More and better rustproofing, and that's about it! The trucks can always be modified. How about requesting that they produce a 200 year supply of replacement parts!

The Lil' Red Express fighter would've been cool! A little-known fact is that those Lil' Red Express trucks were actually the fastest American production vehicle for a year or two! Faster than every car!!

And I never heard of seven lug nuts! I'm about to google that.

My '77 F150 doesn't have any left-hand threaded lugs.

 

These 7 luggers were metric wheels, introduced in 1997 F150 and F250 L/D (same body as F150).

btw: Some members are either unaware or have forgotten three important factors inre to why FoMoCo did not offer higher performance engines in the mid/late 1970's.

There were two Arab Oil Embargos, one occurred 1973/74, the other occurred in 1979. For the first time since WWII, people were concerned about MPG

Long lines appeared at gas stations, the price of a gallon of regular gas that had been around 19-25 cents prior to the first embargo, jumped to $1.25 by the end of 1979.

Then, there was the Jimmy Carter Recession. 1979: Chrysler Corp., International-Harvester and Firestone all declared bankruptcy, Firestone for a sinister reason.

New Chrysler prexy Lee Iacocca went to WA DC with his hat in his hand to get bail-out bucks. FoMoCo gave International 'seed money' to develop a diesel, which saved the company.

Sales of gas guzzling US cars and trucks sank like stones. People began buying Toyota/Datsun/Honda imports by the 10's of 1,000's, that only a few years earlier they had called cheap tin cans.

In an effort to improve fuel economy, FoMoCo introduced the 'weak sister' SR-OD single rail 4 speed overdrive (originally designed for mid sized cars) in 1978 F100/150 & E100/150, and...

The Dana 44-3 rear axle in some 1977/79 F100/150 2WD

 

Metal (or even aluminum) glove boxes.

Intergraded the earlier tailgate hardware into the tailgate. They work much better.

Stiffer hood release levers.

 

Drain plug in the 9", and in the automatic's pans.

F150-up were emissions exempt ('cept KA), WHY make them so gutless?

Better rustproofing and drainage.

I can't even believe that nobody challenged Ma Mopar's Lil Red Express back then*.


*/derail: I've heard and read the lamenting of non car-guys over the proliferation of trucks and SUVs in the 80s and 90s (candy-asses). Their unenlightened opinion is always centered around narcissistic jackwagons who just want to be up high so they can intimidate other drivers... BULLSHNIT!

People wanted RWD and V8s, and in a time of FWD econo-poopster proliferation, trucks were the best way to get that... sure, there were Mustangs, F-bodies, and some LTD-based Fords, but Dodge was making 4-banger K-car Shelbys and Daytonas. Chevy was making Cavaliers and branding them as Cadillacs, and Ford was trying to pass off the Lynx/EXP twins a performance machines(!). Even the once-great Mustangs, Camaro/Firebird, Roadrunner, Nova/Malibu, etc, got defanged, rebadged, and ruined. There was literally no place else to go... trucks were it.

That's my own theory...
/end derail

 

And as a result, we got K cars and mini-vans.

Prexy, now there's an abbreviation not often seen today!

 

The Deuce (Henry Ford II) fired Ford prexy Lee Iacocca and when Iacocca asked why, The Deuce said: "I just don't like you."

Iacocca then became the new Chrysler prexy, introduced the K cars and mini vans with the bail-out bucks provided by the US Gov't.

These vehicles were designed before Iacocca became prexy. Iacocca then appeared in a series of TV commercials, saying: "If you find a better car, buy it!"

 

I think they were only on the heavier trucks. Both my F350s had them.

 

make more 4x4 crew cabs and make a 4x4 crew cab long bed from factory

and make more supercab and crew cab parts

 

My military 5 ton Rockwell axles have LH threads on one side. Probably standard on lots of big trucks as well.

 

That left handed lugnut thing about got me on my F350. I have lugbolts to convert it to full RH thread, but not lugnuts.

Manual behind a 460, and in a 4x4.

F350 4x4 should have been produced starting '73 or even earlier.

Those fenders on the flare side beds could have been much more attractive.

Dual tank shortbox.

Should have kept the Mustang full sized and offered the Mustang II beside it like the Bronco/Bronco II.

 

Anything that runs Budd wheels uses LH threads on the left side.

 

Anything to keep them from rusting out so bad. Rustproofing, drainage anything. I guess like everybody else more power and better fuel economy.

 

I've thought about this scenario quite a bit and since I am an engineer if I went back I would try to get a job working for Ford on these exact trucks.

I would ask WHY the 360????? Give us a 390 or 410 with the same mileage and more power.

I would say lets put integrated power steering on the F-250 4x4s.

I would ask why not two gas tanks on the F-250 4x4s? make it work.

Why not have an optional 460 in a 4x4? The 2wds have them - adjust the warranty to make it work.


On related note: does anyone on here know any engineers that worked at Ford on these pickup projects? It would be fun to talk to them somehow.

 

I would imagine if a fella was in his 30's designing the 72' style pickups that would have put the dates in 69-70' time frame ? That would put a relatively young engineer in his late 70's today... And a 50 year old senior engineer in his 90's and thus a thinning crowd... But it would be a proud moment to take an original designer or tooling man for a cruise in the truck he helped 'build'.............

 

Since the OP seemed to be referring to dentsides mine is more of a scattershot. Why make the trucks crappier in general than the old bumpsides. Stuff like cheesy door panels, Hood latches that worked poorly, then the lever bends over and breaks off. In general, too much plastic and the beginning of the sloppy fit and finish that peaked in the early to mid 80s.