One of the better opportunities to flip a vehicle right now on the collector car and truck market is the bullnose-style Ford F-Series pickup. These workhorses have emerged as a favorite of GenXers and “old” millennials who remember using one as a work truck for a summer job or simply having it as a first vehicle when they were 16. After years of being righteously abused and kicked aside, clean ones are suddenly in demand – especially if equipped with a durable diesel engine, like this one is. Check out this clean 1983 Ford F-250 XLT here on eBay where bids are just over $6,000 and there’s no reserve.
This truck is located in Tacoma, Washington, and outside of sunny California, the Pacific Northwest is one of the best places to find a vintage car or truck. The paint scheme is subdued but it’s also refreshing to see a two-tone paint job that doesn’t consist of the colors cherry or vanilla (red or white). The gray and black combo is well-suited to a truck like this, and while I’m a purist and would prefer to see steel wheels with hubcaps, these later Ford alloys don’t look terrible. The body appears to be in excellent shape and the same goes for the chrome bumpers.
Inside is a treat, with the upgraded trim evident in the fake wood veneer covering the instrument cluster and the resting behind the window cranks. Speaking of the windows, this is about as durable as a truck you can find, with a traditional 4-speed manual, crank windows, and that beast of a diesel engine under the hood. Despite its ability to withstand a nuclear bomb, the previous owner clearly took good care of this rig, as the interior is in very nice condition for a truck that was clearly driven. Even though the wood trim is fake, I don’t mind it – its makes for a more upscale feel in a truck that wasn’t exactly concerned with personal comfort.
Mileage is listed as 40,000, which seems too good to be true – but the body and interior certainly look like they belong in a low-mileage rig. The seller notes the 6.9L runs well, as it should – this is the legendary International engine that Ford used in its truck, featuring indirect injection and no turbocharging. Yeah, it’s a bit primitive, but you rarely find an engine that is so hungry for abuse. As a 1983 model, it made around 160 horsepower and a respectable 307 lb-ft of torque. This is by no means a fast vehicle, but the manual transmission will certainly help. A seriously overbuilt truck that is still useful, even decades after its introduction.
Wow, I cant get over the condition of this truck. Its impressive given the age and how they were used. The early 6.9 and 7.3 non turbo International engines are bullet proof in my opinion. And hooked up to a 4 speed you cant go wrong. ( Sorry but in my opinion REAL trucks have 3 pedals on the floor….. And I’m NOT talking about the parking brake) I remember those Ford style hubcaps, Im pretty sure they were around in the early to mid 90s, and they are still reproduced, but they dress up the steel wheels nicely and personally I’d just leave them on there. The interior too, really nice. This truck was optioned up nicely too. Maybe someone ordered it to pull their camper, this definitely was not a work truck, and glad to see its so well preserved.
Hope it goes to a good new home, and gets preserved. Theres no need to go nuts trying to get more power out of it or puting a turbo on it. Thats part of the beauty of these early International engines. They just run and run and run.
I think those are hubcaps rather than alloy wheels, so easy to change out if you don’t like them. Looks like the belt is off the AC compressor, which is a bummer. Nice truck, though. I like the manual trans. I’m not sure about the diesel… I had a coworker who had one of these and I recall it being pretty slow with the automatic. The manual will help. I really don’t know squat about servicing a diesel, so I’m not sure if I’d prefer one of these non turbo diesels over a gas engine. The coworker didn’t know squat about a diesel either, and I recall he had a lot of trouble with it – most likely because he didn’t know what he was doing working on it. I did drive an old military K5 with the 6.2 non turbo diesel for a few days. If performance is similar…I don’t know if I wouldn’t rather have a gas engine. Either way, the price stayed close to $6k (it won’t) it would be a steal.
The 6.9 was torquey but not allot of power.
Virtually bulletproof.
I’m a little hesitant on the 40k miles though.
Those are hubcaps for the mid 90s f250 or 350
What a nice truck. Really decent versions of these are getting hard to find. This one needs some love on the headliner, and probably more on the AC (may need a compressor etc).
I owned/maintained a bunch of these Ford (IHC) diesels in my film/TV vehicle fleet business from 1988-2008. Most were ambulances, with a few police, fire dept and school buses. These rides were kinda slow, but were absolutely reliable. They were also much simpler (and cheaper) to work on than the better-performing (but more complicated) later turbo versions. I never had one of these fail to start on-set.
One thing to note: The injector pump on these was not designed for low-sulphur diesel, and often run hot, wear-out, or no-start when warm. Additives may help, but an injector pump update/rebuild is the only proper solution.
If this truck was local I would consider it.
Nice truck for sure. Had a lot of these pass through our shop over the years. Troubles with the advance piston of the injection pump but otherwise next to indestructible. Obviously lots of these sold because the salvage yards were full of them. A lot of owners of 7.3s would have injection system troubles so they would go to the wreckers and get a replacement pump, which was 90% likely to be off an older 6.9, and was likely in worse shape than what they had. They would finally come over to our place in hopes that they could exchange for a rebuilt. I would only give a core credit if they had the proper model. But they didn’t and that sometimes got things a little tense at our place of business.
There’s a problem that sometimes crops up when you replace the water pump. It seems that some of them have shorter bolt bosses in the top bolts. You use the old bolts and they’ll often push against the injection pump drive gear, pushing the injection pump out of alignment. The engine might start but it will quit immediately and not start again because the hydraulic head of the injection pump has seized. Very expensive situation. Always compare the length of the bolt bosses between the pumps and use the proper length of bolts…
When I was updating the injector-pumps on my 6.9s and 7.3s, I lucked out. A friend in the injector-pump rebuild business was the victim of a really bad divorce, and gave me a fabulous deal. As long as I paid in ca$h.
Banks still had available the turbo kit for these 6.9L’s the last time I checked when I was looking for the 6.2L kit.
What a way to end and already bad day by finding one of the nicest trucks I’ve seen in a long time set up to last a lifetime well cared for with low mileage and a great color combination to top it off. As my luck goes these days I missed the auction for it. If the winner of this auction doesn’t come through and pay the seller in my opinion he’s got brain damage. I would willingly pay the seller considering more cash right now for that truck and it would not be for a flip. I would keep that real work truck until I couldn’t drive another mile, they just don’t build them like that anymore. You’re definitely not going to win any races with this truck at under 200 hp and even though it’s only rated a few hundred foot pounds of torque, these trucks would literally drag a mountain behind them.congratulations to the buyer nice TRUCK.
I bought an ’85 literally off the transport semi in Reno, NV in Feb 1985.
Has over 750k miles and I still drive it.
Replaced the Rear End under warranty with less than 2000 miles. After that, the pump and injectors once, 2 clutches, batteries and brakes and one repaint. That’s it. Dad (God rest his soul) drove it all over the country for work pulling a 32′ Alfa Gold 5th wheel. Retired it to the ranch when I bought him a new ’05 F-150 FX4 when he didn’t have to travel for work anymore.
Thing will still pull a house and go anywhere in any weather.
I love to drive it when I’m not on the road for work.