Restoring a 79 f250, it was a custom but I'm changing it to a xlt, I've put a full race track trim plus trim on tailgate and the ford plate on the tailgate xlt emblems on the cowl and glove box wood grain dash bezel and steering pad. What am I missing, what sets a xlt apart from a custom or ranger? What about door panel's and misc trim pieces? Thanks

 

The fancy chrome trimmed door panels & delay wipers maybe?? You would think after parting out a few hundred of these trucks id have a better answer but that's about all I can think of.

 

The seat upholstery is different, xlt's is more luxurious, the door panels have chrome strips over the ribs that cover the speaker, the upper part of the panel also has chrome trim and an upholstered panel insert. Some have an upholstered panel below the door panel. The kick panel under the dash has an upholstered panel. Has carpet instead of a rubber mat.
Also included certain equipment as standard that was optional on the base "custom" model.

 

The "Custom" doesn't have to trim inside the "Dent" going down the side of the truck.

 

Here is a link to the 79 Ford sales brochure.
1979 Ford Pickups Dealer Brochure - First Printing (7/78)

 

I have one of the 79 sales brochures, the actual hard copy. As far as I know that sums it up. I think all the trucks above a custom or ranger had a locking hood latch as well. I think all those had the chrome grille and head light bezels chromed as well, not so on the custom. I have seen a lot of te XLTs that had the silver backing for the gauge cluster instead of the more common black, but not for sure on that. All XLTs or Lariats I've seen had a nicer radio too. I can E mail you some detailed pics of my ranger lariat 4x4 f350 reg cab if you want.

 

Thanks guys! I actually forgot I had a seat cover for a xlt from npd it looks really nice. Does anyone make a padded insert with the chrome trim for the door panel? I have the xlt door panel already. F250 warhorse I would appreciate some pictures you can email me at Jakubowskifarm@gmail.com. Thanks again guys

 

Short answer, No.

 

Good luck finding the seatback buttons. I think they were also on the headliner on supercabs.

and you'll need one of these tailgate appliques :

 

My 74 was a ranger ( not xlt or custom) it had chrome trimmed door panels diamond pattern sewn seat the same dash upgrades as xlt( other than glove box emblem) and it had vinyl pockets below the door panel but nothing upholstered upon the panel. The only reason I brought this up is because my friends hi boy is a "ranger xlt" so I'm curious how different they really are and how can you have both? This was a 73 and didnt have upholstery on doors at all and of course had the sweet xlt grille emblem.

 

Wrong, the locking or interior release hood latch was an option, available on any model.

Wrong again, you could get any radio on any model.

Here is a list I put together for the model differences. I did this SPECIFICALLY for the 78-79 Bronco's so some of the info applies to the F-series.

Here are the differences between these models. I also have found out that for the 78/79 Bronco it was available as a Custom or Ranger XLT model only. They did not offer the Ranger package only on the Bronco.

Custom:
Pretty much your stripped down version although it could have been ordered with just about any individual option you wanted to put on it. A Custom model included: low back bucket seats, vinyl floormat for the front only, 25 gallon gas tank, manual steering, 4 speed trans with the 351 motor and the 205 case.
Exterior features were:
hub caps, black painted bumpers and the stainless mirrors.

Ranger:
Not offered on the Bronco, only available in the F-series lineup. Those upgrades were:
The bench seat had a chain mail vinyl seat upholstery, it also included a color matching vinyl floormat, sunvisors, seat back covers in the regular cab model and white headliner with chrome trim.

Ranger XLT:
The front seat used a combination of cloth and vinyl, insulated woodgrain door panels, carpeted flooring, woodgrain around instrument cluster, passenger dash and the glove box, woodtone on the steering wheel horn button, chrome trim around taillights and halogen headlights. The XLT also got the body side trim.

Exterior:
Chrome bumpers, chrome molding around the windshield and side windows in the top, chrome molding around the drip rail by door, chrome wheel well lip molding, rear T-gate chrome pieces, and the body side trim.

Lariat:
Not offered on the Bronco, only available in the F-series lineup. Those upgrades were:
Full cloth seat trimmed in super soft vinyl, door trim panels that included padded inserts, map pockets on the lower door, button quilted padded headliner and extra insulation.


Options available:
These are the only options that I have prices on. Below are some additional options.

400 engine............................................ .....................$165.00
included 12 inch diameter clutch and 53 amp/hr battery
Traction lock front axle.............................................. ...$175.00
Traction lock rear axle.............................................. ....$175.00
Automatic trans............................................. .............$197.00
came with oil cooler and 53 amp/hr battery
Power steering.......................................... ..................$211.00
Heavy duty suspension........................................ .........$104.50
Forged aluminum wheels............................................ ... $218.30
Forged aluminum polished wheels....................................$304.30
When combined with the free wheeling package................$129.10
White painted styled steel wheels...................................$175.20
when combined with the free wheeling package.................$43.20
Rear seat.............................................. .....................$287.20
Quad front shocks............................................ ............$74.00
Swing away tire carrier Ranger XLT..................................$60.60
Swing away tire carrier Custom.......................................$81.6 0
Skid plates............................................ ......................$123.10
Rear stabilzer bar............................................... ...........$25.00
Tilt steering.......................................... ........................$72.00
Free Wheeling pacakge on a Custom................................$558.45
Free Wheeling Package XLT...........................................$385 .05
Ranger XLT package........................................... ...........$668.90

Additional options:

Appearance:

Chrome bumpers

Wheel well molding

Body side trim

GT bar with foam padding

Grilles. There were 3 different options for the front grille. Black, Silver or Argent with chrome accent. I have seen Black on an XLT and the Argent with chrome on an XLT. I am not sure how they decided what grille to put on what truck.

Audio:

AM radio

AM/FM mono radio (1 speaker in dash)

AM/FM stereo (speakers in door panels)

AM/digital clock radio

40 channel CB radio with antenna. This was available on all radio options. A simple way to tell if it had a CB originally if all wiring is gone look for an ash tray on the driver side cargo panel. If there is no ash tray it originally had a CB.

Comfort/convenience:

A/C

Comfort vent heater ( I think this was also the HI-LO option)

Insulation package

Rear floor mat (Custom only)

Front captain chairs (available in 79 only)

Front bench seat

Rear seat

Center console ( only available with buckets)

Convenience group ( intermittent wipers, map paockets and 12 inch day/night mirror)

Lighted visor mirror passenger side only

Privacy glass for top

sliding windows for top

tinted glass all

Western mirror, low mount(normal folding style mirror)

Recreation mirrors (towing mirrors)

GT sport steering wheel with simulated leather wrap ( not available with cruise)

Simulated leather wrapped steering wheel

Cruise control

Light group (ash tray, glovebox, underhood, instrument panel courtesy lights and dome light with map lights)

Swing away spare tire carrier ( stock when ordered with (5) 10x15 tires) with vinly tire cover

Performance:

Quad shocks (gas filled)

Handling package (rear sway bar, quad shocks up front and dual gas filled rear shocks)

Automatic trans

600 watt engine heater

Heavy duty suspension (HD front springs, HD rear springs and front sway bar)

Rear sway bar

Gauges (oil and amp)

32 gallon gas tank with skid plate

Skid plates for 25 gallon tank and T-case

Trailer towing package

Protection:

Tow hooks (front)

Locking hood release

Exterior protection group. Consists of door edge guards, front bumper guards and front bumper rubber strip.

Security lock group. Consisted of locking gas cap, locking hood release, spare tire lock and locking glove box.

Free Wheelin:


Standard features were:

Black bumpers front and rear, Dual black low mount western style mirrors, (5) 15x6 painted steel wheels in either white or chrome yellow with L78x15 raised white letter tires and of course the custom chromatic tape stripe found on the black Bronco. There were also 2 other stripe color combinations, Orange/Tan/Creme or Blue/White/Green.

Trailer Special:

Now according to my book the 1st year for the Trailer Special was 79. I have seen a few members here that have 78 Trailer Special's. There were 2 categories for the Trailer Special.

Light duty trailer towing package:
Good for towing up to 2,000lbs.
This package included a heavy duty radiator, external oil cooler, seven lead trailer harness, heavy duty turn signal flasher and the Trailer Special emblem on the T-gate.

Heavy duty trailer towing package:
Good for towing up to 6,000lbs.
This package included a heavy duty alternator,heavy duty battery, HD rear shocks, bigger radiator, rear sway bar, swing out recreational mirrors, amp meter, oil pressure gauge, HD front springs, external oil cooler and the Trailer Special emblem on the T-gate.


Transfer Cases

The T-case on an NP 203 (full time case) will have a shift pattern like this.

4 low lock
-
N
-
4 high lock

The NP 205 (part time case) will have this shift pattern

4 low
N
2 high
4 high


Almost all of this information was taken from various books and brochures. If you find an error somewhere post up and I will correct it. I am only human.:thumbup

 

Nice post!! valuable info.This was my f350 4x4 lariat ranger 100,000 mile truck from CA all original 2 owner truck, barring the maaco paint job, I sure wish I still had it, it was a true one of a kind, everytime I took it to town someone offered to buy it and I had countless compliments, I doubt there are any like it left anymore. I sold it a year ago and it went to NC. I hope it is alive and well.

 

The Lariat interior also had the chrome headliner trim and the vinyl headliner had 3 or 4 buttons (matched the seat buttons) on it to give it a more "tufted" look. The headliners pop up on Ebay for the regular cab and supercab every now and then but are pricey. I also think that the dash bezel surround had the plastic chrome woodgrain in it vs. just chrome and black. The Lariat also had a woodgrain surround bezel that went around the glove box, not just the woodgrain glove box door piece. The bench seat would of had the plastic chrome pivot covers which are available aftermarket. Good luck and show us some pics!

 

Thanks guys! I never thought about the headliner I have the chrome trim but not the headliner, anyone have a dark blue or white xlt headliner or seat buttons for sale let me know.

 

There's a nice 79 Lariat supercab on Ebay and if you scroll through the pictures, you can see some of the interior differences including the last pic of the headliner with buttons. Obviously a custom seat was put in it but the door panels and the Lariat dash surrounds are there.
Ford : F-350 XLT Lariat in Ford | eBay Motors