“Camper Special” ignites the imagination among camping fans and gear-heads alike… for different reasons. Outdoor lovers prize the camper special’s ability to carry a slide-in camper unit or pull a travel trailer, and the ..Special‘s heavier suspension, brakes, and cooling. Motorheads immediately think “big engine” and “high-speed gears,” a perfect combination for acceleration and the recreational conversion of rubber tires into smoke. This 1971 Ford F250 Camper Special purportedly has a 390 V8, and the seller states that everything except the air conditioning and “a couple gauges” works “as it should.” The never-restored Sebring, Florida runner can be yours with a click of Buy It Now here on eBay, or tempt the seller with Make Offer on the RWD classic.
What looks like a recovered or transplanted bench seat shows wear on the driver’s side. The two-tone orange-and-white theme continues in the interior. Normally the small brake pedal makes room for a clutch on manual transmission vehicles of this era, so the current automatic transmission may have replaced a three-pedal DIY gearbox. If so, the carpeting may have been replaced as well.
The Ranger package includes extra trim, and the “Combination” option applies the lower color to the cab roof as well. Thanks to DezosGarage for some details. Beefy 16.5 inch steel wheels with “dog dish” hubcaps would have been standard, according to the brochure, but 16.5s fell out of favor because of the dangers of bead design and accidentally mounting 16.5 inch tires on a 16 inch wheel, so these could be 16.0s. Relax if you think those might be old New Jersey plates; they are Florida antique vehicle tags.
Though not perfect, the bed shows mostly surface rust, and should suit the normal working life of a 50+ year old truck. There’s no engine picture, so there could be a Peugeot diesel four-banger under the hood, but the listing says it’s a 390 cid (6.4L) V8 according to the prior owner. That would make it the largest engine offered in 1971, according to the factory brochure. Despite the rough edges and question marks, I’d consider owning a rig like this… one that can be kept alive without computers. Would you consider this ’71 Camper Special for your trucking needs?
I think the small pedal in an automatic would indicate a lack of power brakes, which would seem odd in a 250 Camper Special.
Good job Todd, as usual.
I seem to remember, and a clearer interior pic in a different-year brochure shows, that the small pedal was normal for an automatic. Maybe it had something to do with lack of power brakes, as Monte speculates; I don’t know for sure. I seem to remember the wider pedal in the next generation (??).
This piece of data amazes me: per the brochure, there were 162 different two-tone combinations (which includes different colors and schemes). Would have been a tough choice back in the day!!
Cool old truck.
That bed looks longer than 8 foot can anyone confirm?
My 72 was the f250 camper special Ranger XLT.they should have front power disc brakes.mine had keystone mags 16.5 in.My biggest problem was getting tires,the ones you could find were expensive and limited selection,and used ones?…they were about impossible to come by.I ran a 12.5 ×33×16.5 tire on all 4.
Ford pickups of that era came with 360 CID V8s. The 390 car engine wasn’t available. The next engine choice was the 460 CID.
The engine in this truck should be the 255hp 390 2v.i had a 390 in my 72.after that til 76′ 360 was the option.All 390 heads had the same size intake ports and 2.02/ 1.55 valves.the only variance in any 390 head even the so called gt heads is the combustion chamber size which ranged all the way from the coveted early 58-65cc head up to 72cc and a few more in between.a cam change,a 4bbl intake and headers can make a truck engine into a hi-po engine.
My dad had a ’71 F-250 camper special Ranger XLT. Aqua green and white. It had a 360. Plenty of power. It had a little storage compartment on the side of the bed just behind the cab. I don’t see that in the pictures of this truck. Good strong trucks.