The seller of this 1969 Ford F-100 Flareside Short Bed pickup went wild with photos and in a very good way. I don’t remember seeing so many photos of a vehicle listed in an online auction. Nice job! If you have any interest in this one, and I hope you do, please check out this eBay link. It’s located in Sacramento, California, the current bid price is $6,002, but the reserve isn’t met.
Wearing its original paint color of Reef Aqua, along with 55 solid years of wear and tear and having the California sun beating on it, this F-100 has the look that (almost) everyone wants right now. I like it, but I think I’d like it better if it were in perfect condition. It’s hard to argue with the cool factor here, though. According to the VIN, this truck was made in February of 1969, and those rear wheels sure look big in this photo. Or maybe perfect is a better word.
Now, they look big in this photo. That’s what I would have gone for as a young’n, growing up when it was the thing to “put 50s on the back and 70s on the front” of almost every vehicle, even four-door sedans and pickups. The Fifth-Generation F-Series trucks are generally known by their nickname “bumpside” for the protruding body line on the cabs for Flareside trucks and on both cab and bed on Styleside trucks. If you ever wanted to buy a vehicle online by just looking at the photos, this is the one, there are so many it’s almost overwhelming, but in a good day for once.
Inside that short bed looks like this, and there are also many photos of the interior for you to check out. The steering wheel isn’t a factory original piece, of course, but then again, neither is the five-speed manual shifter. Ford didn’t offer such a thing in 1969 for pickups. There was a three-speed and four-speed manual, but the seller says this one has a Ford T-5 five-speed, along with a Ford nine-inch rear end, and the list of modifications and upgrades is as overwhelming as their photo library is, but again, in a very good way. Please check out the listing to see everything on this truck. A couple of glitches are that some of the factory gauges weren’t connected when the replacement engine and transmission were installed (not by them), and there is a bit of rust at the lower rear fenders, but they say that’s about it.
This truck’s VIN decodes to it having had a 360 V8 from the factory, but it’s now wearing a 351-cu.in. OHV V8. We don’t know the horsepower or torque ratings, or what the engine is from, but with the headers and other upgrades, I’m assuming it has more than the 215 hp that the 360 V8 would have had. They say it runs great and is ready to go. Would you paint this Flareside or keep it as it looks now?
My dad had five Ford work pickups over the years, four of which being short wheelbase Flaresides. So I’m partial to them. Why short wheelbase? “I turn around dozens of times per day in tight spaces (shoestring oil fields of southeast Ohio, where lease roads and rights-of-way and well locations were poorly maintained), and I rarely haul long equipment.” Why Flaresides? “That step makes it easier to hop up on to pull heavy tools out of the bottom of the deep toolbox.” Made good sense to me.
This example isn’t bad, but I’m kind of like Scotty, I’d like to see it taken further. I remember this color being quite popular in its day, I’d paint it the same color.
Pretty creepy, I had a very similar truck, only a 1970 Flareside, although, like “Kleenex” or “Jello”, we still called all of these types “stepsides”. Mine was a 300/6, with a 3 speed column, had a “Tommy Lift” tailgate, and was originally yellow, indicating a municipal truck, and painted this green. The box, being a county truck, was very rusty, and I took the tailgate off( before it fell off), and made a flatbed. Was my DD for a spell. I took that truck to Fl. one winter with my dirt bike, but found only sand, duh, no where near the fun of dirt. I hope others get a visual charge out of these posts like I do. Thanks SG.
Or Chapstick
Or monkey butt
My visual charge would be satisfied with a paint job. Nice trucks shouldn’t look crappy.
If I wasn’t a life long Dodge Sweptline fan (except for my recently-purchased 1990 D-150), I would purchase this truck. It has all the features that would appeal to me- standard cab, SWB and step side, except the power train. I would remove it install an I6, automatic and appropriate rear axle. Selling the existing components would help pay for the engine/transmission/rear end replacement. The patina and rust is just fine- it looks like merely honest wear and tear. I would not repaint it. At 71, I don’t need a hot rod truck- just a ride to our local restaurants, dispensaries, my doctor and ACE Hardware.
I saw Toyotas attempt at a flareside pickup once. It was horrible. But like all Toyotas, it probably rotted out in 2 years anyways so nobody really had to look at it very long
We have a 2019 Toyota RAV4. Not a speck of rust on it, just like the two Toyota Prius before it (and ZERO mechanical failures). About ten percent of the vehicles in our town are RAV4s driven by senior citizens like us – they look great as well. Perhaps you should talk to Toyota about their faulty vehicles- I would think that they would welcome your input.
Yes dave, it is common knowledge that ALL Toyotas rot out in two years.
Sigh.
Not sure how many noticed the motor appears to be Cleveland and probably the 4V so that T5 should make it really fun to drive.
I’m pretty sure you mean stepside.
Man oh man, the memories of one summer night .. My now late best friend n I loaded the bed of his white 69 just like this one with an ice cooler filled with cold refreshments, 4 or 5 good friends n headed to padre island one night.. What a wknd that was… front bench seat included a home stereo speaker n several boxes of 8 tracks between me n him.. Man alive, those were the days
Being a Ford man & loving stepsides, I’m gonna be watching where this hammers at. Enjoyed your comments fellas!