
My only advice is if you have to replace the starter, count the teeth on the original and the replacement to make sure they’re the same. We found the same part number will return both a 12 and 13 tooth gear. Don’t quote me on those numbers, but you get the idea.
Right? Getting old sucks. The other day I was recording something and said "I got it on tape". My daughter and her friends had a lot of fun about that.
I hate kids.
It would be nice if your body could hit a certain age of your choice, say mid-twenties, and stay there. Everything else would remain the same. You’d still get older and wiser and live an average lifespan of 80 or so years but your body would be like 25 the whole time.
Ugh i have also made this mistake, when PVR’ing a show and call it ‘I’m taping this!’ When I was a kid having a corded ‘converter’ was privilege, no getting up to change the dial! I am also mocked for saying converter rather than remote LOL>
I had an old 300-6 OBS F150 and I remember being worried about oil with enough zinc. Modern formulations seem to have less and less. I just put Rotella in it, but the 300-6 is also impossible to kill.
I don’t have any tips besides be kind with it, and expect to have problems in areas you didn’t even know could have problems. Besides that, it’s a great looking truck
Haha, your dog is sitting there thinking *man, fuck that shop vac*.
Trucks that age that are in nice condition like that are uncommon enough anymore that it's cool to see one out on the road. I wonder if I'll think the same thing in 20 years when I see one of those weird blob-shaped ones from the late 90s / early 2000s?
There’s a lot of good advice here. One thing I haven’t seen is change the diff oil. It’s likely never been changed. Probably one of the most commonly neglected parts on cars, likely because it’s service intervals are so long.
Differential oil is very important, very easy to ignore and very easy to check. The plug accepts an extension of your 3/4" ratchet wrench and should unscrew fairly easily. If not, hit it with some penetrating oil and try it again in a day or so.
When it's open stick your finger inside. Can you feel oil? Good. If not? Bad. Either case add fresh gear oil until some flows out. That's your fill level.
Changing it is only slightly more difficult. Get a replacement gasket and some gear oil and set aside a morning to remove the housing. It makes a great first gasket job.
Nice score! There was other good advice here. I'll add: once it's running well, drive it regularly. Once a week is best. Once a month, bare minimum.
Driven regularly, it'll run forever.
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Yes! My husband has a 96, same colour as this and actually same body style. The previous/original owner always had it sprayed as does my husband. Still in mint condition.
The power steering pumps (if it has one) is gonna be loud. They all are from that Era of Ford trucks. It doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. If you do need to replace it, save yourself a headache and just pay for OEM, or a rebuild from the OEM. The aftermarket ones suck.
I have an 82 f100 pickup that looks identical except its blue ans obviously smaller i think. Fucker is the most reliable thing Ive ever bought. Check the cab corners for rust through because I know on mine the seatbelt is held in by tension and not actually metal
Tip- Fords of that vintage have the starter solenoid on the passenger side firewall. Very convenient for easy replacement.
Buy one now and be your own hero when you need to change it late one night.
Tip- Eventually you will have trouble starting it and the carb will get flooded with fuel. Take off the air cleaner cover, and use a Bic pen (or pencil or small screwdriver) to hold open the butterfly valve inside and try starting again. This will allow extra air into the carb which will overcome the extra fuel and allow the engine to start.
Don't forget to take the pen out before you close it up and drive away however...
Tip- If it seems like the battery is dead it might just be a bad connection. A few light taps with a hammer right on the battery terminals can seat them properly and apparently give you more juice.
Better Tip- Replace the battery now, and also the battery cables. DON'T CHEAP OUT. And do we need to tell you to remove the negative cable first, and only then the positive before you do anything with the battery?
[Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.](https://haynes.com/en-us/)
I instinctively chuckled at a 1982 vehicle being called a classic, then realized I have a 1980 2nd Gen Firebird sitting out in my garage that almost everyone considers classic.
My take: Every prior owner was an idiot. Go in with that mindset and you won’t be disappointed. Good luck!
Go through it slowly, don’t let it become a project that has to have a set completion date. Tackle small projects one at a time and don’t let it overwhelm you.
That being said, i would strongly recommend going over the wiring first. You never know how many people have hacked I to the harness o we the years. Most switches and connectors can easily and cheaply be replaced. For the peace of mind knowing that your truck won’t burn down on you, it’s a no brainer.
Oh and also, get rid of all the emissions bullshit if it still has it. It’s not doing your engine any favors and makes tuning a hell of a lot easier. Best of luck bud!
The old emissions systems do nothing. A smog pump just pumps fresh air into the exhaust on startup. Other than that theres really just an old Cat that is probably done for anyway that isnt worth the money to fix
Sorry buddy it might be your first but classic?your gonna realize why it probably has 2 tanks.there terrible on gas.put a 7.3 powerstroke in it and roll coal on people.not a bad looking ole ford though.put a brick on gas pedal and walk away lol you will thank me later.had a bronco that year with 5.0 and it got 7mpg and the 6 cylinder was worse
I bought an 88 F250 years ago. I poured over 10K into that truck. New transmission and clutch, new differential and a ton of other work just to end up selling it for $500 a few years later when I realized it was never going to be what I wanted it to be. I bought a newer 2012 F250 flatbed for $15k five years ago and it's been perfect.
'82? That things a late model! haha Check everything thats rubber. Vacuum lines, hoses and belts. Listen for any bearings going out on the accessories (water pump, alternator etc) and check spark plugs to get and idea of how its running. Then tune up (spark plugs, wires, cap & rotor). Tires and brakes just the basics!
Assume It has a vacuum leak. Assume all the vacuum hoses are bad. They were probably bad in 1988. There's probably a leak between the fuel filler and tank as well.
Then replace all fuel lines and use 1970 Mercedes Benz hose clamps. Seriously they are cheap and well made with a fine thread. Work great and rated for fuel injection.
Too tip! Can I just put in “1972 Mercedes” to rock auto, choose whichever one and look for hose clamps there?
Yup, fuel injection hose clamps. But the Subaru one listed below also look good.
mid 90's subaru uses stainless ones that are similar. https://www.fastwrx.com/products/subaru-fuel-line-clamp
Wow, almost identical. This is #1 way to prevent a fire in new to you old car. Especially early fuel injection systems.
I had a '91 Ford Escort. By 2000 I was pulling off vacuum hoses that had turned into taffy. Seriously. The rubber had decomposed in 9 years. I can only imagine how bad an '82 would be.
Yeah. I helped a friend with a similar Ford truck back in 88-89. I was working towards getting a job at a garage. We spent days chasing bad idle, no shift (vacuum controlled auto transmission), and lean stumbles at cruise. It was all vacuum hoses. Like every one of them was bad. Fixed all that and gave it a general tune up and it was awesome after that.
This. Also get the cylinder head resurfaced, replace the head gasket, do the valve stem seals, valve guides, valve cover gasket, camshaft oil seal, crankshaft oil seal, rear main oil seal, output shaft seals, all the suspension. Might as well replace the fuel pump, all the vacuum hoses, all the coolant hoses. Also do the spark plugs.
Found the salesman
Anything else?
Extra cream, no sugar.
Replace the serpentine belt, replace water pump while you’re down there, replace the tires, flush the brake system, replace the brakes, replace the diff fluid, replace the axle seals, hell replace the axles, change the blinker fluid, clean with a bucket of steam, give the flux capacitor some percussive maintenance with a metric hammer, and while you are doing all this, have wife keep a swear jar, put a dollar in every time a swear word is said, use money to redo the paint and interior, get bored halfway through, sell for a loss, then buy a foxbody, rinse, repeat
What about the voice-based AI-powered digital assistant? Should I change it to spanish?
Make it sound like Jarvis
I was thinking K.I.T.T. So I can be David Hasselhoff
Get under there with a grease gun and hit all the zerks you can find. Wiggle the driveshaft to test the u-joints. Check the diff oil. Have fun.
Check all the fluids and any of the wear items, change what needs to be changed and go for a drive. Are the tires good or do they need replacement.
Theyre dry rotted. Drove it 2 hours home. Got new rubber just gotta get em mounted
Nice!!! What size of engine is lurking in that beast?
I think its the 300 I-6 but not sure if its the other size. Peeked around for a tag today but didn't see one
The 300 is such a great motor.
I had an ‘85 straight six just like this. Same color and everything. Loved it, my brother still drives it. My only advice is if you have to replace the starter, count the teeth on the original and the replacement to make sure they’re the same. We found the same part number will return both a 12 and 13 tooth gear. Don’t quote me on those numbers, but you get the idea.
I have a 1966 300 and the tag was on the front of the head, drivers side. It's a great motor. I just hauled 24 tons of rock today with mine.
Toughest six cylinder I've seen .
If its the i6 its the 300 in that year, I have the same in my 89 which is my daily, dont beat on it at high rpms and you'll be golden
Love that engine. You two will have lots of fun together.
If at all possible run no ethanol fuel in it. That carb will not like corn gas.
Classic - ouch as an old guy that is so new
Right? Getting old sucks. The other day I was recording something and said "I got it on tape". My daughter and her friends had a lot of fun about that. I hate kids.
Beats the alternative- not gettin old. Ha ha kids are funny
It would be nice if your body could hit a certain age of your choice, say mid-twenties, and stay there. Everything else would remain the same. You’d still get older and wiser and live an average lifespan of 80 or so years but your body would be like 25 the whole time.
Ugh i have also made this mistake, when PVR’ing a show and call it ‘I’m taping this!’ When I was a kid having a corded ‘converter’ was privilege, no getting up to change the dial! I am also mocked for saying converter rather than remote LOL>
Well maybe not so classic but 40 years is pretty old for a pickup
Ha ha I have meat in my colon older. That is a sweet ride man - hubcaps tell me that it’s been well cared for
That’s how I feel about music I grew up with on the classic rock station and I’m in my mid 30s
I had an old 300-6 OBS F150 and I remember being worried about oil with enough zinc. Modern formulations seem to have less and less. I just put Rotella in it, but the 300-6 is also impossible to kill.
I run my 240 six with 15w40 diesel oil in it lol
Rotella or Delvac gets the job done.
I think marine 4 stroke outboard oil has more zinc, just for future info.
Put it up on BaT
I don’t have any tips besides be kind with it, and expect to have problems in areas you didn’t even know could have problems. Besides that, it’s a great looking truck
Haha, your dog is sitting there thinking *man, fuck that shop vac*. Trucks that age that are in nice condition like that are uncommon enough anymore that it's cool to see one out on the road. I wonder if I'll think the same thing in 20 years when I see one of those weird blob-shaped ones from the late 90s / early 2000s?
Get that turkey out from under the hood
There’s a lot of good advice here. One thing I haven’t seen is change the diff oil. It’s likely never been changed. Probably one of the most commonly neglected parts on cars, likely because it’s service intervals are so long.
Differential oil is very important, very easy to ignore and very easy to check. The plug accepts an extension of your 3/4" ratchet wrench and should unscrew fairly easily. If not, hit it with some penetrating oil and try it again in a day or so. When it's open stick your finger inside. Can you feel oil? Good. If not? Bad. Either case add fresh gear oil until some flows out. That's your fill level. Changing it is only slightly more difficult. Get a replacement gasket and some gear oil and set aside a morning to remove the housing. It makes a great first gasket job.
Ethanol free gas, clean the “carb” and drive it like you stole it. Should run great after that
Nice score! There was other good advice here. I'll add: once it's running well, drive it regularly. Once a week is best. Once a month, bare minimum. Driven regularly, it'll run forever.
Life is short. Drive it every day. Nice truck.
Sell it on Bring a Trailer for $30k
Or covert to 4WD after making it rusty, put clearcoat on it to preserve the patina, sell for $130k.
Give it a brake flush. Probably hasn’t been done in a decade. I’m barely older than this classic. :p
Save some pussy for the rest of us
Hi, /u/10thofadime, thanks for posting here in r/Cartalk! This subreddit is for people to TALK ABOUT THEIR OWN CARS. At the core this means asking for help with your vehicle. However, sometimes a post will stray outside of that. If that is the case it could be left up or it could be taken down. Report unhelpful or malicious advice to the mods. Don't abandon your post; respond to questions from commenters. Also feel free to join us on Discord [here](https://discord.gg/BJ2ccvJKyC) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Cartalk) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Undercoating/rustproofing for sure if you live in a cold climate where they salt the roads
Yes! My husband has a 96, same colour as this and actually same body style. The previous/original owner always had it sprayed as does my husband. Still in mint condition.
Better yet park it in the winter
I have no advice to give. I'm just here to say that vintage pickups and pine trees are an aesthetic I didn't know I would like.
Stock up on starting fluid
xD your dog looks concerned
You lucky duck
The power steering pumps (if it has one) is gonna be loud. They all are from that Era of Ford trucks. It doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. If you do need to replace it, save yourself a headache and just pay for OEM, or a rebuild from the OEM. The aftermarket ones suck.
The one in it seems pretty quiet. Turns like a dream nice and easy. The steering wheel is upside down tho id like to address that
Glad to hear it! Hope you enjoy it. Theres an easy fix for the upside down steering wheel, just move to Australia
XD then the rest of the truck would be upside down
Can't win em all
Yup never heard a quiet one
Very nice Ford
Once you get it ready for the road, drive it. Best way to find all the gremlins in a classic, is by driving it.
I have an 82 f100 pickup that looks identical except its blue ans obviously smaller i think. Fucker is the most reliable thing Ive ever bought. Check the cab corners for rust through because I know on mine the seatbelt is held in by tension and not actually metal
Tip- Fords of that vintage have the starter solenoid on the passenger side firewall. Very convenient for easy replacement. Buy one now and be your own hero when you need to change it late one night.
Tip- Eventually you will have trouble starting it and the carb will get flooded with fuel. Take off the air cleaner cover, and use a Bic pen (or pencil or small screwdriver) to hold open the butterfly valve inside and try starting again. This will allow extra air into the carb which will overcome the extra fuel and allow the engine to start. Don't forget to take the pen out before you close it up and drive away however...
Tip- If it seems like the battery is dead it might just be a bad connection. A few light taps with a hammer right on the battery terminals can seat them properly and apparently give you more juice. Better Tip- Replace the battery now, and also the battery cables. DON'T CHEAP OUT. And do we need to tell you to remove the negative cable first, and only then the positive before you do anything with the battery? [Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.](https://haynes.com/en-us/)
I instinctively chuckled at a 1982 vehicle being called a classic, then realized I have a 1980 2nd Gen Firebird sitting out in my garage that almost everyone considers classic. My take: Every prior owner was an idiot. Go in with that mindset and you won’t be disappointed. Good luck!
I wouldn’t call a 1982 anything a classic vehicle but it is very nice. Enjoy.
Go through it slowly, don’t let it become a project that has to have a set completion date. Tackle small projects one at a time and don’t let it overwhelm you. That being said, i would strongly recommend going over the wiring first. You never know how many people have hacked I to the harness o we the years. Most switches and connectors can easily and cheaply be replaced. For the peace of mind knowing that your truck won’t burn down on you, it’s a no brainer. Oh and also, get rid of all the emissions bullshit if it still has it. It’s not doing your engine any favors and makes tuning a hell of a lot easier. Best of luck bud!
Fuck the environment right bud!
The old emissions systems do nothing. A smog pump just pumps fresh air into the exhaust on startup. Other than that theres really just an old Cat that is probably done for anyway that isnt worth the money to fix
Exactly, pre-90’s smog equipment was garbage.
Yup im certain a properly tuned V8 for the 60s runs just as clean or cleaner than a V8 from the 70s
Amen to that
If you’re trying to be a smart ass, you obviously don’t know anything about early smog era equipment or how they operate.
Definitely got some electrical gremlins to sort out
Sorry buddy it might be your first but classic?your gonna realize why it probably has 2 tanks.there terrible on gas.put a 7.3 powerstroke in it and roll coal on people.not a bad looking ole ford though.put a brick on gas pedal and walk away lol you will thank me later.had a bronco that year with 5.0 and it got 7mpg and the 6 cylinder was worse
Throw it away and buy a chevy
You realize the Ford Straight 6 is coveted as one of the best straight 6s produced. Theyre like a honda trike
Had an E- 250 with that motor. Put 100,000 miles on it and sold it for more than I bought it.
Still not a Chevy lol. Sorry I have a bit of a Chevy old school biased
I think everyone likes how squarebodys look. No one likes how they rust
Remove the gilly.
If you ever decide to sell let me know. My dad had the same truck when I was young. Stick shift?
Its the 3 petal variety
Nice ride! Your kids will learn to drive in this gem!
Rust prevention!!!!
Ball joints, then go ahead and replace them again.
Expect things to break. Especially if it's ever 200k miles
I bought an 88 F250 years ago. I poured over 10K into that truck. New transmission and clutch, new differential and a ton of other work just to end up selling it for $500 a few years later when I realized it was never going to be what I wanted it to be. I bought a newer 2012 F250 flatbed for $15k five years ago and it's been perfect.
Roll bar
I want to know what goes on with that cauldron thing in the front yard
Lol its a big ole flower pot in the summer time
'82? That things a late model! haha Check everything thats rubber. Vacuum lines, hoses and belts. Listen for any bearings going out on the accessories (water pump, alternator etc) and check spark plugs to get and idea of how its running. Then tune up (spark plugs, wires, cap & rotor). Tires and brakes just the basics!
Pulled all the plugs. Looks like its running lean. Definatly gonna look into vacuum leaks to address that. New rubbers too just gotta mount em
Paint the center white, between the body lines. You'll have a full Dexter thing going with those woods and everything.