I’m thinking about buying my fiancé’s mother’s old toy, an ‘89 Xtra Cab DLX V6/Auto 4x4. It’s been a Colorado truck since she bought it in ‘96, but spent 5 years in the Chicago area earlier in life. I’m gonna get under it and look for rot on the frame, but there doesn’t seem to be any on the body, just major hail damage. Truck shows just south of 150,000 miles, not that it matters. Has A/C but the controls are frozen, so I can plan on rebuilding that among the list of other things it needs before hitting the road.

I plan on making sure it’s 100% mechanically, then turning it into a cheap overland vehicle.

What do y’all consider a fair price?

 

that's a pretty loaded question to ask with no price tag on it. you said miles don't matter but I strongly disagree. the 3.0 will usually blow a head gasket around 150k if its original. other than that they are strong motors. with the body in that rough of shape, and auto and 3.0 (just less desirable for todays market), you said DLX but it doesn't look to have any options at all. I would value that truck at 1k to 1500 bucks.

 

looks like it has been a hard 150k even taking out the hail damage. Is the D/S rear cab window just taped up because of the hail damage or was it wrecked and damage is covered by the garbage bag?

I would pay $1500 for this.

As mentioned above the head gaskets are an issue on the 3.0, take the VIN to the dealer to see if the head gasket recall work was done. The A340 Auto's in these trucks sort of sucks, the solenoids tend to go out causing poor acceleration. They are an easy fix. I bought all 3 off ebay for $60, dropped the transmission pan and replaced them myself.

in the PNW 3rd gen Xtra Cabs are going to crazy money

 

Should you buy it? Is a pig's butt pork? I seem to remember that sometime in 90 was when they changed the head gaskets. Before then they seem to last better. My 90 has 210k on the original gaskets. Great old trucks and worth fixing. But like anything else old, you gotta want it and be willing to spend lots of cash. I may have to sell my house, maybe the tractor and the wife may have to go but my old 90 is staying..

 

Not to mention the windshield, fuel door, and the "custom" battery hold-down.
Intra-family car purchases go back to the Flintstones, but you should always consider the end-game. If this truck turns out to be a boat-anchor, will you still be your jovial self at Thanksgiving? If you easily turn it into one sweet ride, will your future mother-in-law feel you low-balled her?

I think the biggest consideration is you: does this look like a fun project to you? Are you itching to cover your garage floor with greasy parts, knowing that someday soon you'll have a great truck? Or do you look at it as just a cheap way to get an overland vehicle?

 

I find it hard to believe that a truck that resided in both Colorado and Illinois doesn't have significant rust on the underside. If the rust is bad enough even free isn't worth it.
But to each their own. Some don't care.

 

The glass was busted in a bad hail storm. I plan to replace it and I don't really care how the body looks for now.

I planned on going through the mechanicals complately, head gaskets with studs included. The transmission is my worry. I'm not worries so much about power, as long as it can crawl around and over obstacles and be reliable.

SE Colorado is dry country. They don't use sodium on the roads. The 5 years in Illinois bothers me, but from what I could tell without crawling under it is that it doesn't have any rot. I will definitely get underneath it next time I go up there.

 

Crawl under it! Take a good look at the frame where the rear leafs bolt up. Also its an automatic, I've heard their anemic (no personal experience.) I wouldn't pay more than 1k for it.

 

I would recommend not buying head bolts from DOA racing (not sure if they are still in business) I know guys that ordered 3.0 head bolts from them. Both got bolts of unequal length. Just my :twocents: