Saw immaculate 91/92 today with 327,400 miles (1 Viewer)

[IdahoDoug]

Riding my bike on errands today, I pulled in to look at a grey 91/2 80. It looked immaculate in and out, which is what made me stop. Then I read the odometer. Could not believe it. I mean I looked at the odometer for a full 10 seconds making sure I was not seeing a reflection or something in the hundreds of thousands column. Made me take another lap around it and I simply could not reconcile the condition with that many miles - what a testament to the durability of these things.

The inner exhaust pipe was a nice color. Looked like original stock exhaust. Knuckles were properly oozing a slight bit of grease - looked like red grease. No oil on the underside. Dash free of cracks, carpet not worn through, door panels not worn or cracked. Amazing. Literally the only sign of wear I could see on the interior was the parking brake handle looked like the rubber was breaking down. That's it.

I rode away shaking my head in amazement. From the condition I would not have believed those miles had I not seen the odometer with my own eyes. It wasn't for sale or anything - just parked at the grocery store.

Ironically, the older style alloys they put on them were looking perfect still. Really - perfect. Too bad the 93+ wheel doesn't age so gracefully, ya know?

DougM

 

[topend yobbo]

trade your pushy for it

 

[MaddBaggins]

I only know 2 guys with more miles on their vehicle than that. What truly astounds me is that both of them are older ...how can I say this...ford. That hurt!
One of my coworkers has 475K on his 88 F150, and the thing looks pretty good.

Doug did it look like it got wheeled?
Looks like I've got at least 200k to go on mine

 

[lowtideride]

My bud has an fj60 with 410,000 miles on it, DDs it and drives it hours to TLCA meets..it also looks super nice.

 

[Hayes]

Where does the 80's odometer max out?
Does it actuall go to 999,999?

Hayes

 

[Gauge]

I only know 2 guys with more miles on their vehicle than that. What truly astounds me is that both of them are older ...how can I say this...ford. That hurt!
One of my coworkers has 475K on his 88 F150, and the thing looks pretty good.

Doug did it look like it got wheeled?
Looks like I've got at least 200k to go on mine

Just curious - what engine does your friend have in his 88 Ford? I am willing to bet it is the Inline 6. I have a few friends with Ford trucks from the 80's era who all have over 200K miles (never rebuilt) and they ALL have the Inline 6 motor. I believe it was a 300 C.I. Too bad Ford doesn't make that motor anymore.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Just curious - what engine does your friend have in his 88 Ford? I am willing to bet it is the Inline 6. I have a few friends with Ford trucks from the 80's era who all have over 200K miles (never rebuilt) and they ALL have the Inline 6 motor. I believe it was a 300 C.I. Too bad Ford doesn't make that motor anymore.

He says it's the V8 302. He has had no major work of any kind done to it, and very little pro-active maintainance. Truly a rare bird.

 

[fzj80kidpen]

I am sure it does, then 000000

 

[SR.GRINGO]

Doug,

Did you take a wiff of the tail pipe? In the long run what do you think is more durable the 3FE or the mighty 1FZ?

Jason

 

[Pskhaat]

Uh oh.

 

[honk]

Doug,

Did you take a wiff of the tail pipe? In the long run what do you think is more durable the 3FE or the mighty 1FZ?

Jason

LOL!

 

[IdahoDoug]

Cue up OK corral soundtrack....

I have no idea which is more durable, but I think the 4.0 pushrod 6 was some kind of a record for years of production of an engine with only minor changes along the way. As a result, it was extremely well sorted out as a powerplant and there are a lot of them running around with obscene miles and no major work done.

And don't be questioning my penchant for tailpipe sniffing. It's a great conversation starter when someone asks what that black ring around your nose is. You young single guys should try it at your local watering hole.

DougM

 

[fj803fe]

Uh oh.

I think you're wishing it'll start...I will refrain...

for now...

 

[DJForrestA]

I've seen a ton of 302's go 250,000 plus. The SB Ford was a good design. My father in law has a 1996 thunderbird with a 4.6 and it has 348,000 miles and still runs great. He drives it 120 miles a day to work and back. Still gets 25 mpg and uses a quart every 3000. He said he's never added a drop of power steering fluid or touched the cooling system except for a water pump. He says the original antifreeze is still in is. Toyota's have a great rep for long lasting reliability. My brother is a mechanic and he likes them. As far as the 4.0 vs the 4.5 I think we all know the answer to that. Just look at all the posts on this board read about all the head gasket/ head problems. Basically the 4.5 has alot more moving parts so there is more to go wrong. Not saying its a bad engine just not as reliable as the 4.0 but then again the 4.0 is one of the most reliable ever produced.

 

[White Shark]

I sold my 77 Corolla SR-5 with 386,000 and it was still running great. I hated to sell that ride but it needed to go for the 84 FJ 60.