If you watch the televised auto auctions or actually attend one, you’ll notice all of the recent focus on ’67 to ’72 Chevrolet and GMC pickup trucks. They’re hot, to say the least. But Ford has some game in this arena too and shouldn’t be overlooked. And here is a perfect example, a 1966 Ford F-100 Flareside short bed pickup. It is located in Buckhead (Atlanta), Georgia and is available here on eBay for a BIN price of $7,500. Thanks to Ikey H. for this tip!
Ford offered both “Styleside” and “Flareside” pickups in its 1966 F100 lineup, this example being the shorter 115″ wheelbase as opposed to the longer 129″ wheelbase version. The appearance of this Ford looks almost staged, it’s that perfectly worn with its extremely faded, code “J” Rangoon Red finish, dosed with a good smattering of surface rust. The combination really sets it off. This baby was no boulevard cruiser back in its day as so many modern pickups are destined to be. This F100 worked for a living and has some battle scars in its bed to prove its worth. All that said, the body seems to be completely intact with no sign of crash damage, fallen trees, mishappen fence posts, invasive rust or any of the other mayhem that befalls a working truck. The white stripe tires with doggie bowl hubcaps are a nice, simple diversion from what is frequently found on a pickup of this nature.
The interior is a study in minimalism, completely typical for a domestic truck in the ’60s. It even has a bolt-in FM tuner, the likes of which I haven’t seen in many years. The seat fabric doesn’t look original, it has that famous GM ’80s bordello red velour look about it so maybe it has been reupholstered. There is surface rust on the dash and the white instrument panel seems out of place, though maybe that’s typical, but nothing major – it looks like it should, or how one would expect a 54-year-old pickup truck’s interior to appear. Forget about creature comforts like A/C, power windows/door locks, a power seat or power brakes, nothing but the basics here. It would appear that this F100 has manual steering too so there’s a way to get a little upper body workout.
Under the hood is a 208 gross HP, 352 CI V8 engine, an upgrade over the standard 240 CI in-line six or the optional 300 CI, also an in-line six-cylinder configuration. The seller details an extensive list of recently replaced parts and indicates that this truck, “starts right up with the bump of the key” so it sounds like it’s good to go. The mileage shows 33K but I imagine the odometer has been once around. Gear selection is, what else, a manual transmission.
The seller claims that he bought this Ford from the previous owner who purchased it in 1966 so, yes, it appears to be a flip so there’s probably not an endearing story that comes with this old Ford. Too bad, it looks like it probably has a lot of stories that it could tell. If you’re considering an old pickup truck, I’d give this one more than the once over, it looks like a great candidate just as it sits. Why should the Chevies and the GMCs get all of the attention, right?
Sorry to nitpick Jim, but Ford did not offer “Styleside” and “Stepside” pickups in 1966, they offered “Styleside” and “Flareside” pickups. One doesn’t call a sporty Camaro a “GT”, nor does one call a sporty Mustang a “SS”. Generically it does have a step on the side of the box but its model name is not “Stepside.”
Otherwise thanks for the write-up. I had a FM converter once, haven’t seen one in decades. This looks like a good project for someone. I think these look great restored to stock or as light restomods.
Bob: Well, I guess I could have called it a “Sweptline” too. Thx for pointing out the error, fixed now.
Jim
Good deal Jim. I do really enjoy your reporting and writing on lots of interesting vehicles. Thanks to you and the other Barn Finds staffers for a good diversion from the strange world we are now all experiencing.
Tengo una que esta en ese mismo estado pero es una f250 del 66 la quiero vender pero no se cuanto esta andando con buena trasmicion y buen motir v8 si me pueden orie tar
“I had a FM converter once, haven’t seen one in decades.”
People actually collect such things, along with vintage car stereo and tape players. They’re always for sale on Ebay.
I know this is old but that’s not true. My 66f150 has stepside flair bed
Nice truck! I am not a fan of the ‘Twin I-Beam’ front suspension and think Ford, once committed to that design, hung on to it way too long. While GM had long proved that the traditional upper and lower wishbone worked well on pickups, Ford continued with this setup, even including a whimpy one for the Ranger. That said, I like this generation of overlooked Ford pickups.
They kept the Twin I Beam setup in the E series vans long after it left the F series trucks. I learned how to drive on a 67 F100 with a 352, three on the tree, manual brakes and steering. I believe that the first gen Ranger 4×4 Westinghouse gave me had it as well and I can’t recall having issues with either truck. My father taught me that a grease gun went along with changing the oil.
My marketing professor in college always said, “Why ,Why, Do People Buy”. I thought that was pretty funny at the time, but it does apply to your comment , why all the C-10’s and not the Fords. You can argue for the Fords all day long but at the end of the day it dosn’t matter. Our closed knit car world, has some underling rules about what is the best and we have all heard them, many of us believe them and some of us dispute them and want to listen to the beat of our own drummer. Which is certainly not a bad thing. I also had a statistics class in college and the rules about what is best can easily be backed up by the data. Luckily, we all still have a choice, even if if the real world dosn’t back up the choice. Your choice may not make you the most popular guy at the weekend car show, but bottom line its still your car
Somewhere around 1972 I bought a 65 Ford 1/2 ton pickup, 352/three on the tree with overdrive. It was two tone blue and white. It was a nice truck and had no problem hauling a 300 gallon water tank in back. To me these are equal to all other makes and better than most.
Over the years as a mechanic I replaced a lot of kingpins on the I beams, bent, twisted and aligned many. Then again I replaced a lot of ball joints and wheel bearings on other brands to say nothing of upper and lower control arm bushings so it all comes out in the wash.
God bless America
This reminds me of 62 F100 a buddy of mine once had. His had the 223 six with a 4 speed granny gear (not original ). His had the solid front axle, for the Twin I Beam wasn’t out yet. I myself, had the Twin I in my 88 F150 and it ate up front tires like candy.
Although the Flareside wasn’t all that popular out west when this truck was new, it was still a nice diversion from the norm. My dad really frowned on the Ford Flareside. I remember him asking the local dealer when Ford changed the design on their boxes. “1930?” he asked but was referring more to the angled stake pockets. Dad did NOT like wide boxes for the ranch. He always thought you had to stretch too much to reach anything in the box. It turned out that you still had to REACH. He changed his tune in ’67 when he bought the F-250 4×4. From then on it was Stylesides and Fleetsides and a couple of Dodges. Did they still call them Sweptsides from ’72 onwards?
If this came my way it would receive a paint job, probably in the same shade of red that it was when it left the factory. I would keep the 352 as well; the 352 reeks class although some would be more inclined to call it a boat anchor. That’s just fine with me; I’ve driven a lot of boat anchors…
To quote Johnny Cash…She’s in pretty good shape for the shape she’s in. I have the same amber lights on the front of my 1960 F250 “fleet-side”, had to swap out the 6 volt sealed beams to 12 volt. And what’s with the fishing gaff in the gun rack?!
Peace,
Tony S
Interesting, geomechs. For my dad’s string of five F-100’s, the only one which was not a Flareside was 1974, when (if I recall) Ford did not offer a Flareside F-100. His reasoning was the same: it reduced the reach into the (large, deep, heavy steel) toolbox — which he did dozens of times a day. Because, if you had to reach deep into the box, you had the step to help.
I also remember asking him why he always specified the short wheelbase, like this one. The reason was simple: “I have to turn around a hundred times a day.” In the low-budget ma-and-pa oil fields of southeastern Ohio, the well locations were always small and overgrown and poorly maintained, rarely was there much space to turn around. And he seldom needed to carry anything very lengthy.
I LOVE the welled fender, more trucks should have it.
Twin I-beam sucked because the factory’s alignment specs were wrong, they ate tires like candy.
The person who told me that was a former Ford exec.
He also told me which local shop had figured out the correct specs, problem solved.
“The interior is a study in minimalism” hahaha that’s great! And remember, this is a Custom Cab so it has a lot of extras. Right now I’m restoring a 65 F100 and a 65 F250 Custom Cab. Vehicles don’t get more bare bones than the 65 F100 non-Custom Cab trucks. No power steering, no power brakes, no AC, manual trans.
Well I am the one who bought this old girl. Had to have a corovid project to keep me sane. Have done a lot of things to the truck as it was truly an old farm truck. The Georgia red clay makes a great concrete coating. Brakes, lines, kingpins, engine disassembled top to scrape sludge and clean. Pan had 3/4 inch of sludge in it but oddly had good oil pressure and was fairly quiet especially after I replaced the exhaust plus a few other logical replacements. Ripped out the red velour seat covers and found the seat had original but not back. Temporarily had Mexican blankets for covers. Gun rack will get a 1950s Roy Rogers pop gun. Grin