Family Heirloom Ford F-150 Undergoes Resurrection
F-150 Online forum member has too far too many priceless memories in this passed-down Ford truck to let it go to waste.
For most folks, Ford F-150 ownership began with an exchange of cash. But for a great number of F-150 Online forum members, it actually started as a gift. You see, a lot of today’s truck owners became so when a beloved Ford truck was passed down from one generation to the next. And these family heirlooms become something much more than just normal transportation. They become, well, part of the family.
That’s certainly the case with booba5185 and his 1989 Ford F-150. The truck, originally purchased by his grandparents, has a special meaning that goes beyond most owner/vehicle relationships, as he explains.
“I have a 1989 Ford F-150 that my grandparents bought new, put a pop up camper on it, and used it to take me traveling all over the U.S. I’ve been to 38 states in it. On my 21st birthday, [my grandfather] gave it to me with 55,000 miles on it, 110% stock. He sold the camper, but here’s a pic from 1991, [taken] somewhere in Oregon.”
Prior to landing in the OP’s possession, the truck sat dormant for quite some time. So the first order of business was to get this family heirloom running reliably again. Plus a few mods, of course.
“Once I got it, I went through and replaced everything that needed to be replaced from it sitting roughly 7 years in AZ. I also added a remote start, Saginaw PS, F-350 brakes, Taurus E-fans, Explorer injectors, and a 3G alternator. My wife got pregnant, I got laid off from Bank of America, and we moved cross country in it. With everything we owned in the back of it. Once we moved here, I put some Dodge wheels on it, GT40 Ps, converted it to MAF, Mustang headers\Y-pipe, dual batteries, Explorer OHC, 4+1 mod in the Trak-Lok, and a few other odds and ends. Here’s a pic or two of that. Probably the best shape the truck has been in.”
To date, the beloved Ford F-150 had served its new owners quite well. But life, as it usually does, soon got in the way.
“My wife got pregnant again and the truck basically went on the back burner. Mostly from a mixture of frustration and its inability to (legally) carry four people around on a regular basis. I bought a Grand Prix GTP, and it got the focus of my gear wrenching for the next four years.”
But then tragedy struck, and the OP knew it was time to get his truck running properly once again. And a fellow F-150 Online forum member was more than happy to help him get it there.
“Last year, grandpa passed, and I swore to myself it’d be on the road again. I bought a Silverfox VB earlier this year, but it didn’t get installed until about 2 months ago. Grandma isn’t doing good, so we had to take a trip back to AZ so she could meet the kids before she goes. Anyways, over the last two months I’m going through fixing and replacing things. I can’t say enough good things about Silverfox (Dan). He’s been awesome to work with, and has recalibrated the VB twice so it’ll shift to my liking.”
“So far, I isolated (and replaced) the two batteries, replaced the F-350 booster and MC (bad), flushed all the fluids twice, put the correct MAF in (I had a truck’s MAF instead of a Mustang’s MAF), swapped in LEDs on everything on the exterior (minus the headlights), cleaned the TB while replacing the IAC, put in a smog pump bypass with a Gatorback belt (shorter belt caused a squeak even with a new tensioner\pulley), and installed a better two channel amp for the Alpine Type-R components in the doors.”
Soon, the OP installed a new valve spring kit and sorted through a startup issue related to a bad FPR vacuum line. With the truck running better, the LED lighting also made a big difference on the inside as well.
Work on the beloved family Ford F-150 continues, and we’re anxious to see where things go from here. Be sure and follow along in the build thread, where you can cheer on the OP or find some useful ideas and/or motivation for your own truck’s resurrection!
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