Naterenfo1

well, I am soon to be a college grad, and looking to get a 1/2-3/4 ton pickup for myself, so I will be able to haul my toys around (AKA the MJ, my fourwheeler, and other vehicles later on in life). I am wondering on how to go about not only vehicle financing, but the search process. I have never financed a vehicle, or any other mode of transportation in my entire life, so obviously I have little/no credit, but I don't have a bad credit history following me like some folks do. Yes, I have student loans and such but have made on time payments thus-far, but supposedly that takes quite a while to build up a score with. I found a nice '99 Ford F-250 at my local dealership with a Turbo 7.3L Diesel 150k miles for 10 grand, a little overkill for what I need but hey, I'm a diesel mechanic and a good solid truck with a reliable motor is all I could ask for. I test drove the truck, and besides having a cab light out, speakers being blown, and some slop in the steering (the dealership said they would fix said problems immediately) the truck seems great to me. I looked on craigslist and saw similar trucks for around 2 grand less So, I am trying to figure out what I can afford. I was looking for a payment between 200-275 a month (obviously the closer to 200 the better) and I ask the salesman roughly what kind of interest I was looking at and what a guesstimate on payments would be. Of course the car salesman starts throwing out numbers like 5% interest and $200 payments, and a new pony and god knows what else. I didn't make an offer on the vehicle, and asked him just to use the company information and see what an average deal would be on the loan (trying to get some loan shopping done). He sat me down with a financing department member, who had the idea that I was going to buy the truck and was ready to finance. I told him I wasn't ready to buy and I was considering making the purchase at the end of february, and of course he got crabby with me. I asked him to guesstimate my financing without running my credit report. He explained to me that going through the dealership was the only cost effective way to get a vehicle loan, and said that even if I were to go "loan shopping" nobody would finance me because the vehicle was too old and had too many miles. Today I got a phone call saying that they ran my credit report and could get me a 5.1% interest rate for a 48 month loan. I was at school and did not want to shout at him (for running credit), so I asked how long the loan was good for and said I would call back later. I am a little pissed that they ran my credit - I asked them not to, and it probably wrecked the very little credit that I actually may have had. so my questions are as follows: How do you go about used vehicle shopping? is asking about pricing and payments going too far? Did I go about this in the right way? because apparently asking about payments means your interested in purchasing... Has anyone heard of problems with lenders loaning money for too old of a vehicle? Any and all help is appreciated.

They actually have an insanely similar model at my local junkyard here in Alexandria MN. Its a white model, and everything is there. Has a 5.9L v8. I might be able to go snap some pics if your interested? granted, it would need close to $5k just to make it look as pretty as the one your looking at! :cheers:

Don't mean to brag or anything, but here's my shining beauty I caught this past summer, got it mounted and all

So far I have had a PILE of fun with the showtime buggy :brows: seems to make it through anything I can find! and good power! Have you downloaded the "test arena" map?

you have gotten more done to your MJ which was in worse shape than mine, in one month, and I have had mine for over a year *facepalm although having a donor jeep and a shop would definitely help haha. Nice build! I will be watching for sure :cheers:

I <3 Murdered GTR's :brows: Also seriously diggin the lights! very festive haha I might just copy that... Somehow this build convinced me I need to switch to longarms... so much flex!!!

and THAT is why we drive MJ's ;)

I love Rockstars :cheers: Go for it!

It really pisses me off that Ford is doing this, They update the living Sh** out of the ones that are sold in europe, giving them turbo-diesels, touchscreen navigation systems, high clearance suspension, and for a mere $28,000.00 USD. Then you look at the ones we have here, and they don't even come close in comparison with the options. Then Ford wonders why the hell their sales are down :hmm: in the US and closes the plant, killing over 800 great american jobs :fs1: :headpop: . I happen to own a 1998 Ranger myself, that my Grandfather purchased new in '97. Nothing feels as good as knowing that money went straight back into the local economy. Its a real tragedy that plant is going down, I visited there many times to take tours, and enjoyed watching them being built. So long Ford Ranger :cry:

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :agree:

I can't figure out how to hook up one vehicle to another :( I keep rolling and trying to recover my vehicle with the orange crane and can't get it to work :( also: how do you move winch points out of spawn area?

Considering 3 of those days were due to problems my truck was giving me, and the fact it's a 25 mile ONE WAY trip; there aren't any other people I know who would even think of giving me a ride that far out just to go to work, so I was (for all intents and purposes) screwed. 1 of those days was for my dying aunt going into have surgery to try and remove harmful tumors from her breasts which she almost died during surgery. And the last one was visiting a close friend of mine who got into a serious accident on 1792. So no offense to you, I just don't really appreciate the snark comments when the reasons I had for missing those days were completely understandable and justifiable. And if they weren't supposed to be taken that way, I'm sorry for interpreting them that way. Just my 2 cents man. I've been there and most jobs will give you the boot if you miss more than 2 days in 6 months. As far as they are concerned, excuses are just that. They have jobs that need to be done and people that don't show cause things to not be done. Last job I lost was because a tire came off my car on my way to work. (tire shop screwed up) It didn't matter to the boss (I ended up being 1/2 an hour late and tardy for the 3rd time in a year) and I drove 150 miles a day to and from work. Out of curiosity JeepcoMJ, did you at least call ahead and let them know that you were having issues? I have always found that notifying my employer at least an hour ahead of when I was scheduled, that I was going to have an issue making it to work on time, or to work in general, that they take it quite well and really appreciate the call. I'm sure you probably did, but if not I would consider this to be the best advice for when you come around and grab a new job. Don't let the world shoot you down, instead, get yourself motivated on finding a new job. Think of several companies you would like to work for (they don't necessarily need to be hiring ATM) and conduct an "Information Interview" (google it) with someone from the HR department, or with some sort of manager. Make sure you have a pristine copy of your resume on hand just in case they ask for it, but employers love to see initiative and drive like that and will most likely contact you for employment.

well you got this thing set up exactly how I want to set up mine (minus all the chevy motor/tranny parts ;) ) Definitely will be watching this build to get ideas, Nice work!!! :cheers:

lookin good! for sure could use an inch or two more of lift though ;)

IIRC the wire on ignition that needs to be jumped is a 8-10ga yellow wire? just get a 12 volts positive on it (jump to the positive on battery)

The back looks right for a SOA haha something doesn't look quite right in the front..... 6.5" lift in the front will look just dandy :thumbsup: I really like how mine turned out and I have that as a set up right now 6.5 up front, 4x4 leafs with SOA in rear.

:cry: its so beautiful it brings a tear to my eye.... so many super expensive parts!!! Best of luck with this build! Hope to be watching ya at the hammers! :cheers:

Just wanted to say thank you Tom, I had wonderful service with you and great communication. Also thank you for the discount! I would Highly recommend buying from Hell Creek to any of you on the fence about a purchase. Tom is knowledgeable, and has one of the best accents I have heard. Thanks again!

The diagram is to help make sure the pistons and rods get aligned properly and face the correct direction, you would not believe how many seasoned mechanics have messed this up, and how easy it is to overlook.

I agree with the 5.0 swap :thumbsup: If you can find a junked v8 explorer, the whole drivetrain would be of use to you. 96+ has a disc brake 8.8 rear end and you can find them with limited slips. and you can use the tranny and transfer case as well :D sounds like a great project!! :wrench: 350 has been done way too many times, and its nice to see a good Ford motor put back to work have fun with it!

Pin Bore Diameter 0.9288-0.9298 in Big End Bore Diameter 2.2080-2.2085 in Side Clearance 0.010-0.019 in Maximum Twist 0.001 in Maximum Bend 0.001 in Connecting Rod Cap Bolts 30-35 ft.lb Hope this helps! :cheers:

Looking great!!! Welcome to the camo club :cheers:

Is a cab side (interior side) wiring harness from an xj with a 4.0 compatible with an engine side fuse panel connector from a 2.8? I understand that the 4.0 will obviously have extra fuse locations and connectors, but if I buy one and plug it in, and attach it to my dash connections will it be compatible? People who have swapped fuse panels possibly chime in?

Great buy!! Welcome to the club! :cheers: Careful - These trucks are addicting :wrench:

I attempted to coat my floors in roofing tar in 10 degree weather with snow on the ground and no rubber gloves to alleviate the clean up process-- in retrospect, this was an awful idea, but needed to be done.