87-96

The 96 150's were the last real Ford true half ton work trucks then thay went to a livingroom on wheels

I see more of 87-96's on the road then the 97-03's Some are clean some are beat up but there still driving, i here so many ford and chevy guys say that fords biggest mistake was droping the 300I6 !

 

The 87-96 wins because of TIB/TTB. That double A-arm setup is not a real Ford, IMO.

 

Having driven both:

-I dislike the 4.6L it lacks power but its better imho than the old 5.0 in where it makes its power in the rpm band (its slightly lower).
-The inline 6 should have NEVER been dropped, the 4.2 is junk.
-The 5.4L vs 351W is laughable. Yes the newer engine had more power but it needs to be really pushed to do it. Never had an issue with the powerband in the old 351W trucks. More power isnt necessarily a good thing in this case. However the 5.4L has proven itself to be pretty reliable besides the spark plug ordeal (I drove a few of them for work and some had 300k). But they burn oil and the piston slap when cold is insane. I prefer the old engines.
-I kinda like the lines of the newer trucks, but they are just to small looking and rounded overall. Aerodynamics be damned it was a ugly design from day one. I do like the fact they have club cab doors that open tho. Interiors nicer by far, more car like which is nice but then your afraid you will ruin something (been there done that).

I personally looked at and thought about getting a 97-03 F150. After driving a few and looking them over I just cant see myself doing it. I prefer the older trucks as they are simpler, cheaper and easier to work on. The only thing I liked was the newer trucks have nicer interiors.

I would much rather have a superduty tho.

 

I agree. It was a huge mistake, when Ford dropped the 300 and dropped the Twin I Beam.

 

I guess I'm just getting old,but to me those Things they started producing and calling f150s in 97 are NOT Ford F150s to me they are more reminiscent of a Damn S10 pickup of 90s vintage rounded off with no personality. Like a previous poster mentioned when they came out I Hated them to high hell Still do. I repeat Trucks were never intended to be cars period. through out the history of Ford trucks they always came out with Pretty/Robust/Rock solid/Functional trucks that balanced looking good with working good that turd that came out in 97 doesn't even compare to the 48-60/61-66/67-72/73-79/OR 80-86/87-96 absolutely no comparison what so ever and I can Guarantee you I'm not alone in my way of thinking either

 

I have both , my 95 is my pride & joy & will never sell it , bought it new & i will have it when i die , thats the way a feel about that , my dd is a 04 5.4 150 sc , its a nice truck , dose everthing i ask of it , 100K no problems, i use it for work , it rides nice , i like it , rather have it than a chevy , dodge or toyota , but id rather drive the 95 , hands down.....Lew

 

The worst thing ford did to their half-ton truck was drop the 300. I'd take a 300 powered full size over the 4.2 or 4.6 anyday. I'd also rather have the 302 in a half-ton before the 4.6. This was all done for the '97 model. I never even liked the styling of the 97-2003. If I was to get another truck I'd skip the 97-03 generation and either get an 04+ or 96-down.

 

i actually think 04 and up don't look that great. they tried to hard to look tough instead of just bein tough. and my old man used to have one and holy hell the seat in my 64 was comfier and it was an upside down bucket.

 

I think the 97-03 "trucks" if that's what you call them are the ugliest looking trucks Ford ever made. The dash is even uglier. I had a '98 as a company truck and that hideous dash made me think I was driving a moon mobile. That instrument pod looked like a hippo's butt. It was anemic even with the 4.6 and felt like it needed to be pushed going up steeper hills.

 

it all goes back to the phrase "they done make em like they used to..." personally i actually like the looks of a 97-03 f150. my first truck was a 97 F150 and i liked it a lot. The 4.2 that was in it blew up at aprox 150000, then a carburated 5.8 windsor got put under the hood! I had a untuned 2 barrel carburator on it and it would keep up with my buddies 4.6 triton in his 97 F150. im not dissing his 4.6 though, it had 180000 on it and he dogged it worse than anyone ive seen. but where i live it seems like 150000 is the magic number for when the 4.2's seem to blow up, my truck along with 2 other buddies went at 150,000. 300 I6 was where it was at! im a proud owner of a 92 f150 5.8 4x4 now though!

 

The biggest thing i hate about the 04+ models is the Super duity doors thay put on the F150's i cant stang those it makes the truck look to big !

 

I've had and/or driven every generation of Ford truck from the '67 model and up. Some people have stated that they hate the SLA 4x4 front end versus the TTB. I remember when everyone thought the TTB was junk compared to the solid axle when the '80 model came out. The TTB is pretty durable, but all that unsprung weight killed the ride. And without doubt, the '97 and up trucks have much better steering. The only 4.6 I've owned was in an Explorer, but I've had both 5.0 and 5.8s as well as 2V and 3V versions of the 5.4, and the 5.4 has much better torque than the 5.8 as well as substantially more HP. Fuel economy is also up. But the 5.8 makes enough power for sure and is much easier to work on. Styling is subjective and I really like both, but the '92 - '96 ('98 HD) is my favorite after the '78-'79 model. The '97 and newer trucks have gotten better brakes, especially after Ford ditched the rear drums. Having 4 doors on the <'99 SC is so much nicer when loading, and the back seat is almost habitable for full-size humans. Luckily, I get to dive both our '94 EB Bronco (5.8) and '07 F150 SCrew (5.4) all the time, so I get the best of both worlds.

 

any 80 to 96 with the 300 inline 6 will show you why the older ones are better they never should have gotten rid of that motor one of the greatest ford ever put out. hands down you could put a beating on that motor and it just wouldnt give up 426 thousand miles later and mine still runs great

 

Depends on what you're using it for. For a daily driver I love my 99 sc/xlt sport. It looks great, drives great and gets decent mileage. For hauling rock and firewood, my 90 f250 can't be beat, but it's not comfortable and won't get better than 10 mpg loaded or not.

 

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who thought that Ford quit building trucks after 96. I'll keep my 94 300 with 350k on it. Still gets 17mpg as a daily driver.