Hello everyone, my name is Tom and I just acquired my 2nd Ford truck; this one being a '76 F150 and the other being a '75 F100. The '75 is a bit rough around the edges and I'll be selling it now that I have the '76, but I thought the '76 was an excellent find so I thought I would share it. I have been a semi-regular lurker of the site for the last 6 months since I purchased the '75. Whenever I had a question this site was a one-stop shop. Prior to the '75 the oldest car/truck I'd ever owned was a '94 Civic I bought to commute to high school and college.

Anyway, I found this gem on Craigslist last week and finally arranged to meet up with the son-in-law of the original owner. The original owner bought it here locally in Washington state in '76 and when he passed away in '92 his wife left it in the garage. Recently she decided to take it to the local Ford dealership to have it looked at (not sure why) but they hit her up for new tires, plugs, wires, the works. So for the last 20+ years it has sat in a garage. The previous owner worked for Mack from '76-'78 so that's where the bulldog came from. It ruins an otherwise perfect hood, but I'll deal with it and fix the holes later. The ad said it had a 390 but after decoding the vin I found out it was built with a 360. It has a 2-bbl carb and C6 trans with 77k miles. It has never towed anything, ever, and by the looks of the bed it hardly hauled anything in there either. I was told the cap was put on by the local Ford dealership as an option from Ford (it has a Ford sticker/decal on the inside).

It has a few surface scratches but they look like they could be easily removed. The tailgate has a rust spot 4" in diameter just above the handle and it appears to be rusting from the inside out, but other than that the truck is almost perfect. No water leaks, the chrome trim still shines, the carpet isn't even matted down. Overall I'm pretty pleased with it but the nights are still short and it's been cold here the last few nights so I haven't been able to really go over it.

Here are a few pictures before I un-grandpa the thing. Speaking of which, if anyone knows more about this truck cap please chime in. If it's something worth saving please let me know.

 

Beautiful truck, Tom. Not much to do to it at all.

 

Jeez. I'm totally jonesing for an OEM bed cap.

Nice rig. Keep her well.

 

I don't know what you paid for it but that is an awesome looking 76.

 

Amazing truck! It has the Deluxe Box Cover on the bed. I am sure it is worth some money. I would keep it and enjoy it! Congrats on that truck!

 

Those beautiful Washington trucks...

 

Welcome Tom, that is a beautiful Ranger XLT you have there. That is as mentioned before a deluxe 2 tone factory truck cap. It even has the deluxe sliding window option. They are pretty sought after, and very hard to find. Especially in pristine condition. You mentioned "ungrand paing" the truck. What are your future plans for it?

 

I would gas is up and go for a cruise in a very nice rig.

 

Did you get the previous owner to lower the price? I saw that one and thought she was too high. Nice truck though.

 

Initially I'd like to take the cap off, remove the bulldog, ditch the orange carpet, and do something with the wheels. Honestly I think it would look better with the hubcaps off with exposed steel wheels. Since everything on it is in such excellent condition I will likely sell the things I do not want, i.e. the cap and hubcaps, and use that money to reinvest in the truck.

We were thinking alike because no, I didn't pay what he was asking. He was a really nice guy tho. He seemed to know about the truck so I didn't think to question the fact he said it had a 390 in it. I guess that's my fault but it'll do for now. I wish I could have spoken to the original owner to get some more back story but I missed him by about 22 years.

 

I'm originally from Ohio so I know what you mean. I never saw these old trucks running around but once I moved out here they are all over. I just had to have one. My Dad had a '79 so that's what I was originally looking for.

 

Nice find! That truck is going to make you happy for a long time. Sounds like you plan to remove the camper shell, what else do you have planned?

 

Congrats, that's a beautiful truck.

 

That's a beautiful old truck. Congrats on your purchase. I would leave the topper on since it's a factory model.

 

The cap is most definitely coming off just not right now. It isn't supposed to get above freezing (while I'm home) for a few days and the wind is really ripping right now which wouldn't make the process any easier.

The first thing on the agenda is to get it running again. I went out to start it this morning and it started right up but then after idling rough for a few minutes it stalled out. It acts like it's not getting fuel so I'll have to look into it once it warms up. Oh and now it's leaking antifreeze from the bottom radiator hose which it didn't do until last night's cold spell. If it's not one thing it's 5-6 others.