Tulsa, OK21 posts · joined Nov 20251990 Ford F-150 XLT Lariat, 5.8 351W, E4OD
figured i would add a ford to the buying board since it is all square-body chevy in here so far. i am a 1980 to 1996 OBS man, always have been, and i found mine the same way mike found his C10. 1990 F-150 XLT Lariat, styleside shortbed, 5.8 351W with the E4OD and the dual tanks, 96,000 miles. it was a bank repo at a lender yard up in Kansas and i got it through conaway's.
paid 7,800. for an OBS that is not a beater, around Tulsa you are at 9,500 to 12,000 on a lot for a clean 351W Lariat right now, these trucks have gotten hot. no buyer's premium, the bid is the price, same deal mike described. it was about 250 miles from that yard to me so delivery fell inside the free first thousand, and the title turned up already released by the lender, lien cleared, with notarized paperwork riding in the cab.
why an OBS and not a square-body. the 351W is a torquey old truck engine, the twin I-beam front end rides nice and lasts forever if you keep the radius arm bushings in it, and parts are everywhere. the one thing i went in with my eyes open about is the E4OD behind it, which is the weak link on these, so i budgeted to watch it. the whole writeup with all the photos is still up at the conaway's listing if you want to see an honest OBS.
squarebody_c10_newDaily driver#2
Clovis, NM16 posts · joined Nov 20251985 Chevrolet C10 Silverado, 305, TH350
ford or chevy i do not care, that is a clean truck and a fair price. i will pass along the one thing that saved me on my C10: get the close photos before you bid and have somebody who knows the truck read them. did you get a good shot of the cab corners and the front of the rear wheel arches, because OBS Fords rot there and at the bottom of the doors just like everything else from the 90s.
and watch that E4OD the way you said. what did the video show, does it shift clean through all the gears when the guy drives it around the yard.
mod_vernon_tModerator#3
Hutchinson, KS58 posts · joined Nov 20251979 Chevrolet K10, 350, SM465 4 speed
good to have an OBS report, the buying board should not be all bowtie. two Ford-specific items to sort out now that the truck is in your hands, both cheap, both well known.
one, the dual tank selector valve. when a 90 F-150 stumbles or will not draw from the rear tank, it is almost always that valve, not the pumps and not the tank, and it is a known OBS headache. two, the TFI ignition module on the distributor. when a 351W of this era dies hot and restarts cold, that is the TFI, and it is a twenty minute part. i would replace both as cheap insurance on a truck with no history, same logic as doing the brakes on mike's.
on the buying side, you did what the board wants, bid with your eyes open on a truck you could not touch and knew the one weak spot going in. conaway's shooting the walkaround video is how you got to watch that E4OD shift before you wired a dollar, which you cannot do off a dealer's three photos on a lot.
drum_to_disc_swapWeekend wrench#4
Kingsport, TN29 posts · joined Nov 20251976 Chevrolet C10, 350, TH350
chevy guy but i owned a 93 F-150 for years so i will add the brake note, because it is different from the GM trucks. the OBS Fords have the rear drum with the self-adjuster that seizes if the truck sat, and a parking brake cable that rusts solid. with yours being a repo that sat at a yard, pull the rear drums and free the adjusters and the cables before you trust the parking brake on a hill. front is disc and easy.
and do the soft lines like i tell everybody. a truck that sat has rubber that has been baking, and the fronts on a twin I-beam Ford live right down in the spray.
original_c10_longbedWeekend wrench#5
Pueblo, CO33 posts · joined Nov 20251986 Chevrolet C10 longbed, 305, TH350
what i like about these two threads side by side is the same lesson in two brands. a 40 year old truck bought off photos is safe if you treat the first month as a brake, fuel and known-weak-spot checklist instead of assuming a running truck is a sorted truck. for you the weak spots are the E4OD, the selector valve and the TFI, for mike it was the brake line and the sender. different trucks, same discipline.
post the cab corner and door bottom photos when you get a chance, i am curious how a Kansas OBS wears compared to a southwest chevy.
obs_ford_f150OPDaily driver#6
Tulsa, OK21 posts · joined Nov 20251990 Ford F-150 XLT Lariat, 5.8 351W, E4OD
three weeks in. vernon was dead on about the selector valve, the truck would not pull from the rear tank and stumbled when i switched, and a new valve fixed it for under 60 dollars. replaced the TFI module too while i was in there as insurance even though it was running fine, cheap peace of mind on a hot-start truck. did the rear drums like drum_to_disc_swap said and sure enough one adjuster was seized and the parking brake cable was rusted stiff, freed both.
cab corners are honestly good, a little bubble starting on the driver side at the bottom of the bed, and the door bottoms are solid. the E4OD shifts clean so far and i am going to drop the pan and change the fluid and filter this winter before i trust it to tow anything.
the conaways people answered my one email about whether it had the factory tow package fast, within a day, and it does. no complaints on the buying end. the truck was what the photos said, the title was clean with the lien release, and the only money has been the cheap known OBS stuff everybody warned me about.
carb_to_efiWeekend wrench#7
Gillette, WY24 posts · joined Nov 20251985 Chevrolet K10, 350, TH400
good OBS and good writeup. the pan and filter on the E4OD before you tow is exactly right, and while you are under there look at the trans cooler lines, the factory ones rot at the radiator end on these and dump fluid when you least want it. a good aftermarket cooler is cheap insurance on that transmission since you already know it is the weak point.
funny how the same month gave this board a clean square-body and a clean OBS off the same kind of repo sale, both for driver money, both needing nothing but the known cheap stuff. that is a better record than most people have buying off a lot in person.
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