The $2k '06 Ford F250 Super Duty

From my local IAA auction I bought a '06 Ford Super Duty, regular cab, long bed, 5.4L w/ 141k miles.  

It was a former Ohio Dept of Trans (ODOT) truck.  It took a hit to the rear bumper.  The bumper is deformed, bent and pretty much ruined from being very rusty before the hit.  

Gov't maintained.  ODOT has their own garages and own mechanics.  I drove the truck home from the auction or about 20 miles of hyw and it drives fantastic.  

Tires are super NEW.  The build dates on the Toyo HT tires is 21st week of 2017.  That means the tires were made in late May '17.  It would seem unlikely that they went on the truck before July of 2017.  The IAA photos are date stamped 11-29-17 so it was off the road by some time in Nov.  They can't have 4 months of driving on them!  $200 per tire or $800 value.  

Totally basic "work truck" model.  Does have AC.  Radio is AM/FM only. No cruise control.  Rubber floors.  Interior is dirty but not completely destroyed with mud/dirt like many "work trucks.  I think it can be cleaned up nicely. Cloth seat (not vinyl) is roughed up on the edge.  Passenger seat has probably never been sat in.  

Bigger hit to the rear than I realized.  At the auction yard the vehicles are packed together tight.  It wasn't until I go the truck home and saw it from across the yard that I realized there is an exaggerated gap between the cab and bed.  More frame bending that I realized.  Does not seem to affect driving.  My buddy who followed me home from the auction says the truck doesn't appear to dog-leg down the road.

Bashed bumper looks like it will just unbolt with 4 bolts.  I plan to take it off and leave it off.   Receiver hitch is no longer exactly straight but I think it will be straight enough.  

Truck came with a full tank of gas.  That's like 38 gallons!  At $2.63 per gallon, that is $100 worth of gas!

Maybe I'll keep it.  Not sure how long.  Maybe I'll sell it.  I feel I can easily get my money back any time.  

For now, photo dump.

Light Still Works!!!

Would have had marking like these.  

Sadly, it did not come with the full Hi-Viz rear tailgate that might have prevented a rear collision.  

Seems like a decent buy. Is it 2WD?

EDIT: looking at the dash pics, I don't see any levers or buttons. Do you not need any kind of inspection to put it back on the road with the frame damaged like that?

Yes, 2wd.  I figure that means less to go wrong.  If it were 4wd I couldn't have affored it here in the middle of winter. 

2wd also means it never plowed and never tore up a transmission with plowing.  

It has a hour meter which says just shy of 5,100 hrs.  141k miles in 5,100 hrs is 27.6 miles of driving per hour.  This is good to see that it is not like 5 miles per hour of running which would be indicative of long stretches of idling.  27.6 miles per hour of lifetime average speed seems like a good number given traffic lights and every other reason you a sitting but not moving.  

It will have to go through the Ohio Salvage Inspection process which they are quick to point out is not a "safety Inspection".  Mostly it is to have you prove you have not used stolen parts in rebuilding the cars by showing reciepts.  

I will send this truck through with zero repairs and zero receipts.  I have done the same thing with 5 other  cars since March.   The others just had bent bumpers or dented fenders but I did not fix the bumpers/dents.  I expect the truck will be the same.  Ohio does not require a rear bumper on trucks so fully removing it will be okay.  I don't anticipate any issue from the inspection about frame.  We'll see.   

Ditch bumper, de-glue door paint, wash, shoot some new silver paint at wheels, done.  It’ll definitely be better for towing than the montero

Patrick said:

Ditch bumper, de-glue door paint, wash, shoot some new silver paint at wheels, done.  It’ll definitely be better for towing than the montero

My thoughts exactly.  

The sticker removal on the door was done a bit heavy handed.  There are some gouges removing the white but keeping the gray primer underneath.  I have not decided how to tackle this.  Some magnetic panels like a Landscaping business  might have would cover it all.  I have a business but I do not want to logo this medium duty truck because I want to keep it  registered as non-commercial.  Something like GRM number panels would work but would be odd.  Maybe something else.  If the truck were red then some phony Sandford and Son vinyl on magnet.  

Speaking of vinyl, about $75 per side could be enough to apply some vinyl wrap to the middle to give a two-tone effect.  Inspiration: 

Of course, this is probably more ambition than I will actually go through with.   My instinct is to just magnet over with something on the door.   Magnet and vinyl is cheap, quick and effective. 

Not sure what.  Any ideas?

sand the sharp edges and blend some rustoleum white onto it

I was thinking replace round logo space with this round logo. 

Then, turn on the yellow light, put out an orange cone and park downtown on just about any curb and just leave it there.  Never have to pay for parking or hunt for a parking space.  

In reply to John Welsh :

I discovered something about parking enforcement, especially in/around campus, during my years in the copier business. Typically, parking enforcement is only concerned about violations regarding parking spaces and no-parking areas, while the police are busy enough with public safety concerns that they don't have the time/desire to pay any attention to parking issues. With any type of signage on your vehicle, and the boldness to park places that shouldn't be used as a parking space, you're generally left alone.

JW, am i to understand that straightening the frame is a non issue?

759NRNG said:

JW, am i to understand that straightening the frame is a non issue?

I have no idea. I really don't plan to straighten it.

However, it wasn't until today, which is when I took these pictures that I realized it may be bent.   

I'm open to any pro advice from anyone who knows. 

when I whiskey dented the bumper on my '91 chevy  the rails were tweaked from the rear axle back giving me the opposite gap from yours.....tight at the top(cab) open at the bottom.....$125 IIRC at a lesser known frame 'shop' and i was back in bidness 

In reply to 759NRNG :

Good news.  Have have a local, private shop that did a tiny bit of work fpr me in the past at a good price.  

In reply to Pete Gossett :

For 9 years (ages 20-29) I worked for Coca-Cola in local distribution.  Many many of those years my take home, company car, was this exact Astro Van. 

I was still going to college at night.  Faculty parking was closer by, Student parking was farther out.  The closest was paid parking with an attendant. This attendant also served as block to the good loading and service and maintenance type parking.  On nights when running late to get there on time, I would approach the attendant and say 'Vending Machine Repair".  Up would go the arm and I could park free for hours in the best spots closest to the buildings.

Also in that era we used to take the van out of town and head to ski resorts in N. Michigan.  At Boyne Mt resort, if you are a hotel staying guest and can prove it to the attendant you get close parking.  If you are the general masses (like us) you get far away parking with a tram or shuttle bring you in from the far away parking (or long walk.)   Just so happened at the time that the resort happened to be a 100% Coca-Cola exclusive for beverages.  Every time I would approach the attendant in this windowless van, the gate would go right up.  Never had to lie to them because I never actually spoke to any of them.  Once in, about 6 people would pour out of this van.  I had a preferred parking spot near the food court area that allowed for the ability to ski directly to the van.  This was great if you needed to add a layer or take off a layer of clothing.  

Good times.  Yeah, if you look like you belong, then you belong.  

In the years after Coca-Cola, I worked in Telecom and actually worked for AT&T but never had a company vehicle with them.  

I've always wondered how well he 5.4L motivates these 3/4 ton trucks in regular cab 2wd form. I've only experienced this engine in the 1/2 ton crew cab 4x4 version, where it did fine.

2k seems like all that truck is worth, even at retail? 

collinskl1 said:

I've always wondered how well he 5.4L motivates these 3/4 ton trucks in regular cab 2wd form. I've only experienced this engine in the 1/2 ton crew cab 4x4 version, where it did fine.

i cant speak for the 3v 5.4's but i use to have a '99 f150 with a 5.4 and currently have a '00 f250 with the 5.4. in my opinion the 3/4 ton starts getting a little heavy for the 5.4, it's not terrible but it's quite different then driving the 1/2 ton

onemanarmy said:

2k seems like all that truck is worth, even at retail? 

That may be the case. Seemed like a better deal before I noticed the gap at the bed/cab.  But, if it is worth $2k at retail now, I should be able to keep it, use it, play with a while and get my money back when I want.  If running, (which it currently does well) then it is likely always worth $2k...I hope.  

In reply to John Welsh :

I agree. That is at least a $2k Craiglist sale any day of the week. You did fine.

Seems worth a good bit more than 2k to me.  You could drive that thing for years easily.  

I have a thought on the bed gap, have you looked to see if it's possible the bed mounts are bent rather than the frame? 

Time for some update on this one.  It has been cold and winter here so not much has happened quickly but some things have happened....  

In reply to 759NRNG :

Thanks for the recommendation on some frame straightening.  I did some asking around and the big shops didn't want to take time away from their bread and butter Insurance Work.  The couple I spoke with said they were 3 weeks out on frame machine time.  Winter is big season for snow related accidents and deer.  However, asking got me to a guy who is a County Employee by day and a body man in the nights and weekends. He has an old (but effective) frame machine in his pole barn.  

He charged me $400 and said he had 8 hours into the job.  Gap taken from between cab and bed (mostly), hitch straightened, used bumper fully installed.  I was very happy with price and the work done.  

Before:

After: 

Before:

After:

All along, my plan was to paint the wheels when the weather improves.  Then, I was searching around ebay looking for 2 more center caps for the hubs (the front has these but they were missing from the back.  While searching, I found these $59 w/ free shipping for 4 Chrome Wheel Skins.  I figured I was facing $5 per wheel in spray paint plus prep, plus time, etc and for $15 per wheel I could have these.  Seemed like a good value.  I just put them on and they seem to adhere/snap to the wheels very well.  As chrome they are a bit "blingy" but all-in-all, I like them.  I think they quickly make the truck look respectable though not too flashy.  Just the center caps like I wanted would cost me about $15 each.  

I think I need to start attending auctions.

Did you link the after pics from a google drive?