If you Googled “basic, no frills 70’s-era pickup truck,” this 1971 Ford F100 Custom would most likely pop up. It’s as basic as it gets, folks. The Custom was the lowest rung on the Ford pickup truck trim ladder, followed by the Sport Custom, the Ranger, and the gussied up luxury-leader Ranger XLT. The seller, who admits to being a fan of old pickup trucks for more than 60 years, is particularly fond of the “environmental patina” on this one. He says it’s from the wheat farm/cattle ranch country of North Central Montana and that it sat for a number of years before being rescued. And, the good news, with a little coaxing and priming, the old gal’s inline six started and ran well enough to drive on and off his trailer and around his yard.
Like any “sitter,” it’s going to need some attention to make it road worthy and safe again (new brakes, new fuel system, a tune up, etc., etc.), but it looks solid, hasn’t been monkeyed with, and has a ton of personality. Based on the photos, there’s some rust on the driver’s front fender and we’re told the driver’s floor needs a patch panel, but overall it looks pretty solid. Although Ford was touting two-tone paint options in 1971, this one left the factory in solid blue (Code 6: Bahama Blue). But after 53 years of use and exposure out in Big Sky country, it’s now sporting its own two-tone paint job of Bahama Blue and surface rust brown. Old Blue has its share of workhorse dents, bumps, and dings, (there’s a crack in the windshield), but the truck’s bed floor and tail gate are in good shape. These Customs came with dog dish hub caps (which I would put on) and we’re told the tires are in very good condition.
The interior has a basic, no-frills blue and black theme going on. Customs came with a vinyl bench seat trimmed with vinyl chevron pattern inserts, and the truck’s original blue seat has a seat cover on it. There are cracks in the dash pad and the seller states that all the lights and gauges work – even the cigarette/cigar lighter – but not the aftermarket radio. It’s also not a three-on-the tree as this F100 left the factory with a floor-mounted manual transmission.
Under the brown patina hood that used to be blue, is the F100’s inline-six cylinder engine. The seller thinks it’s the optional 300-cubic inch engine that generated 165 horsepower when new and it’s paired to a 4-speed manual transmission. The odometer shows 31,847. Old Blue still calls Montana home and is located in the city of Clancy. It’s for sale here on eBay and currently has a high bid of only $3,850. This is another example of an old survivor pickup truck that is a good restoration candidate or could be made road-worthy and safe to drive and kept as is – scars, patina, and all. What would you do with This F100 if you became the next owner?
Nice find in ‘Big Sky’ country, state of my birth so long ago.
It checks a lot of boxes for me, but no room for it right now.
I really hope this ends up with someone who doesn’t screw it up.
This is as basic as they came back then!!
Why, why, why? Clear coat on “patina”, looks so stupid.
Hey JB,
That’s exactly my thoughts. If this is a true “patina” truck (and I have my doubts, that primer looks applied not “worn through”) why completetly negate the look with an obvious clear coat. And a glossy one at that. I’m no expert on paint, but isn’t there some way to protect the “look” with out it showing. I do like an honest patina that the vehicle has earned and preserving it doesn’t endanger safety or more deterioration but clear coating or faking it all together just ruins it for me.
Linseed oil only makes patina, fake or not, look worse than it already does. I hope whoever buys this covers it with 15 coats of paint.
Use one of these stripper trucks as an everyday driver? And you’ll understand why folks flocked to the upscale models. Which has led to our current $65,000 grocery getters.
I’ve been to Clancy,back in the mid ’70’s,when
there was nothing there,& before all of the SOUTHERN-
Californians “discovered” it.
Back then,this was the perfect vehicle to drive there.
It just fit the lifestyle back then.
This is what I remember trucks being, not the feature laden creations of today. These were anything but pleasant to drive. I remember when my childhood friend’s father bought a new 1969 F-250 with the 390 V8, automatic transmission, power steering and brakes. I had never seen a truck so equipped.
Cool old truck. This is a rubber floor mat special. May be a 240ci six instead of a 300. I had a ‘72 F100 with a 360 and granny 4 speed. It was a workhorse- but it was my daily driver, and I was quite comfortable driving it. Shiny patina is an oxymoron. Patina. Shiny. Pick one.
Many of us would find this to be a perfectly adequate daily driver, and would still have something like this today, if such a vehicle was available. These were the ultimate in reliability, and the 300 six and 4 speed combination was the ultimate drivetrain for practical use and economy of operation. Very few left up here in the Northeast, sad to say. All trucks of this vintage were very susceptible to rust.
That 300 was one hell of a good engine and as durable as they get. After Ford put EFI on them they got even better.
I can picture driving this rig on a daily basis. Fortunately I live in a somewhat rural area. A lot of migration from the Detroit area over the years. The nouveau locals like to drive hammer down so a truck like this may prove to be an obstacle to their forward momentum. I’d find a nice gravel road and travel in style.
The seller refers to a buy it now price in the description but I can’t find it anywhere in the EBay listing. Maybe I’m not looking in the right place.With interest in these old workhorses steadily rising; it wouldn’t surprise me to see it selling at double the current $4k bid. This is definitely a truck from the days when people bought and used trucks to do work. A far cry from the ridiculously expensive four door mall roamers we have today. This one is just like many others I drove as work trucks back when they were relatively new. And when you’re driving these you definitely know you’re driving a truck. Where I live now; this would get tiresome as a daily because of the volume of traffic. But it would be pretty cool to have as a hobby vehicle that you could also use as a truck to do truck things. However I already have an older truck. The 300 six and four speed are legendary for bulletproof reliability. This truck will probably outlast most of us. I think this would be a great project. GLWTS.