No pics yet, but I bit and bought a 1971 Ford F250.

[kaitykaity]

I've never owned a used used car all on my own
before, and I'm telling you it's an adventure.

Any tips for a newbie would be greatly appreciated
as far as getting started and learning the basics
of babying a big old work truck.

It has an automatic tranny and the linkage fell off
in the parking lot of Costco. Oh fun. No gears.

Now I know what a linkage is. Ha ha.

Pics coming soon.

Yippee.

[GOPisEvil]

1. Wow. Good luck.

Buy the CHilton's Manual and a good set of tools. :)

[kaitykaity]

2. Good suggestions.

Just bought some wrenches, a jack, and a monkey
wrench. Got the horn and the lights fixed.

They didn't have a Chilton's for a '71 at Baxters.
Just Haynes for '73 to '79. Will have to go on an
Internet hunt.

This is fun!!

[GOPisEvil]

3. I have thoughts of getting a project vehicle.

I don't want to get in over my head though. I've been there before and that sucked. I know more these days, but still.

I sorta need a fully functioning vehicle that just needs a little work since my ability to resurrect a vehicle is non-existent. I'm thinking about an old truck or jeep, which might come in handy when it's time for hauling stuff which crops up from time to time. Edit - I'm also thinking of an El Camino or Ford Ranchero. :)

[kaitykaity]

4. The body needs work on mine, but the engine was

rebuilt about 35,000 miles ago. I paid 1500 for
it, which isn't bad.

Yeah, I can keep one running. I know what the parts
are and what they do, and can diagnose a malfunction.
Now I have to work on being able to fix the small stuff
myself and not be afraid to get my hands dirty.

[GOPisEvil]

5. Yikes! Body work.

That's truly frightening. I think I can make a decent running engine run a lot better. But I have no clue about body work.

[kaitykaity]

6. Only a little, though.

It has a few rust spots here and there, and he
bondo'd and spraypainted part of it. Other than
that it looks like the original yellow.

There is a mystery though. The bed is covered with
a 6X8 piece of plywood that I'm afraid to look under.

And I almost flooded it today trying to get it
started. A big puff of blue smoke came out when
I finally got it going.

I've killed like four cars in the last 15 years -- two
fairly new, a Ford Escort and a Pontiac Grand Am. I
figured with this big work truck it'd be tough even
for me to kill.

[GOPisEvil]

7. That plywood sounds scary.

But maybe you can just buy a replacement bed at a junkyard or something. If you're not particular about the looks, then the body work won't matter as much.

Blue smoke? That's oil usually. Does it do that after startup? I'm wondering if oil isn't getting past the piston rings and into the combustion chamber.

[kaitykaity]

8. That's the only time I've ever seen that smoke,

when there was too much fuel. (That's what I tell
myself anyway.) I'll keep an eye on it though.

Yeah, we're going to a U-pull-it yard tomorrow to pick
up a rubber pad for the brake pedal, a handle for the
driver's side door, possibly some rubber molding for the
passenger door, and a step to put on the passenger side.
My passenger doesn't climb well, needs something to step
on to get in the truck.

I'll scope out and see if there's a bed there that looks
okay, especally since the plan is to put a fifth wheel
hitch back there.

[GOPisEvil]

9. Complete weatherstipping kits aren't too expensive.

You might check into that.

[Gold Metal Flake]

10. A great Ford Truck forum site.

http://www.ford-trucks.com

What engine?