Simplicity Makes Old Ford Trucks Hard to Kill

Built Ford Tough

It's pretty common knowledge here in the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forums that old Blue Oval pickups are incredibly reliable. Which is part of the reason why the F-Series has remained America's favorite truck for decades now. There are many reasons behind this inherent toughness, of course, but The Fast Lane Truck delved into one of the biggest recently in this very interesting and informative video. 

Dead Reliable

TFLT is quite familiar with every make and model of the truck out there in the world, because, well, they own, drive, and test all of them. That includes a pair of classic Fords - a 1989 4x4 F-350 with a 7.3-liter diesel and a manual transmission, along with a 1990 F-150 with the iconic 4.9-liter straight-six mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission. Both trucks have a few minor issues, of course, but both are also dead reliable at their core. 

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Like a Tractor

While today's diesel trucks all come equipped with turbos, the lack of boost is one of these older F-Series pickup's best attributes. "There's a common theme between these two trucks," TFLT notes. "Basically, giant motors that are kind of overbuilt. And also not very high horsepower. There's no boost going into it, it's not seeing a lot of stress. So that's a big part of the reason why it can run for this long. This truck is essentially a tractor - a street-legal tractor." 

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Simple Shifts

Simplicity is also what helps the transmission in the F-350 (in particular) live for so long without issues. "It's a five-speed, although it drives more like a four-speed because you start out in granny gear," TFLT said. "Which is something you wouldn't really use when you're driving normally unless you're pulling stumps or something. The clutch is relatively easy, too, so it's pretty great." 

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Legendary Workhorse

The same characteristics apply to TFLT's pickup equipped with the straight-six, which is a legendary engine among Ford fans. With little peak horsepower but plenty of low-end torque, this engine doesn't have to work hard or be placed under a lot of stress to get the job done. But this engine has developed quite the reputation for toughness for many other reasons as well. 

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Keep It Simple

"Some people have stories of these things running for so long with sand in them that eventually, they stopped trying to kill them because it just wasn't worth the time," TFLT said. "It's a cast-iron block with low compression and it's gear driven. Two valves per cylinder, pushrod motor, so nothing about this motor is heavily stressed. And that's a big part of the reason why they just go forever."

>>Join the conversation about old Fords lasting many lifetimes right here in the Ford Trucks Forum!

Moving Forward

Overall, it's hard to argue with TFLT's reasoning. Plenty of people point to simplicity as one of the things that appeal to them about old trucks, and why they are leery of new ones. But we'll just have to wait and see how today's fancy, electronics, and turbo-laden machines hold up over the long run. Hopefully, it'll be just as well as the classic Ford trucks we've come to rely on so heavily.