More of a truck for those of us who don’t need a truck-truck, as in a beast of a hauler with endless payload and towing capacity, this 1962 Ford F-100 Unibody or Integrated Body pickup would be perfect. The seller has it listed here on eBay as a no reserve auction and it’s located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The current bid price is just $2,550, a crazy bargain-basement price.
Ford offered three different bed styles for its fourth-generation pickups which were made for the 1961 through 1966 model years. However, only one of them had a short run of three years and that was their unibody or integrated body pickup as seen here. They were made for the 1961 through 1963 model years and then quietly went away due to both real and – in the days before the internet and fake news, but that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t fake news – perceived or hyped flexing between the cab and bed which were all one unit.
The details of an integrated bed Ford pickup sold me decades ago but I have yet to own one. I promise to only haul up to 17 feathers in the bed just to have that smooth, sleek look that I love so much. Vehicles for me are 90% looks and 10% function. If I want a pragmatic, utility-only vehicle I’ll buy one (and I have one for my mega road trips) but generally, I want vehicles that are interesting and/or beautiful and/or unique in some way. The bed rails are unique but I’d take them off pronto, and I’m guessing that the top of the tailgate has its share of dings to have that cover on it. Or, maybe it’s there to protect it rather than cover it up. Ford offered both short-bed and long-bed versions, this is the latter.
That seat isn’t original although I’m sure it’s comfortable, probably even more comfortable than the original seat would have been. The seller talks about it being a solid truck with just a little rust here and there, and that’s the biggest dealio with the unibody pickups. Hopefully, that rust isn’t in any of the critical areas that may lead to the doors having an issue opening or any problem like that which may linger literally f.o.r.e.v.e.r. My gas tank is exploding, my doors don’t open, my left fender says Plymouth but the right fender says Dodge, etc. I wouldn’t want to be a carmaker for any amount of money on the planet. Wait, Elon Musk is worth $276-billion, scratch that thought.
Ford made both F-100 1/2-ton and F-250 3/4-ton versions of the integrated pickup, only in rear-wheel-drive but they offered a small V8 and also this 223 cubic-inch inline-six with around 135 horsepower. The seller says that this truck runs, drives, shifts, and stops as it should, and if the rust isn’t too bad this would be a screaming bargain at anything near the current bid price. Hagerty is at $8,700 for a #4 fair condition truck so yeah, this is a bargain!
Get Opie and the fishing poles and let’s go!
I spotted this one the other day along highway 220,just South of Rocky Mount,VA.They’re clearing off the property there.
Got my first pickup in 79,a 61 f100.40 bucks with a new battery and a holed piston.Backfired on the way home and blew out the dipstick.Put in a new piston ,thermostat,gasket set and drove it for years.The 4spd is in a donkey tractor me and and a friend built.I think about that old truck every time I use the donkey tractor:-)
Well, this is refreshing to see 1st thing, maybe da fizz done fizzed out on old pickups,,,finally. ESPECIALLY on a well known flop like the unibody Ford, you’d think an instant classic, yet, not a lot of interest. This qualifies as a great deal, far more in line with what a rattly door, underpowered, wandering lane to lane, white knuckle stopping pickup should bring. Maybe people are finding that out. They were a handful to drive. And truth be known, the only time people got “trapped in the cab”, was when they were over loaded. It was then blown out of proportion as a danger, and that was before the innernet. Again, for what it is, a 1962 pickup, it’s a great find, rare as Scotty sez, just don’t expect too much out of a 50 year old truck, is all.
Your gong to need a NEW TAILGATE. My dad had one like this and the tailgate was almost gone from the rust. We kinda made one. Not a bad truck but the rust that is on it will be a PITA to fix. Good Luck To The New Owner.
My grandfather owned two of these, an F100 and an F250. The F100 was his “town” truck and the F250 was the work horse.
Of course, I was too young to appreciate what he had, it was the 70s into the ’80s and 90s. By the time I realized what he had, he had passed, and my grandmother let them go.
I would love to own one of these as a tribute to my grandfather.
I owned a ’62 Ford unibody and used it to haul lumber and building materials. Never had any issues and it was a great truck. I sold it to a buddy with a landscaping business and he loved it.
I had a 61 Ford Unibody in college that I was rat rodding. I never finished it. A guy made me an offer that a poor college student couldn’t refuse. I turned $500 (incl. mods) into $1,500.
I have heard the stories about problems with the unibody design- but I haven’t experienced any. I owned a ‘61 F100 short box and a ‘’63 F100 long box. Hauled bins of apples 150 mikes over a mountain pass many times- 2000lbs worth. No issues. Dad had a ‘61 F100 short box with wrap around rear window, and a ‘61 F250 that he hauled firewood on- a cord at a time. Again- no issues. I’m sure if you abused them to an extreme degree a problem could occur…
They do tend to crack at the top of the box/back of the cab- but I never saw one where it was more than a cosmetic issue. Cool old trucks. Owned ‘em when they were new(er), gladly own one now that we’re both old.
Long beds are rarer than Schlitz beer these days.
As a stopgap solution, Ford pulled a Studebaker for the bigger trucks by using the 1957 to 60 beds, yecch! The f100 s followed suit later this year until Ford came out with a modern, better fitting bed.
61 was my first year selling new FORDS. Without power steering and no air cond it was difficult to compete with chebby. But since dealer cost was as low as $1500.00 without heater, we tried. In 65 things began to look up and Ford took the lead and has not looked back. Go FORD. 30 years of selling them.
Auction update: this pickup sold for $4,850.