A one-ton SuperCab with triple gas tanks would have been an ideal camper hauler in its day. Maybe not a 4×4, given the extra height, but it isn’t as crazy, jacked-up high as most trucks I see on the road today. This rust-free 1979 Ford F-350 SuperCab 4×4 Ranger Lariat Camper Special is, or was, a one-owner “senior-owned” truck from the Pacific Northwest, and it’s listed here on eBay in Tacoma, Washington. There is no reserve, and the current bid price is $11,488.
What a nice truck! There isn’t one thing I’d change about this one, at least on the exterior. Ford’s sixth-generation F-Series was made from 1972 through 1979 here and buyers would get a single cab, a four-door Crew Cab, or a SuperCab as seen here. The SuperCab configuration would have been perfect for us, rather than having four people crammed into the front of our 1969 F-250 back in the camping days of the 1970s.
The seller says this truck was owned by a senior in eastern Washington state until they passed away, and they don’t say how long they’ve had it or when that was. They say that it has been a daily driver for some years and has never been exposed to road salt, which is great news. It does look outstanding, but they mention it has a few normal nicks and scratches. The underside looks rock solid, with the usual surface rust. The Walnut Glow and Light Sand Deluxe Tu-Tone paint scheme is beautiful.
The interior looks great, and even with the Ranger Lariat trim, this truck isn’t overly fancy with power windows and power door locks, unlike today’s trucks. They say the driver’s door panel has been replaced, and the air-conditioning isn’t currently working. Just 1,761 F-350 4x4s were made for the 1979 model year out of 72,674 made that year. The SuperCab area had an optional smaller bench seat, but this one has two jump seats, one on each end, and it looks perfect back there.
The engine is Ford’s 400-cu.in. OHV V8, which had around 170 horsepower. Backed by an automatic transmission sending power to all four wheels through a two-speed transfer case, it’s said to run and drive great, and it sure looks like a nice one. Hagerty is at $32,200 for a #3 good example and an eye-watering $62,200 for a #2 excellent example. Wowie. How much will this great-looking F-350 sell for?
That’s one good looking truck! On the wrong side, but this should go quickly!
Ditto…
Beautiful!
Price going to go a lot higher. Better buy than a new one I think.
This is a nice one, for sure. Very few problems with the chassis as long as it’s running a straight axle in the front. The 400 engine was okay but no real dazzler. I know lots of guys who ran them with few problems. Emission regs really stifled it. We used to install a Crower Torquemaster camshaft; recurve the ignition to limit the vacuum advance to about 6 degrees, and spread the mechanical curve out. Oh yes, dual exhausts are a must. And replaced the carb with a Holley 500 2bbl. Got favorable performance and reasonable economy; very similar to the results we got with the FE engines. I heard some guys talking about using a timing set for an early 351C engine, like, from a ’70 Mach I. I never tried it but I might have an opportunity; I’ve got a friend with a ’79 Ford F-150 4×4 that blew the engine. He’s interested in a very high mileage ’78 400 from an LTD that I have in my storage. I might rebuild it and sell it to him. Trouble is, he can probably get a Crate engine for what it’s going to cost to rebuild this one…
Beautiful truck . It looks like it has the large hub king pin Dana 60 front end
Painful auction update: someone got this great truck for $15,101, what a deal!