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1978 Ford F150 Ranger XLT Classic Truck


I figure this is good place to put this...

34299

34300
 
For a slightly damaged front clip you could fake some wall damage so it all fits together....lol

Love the loader. Would be great for snow removal...
 
I think there were changes in the metals or paints or something throughout the dent side era that affected how they rusted. Seems to me that the previous gen was about average for rust and then '73 was REALLY bad. '74 was better, 75-77 were actually pretty good, and 78-79 (and 80-81..............) were really prone to rust. Just my unscientific observations. I've worked on quite a few trucks from that era and have never seen one with ANY rot in the roof like that.
77-79s had a shit ton of galvenized steel on them. IIRC in 75 they did something to the inner fenders to help with rot in those areas. 73 and 74s were very rot prone.

67-72s seem to hold up well though. But i think they were thicker then the dents. I dont know a whole lot about the 67-72 "bumpside" trucks.

What doomed the majority of 80-82 trucks was the 100/150s used fords (in)famous swiss cheese frame in a misguided effort to save weight.

These things could fold in half if loaded anywhere near capacity in the right spot, let alone add rust to that.

83+ got alot better in that department. The 80-82s were a huge step down in quality and toughness from the 73-79s. The 83+ regained some ground but not enough IMO.

As far as im concerned 73-79 (Specifically 77-79) were the absolute pinnacle of ford pickups. Any pickup for that matter.
 
Yeah, I'm with ya. They are my favorite Ford body style by far. I like the early dent side grille better than the later ones but it's so hard to find one that's not full of holes. There's a few running around town with no floor left... I'm shocked that the cab doesn't collapse.

I've had a few 80-82s and they just seemed cheap in every possible way. Plastic everywhere. I remember my dad's '80 F100 being a rusty pile way back when I was a little kid and it would have been maybe only 15 years old at that point. He got a LOT of miles out of it but it looked really rough at a relatively early age.
 
Yeah, I'm with ya. They are my favorite Ford body style by far. I like the early dent side grille better than the later ones but it's so hard to find one that's not full of holes. There's a few running around town with no floor left... I'm shocked that the cab doesn't collapse.

I've had a few 80-82s and they just seemed cheap in every possible way. Plastic everywhere. I remember my dad's '80 F100 being a rusty pile way back when I was a little kid and it would have been maybe only 15 years old at that point. He got a LOT of miles out of it but it looked really rough at a relatively early age.
There was a 77 F150 plow truck for sale by the shop about 2 years ago. It was literally the most rotted cab i had EVER seen, including ones in junkyards.


I have no idea how the seat was even able to hold weight or how you even drove the frickin thing. Literally the floorpans were totally gone.

I contemplated buying it for 650 bucks (ran, 4 speed truck with plow and a 351M) and tossing my 77s body and 400 in it. But after i looked closer the frame was iffy in spots.
 

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