When the fourth generation Ford F100 was introduced, it brought with it new looks, unibody construction, improved drivability and new engine options. This particular example was optioned with the 352 V8 and a manual transmission. It needs some work to the interior, but is said to be a turnkey classic. You can find this great looking truck here on eBay in Manheim, Pennsylvania with a current bid of $5k.
Here’s the 352 FE V8, which has 137,582 miles on it. The seller doesn’t have any documentation to prove it, but believes the engine was rebuilt not that long ago. Even if it hasn’t been rebuilt, as long as it has good compression it still should have lots of life left in it. Being a truck engine that was built for low end grunt, horsepower was only rate at 208 while torque was rated a more impressive 310 foot pounds.
The interior needs the most work and looks to be the only part of the truck that hasn’t already been restored previously. The upholstery actually doesn’t look to be in too bad of shape given the mileage, but the dash is showing lots of cracks and will need to be replaced to make it look it’s best. Personally, I would get rid of the custom steering wheel and find a reproduction original style wheel.
For an older cosmetic restoration, this truck has held up quite well and with a little more work would be a very nice rig. The 352 and manual combo should prove to be fun. Hopefully there isn’t any mechanical work that needs to be done. As long as it runs and drives nicely as is, you could enjoy it while you work on the interior. So do any of you have fond memories of the F100 and the 352?
Again, like GM, Ford should buy the truck to figure out what a truck is supposed to be. These are serious trucks. But of course, you wouldn’t want to be seen at a gala event in one. No knob to turn to self parallel park.
Rumbling into a gala event with my ’71 F100 big block (390) is on my bucket list!
Looks like a ’66 grille to me.
My dad had a ’66 F100 with the 352 and cruise-o-matic. Big block or not, it was slow and decidedly not fun.
The front clip could have been swapped.
It’s definitely a 1966 grille. They interchange and are one of the very few features that differentiate 1965 and 1966.
I was wrong once before, so it can happen. But that looks like someone wrapped the steel dash in black vinal.
Looks like it to me too, Eric. That also may or may not be the original shifter but the knob definitely isn’t – adds too much to the height and gives it a Rat Fink look which doesn’t really suit this truck.
Put some white steel wheels with dog dish caps on it and I could see it being a U-Haul dealers shop truck…
A separate pad is available that usually just glues on top. I took mine off of my ’66 and like the metal dash uncovered. Not nearly as bulky.
My first csr was a 65 Ford Country Squire wagon 352 4barrel dual exhaust, had decent power i thought, no speed demon but could get out of it’s own way. Good engine almost impossible to kill, and my brother tried ie overheated several times, run low on oil. Still kept running.
Those 352s were good motors. Not powerhouses but could lug with the best of them. We had a ’67 F-250 4×4 with a 352 and it was an amazing puller. We traded it on a ’71 with a 360 which didn’t seem to have the same power. Of course a little trip through the shop where I swapped out the carb for a Holley 500 2bbl, a little tweak of the advance curve and a set of dual exhausts, and the new truck came to life….
To the best of my knowledge the unibody trucks were ’61-’63. Then ford realized what a bad idea unibody trucks are. This is very pretty.
Unibodys were cab & body, this is not a unibody as the bed is separate..
This just isn’t a big block. It is an FE motor with a 4.63 bore center. The big blocks have a 4.9 inch bore center and a commonly referred to as the 385 series. The Ford small blocks have a 4.38 bore center
All FEs are big blocks
Briefly. FE engines aren’t big blocks. I had a 66 F100 back in 1984. Long bed, manual steering and brakes. After market second gas tank added. 352 V8 and granny tranny 4 (or 3 spd with low, you decide) and I absolutely loved it! One heck of a torque monster compared to many others. Wish I still had it. Great old truck.
I got sucked into this rabbit hole once too. Agreed that the FE isn’t a “big block”, but there are plenty here who will argue with you about it.
The FE series engine came in many sizes up tp the 428! by swapping cranks heads and boring you can make pretty much whatever you want, For BIG power you want to goto the HP bits that screw right in! of course FORD has any tranny you want along with the revered 9″ rear end. so pick the body you like and personnalise it!
Wonder why they used a ’66 grille?
The 66 grille is the only one being reproduced, and fits previous years. And it’s also a much better looking grille.
Josh, what do you mean by this being a unibody truck? This, like all F-Series trucks is body-on-frame.
Were you referring to the ill-fated 1961-1963 Ford F-100 Styleside pickups that featured a one-piece cab and bed? I think they get referred to as unibody trucks since they have been mislabeled for so long, including on Wikipedia. I’m pretty sure that Ford never referred to them, or marketing them that way.
Here’s the page from the 1961 brochure that should clear things up.
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/FMC%20Trucks-Vans/1961_Trucks-Vans/1961%20Ford%20Full%20Line%20Brochure/b_1961%20Ford%20Truck%20Full%20Line-04-05.jpg
Above is an example of a surviving 1961 F-100. A very cool truck that was featured in Vintage Truck Magazine some years ago.
So, they’re not “unitbody”, the bodies are just constructed of a single unit. So…. unibody. Thanks.
Lipstick on a pig, rust coming out everywhere
They seem to be increasing in popularity. I sure wouldn’t kick one off my driveway….
So would an early Eldorado or GTO with body on frame be called a Unibody because the body is built in one piece? The word Unibody has always been reserved for body and frame unit construction such as AMC, Mopar and most all late model cars.
Jeff6599, the Ford Mustang is a unibody. Always was, always will be.. there wasn’t a Mustang that had a full frame.
I’m pretty sure the 65 had steel dashes.padded dashes came out in 66
A padded dash became available in 64. Ford was the first make to offer one in a pickup.
Concur with Grant. Twin I-beam frame was trade mark of Ford trucks. Brother had 352 4bbl built with other goodies in 1960 that had ran on Daytona beach, holding its own for top speed. Often wonder what it would have done with 390 or bigger block in there.
We had a 66 with small six and 4-speed. First gear was for starting in difficult conditions so it basically was a heavy duty 3 speed. Front tires wore out quickly.
My ’64 (not unibody) F-100 was one of the best vehicles I have owned, (63 and counting). A 312 with 3 on the tree, I drove it for many trouble free years, up & down the West Coast. I repainted with the original red and my wife redid the interior. A fellow started pressuring me to sell so after a year of hounding, I did. Several months later, I saw it sitting along the road, hardly recognizable. Paint was faded & body was dented & interior was in shreds. So sad…
Twin I Beam front suspension??? Not me. Can’t align front end
Actually, there was an apparatus for bending the axles to make adjustments. But given the fact you pretty much had to drop one of these trucks off a cliff to even knock it out of alignment, it was rarely necessary. I’ve owned many, a good heavy duty shock is the secret. Set the toe, and away you go.
Grant: Right except that the definition of unibody is ‘combined body and frame’ such that calling the truck a unibody is simply a misnomer. KKW: if the FE is a big block, what is the 385 Series (460) called? A really big block?
Hang in there fellas, we’ll get it right yet!
So you think an FE is a small block? A 427 or a 428 is a small block? Lol. I think you better do some homework. Then we’ll see if we get it right.
UH– a 427 & 428 IS a FE, the 429 -460 is a totally new different engine
It’s called 385 series as opposed to fe series……both big blocks
I’ve always heard the one piece body Ford trucks referred to as “unibodies”. Does anyone have any idea how Ford referred to them? I have no idea….
“Unitized body construction”
Anyone notice that it does not have power steering? Better have some muscle if you bring this one home.
But it’s a real truck from an era that is long gone. I wish it was mine.
In doing some research recently for a project, I came across some writings of one of the Ford lead Light Truck Design Engineers in a 1966 SAE paper. In the paper, he referred to the Early Bronco body, specifically, as a ‘unitized body’ – that is, the cargo area of the body is not separated from the cab structure as in a traditional pickup truck. Now the Bronco and the 61-63 F-100s were definitely body-on-frame construction, but featured unitized bodies – perhaps those two words were shortened to ‘unibody’ at some point. I have no way of knowing since I’m a newer ’69 model myself.
And of course, most of us also refer to vehicles without traditional frames as unibodies as well.
Uh, can anyone explain the outrageously long gear shift lever? I had an FJ-60, and I thought that it was long, but this one is so long it’s comical.
That’s stock, believe it or not. It looks silly for several reasons – first, it’s in first (granny) gear which is the ‘tallest’ position. Second, it has some awful-wrap (padded tape of some sort?) on it that should be stripped off immediately, and it also has a late model knob on it that’s several inches taller than the stock knob which is definitely a classier looking piece.
I bought a truck, just like this,27 years ago. It was a cream puff, even back then. I put the cab and bed on my 76 highboy frame, because of a severe rust issue. Still have it. It has a brand new 460 in it now.It looks pretty tough, with 38s and a 3 inch body lift.