Hi all new to the forum and did the intro in the right area. I know I said I would not ask question(s) till I had a truck but this is a general question.
I see listed for sale (as I am looking for a truck) and other places Ford F100/F150/F250/F350 and want to know what the difference is between F100 & F150 is?
I figured 150 = 1/2 ton
250 = 3/4 ton
350 = 1 ton


So is a 100 a 1/4 ton? What is the difference between ¼ &½ other than say springs are the brakes bigger? How about power plants more HP out of the same size CID motor between them or one you can get a 6 but the other you cannot? Axles look to be the same but not sure? This is for a 2wd truck so don’t know if this holds true for 4x4 also or not?
Thanks
Dave ----

 

I always heard the 100 was a half ton, the 150 was a heavy half, or maybe a 5/8 ton!

 

The F100s were limited to the 300 and 302, while the F150 couldve had the 351. The F100s also never had power windows or locks. With suspension and brakes, the F100s had 1 less leaf in the rear springs and either had the F150s bolt pattern with manual brakes or the passenger car bolt pattern with power brakes. Basically, they were the same

 

Prior to '84...(up to, and including '83 ) , the F100 was the 1/2 ton....the F150 was the "heavy half ton", the F250 was and is the 3/4 ton and the F350 was, and is the one ton. For 1984, FoMoCo dropped the F100 and the F150 became the entry level F-Series truck as a 1/2 ton. Actual factory production dates during the '83 and '84 models may prove to cause inquiries concerning certain VIN's given special order vehicles.

 

Some time in the '70s the EPA decided that all cars and half ton trucks needed to meet the same emissions standards, while the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks were exempt. So they picked a GVWR (6200 lbs I think) as the break point since all half-tons had a GVWR below that. So of course the Big Three all immediately came out with half ton trucks with GVWRs above that limit. Ford called theirs the F-150 (all half tons had been F-100s until then). Ch*vy called theirs the Big-10, GMC called theirs the Heavy Half (a name that everyone now uses to describe all in this category, and often 3/4 ton trucks as well, see below). I think D*dge also went with the -150 theme, calling the 2WD a D-150 and the 4WD a W-150, but I'm not much of a D*dge guy so I could be wrong about that.

So then in the early '80s the EPA figured out what everyone had done and they upped the GVWR limit to something like 8400 lbs to catch not only the "heavy halfs" but also the 3/4 tons (all of which were below the new limit). And not surprisingly, the Big Three all immediately came out with heavy duty 3/4 tons. No one gave them new names this time though, they just called them "heavy duty". So since the early- to mid-80s there have been standard 3/4 tons (which have often, mistakenly, been called light duty 3/4 tons or heavy halfs) and heavy duty 3/4 tons.

Of course Ford made a huge mess of it in '97 when the F-250 shared sheet metal with the new (at the time) F-150 while the F-250HD shared the old sheet metal with the F-350.

And then Ford changed the mess a year or two later by renaming their 3/4 ton the F-150 7700. Which at least stopped propagating the confusion of "which F-250?", but made people think that a 7700 lb GVWR was a half ton.

Vehicles like the J**p CJ series were considered 1/4 ton, and with a GVWR of around 3700 lbs those are definitely lighter duty than the F-100 half tons.

 

In short the 100 is a ½ ton the 150 a heavy half ton the rest are what they are.
The 100 is a striped down base line truck: non power brakes or windows, where the 150 is the upscale truck: could have power brakes &windows.
Could the 100 come with full gauges as an option or just lights or you had to go for the 150 for full gauges? Just trying to see what may come with a 100 as that is what I am looking at buying.
Thanks for the help and history lesson.
Dave ----

 

The F100 was 2wd only after 77, biggest engine was the 302, and you will find 80-81 with the 255 v8, and 82-3 with the 3.8 v6.
Both of mine had full guages, my 81 had a factory tach when I got it, but it had been customized.
Looking at my brochures there was no stopping you from ordering an XLT Lariat F100.

 

I've seen a couple F100s over the yrs that were Lariats, but still manual windows/locks/trans

 

All of this is still subject to whether the vehicle is a production dealer purchase or a SVO
(Special Vehicle Order). Regardless of creature comforts and gauges...During the 70's and 80's , the big three dealers tended to order vehicles which had a strong sales history in the area in which they were in, as well as their loyal SVO customers. Yes...there was a time when loyalty meant something, unlike today. A build sheet request would be the best bet.

 

Even more so today because of how old the trucks are and what all could have been done over the years to them.


I did see a old post about ordering a build sheet but when I followed the links I ran into a dead end as I could not find a link to customer service to request one. Could not even find a newer phone number to call them and because I don't have a VIN yet to look up I did not call the numbers in the post.


So anything can go with what we end up with as a used truck.
Dave ----

 

I have a 1982 F100 XLT Lariat with PS,PB,PW,AT and a 255 V/8.

 

Not denying your intelligence at all, but do you have a pic of your interior? Just curious

 

 

Very nice, TAIRAL TLX!

 

Cool truck, very interesting to see such a well optioned F100