Alrighty then. As some of you already know, I blew my Aerostar's engine and I opted to pass it on to an interested party. So now, I find myself in the position of replacing it with something.

I thought I might throw this out to you guys to see what thoughts and recommendations I might find regarding Ford products of the last decade. I have no specific desires at this time so I'll tell you what I think I want/need and see what you guys have to offer in the way of advise if you are so inclined.

I'm thinking truck, mid to full size with extended or crew cab. If extended I definitely would like one with rear doors. I'm not big on buying new, I don't currently have the budget for it even if I was. I'm looking for comfortable, reliable and reasonably economical (reasonably for a truck).

I'd like to stay with A/T but don't want 4WD.

So, what do you think? What year and model would you recommend? Which engines are most desirable? What should I shy away from?

 

Hey guys, you know the last Ford I bought was my 96 Aerostar which we bought used in 99. I've been seriously out of touch with Ford since then. What I seen of you guys so far is that you seem to be a friendly and knowledgeable bunch. I really would like your input on this.

How about it? Just a little help please?

 

well,I can't really offer any advice for newer ford vehicles as far as reliabilty problems,my newest and only ford is a 78 f100. Does it need to be a truck? you might consider a expedition/explorer as well with your truck options. you could go to the vehicle specific forums on here and find the info you need about common problems. sorry,not much help,but just wanted to let you know your post wasn't ignored

 

I'd recommend the Ranger, but then again I'm all kinds of biased

 

it will really depend on your price range, that will be a big determining factor.

you can find an early superduty xcab or cc for a good price for what you are looking for, unless you want a diesel, but cost wise i would get a v10 in it.

you can also find great deals on the older f series, find a mid 90's crew cab 2wd with a 460 and you will never have a problem, but it loves the gas.

i am not sure about the f150's, about cab options, years and such.

nothing really to shy away from besides the bad apple group of 2003 and early 2004 6.0's.

since you came from an arestar, maybe you would be interested in an expedition?

 

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm leaning more toward the open bed of a pickup. The nice thing about the Aerostar was pulling out the seats gives you a lot of cargo space with a low floor level, eaiser to load but it's inside the vehicle so you don't want to mess up the carpet with a dirty load.

Trips to the recycle center get a bit smelly sometimes. Plus, I miss my old Chevy truck that I had 21 years ago.
(Oh, sorry, did I write Chevy out loud? )

It was a 64, 65, 68 step side. It was a 64 cab and chassis with a 65 327 and a Muncie M21 4spd and had a 68 step side bed. Some guy put it together in a junk yard. It had white spokers with big mud tires on the back, average size tires on the front. The front springs were a bit sagged which gave it a pretty good rake. It was 13 shades of gray, silver and primer, ugly as sin. It had a black Naugahyde bench seat that I would grease up real good with Armoral. Then when my girlfriend (now wife) sat on the passenger side (before the mandatory seatbelt law) I'd jerk the wheel to the right real quick and she would - zip! - slide right next to me! ("Well hi there baby!" )

But I digress......

What's up with the 03/04 6.0's? Let's see, that's around 360 to 390 CID right? I'd love the power of a big block but not the gas mileage. I have fond memories of driving my buddy's 64 Galaxy 500 with the 390.

Anyway, I think the 302 or 351 would be more up my alley. I'm not planning on towing or hauling anything large or heavy at this point. I like the ease and convenience of the 4 doors. What do you call the little half doors on the extended cabs?

 

The Rangers are nice, I might consider one under the right circumstances, like an offer that I couldn't stand to pass up. The mileage would be a bit better and the beds would do for what I need to haul but the cab may be a bit tight for more than two .....

 

OK, I'm jackin my own thread here for a little anecdote that I'm reminded of.

When I was a tender lad of around 9 years old the 60 Falcon Station Wagon we had with the little L6 gave up the ghost. My Dad replaced it with a 64 Galaxy 500 4dr that was ordered for the fire department with the police interceptor package. It was rejected by the city though because the brakes were not heavy enough for their specs.

So here we are in this beautiful fire engine red 500 for the first time. My mother is driving and my older brother and I are in the back seat. We get to the freeway on ramp which is up hill and Mom floors the gas pedal just like she always does with that old Falcon!

I'm telling you! She laid rubber up half of that on ramp, screaming bloody murder all the way! My brother and I were pushed back against the back seat laughin like we were on an E ticket ride at Disneyland!

"Do it again Mom! Let's do it again!!"

 

I'm happy with my 96 F150, its a extended cab short box, 2wd with a 302 and E4OD automatic. The only thing with extended cabs from this era is they wont have rear doors like you mentioned. You'd have to step up to a F250-350 crew cab with 4 full doors, or find a nice Centurian conversion rig.

I love the look of 92-96 f150s myself, they're everywhere and not very expensive. I got my 96 used in 05, one owner, 65,000 miles, in perfect shape for 6000 bucks. It looked and rode like brand new. Theres still a few real nice ones out there.

I think trucks from the 92-96 era were some of the best ones Ford ever made. If you could find a decent rig with a 300 in it you'd have a damn good truck for another 10-15 years. My only regret with mine is the 302, its a good little engine it just get winded pulling that big truck around. A 302 will get the job done for everyday driving and light hauling, but a 300 or 351 would be a much better choice.

 

351 I know but what is the 300? Is that a big straight 6 with more torque?

 

If I was you I'd give the these a look:


I think they started making the supercrew in 01, and that bodystyle went to 03...That's my favorite bodystyle 150.

Tim

 

Simply put, the best engine ever put between the fenders of any vehicle.

They're a torquey slow turning big ole truck engine, and they last forever. They're quite easy to mantain, everything is out in the open. For kicks find yourself two nearly identical trucks, same diff gears and tranny, one with a 300 the other with a 302, and take them for a spin.

The 302 equiped truck will drive more like a car, higher revs, more peppy at higher engine speeds. The 300 equiped truck will drive like a truck, little slower off the line, holds its own without revving to the sky.

If given the chance hook em up to something. I've pulled my grandpas old crusing boat, about 4700 pounds of boat/trailer, and 750 pounds of gas and gear. My 96 F150 302/E4OD will pull it but shes screaming at me the whole time. She huffs and puffs to get it moving off the line, I've never atemped to go up a serious hill from a dead start but it would be scary. Now my old 300, in my 82 F100 with 230,000+ miles, will hold its own well lugging the thing around. She pulls so much stronger off the line, and i never get the impression that the bottom end of the motor is gonna fly out in pieces.


Like I said in my earlier post the 302 isnt a terrible engine. I have one in my 96, shes still young only 72,000 miles, its a wonderful crusing engine. Its perfect for a truck like mine, a Eddie Bauer edition grocery gitter that dosen't have a single scratch in the bed paint. I save the work truck duties for my 82 or 86.

 

i think your bein alil hard on the 302, whats the gearing in those two trucks? that is the biggest factor. my truck hauls by revving to the sky as you put it, but that is because it has freeway gears in it (for the moment) but ive drivin rigs with 302's with steeper gear ratios that could pull my house down.
noway am i gunna badmouth the 300 though, they are torque monsters, i was looking to get a 84 bronco with one, but had to pass. id really like to add a beater with a 300 to my stable for pullin stumps/haulin those super heavy loads around the farm.

once i get some 4.55 gears backing the 302, it'l pull just as good (and be able to haul at speeds over 35 mph yay!)

 

Hey I love the 302 in the 88 Mustang, with a light duty truck it would be a great little engine. I'm gettin that the 300 is an L6 truck/industrial engine with a lot of torque. That would be great for a work truck no doubt.

I won't be doing any serious hauling that I know of. It will be my main mode of transportation too. I'll drive it to work and church. I'll get a few groceries with it too as a matter of fact. I'll be looking for a good compromise of comfort, power and economy, call it oxymoronic if you must but I'm an eternal optimist (or a fool as some have suggested ..... but I digress!).

Looking at the size of the Ranger I'm leaning toward ruling it out as too small. What is that little model with the 4 doors and short bed? My neighbor has one, don't know him very well yet so I haven't talked with him about it so see how he likes it. Maybe a great ice breaker. I'm thinking the be is just too short on it to be very useful though.

Oh well, I'm movin slow but I'm gettin there I guess. Thanks for all your input guys, keep it coming, it's very helpful and much appreciated by me!

 

what your thinking of is the ford explorer sport track. 4 doors, 4 foot bed. either an overgrown SUV or a effeminant truck depending on how you look at it...

id sujest looking for a 97-2000 F150 crewcab, big enough for the family, a 6 foot bed for the ocasional dump run, the 4.6L engine gets great gas mileage, and automatic puchbutton 4x4, not something i would drive, but it could serve your purpose nicely