One of the more unpredictable markets – to my mind’s eye, at least – is the 80s and 90s truck segment. It seems to me that you could spot the same truck in your local paper for $3,000 and then see that identical truck a week later on eBay and it’s going for $10,000. This 1986 Ford F-250 isn’t the most spectacular example but it’s commanding strong money here on eBay with bids to almost $9,000 and no reserve, and it’s required with the 7.5L 460 V8 and an automatic transmission. With just two owners in the history file, this Ford F-250 is an honest example but also shows that once cheap trucks are now a bit pricey.
The Ford looks great in its two-tone blue paint job and the raised stance thanks to the 4WD configuration. The Explorer package wasn’t much more than a trim package with a few cosmetic add-ons; there was no hardware upgrade, as far as I can tell. The truck is located in Washington State, which tells me it’s likely rust-free throughout the body and we can see the bed sides and cab corners are in great shape. The fact that the Explorer graphics are still so clearly visible tells me it was stored indoors for a good portion of its life, or at the very least, it was parked somewhere with shade.
Mileage is listed as being 148,000 and the interior looks far better than it should for a workhorse. The seat cushion is intact and the door panels look like they haven’t been hacked up. The fake wood trim around the instrument binnacle is part of the Lariat package, I believe, and that also appears to be in good nick. Power windows were optional and this truck is equipped with these and some other convenience features, so it was a pretty nice ride when it left the showroom. As per usual, the seller reports that the air conditioning does not work and needs to be recharged.
The gasoline 7.5L 460 V8 is a bull of an engine, making 225 horsepower and a stump-pulling 380 lb.-ft. of torque. The seller reports that it runs down the road nicely and the transmission shifts smoothly through the gears. There is an exhaust leak that will have to be addressed, but that and the A/C are small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. I come back to this: if you found this truck on the local classifieds site, you’d probably pay far less, but then you’d also have to hope you’re the first one to see it listed. Do you pay more for the one on eBay or hope to be in the right place at the right time? Thanks to Barn Finds reader Alan for the tip.
A nice Bullnose. These seem to be picking up momentum in the market. This one isn’t perfect but does show overall good care. Make some upgrades but if not, it’s probably fine as-is.
Good ebay ad, lots of pics and includes service records. Beware, The Seller Starts Every Word With A Capital Letter.
Thank you Jeff.
The 460 should be good for at least another 100K miles. I met a guy who owned a fleet of Ford one ton vans, all with 460 motors. He said that he almost always gets 300K miles before they go south. He had one that had a cylinder down a bit on compression at 250K miles, he was disappointed.
The 460 is one of the better things Ford built, but it won’t pass a gas station without needing a fill up. The 7.3 diesel is a little bit better option, if you can deal with a diesel. They get better gas mileage and usually last well over 300K miles.
But their mileage isn’t great, I had a friend with one who got 15/16 MPG regularly and my 454 Suburban did almost that good and had 30% more power if I needed it. Of course putting foot to the 454 sunk the gas gage like a rock.
The pre-1991 Explorer package was a spring special, so it woulld’ve had whatever “premium” items the factory had a surplus of as the model year was coming into the home stretch, especially the last year before a major redesign as this was.
For instance, woodgrain dash trim was a no-brainer since the ’87s had an all-new dash and the leftover basic-black dash trim could go on the medium duty line which kept using the bullnose dash almost to the turn of the millennium.
I tend to assume that decisions such as the woodgrain dash for the Explorer trim package were these deeply discussed and planned courses of action, when it could have been nothing more than a way to work down the contracted number of parts coming from a supplier.