The first vehicle I knew my father owned was a bumpside Ford truck, an F-250 with black interior, the rubber floors, a V8 of some kind, a manual trans on the floor, and all the beauty of a rock. It was a white beast, and it was there to work and nothing more. I don’t know when he got it, and I’m really not sure of why he got rid of it before 1987, but that was a truck. Brutal, basic, and brawny. My grandfather had a similar Ford, a green late 1970s Ranger-spec half-ton that was about as luxurious as a truck could be in the 1970s, with it’s 390 and automatic transmission. Since the truck was usually parked with the battery out for one reason or another, I was allowed to play behind the wheel as long as the chocks were in place. Having grown up, I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that there is a generation of pickup truck truly worth owning…it starts in the late 1960s and ends more-or-less in the late 1990s, depending on the brand. And I have no brand preference there at all…Ford, GM, Mopar, International, and Jeep all made some damn good trucks. They had their faults, but they had their charms, and all could be worked like rented mules.
So, what is it about this particular F-100 that draws me in? Well, there is the fact that my dad had one, so it must be good, but my dad also had a Mustang II Ghia at one point…so as much as nostalgia works there, we will ignore that. Maybe it’s because it’s a low-mile Ford that looks good without looking restored. That does work…there’s a scratch here and an imperfection there, but damn, for such an old rig, it looks great. And stock…how rare is that? The 352ci is in place, and looks maintained, the hubcaps are all there, the bench might have a tear or two but it isn’t trashed. It’s a farm truck that has been cared for properly.
This is the polar opposite of a $50,000 pickup truck in my eyes. It’s completely analog, solid, and geared towards one purpose: work. The air conditioning unit in this truck was the only luxury I could spot, and that has it’s purpose…refreshing the cab after a long day of busting your ass doing what you do. Get in, twist the key in the dash-mounted switch, and let it roll. If any manufacturer could replicate the feeling this Ford is giving me right now, I’d shell out the fifty grand for the truck in a heartbeat. Outside of gray plastic-filled commercial-spec trucks, none do.
eBay Link: 1967 Ford F-100 Camper Special
I owned a 67 w/360 engine. A bigger pile never existed. Fuel millage was beyond terrible and the front tires wore so quickly that words can not describe it. A friends father bought a new one around 73-75 and it was the same thing. Especially the front tires wearing off the tread and nothing could be done, per the dealer who sold him the pile. Have at it.
Owned many Ford trucks and never a bad one until I got a 02 King Ranch paid to much for the badges and interior Will never own a 4 door short box again Next will be a 90’s 1/2 ton 4×4 with a full size bed! Love the older style but like the fuel injection more
No car guy refers to step-side pickups as “bump-side”. i’m just sayin’!
He wasn’t talking about the bed…
“Bumpside” refers to a 67-72 Ford pickup regardless of bed type… the following 73-79 were called dentsides
both nomenclature are due to the “spears” running along the bodyline. “Bumped” out on early trucks and “dented” in on the later ones.
No car guy thinks that’s a step side anyway, just sayin’
Yes they do. It’s a reference to the Bump in the side of the body of the 67-72, as opposed to the dents idea body, starting in 73.
17,000 miles?
There’s too much wear on the brake pedal pad and steering wheel paint for me to believe that.
It clearly states 170.000 miles !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
170,000 miles
Look again… They never put the extra digit on the odometers until late 70s… Just sayin’
Whoops!!!
Read the ad, dumbass!!!!!
Outies my favorite ford pick up bought one for 400 threw the FE out and put a 351W in it 4gear 9 ” . No computer crap and you could haul stuff with out denting the bed like the new trucks .
As for the mileage, it CLEARLY reads 16,990.3 miles. I find that hard to believe. The CB radio is a 40 channel sideband Radio Shack unit that was sold in the mid 75-78. there is also a power brake control beside the radio that would have been used for whatever trailer it pulled. Still it is probably built better than the Ranger I own today.
Personally owned a ’72 Ford pickup with a 302 and 3 on the tree, was a beast. Fondly remember my Dad’s 76 F100 that had a 360ci engine, he built a custom rack that went from the front bumper to the back bumper and got caught speeding with about 3+ tons of steel loaded up on the truck. When the cop told Dad that he clocked him at 78 mph, he looked up at the load and asked “how much weight you got on there?” With a straight face, he replied “the legal limit”. Cop looked at him, handed over the speeding ticket and told him to slow down, lol
My granddad had a ’79 F250 Ranger 4×4 with an 8′ box. Had a 360ci with a 4 on the floor. It was a land yacht that was the biggest P.O.S he ever owned. Nothing but problems with overheating and lack of power- would hardly pull itself up a hill.
My dad had an ’80 F250 2×4 with the 300ci inline 6 with a 4 on the floor. It was a former lumber company truck with over 500,000 miles on it and you couldn’t kill that truck. Fill up the oil, check the gas, and go. The box rusted out and we built a wood deck and it kept going for years after that. The headlight switch would heat up at night and the lights would go out sometimes but we put a set of tractor lights in the grill and problem solved. I remember the other thing with those 300ci’s were the cdi boxes- he had three of them ziptied together on the inner fender and if one quit, we would just unplug it and plug in the next one!