A part of me thinks Custom/Lariat are just names, but I was just wondering if anyone actually knew if they mean anything other than just the style of the truck.

My friends ask me what the custom on my truck means and I like to joke that it means if I wanna do anything to it, it has to be custom made.

 

It's all just trim levels:

"Custom" is the lowest trim level, basically a stripper.
"XL" has slightly more stuff as standard
"XLT" has way more
"Lariat" has more yet
"Eddie Bauer" is a special package with about the same equipment but visually distinct from the Lariat.

In all cases there is a limited option list which allowed the vehicle to be optioned up to not quite equal the next trim level.

 

It's kinda opposite of what you'd think, Custom should be the top-of-the-line, like it was custom outfitted or something. Instead you get a truck with a seat, a motor, and 4 wheels and not anything more.

I don't think Limited is marked anywhere on the truck itself, though Eddie Bauer versions have the signature on the rear quarters.

My '93 XLT has cruise, PW/PL, power lumbar, auto, and the 351 which leads me to believe it may have been a Limited version, because the Lariat trucks had leather seats, didn't they? Mine are plain cloth.

 

From "bottom" to top so to speak of the trim levels.

In the '94-'96 body style F-Series and Bronco...

XL
XLT
XLT Sport ('95/'96)
Eddie Bauer

In the '92-'93 body style F-Series and Bronco...

Custom
XLT
XLT NITE ('92)
Eddie Bauer

In the '87-'91 body style F-Series...

Custom
XL
XLT
XLT NITE ('91)
XLT Lariat

In the '87-'91 body style Bronco...

Custom
XLT
NITE ('91)
SA ('91)
Eddie Bauer

'80-'86 body style F-Series and Bronco... (purdy sure on this one)

XL
XLT
XLT Lariat
EB ('85-'86 Bronco)

Adrianspeeder

 

....

 

There's a lariat (same generation as mine) sitting in my apartment complex. It hasn't moved since I've lived here and I'm starting to wonder what he's doing with it. I have noticed he's got some sort of headrests on his seats, a sliding rear window and some fancy pants stock rims. It looks lonely sitting by itself, think my key works in it like RX-7s commonly do?

Also the inside of my truck smells funny and I can't get rid of it, used febreze on the seats and axe body spray every time I get in, but it still sometimes smells like expensive hookers and cheap cigarettes, anyone have an suggestions on good stench removers?

 

Adrian left out the Lightning package available around '93-96, which was an XLT Sport with a modified 5.8L engine & "Lightning" on the sticker strips and upholstery.

For the smell, take the seat(s) & carpet out, and wash them. You can use a pressure washer on the carpet, but do it early in the morning on a warm sunny day so it can dry. Buy a pair of hog ring pliers & some hog rings (you can get them at an upholstery shop or in the fence area at Lowe's), strip the upholstery off the seat, & put it in the washing machine. Look thru these pics for more info. You could also drop the headliner & leave it in the sun all day, but I wouldn't wash it. If it's bad, just take it to someone who can reupholster it. They usually charge ~$70 for a pickup headliner.

 

There was also an XL trim level in '93 style at least, I had one.

Axe spray smells good on people, not upholstery. I made that mistake once on a chair my cat barfed on, and even after repeat cleanings, you got a whiff of cat food every time you sat on it. Sprayed axe on the chair, and then it smelled like cat food mixed with perfume, which was even worse. Febreze usually works, but there are some odors it just doesn't seem to "absorb" or whatever it's supposed to do.

Chances are (providing you're not the original owner of the truck) the p.o smoked in it and spilled a bottle of cheap cologne (or repeatedly used adult entertainment services in the truck as you suggested). Spilled aftershave/cologne is incredibly stinky and the odor is very difficult to get rid of and can stick around for years (my old truck smelled faintly of perfume if you sat in just the right spot on the seat). Buy a bottle of febreze for cars and use it extremely liberally all over everything. Get the seats, carpets, headliner virtually soaked with the stuff, and then leave it outside on a nice day with all the windows open. That worked when my neighbor spilled a gallon jug of milk in the back of her Suburban and really stank up the car after a few days despite cleaning the carpets. Drenched the entire backseat with febreze and the odor (for the most part) vanished. Her car still smells a little funny though, at least not like spoiled cow juice.

 

My CV always had an unidentifiable stale odor. My g/f tried to steam a small stain out of the back seat, but every time she hit it, it would MOVE with the steamer. When she got tired of chasing it, I pulled the seat out & stripped the upholstery off it. Turns out the PO had managed to spill what looked like an ENTIRE pot of coffee onto it. The washing machine took it out of the upholstery, and I hosed off the foam. No more smell.

 

Interesting, as I've seen '93 Customs. Musta been a mid year crossover then.

Adrianspeeder

 

Throw a dryer sheet or two uner the seat for a few days and see if that takes any of the smell out...

 

Thanks for the tips I didn't think it would be that 'easy' to get the upholstery off the seats. At least it's a worthy project with a purpose instead of just taking stuff apart, looking at it and putting it back together.

I guess I'm lucky cause I don't have carpets, I've got that rubber floor stuff (at least until it gets under the seat)

If i'm feeling up to it tomorrow and I do it half way decent I might even do a write up

 

hum interesting

i was all over google trying to find out what xlt lariat was exactly because my 85 F250 is both, and now i found this thread finally

now i know

wow i didnt think an F250 like mine could be had with basically the top of the line trim, and interior packages

thats neat

i never did make myself learn the ford packages

but the chevy ones i know and have known for at least a decade now

on 73-up chevy it was custom deluxe as base model

scottsdale too, depending on the year

then it was silverado and cheyenne

and cheyenne super very top

but its confusing because some were the same RPO code and replaced each other and/or were done away with over the years


68-72 was different and 67 had two different custom packages(Z61/Z62, one was interior and the other was exterior), but in 68 they were combined into one custom package Z62

then it was renamed to custom deluxe in 73

and then there were special order appearance sales trim/interior packages such as Feathers and eagle and two other special packages before 73, Highlander in 72, and Bonanza after 72, and so on,
Bonanza was pretty common, see one now and then still running around, ive owned a few, most all were sold in '77-'80 only, if not all of them, sometimes they are a BIG10 also, bedside decals say BIG10, were only 77-80 years, but lots of them sold, ive have had many of them too,


i dont know what special packages ford may have had, i cant ever recall seeing anything other than the normal packages you always see, at least in the mid 80s and older

must be none or a very few

gmc had some interesting packages too, such as the gentleman jim and the black and gold package, i forgot the name now, also a Heavy Half package too, same as chevy's BIG10, but ive never seen one, very uncommon,





good luck