NEW MEMBER In SoCal - 1984 Ford F150 XLT

Hello,

My name is Christian. I'm from Los Angeles, CA

Recently given an opportunity to buy a 1984 F150 XLT from my girlfriends grandpa. He's old and too sick to do anything with it now so he offered to sell it to me. The truck lives in Virginia while I live in LA. I would pay to have it transported.

I've always liked the look of these 7th gen bullnose and cant come up with a reason not to take him up on the offer. His offer was $2,200.

I've done little research and fortunately came across this website. With the all the great information on here I signed up in hopes that anyone with any opinions, advise, or any knowledge that they are willing to share is greatly appreciated.

With that being said, the truck to me, looks to be in pretty decent shape, but not knowing anything about these trucks or what issues are common (besides rust) I'm not sure what to look for when looking to get one of these. I plan on fixing it up and keeping it and turning it into a type of Sunday cruiser.

What are things I should be aware of when owning one of these?
Is it a complicated truck to work on, keep maintained and running?
Is the truck worth the price?
Does anything stick out that needs immediate attention?
What are things that should be upgraded or changed in order to perform at its best today?

I included some pictures for better reference.

What I know about the truck:
-1984 XLT Regular cab
-121,700 miles
-Automatic 2WD
-5.8 V8 351
-Truck starts with a jump. Been sitting for 3-4 years. I haven't driven it yet.

















Thank you for any help! Its definitely appreciated. I'm excited to own this truck but just want to make sure its worth it.

Welcome, Christian!  Glad you joined.  

Would you like to be on our map?  You can see it at Bullnose Forum/Member's Map.

Nice truck!  The "H" as the 8th character in your VIN means you have the 351HO, which is great because you have the most simple setup - DS-II ignition and no computer.  There really isn't much you need to do to it but maintain it.

As for the price, that's a very good buy.  

I appreciate that!
Yes. Please add me to your map.

That is good to know. I'm no mechanic, so I believe the simple set up is going to work just fine for me.

Are there any common issues with these engines that I should be aware of?

I've been told that carburetor needs to be replaced. Would you have any recommendations to what the best replacement would be for the 351HO?

Again, I'm really new to this so I appreciate all the help/advice I can get. Thanks!

Welcome!

You are now on the map.

As for the carb, assuming you have the original 4180C Holley then it is a decent carb, and unless it is damaged it shouldn't need to be replaced.  They worked quite well in 1984 and with a reasonable rebuild can work fine now.

Having said that, I'm not a Holley fan and prefer Edelbrock.  But in reality either will get the job done very nicely.

Welcome to the fun

Now 1 thing not said is you plan to have the truck shipped to LA, Cali.

You have to go thru smog check with the truck?
If so some just look at equipment and it passes if it is there, others do a sniff test so it has to be there and working.

What if anything been done to the smog equipment on the truck up to now?
You may want to look into what it takes to get plates for a non-Cali car or truck?
Dave ----

In order to get plates in CA I have to pass smog unfortunately.
From pictures I was sent of the engine bay I think the smog pump was removed, which is something I’ll definitely need to have in CA.
How difficult is it to get these trucks emissions good enough to pass in CA?
I’m not sure exactly what is needed for these trucks to pass so any advice is appreciated.

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Can you get a picture of the Emission label off the radiator support?

That will help immensely on what emissions parts are needed to pass a smog check.

Depending on what county you live in, in California, you may be required to do a dynamometer smog check.


If parts are missing, it will  be harder to get certain parts here because of California vs federal emission control differences.
 

Congrats, that's a awesome deal.  

As a reference, I was looking for a project. I found a 1980 F-100 I bought for $4,000 and it needs a lot of love. (Phoenix, AZ)

I'm sure there are a lot of folks who would buy that from you for way more than he wanted.

I live in LA county and am not sure if a dynamometer is required for a smog inspection. As for the emissions sticker, unfortunately, since I am not there, these are the best pics I can get. I'm not having any luck finding a more legible sticker online.

Welcome to the forum!  I live in Ventura County. You will need to pass a dyno test for sure.  The CA smog laws are a bit Byzantine, but I think not all trucks had all the same smog controls.  If it was a 49 state truck, it will have a subset of the full package (my truck was built for CA, so it has every device and vacuum device imaginable).  The reason I mention this is the the truck needs to "only" have whatever smog controls it was originally equipped with.  You don't need all CA smog devices on the same year truck if it wasn't originally built that way (that's what I recall, at least)

Is there a metal tag attached to the carb?  That will give the calibration code, and we can figure out some of what you need from there as well.  The tag on my carb is E4TE-AHA for example.

I see an EGR valve on the sticker, so it needs one in working order.

If it's a single tank truck, you will also have to pass a Evaporative pressure test at the tank inlet. Dual tanks are exempt, although they do test gas caps for both single and dual tanks.  I still have trouble with gas caps for these failing.

Using the carb number as suggested,  is a way of getting the calibration code. Another is the tag on the distributor. It may not get you the exact calibration code, but it should narrow things down to one or two codes hopefully.

Unfortunately, I cant check the carb myself for the calibration tag, But I was able to find a clear picture of the emissions sticker. I see E4AE-9C485 code but I'm not having any luck finding this online

Based on it being a 351 HO, I think these are the parts included in your calibration (you should still look for the tag when you get the truck, sorry I forgot it was still in VA)