Need vehicle advice!

audiobliss

So, a friend had her 1998 F150 totaled last week and a friend and I are considering the possibility of grabbing it to work on and have some fun with. It's a 2wd regular cab manual V6, was well cared for as far as I know, though has some wear and tear...and then obviously the wreck.

I went by and looked at the truck earlier in person and took some pics. It was behind a fence so I couldn't get a great look at it, but I took some pics. She was hit on the front driver's corner going forty by an Isuzu Rodeo that pulled out in front of her as they were turning left across her lane. Obviously all the suspension/steering on that corner along with the fender would need replacing, but I'm hoping that the engine and transmission is still fine. The next issue would be the chassis, is it twisted or not. My friend and I have been looking for a vehicle to just goof off with, no express purpose for it, just be stupid, go off roading, kinda just to tear up, fix, learn with, and have fun with. So, a twisted chassis to a degree might not be a deal breaker, but for practicality reasons it would need to be street driven some, so I guess it can't just be all out of whack. But a funky stance and uneven tire wear wouldn't be a huge problem, either.

So, I'm trying to judge how much work this would be, how much money in parts, how many tools, how much time (while in school), how difficult it would be, etc. I'm not great and experienced with tools, but have a pretty good common sense with it and wouldn't be having to rush to use it for transportation, so I could take my time and learn on it. Also since it's not intended to be a dd and have to look nice, we'd have the freedom to learn through some trial and error instead of having to get everything square and perfect.

So, I guess my point is I'd love to hear some input from those who know better than I what exactly is involved here, what I'm up against, and how much I should be willing to spend on it. I'm thinking if I can get the truck for $200 - $300, and then I've been looking at www.rockauto.com for the replacement parts, so another ~$500 in parts. Not sure what to expect for tools; I have jackstands and basic wrenches, ratchets, sockets, etc.

Any input you can provide on the matter would be greatly appreciated!!!

Here is a link to a photobucket album of pictures I took of it from outside the lot:
http://s133.photobucket.com/albums/q66/carmike692000/Cars/thora/

PerfectCreature

Looks like the axil could be broken....my cousin did that on his car, the rear axil...cost him 650 to repair....mostly labor though....

nooshinjohn

Expect frame damage and walk away.

mole'

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Expect frame damage and walk away.

i agree!

motor and tranny in that are junk anyways. dont waste your time.

Jstas

That truck is bent. Don't waste your time.

PerfectCreature

That truck is just busted up. If the engine is fine, and all of that it could be worth while for parts if you happened to have a duplicate model....you know?

Jstas

PerfectCreature wrote: »

That truck is just busted up. If the engine is fine, and all of that it could be worth while for parts if you happened to have a duplicate model....you know?

You're nuts. That front end is destroyed. Far more than you think it is.

mole'

PerfectCreature wrote: »

That truck is just busted up. If the engine is fine, and all of that it could be worth while for parts if you happened to have a duplicate model....you know?

its only the v6 model. not worth anything. and the trannies in them trucks were not that good. gonna cost way too much to fix it up.

WALK AWAY FROM IT!

audiobliss

Thanks fellas. I just notified my friend I'm no longer interested. Appreciate the input!

audiobliss

If it's of any interest, though, here's the only head-on picture I have of it, and the damage does look pretty minimal from this perspective.

mole'

i would not touch it.

PerfectCreature

How can you say it looks minimal from that perspective?
Wow, you can tell the majority of the drivers side engine bay is crushed. If that were my car, my battery would probably have imploded and corroded my frame with acid....
Anyway.
No harm no foul. It was worth a try. Better luck next time though.

Jstas

Holy moly! That upper suspension arm is at least 10 inches aft of where it should be! I wouldn't doubt that the shock tower is compromised. Since that is part of the structure of the truck body and part of the body structure, it'll require a TON of work, money and time to fix it. I don't even think it can be stretched.

But you you reall want to see how bad it is, don't look at the damaged side. Go look at the right side and look at the body lines. Use a tape measure and take some measurements of where the right wheel is compared to door frames, bumpers and so and then look at where the left wheel is. Anything more than like 4 inches is major damage that needs to be straightened.

Then, go find a straight F150 from a similar year and take measurements. Then you'll see how much of a mess it is.

If I had the room and time, that truck would be great to get, cut the front end out and tube frame it. Then replace the body work with Lightning body work and get a DOHC 5.4L from a Navigator and replace the rotating assembly with a Lightning bottom end. Put twin 88's on it and go drag racing! Other than that, start taking it apart and scrap everything. You'd et WAY more than $300 for it if you separated alot of the stuff.

exalted512

I can't make a valid recommendation until we have pics of the girl driving.
-Cody

devani

This was my car....estimate came out to $6000 for it...airbags were NOT deployed.....totaled the car because car had 113K miles on it....