When the first “light trucks” were built they were designed for work and featured stiff suspensions with little creature comforts. When trucks started to become family haulers, you saw the trend of 4-door pickups become the norm. Heck, if you want a single-cab work truck now, you almost have to special order it. Back in the 1960s and 70s, “crew cab” pickups were just that…Made for a crew of people. Whether it was a logging crew, construction crew, Forest Service crew, or some other group, they were designed to haul six adults to work. That’s what makes crew cabs of this era so rare. First, there wasn’t a lot made compared to their single-cab cousins. Second, they were worked hard. This particular Ford is from 1977 and can be found here on eBay with a current bid of $8,600. Currently located in Madras, Oregon, the ad doesn’t indicate where the truck spent its life, but I can imagine it loaded with lumberjacks smelling like wood chips and chainsaw gas high in the old-growth Oregon wilderness. How about you? Let’s take a closer look at this awesome crew cab.
The engine is a little bit of a surprise. It is a 429 cubic inch V8 from 1970! The ad doesn’t state why it was swapped or what happened to the original engine, but a 429 is a great choice to power this big truck. Backed by a C6 automatic transmission and NP205 transfer case, this truck will pretty much take you anywhere you want to go (as long as you have enough room to turn around). There’s no indication from the seller on the mechanical condition, but from the outside, it looks like a solid package.
I don’t know about you, but I like green trucks from this era. The light green paint goes really well with the dark green trim pieces. The interior looks mostly original aside from the seat cover and stereo. The back seat looks decent as well but could use some freshening up.
Overall, this looks like a pretty solid old truck. Not a ton of rust to speak of, however, you can see some damage to the door and rocker in this photo. Other than that, this looks like a great old truck and will probably be around for generations to come. The eBay bidding hasn’t reached the reserve yet, but at almost $9K, I imagine it isn’t too far off. What do you think of classic crew cabs?
Looks like a short box. Pass.
But so much easier to drive than a Long Box Crew cab. Because that would be a helova truck to maneuver let alone, turn around in.
Was there an 8′ box Ford crewcab this generation? Single cabs were the norm back then and iirc the crewcab had a 6′ box so it could share a wheelbase with the SuperCab which was an 8′ box only at first. If you wanted an 8′ crewcab you had to go to a Chevy or GMC dealer (and probably order, but a big enough one might’ve had one in stock).
It seems to me that there was an 8 ft. box available in the crew cab. I’m not sure if it was available in 4×4 though…
Yes, my uncle had a monster of a crew cab: Ford, four full doors, eight foot bed.. What was that song? Give me 40 acres and I’ll turn this rig around
The 4wd crew cabs of this era and earlier were only available in the f250 short bed configuration, a long bed was not offered. The f350 4wd hit the seen in 1979, the last year of this generation, but it was only available in regular cab and supercab long bed configurations.
The 73-79 f350 (only 2wd) crew cabs were long beds. I have one of those.
I have to say that I witnessed multiple crew cab long box 4×4 dentsides sold new at Van Cleve ford as my dad had a handful for logging.
That Marti report agency has shown numerous false statistics.
Your eyes are failing you. That’s a long box ! No doubt. I owned one. They are a beast !
Nice truck for sure. For a crew cab I would like to see A-C but I guess 4×65 isn’t all that bad, unless you’re in 100 degree+. A 429 in that, huh? Actually a good choice. I don’t know when Ford started putting anything larger than a 400 in its 4x4s but I don’t think it was ‘77. I’m thinking it was in the 80s. This would still be a Straight axle front end which would accommodate the front sump more easily than the hinged axle that came later. Still won’t have a lot of clearance unless you got a rear-sump pan and oil intake from a later 460 4×4 application.
IIRC, the sales brochure for the 77 F150/250 4×4 has a very limited selection…300 six and 351 V8 with either an automatic or granny gear 4speed, and the 400 was automatic only, at least in the F150. I think that the FE motors were available in the 1976 models. I knew a guy who had a 1975 with the 360.
’76 was the last of the FE engines although the larger trucks (330/361/391) might have used them a year or so longer. I know you could get a 460 in a 2wd with limitations…
460 was available in 77 I had a F150 with the 460
I had a 78 with 460 CI.back in the day .
I had already gone off to Okinawa when the family bought the F-150 1976 two wheel drive with the big 460 2bbl set up. Had a lot of grunt when the gas was mashed and the deer that failed to avoid busting up the grill, hood and headlight didn’t make it across the road. Brother was okay and deer whistles were installed on all vehicles after that.
Here’s another “gallons per mile” unit, especially pulling something in the snow. In case some have forgotten what it’s like driving a gas hog, all your trips are based around getting gas. With cars today getting super mileage, it’s easy to forget about that. Great trucks, none better, and if you want to pull some monstrosity, that’s what fun will cost you. Great find, tho.
460 was available in both f150 and f250 from 76 to 79, however 2wd only. Largest 4wd engine was the 400. I’ve had a few 2wd over the years with 460.
This would make a nice tow vehicle for a boat or a camper.
😃I HAVE A 68 F250 CAMPER SPECIAL
70. DOVE 429cu MANUALSHIFT HPO
C6. HAUL’S ASS, BEEN ON BLOCK’S
UNDER COVER 35 yrs, TIRE’S &
WHEEL’S WERE STOLIN WHEN I GOT
MY NECK BROKEN,👎 STILL
BREATHING (LOL)👍😎
I had one with a 460 in it,from the factory
What a good move putting that motor in that truck!! Must be a heck of a hauler!!