Hey y'all! I'm trying to help a friend figure out some things about his truck. According to the information given to me, it is a 1975 Ford F100. The odd thing about his truck is the fact that is has the explorer package with decals most commonly found on a 1976 Explorer package. I believe the tag tells that it was sold as a 1975. My question would be that would dealers upgrade an unsold '75 to sell as a '76? Also the truck has been in the family since 1976. Little else information is know due to the original owners having passed way. Any feedback would be great!

 

Interesting. The VIN indicates that it's a 1975 truck from about the middle of the 1975 serial number range.

Is the truck really an Explorer Special? It's missing the bright windshield moldings and bright drip rail moldings, it has the wrong style door mirrors, it doesn't have the front bumper guards and rubber bump strips, and the bed side rails appear to be aftermarket. Is the Explorer emblem on the hood a '75 or '76 item? They are different from year to year.

The grille is a 1976-77 unit, but a previous owner could have changed that since it's a bolt-in. The grille, hood, and bumper could have been replaced after an accident. The body side stripes are the type used with the 1976 Explorer package. Has the truck ever been repainted? A previous owner could have had the '76 stripe kit installed after a repaint. The Explorer emblems could have been added, too.

 

it was pretty common for dealers to add on tons of things... you could get so many things as dealer add ons. AC was likely as common as a dealer add on as it was a factory system, most of these trucks didn't even come with rear bumpers and you'd pick out what style aftermarket one you want from the dealer. graphics were also super common add ons. IMO some of the coolest ones i've seen were dealer add ons that ford never made (or i can't find any record of them being made)

 

I would definitely think someone swapped out the grill later, even the turn lamps are amber like a late 76-77

 

It is clearly a '75 with history.

Back in the '70s, our Ford dealer had some left over F100 short beds in "School Bus Yellow" paint, 300s (pretty sure), 4 speeds, all were 2wds. A cousin of mine was a salesman there, they had come in on a "promotion" he told me. The dealer shop gussied them up, added stripes, etc ... they sold fast then.

I almost bought one ... & was a time I wished I had. Add some spiffy wheels and the right accents ... that yellow started looking pretty good.

 

or it could be a case of someone swapping a door/vin tag. I would check the VIN stamping on the frame to be certain.