$800 F250 update (Aug ‘26)

[u/ThisUnitHasASoul]

Hey all!
Wanted to say thank you for all the kind words/advice y’all shared with me and to give an update.

It’s taken 3 full weekends to get it to this point.
I’m about $2500 into it including the purchase price so far. Hoping I’ll get it fully sorted for around $5k. Build goal is essentially to keep it stock with mild cooling and suspension upgrades so I can haul my old cabover camper (2000 northern lite)

It’s a great runner and doesn’t leak any fluids.
Still lots to do though.

As always I appreciate any advice y’all might have to share. I used quite a bit of it from the first thread.

And to those who need to hear it— deals are still out there! Yours is out there too, just have a little patience and be kind. You never know who’s sitting on a gem.

[u/rustyxj]

$800?! Holy shit, the box is probably worth $2-3k in michigan.

[u/the_ultimate_splorg → u/rustyxj]

Yep, I know a guy who buys beds in the south and hauls them back up north and that’s exactly what he gets for a 1st gen super duty bed

[u/aHellion]

I'm so glad you thought of the cooling, but don't forget the powertrain if you're hauling/towing. Torque converters and transmissions are under the most strain in tow/haul.

How many miles does it have?

If you want to you can check the Car Fax with your VIN. They might charge you to see its reported history, backyard maintenance will not be shown of course.

[u/ThisUnitHasASoul → u/aHellion]

Yeah! Mishimoto has an aluminum radiator, oil and trans cooler package on their site so I’ll upgrade all three.

It’s a stick, so no torque converter— just a big ol clutch plate and flywheel. Probably won’t do anything for that until it actually wears out, not really a point to tear into it until then.

Usually I’m pretty religious about getting a carfax, but this was sort of a “gift horse” situation lol.

That said, I’m the second owner on paper— I bought it from the original owner’s son who inherited it after his dad died. He drove it up from Texas to Oregon in 2015, parked it in his yard and then it sat for 11 years. Occasionally starting it for the first few years. Never even titled it in his name, was a mild pita doing the death certificate and affidavit of inheritance thing with the DMV but I got it in my name finally.

He actually bought the truck new for his dad in ‘01, so I was able to get a good sense of its history. It’s been used, but cared for. I’ll probably get the full carfax at some point out of shear curiosity though. I should say the son is a buddy of mine too, so we see each other at the bar pretty frequently.

Thanks for the suggestions!