Okay, I know I ask about this on a regular basis, but you can never see too many cool 70's F-trucks... eh?

Well, my friend has been talking again about selling his (my old) 75 Ranger SWB... and well, I keep thinking, hmmm... maybe...

I keep thinking maybe I should try to build a really cool street truck instead of a Cobra kit car. I know the truck would never be quite as cool as the Cobra, but it would probably be easier to make a daily driver... and could be just as unique...

So, just curious... not sure that I've ever asked... who here has actually restored their mid 70's F-truck? I know companies like LMC seem to have everything needed for a such a venture, and I've heard beds (inside, not the outer skin) didn't change until the 97 body change (true?), so finding a clean bed to reskin might not be too big of a deal...

Just thinking out loud here... I couldn't possibly do anything car related till the house is built, but I haven't wrenched on a vehicle in quite a while, and I'm starting to feel the effects...

Whatever my next project is it will be a Ford product, and it will get the 302 HO I have, and hopefully a 6-spd manual. That is truly the thing I miss the most about my Stang... (yes, my GT was just a 5-spd, but I miss shiftin' gears the most). It may sound crazy, but I want to have one of each of the big three... and as I'm sure you know I already have a Pentastar and a Bowtie...

Okay, so any truck restorers, hot rodders, or those who've posted pix before, and just want to show off their sweet trucks again? especially if you have an overdrive manual tranny...

If for some reason I can't do the Cobra or the truck I would really like to find a clean late model Fox notch... but who knows, just dreamin'... Don't worry the wife has her new Element, and I've got the green light for a new vechicle... She is actually wanting the Cobra, or a Harley... I love this woman!

 

I'm a huge huge huge fan of the mid 70's Ford trucks. When I was 15 I found a 1974(?) F-150 regular cab step side 2wd with a swapped in 460 V-8 and a C6 automatic. It sold for $1200. Then a year or two later I found a 1973 F-150 4x4 lifted 4", freshly bored over 390M, 4 speed manual, and 75K original miles. They were asking $2300. I kick myself for not buying one of them...

 

My token post when this topic is brought up:


I need to get serious about getting back to this, it's been in dad's shed for the past few years.

 

Here is a pic of my buddies 79 F350 ranger. Him and his dad built the flat bed and put in a 4" lift last summer.

 

I looks worse than it really is, the cab is solid as a rock. The bed was just a convenient place to store a toolbox and topper which is usually on dad's '95. Notice the 2x's under between the bed and topper.

 

I still want a 79.

So close to buying one from a buddies dad, but didnt. Sometimes I still think about it. Be pretty sweet to have it.

 

I've had a '72 SWB with a 302 and three on the tree and also a '76 SWB Ranger with an extremely bored and built 460 and automatic.

The '72 wasn't much more than a daily driver but that '76 would run like a striped ape.

I had to sell it when times got lean and I crashed my car. I couldn't afford to feed that thing at 6 mpg (hwy) and drive it every day.

I don't have a single pic of either one that shows the entire truck either.

 

Just never cared much for the 70s trucks. I prefer the mid 50s. Do you think my age might have something to do with it? Check out my 54 in my gallery. Those old mid 50s are sweet drivers with 302s. Another option, if it were me looking for a candidate for the engine would br a 65 or 66 Mustang. Then I will go way out on a limb, an early Pinto, used to see some sweet ones with the 302 stuffed in it. Another possibility would be a 64 or 65 Falcon Futura.

 

Back in the mid 70's, my sister showed up with a 69 F-250 4X4 with a 390 and a granny box. What a beast. I tried driving it in the city in rush hour and it wore my sorry *** out. Manual steering and a very stiff clutch.

 

Hey Jim -- is that '65 Galaxie yours as well?

 

It was. I needed something for my daughter to drive to highschool. I wanted something "substantial" rather than the usual little import, so she would be better protected. I bought that thing for $500, built a 390 HP, replaced the tranny with a C-6, went through the interior, and painted it IROC blue. Had American Torque Thrusters on it, dropped it a couple of inches in the front. It was one sweet ride. Then when she graduated, I had built the Yellow GT Fastback for her and I took the Galaxy. I drove it back and forth from Abilene and Fort Worth, weekly for a year. Loved that that car. Sold it at a swap meet a few years ago to a guy from Tulsa.

 

I'm working on my 70 xlt ranger right now. I've stripped it down to bare cab, swapped it out to a mid 90's crown vic frame with coil springs all around and left the 4.6 motor on it. I'm down to the home stretch now. Here's the latest pic from last weekends wrenchfest...




My sig has a chop of her all gussied up in her new paint job she'll be getting.

 

i like 70s Chevys too.




not sure what year but early 70s i believe, in a town over i guy has a red one jacked up on big tires no bed but this thing is a monster and sounds amazing.

 

I've been kind of thinking about something like that for my next "baby" after I get the Mustang later this year. That particular bodystyle has grown on me over the years.

I'd really like a nice Country Squire wagon from that same era -- I think it would be kind of a cool "weekend cruiser" to enjoy with the little guy once he gets older. However, I suspect that a 2-door would be easier to find and maintain over the years, as the availability of parts (especially body parts, God forbid we need them!) would be better.

Either that or a nice hotrod of some kind.......

 

I loved the look of that car and it handled like a dream. I think though, if I were going to look for something of that era, I would go for a 66 or 67 Fairlane for my next project. Same basic shape, just a little smaller. Had a buddy with a 67 Fairlane hardtop, with a 427, 4 speed top loader. He was just a back yard shade tree guy and out ran some professional race cars with it. A very fun car!