Ok---I appreciate all the replies to my first post,but I think there are a few issues that need addressing.
First,my term "Rare Find" is refering to the great original condition and sales price of $1,000.00 for the '76;I wasn't trying to compare the actual value of a truck verses an original '65 Shelby 427 Cobra,a Boss Mustang or something that everyone and their dog refers to as "rare".
Secondly,I am a little surprised that so many people are quick to dismiss any vehicle other than those mentioned above as rare.Stop and think a minute....for those of us born before 1973,we have seen, in our lifetime, muscle cars go from items every workingman wanted, to items nobody wanted during the '70's gas crunch,to items that are now so expensive,that a working man has no hope of getting one in even basket case condition.Take the early 60's Falcon for example.Introduced as a basic,cheap,no-frills,economy compact to combat the flood of Asian economy cars,you couldn't give one away even ten years ago---but find a running car with original drivetrain today and you'd be lucky to pick it up for less than a couple grand.
And last but certainly not least,lets definately not forget the recent "Cash For Clunkers" fiasco that has done away with countless cars and trucks of the 70's and 80's.Why?Because they weren't "classics","musclecars" or late model "fuel efficient" vehicles and no one seemed to care enough about the fact that they were a part of our automotive history to save them.
So....maybe most people don't consider a '76 short wheel base,factory big block pickup truck as "rare",but most do consider a '76 King Cobra Mustang one of the last true muscle cars,so why wouldn't a factory big block,light duty,2 wheel drive truck be a "muscle truck" and respected the same??!!Go figure.....

 

I was around back then, and a '76 short bed with a 390 or 460 would be a rare and interesting truck in my book. I remember that there were guys with money back then that went for big block 1/2 ton 4X2's, because they were pretty close to the 60's era muscle cars. Dodge had the 'Little Red Express Truck' (I know, they had police 360's in them but they ran real good) and there was the GMC Street Coupe, a C-1500 4X2 step side with a 454 in it. Neat trucks. But, no way, no how was the pathetic, slow, ugly poser 'King Cobra' Mustang II a muscle car. It was an overgrown Pinto with 6 miles of tape stripes, spoilers, and lame decals, (under) powered by a 2 bbl. 302 straight out of a Maverick or Granada. Those dogs didn't hunt, and would not keep up with a 318 Volare Road Runner. Your 400 Trans-Ams and LM1 Z-28's were respectable muscle cars. Ford fans had to wait until the Fox body Mustang came out.

 

I would consider that a rare find in my book as well, although i did not see your original post i do believe that from what i gleaned out of your post here that a big block 76 2wd that you have would be a great find, albeit hard to find as well as hard to compete with. and i have seen a 2wd 75 that my uncle had put a 429 in that would do an 11sec quarter. you could stand it up against any of those muscle cars and it would hold its own if not blow the doors off of those cars. Pick-ups are far better than cars anyways. but hey thats just my opinion.

 

You drive my point home well,Joe.That is it exactly...people can call a cheap tape job Mustang with a sick engine a"muscle car",but can't seem to accept that there are pickups of various years that could out perform many of the so called factory hotrods,and still do an honest days work,in comfort.I call these trucks "rare" no matter what year they are;but combine the big block factor with the Ranger XLT package that this truck has,and you have to wonder,just how many of these are left,you know?

 

Thanks Hee Haw....you also get my point.My stepdad jammed a 428 Cobra jet and C-6 down in a '60 F100 and made one heck of ground pounder that was driven to work daily,and made more money on the weekends winning races then he made at work all week.BTW...I have put a pic of the '76 in my garage;will add more as I can get themto load.

 

yeah i looked at it very nice, i have some of my old beast in my profile as well. its not pretty but it does run very well. just need a new carb and a set of rings to stop the burning oil problem, but would prefer a 390 to the 429. although i have yet to find a place i cant take it or cant get to. i have tried a time or two, lol. even took it through a 4ft deep ditch once never even tried to stop.

 

Thanks again,HH.I put trucks in two categories....trucks to use as trucks and trucks to cruise in.I had a '77 f250 h.d. with a 360 and 4 speed that,like yours,wouldn't stop,period.I let a buddy talk me out of it,and have kicked my own butt since then.And I have a soft spot for the big ol' 429 ever since a friend of mine with a 429 in a '69 T-bird absolutely embarassed a guy with a '71 Monte Carlo with a built 327.The Monte jumped outta the hole for the first two feet,but the ol t-bird dominated from there.Embarassed the bow tie guy so bad,he sold the Monte about two weeks later.Long live the FE Big Block!!!!!!!

 

i agree man, it is a powerhouse that will never be surpassed in my opinion (in comparison to power plants from that time period) if only my 4bbl worked then i could put so many vehicles to shame in this area it would be ridiculous. i already have showed up a 2010 chevy from a red light to red light straight stand on it "race". he could only stay at about my rear bumper not catch me but just keep up. he looked like he wanted to cry when we stopped at the next light. made me think about the fact that i only gave 500 for her as she sits.

 

Two threads by the same poster on the same subject, days apart??? It's not good message board form. The first thread continues to suffice. I'm not sure if you are trying to convince yourself as well as us, but the topic is nonsensical. My truck is rare because it's the only 78' f150 sitting in my barn, it's the only 78 f150 that has paint missing and holes in the interior in the exact same spots. It's one of three ordered with the paint/trim codes offered in 78. What's the context? We all have old dentside trucks, nobody except a few of us nuts are going to be slobbering over them. It's not muscle car, nobody is going to pay muscle car prices for them, or call them rare. That's no reason not to take pride in your truck or anything, but the topic is moot.

 

I made a second post due to so many people misunderstanding the first post,as you have apparently also done.My point is this-go out and find a truck of any make,older than 25 years (official antique) with something other than a straight 6 or a small dispacement v-8,in good to excellent condition,95-100% stock and offer the owner $1,000.00 for it.In todays market,most of them will laugh in your face if they don't run you off at gunpoint.As far as a "muscle car",I am not that dumb;I have just been around for enough years to see the auto/truck market go crazy and foresee vintage truck values climb as the true vintage performance cars disappear.Everyone can hold as much or as little value in their vehicles as they want,but remember this,at some point in the last few years especially, someone deemed factory muscle cars "rare" and look at the value now.

 

Yes your truck is rare, and just nice. Happy now, how about getting back to the Ford truck tech part of this forum so I can learn some more stuff!

Thanks have a nice day, I read the first post on this subject in hops of learning something new and different, instead.........

 

Here is why I posted the above reply: AS PER FTE MODERATOR "READ FIRST" # 4

Please Keep Threads On 73-79 Trucks!!

Due to this forum being very fast moving, I am asking that all thread here in the 73-79 forum about technical issues dealing with these trucks. We have a general automotive forum for threads such as dangerous driving, weirdest things hit, etc.
These threads will either be moved or deleted from here on out. There are too many technical threads getting bumped off of the first page before they can be seen and may be lost in the shuffle.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Jimmy
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88 5.0 LX Mustang
63 F100 351W/C6

 

Like I said in your other thread...go to the PNW, Southwest or southeast...and it's not uncommon at all to find relatively unmolested cheap trucks. Luckily, I live in the south east, but over the last 5 years, I know I've shipped in trucks under the 3k range from all of these areas. Now I'll admit, a grand for such a truck is a steal. Also keep in mind, this 390...could only be had in a 2wd if you wanted it in a truck. So again, I'll re-iterate, is it a nice truck...but not that rare.


Edit...not to dog your truck...but I just check the pic, and I'd have to classify that far from pristine...the body panels look slightly mis-aligned...and it looks to have considerable surface rust on the inside of the top tailgate. If my assessment from that pic is correct, I'd say that's about a $1500-2000 truck all day in my area.

 

This is my last post.I joined this site a few years back as owner of a '64 F100.I was very pleased with all the help I recieved during my restoration.Now it seems that there are a bunch of arm chair experts hell bent on putting down everyone else's trucks and I don't have time for that crap.Good luck to anyone just wanting to share what they've found or have a simple question.I won't be back and don't give a damn who likes itor not.

 

^^^No need to be like that. I don't think anyone was putting down your truck, rather simply telling you that it's a dime a dozen, nothing special about it...and that apparently some folks' definition of 'pristine' are different than others.