For various reasons to complex to be worth mentioning I've decided the only truck that really suits me is a 1978 Ford F series. However with that sherman tank of a non overdrive 4 spd stick I love so much (4wd too of course) coupled with the V8's that were available at the time I'm expecting abysmal fuel economy. However I love the very long lived 300 I-6 to death and I hear even these old carbureted ones can get fairly impressive fuel economy, anyone have any first hand experience? I tried searching but anything with that info kinda got lost in the pile of crap threads that came up.
Also is the 4 spd stick behind the I-6 the same super heavy duty one behind the larger M v8's of the same year or is it something else?
How hard is it to find A/C in this year truck with an I-6? Not really critical but its nice to have when you can actually get it working.
And most importantly can this setup maintain freeway speed with a 22 foot sailboat? I need to tow one from MN to VA which is a bit of a trip.