I picked up this 2002 F150 from a neighbor for 800 bucks the other week. I’m no mechanic but I’d always wanted to learn how to fix up a car. I figured for the price it would be a good starter project, especially since it runs. I could tell it needed some work. I noticed it had some rust on the body (rockers) and some surface rust on some of the underside of the truck. Plus it had 179k miles and didn’t appear to have been maintained all that well.

I started with typical maintenance (fluids, filters, etc) to get it to a baseline. I figured I should remove the plastic bed liner so I could see what I was working with. I knew I’d find some rust but I wasn’t expecting nearly this much. When I saw it my stomach sunk. For some this may be a typical part of a restoration. But for me, it feels like I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. I don’t know how to weld and I imagine this would be a big project.

Are there any alternative solutions? Or do I cut my losses and sell it as-is? It’s especially discouraging because I wanted to use the truck to haul stuff, but with this much rust it seems like the bed is for sure compromised.

Any advice would be appreciated, thank you😕