Advice when considering restoration

[85_Ranger4x4]

I remember hearing the story about how great vehicles that were owned by older people are, since they have such low miles, etc etc etc! Bet you've heard it too, probably multiple times.

I got my grandpa's 1986 F150 in 2005. It had 55,000 miles on it at that point. I still have it and it now has just a hair over 100k, but those miles I put on it were rough - there were a lot of things I fixed that should never have gone bad on a 100k mile vehicle! Stuff like rear axle bearings, ball joints, etc.......

...and that is what reinforces my belief that the "old guy's car" story is absolute BS. I'd rather inherit an old truck with a million miles on it than one with very few, at least you know it had some maintenance done instead of rotting for years.

On the flipside I would rather do wheel bearings and balljoints than bodywork.

 

[Shran]

On the flipside I would rather do wheel bearings and balljoints than bodywork.

Truth... Mine got the shit end of the stick both ways, I swear it never got washed. Mud, gravel, crap built up everywhere. Plus it was his "firewood truck" so it the inside of the box was totally trashed and the outside had little dents all over. The box and tailgate were so bad that I ended up trashing them and swapping on a better one, which will eventually have new box sides put on it.