Picked up this First Gen L

BigFatMatt

Ain't never gonna change
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Feb 23, 2015
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Land of the Pines
Got it a few weeks ago for a good price. It's proven itself reliable so far, and I'm adding it to the fleet.

1994 with 135k. Runs excellent, idles perfectly. Pulls strong and seems very solid. Practically zero rust. It has some very light rust on the inside corner of radiator support, and a little bit on the leaf spring hangers but nothing I'm worried about now.

It has a roll pan bumper w/ hidden hitch. Aftermarket catback.

It did come w/ original tube bumper that looks basically brand new.

Previous owner says transmission rebuilt 5k miles ago. He gave me a pamphlet from Jasper with VIN and serial # but I'm still kind of ehhh... I was expecting more papers but whatever. Transmission shifts fine, very firm actually so I assume it's got a punisher VB. PO also mentioned he thought the rear end was fairly new but no way to verify so we didn't figure that into the deal.

It needed new tires and had a few squeaks and creaks from the door striker bushings being missing. I installed striker bushings and also taped around the door panels which also helped quite a bit. New Goodyear Eagles considerably improved the ride.

I love this truck. It's so much fun driving around town yanking everybody off the line at the stoplights. It's pretty quick 0-45 all things considered. And I pulled up some bushes in the yard with the hitch... no problem at all. What a solid, fun, truck. And did I mention the handling??? DAMN this thing will take a corner!

I want to change out the fiberglass cover for a drop in bed liner with some tie down attachments. Does anyone know if the Lightning bed is the same size as a single cab F150? I would assume so, but have no idea.
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BigFatMatt

Ain't never gonna change
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Land of the Pines
Thanks guys, I'm pretty happy with it so far. All of the seat adjustments work great, AC is cold and heat is hot. It needs a new passenger side window switch, or maybe just contacts need cleaning. Both regulators work fine.

I think the center console isn't OEM because the mounting "plate" looks kind of home made. I would like a center seat so I might hit a few junkyards... I've read some of the Ram center seats fit nicely.

There is some very slight seepage from the transmission pan gasket. It's one of the old cork gaskets so I bet a new gasket would fix it. It drips maybe one or two drops per week. Slightly annoying but I'll live with it for a while until I feel like dropping the pan.

No leaks other than that, and zero smoke at any time. I've been lurking at NLOC and I'm gonna join there later this week... those guys really love these trucks. I feel really lucky to have gotten one in such good shape.
 

94slowbra1

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Feb 19, 2007
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new orleans
i had a 94 back in the day. also had a roll pan with a hidden hitch but mine was red. that 351 was a beast. should have never sold it. nice pick up
 

kwkshift

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Nov 23, 2002
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AZ
I had a red '95 years ago and I really liked that truck. The seats are comfortable, dual gas tanks, pretty quick, handles well, etc. I'd like to get another, someday.
 

ashleyroachclip

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Oregon
Nice truck , but I wonder if it had been repainted .
Reason I ask is I, see no lightning stickers on the sides .
The short bed trucks take the same bed liner , tho i would have it rhino lined .
 

BigFatMatt

Ain't never gonna change
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Land of the Pines
Nice truck , but I wonder if it had been repainted .
Reason I ask is I, see no lightning stickers on the sides .
The short bed trucks take the same bed liner , tho i would have it rhino lined .

Thanks for the info on the bed! Glad to hear it.

I'm pretty sure at least the sides of the truck and the tailgate were repainted a few years ago.

The hood, top, and bed rails are original paint I believe. The inside of the bed is original paint and is in awesome shape. It was hardly ever used as a truck it seems.

The lightning stickers on the sides are there, but they are black... look in the last pic of post #4. One of the previous owners "ghosted" them after the paint job I'm guessing. They look like vinyl and feel like they are on top of the paint. I'm thinking about removing them.

The tailgate sticker feels different, it is thinner and the lightning bolt is reflective. I am thinking it's an OEM sticker so that one will stay.
 

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