I live in California, so I'm looking at pre-73 or 73 Ford trucks. I don't need 4x4, but do want an automatic. I like the 70's as far as getting the 351W. But the earlier ones are fine (maybe with a 390 or something.)

Do they use the C-6 tranny?

How much should I be looking to spend if I get one that runs well as is. I know this is vague, Can have the typical rust in the bed, needs work interior wise, engine wise.

Also, what options were available.....did they come with AC, etc..

Sorry for the general questions here, but I don't know where to start with this stuff.

(Also, which years (pre-73) are good for finding aftermarket parts. Do you guys have people making reproduction stuff like the mustangs do?)

 

4EVER,
I've been screwing with Ford trucks for about twenty years now and I have a few favorites.
The 1965 F100 was the first year of the Twin-I-beam suspension.
Let's go from there. The 65 was a good looking truck. They suffer from rust and are hard to find.
The 1968 ranger is an exceptional truck and looks great. They had every option and you can put any motor in them.
The next year that looked good was the 1972.
All these trucks are exceptionally simple and had a wide variety of power trains available.
Keep an eye open for the bedside tool box, a rare option that i think was really cool.
Sliding rear windows are neat but, the rear window defroster is quite rare.
Brakes on these old trucks will most likely be four wheel drum. Not exactly preferrable. Find power brakes if you can.
A/C is usually aftermarket, dealer installed and can be quite painful to deal with, but actually simple, compared to todays systems.
2WD are simpler, have less parts and are cheaper to insure, they weigh less and get better gas mileage. if your going to drive every day consider a 2wd.
KingFisher

 

Check out Ebay. Lots of old Fords there. Lots of engine choices , etc.
If I had the $$$ , some of those puppies would be in my driveway!

Did a Doctor really make Dr.Pepper???

 

yes they use C6 and sometimes the C4 in F100 and F150s
I always thought that the 70s trucks had 351Ms and 400s (same block and heads) and not the 351W.

 

well, for info....thirty years back is smog expemt, so a 74 will be expemt in a couple months, and helps your search a bit.

although i love the dash of the 67-72, i am partial to the 73-79 body style, so make sure which you like best.


i would say tho, for me...a 70-72 shortbed 100-150 would be prefferred in a 2wd...in fact, i passed up a RUNNING 72 f150 2wd short bed a few months ago...350.00!!!! i still kick myself in the **** for that one, but i was broke, and could not afford it. had a perfect dash, and the rest was all decent, no rot, just minor rust here and there...gotta love cali

anyhoo, good luck on whatever you decide!

 

My pre 73 favorites are the 65 and 66. I have a foundness of most of the 73-79 models. If you are looking for the ones with the most potential and power per dollar invested then you have to look first at what people are doing with the mixing and matching of stock Ford parts.

My favorite yet to own idea is the 429 cobra jet or 460 swap into a 351M or 400 equipped truck. This is an easier and cheaper swap to do than trying to update a 302 equipped truck to have the same amount of bite. Another popular swap that has been made even by me with my limited bank account is the 428 FE swap into the 352, 360 or 390 FE equipped 65 through 77 FE equipped trucks. These are just about a bolt in swap. The automatic transmissions that these trucks have will need to be updated with a transmission cooler to have a chance to last. The jump in the amount of horsepower you will get from some swaps is enough to take the little factory radiator type to the max and a half. The radiators themselves will probably not handle the extra heat of the larger engines either and will need to be swapped out for at least a three core one.

There other engine swaps being made like a 351 Cleveland into a 302 or 351W equipped truck, but I am not as familiar with them. The stock engines like a 302 and 351W have lots of potential, but there are usually some larger amounts of cash involved. I am pretty sure there are more aftermarket performance parts available for the windsor engines than say an FE or a 385 series engine.

Just start looking around on the internet, local car trader papers and check out the neighborhoods near you. You can never tell where the truck you've just got to have will pop up for sale.