learn me 70's f150

I've been hunting my neices first truck for a while now. Think I found it.

Its a 77 f150. 2wd long bed. 300 straight six, three on the tree. Manual steering and manual brakes. No air conditioning.

Truck has a rebuilt motor, new clutch and new interior. Needsa gas tank, rear window, and batbattery that I k ow of. Possibly needs tires.

Guy is asking 600.

What do I need to know about these things before I go looking at it? Will ps/pb be that hard of a conversion?

So generally speaking, learn me 70's f150.

Emember, I have only ever worked on vintage mustangs as faras fords go.

I have nothing helpful to add, but I love these trucks, especially the later '70's models!

Your neice is a lucky gal!

yeah those things are tough trucks.

Rust in those years can be an issue, the twin I Beam front suspension could have worn out bushings. Trucks that old you might want to check for broken leaf springs. Seals are probably leaking. The 300 is a great engine, it is a tractor motor. tons of grunt no speed.

Oh yeah and they can cut down light poles and drive off. Ask me how I know that one.

I learned how to drive on a 78 F100 with 400 that had been rubbed on and a C6. Had one of the 10 turn slip locks for a dif. That thing was fun to slide around the field.

Flight Service wrote: Oh yeah and they can cut down light poles and drive off. Ask me how I know that one.

Ouch. That sounds like a bad day.

I had a similar truck once upon a time. Mine had the V-8 but was otherwise the same: 3spd column shift and no power assist.

You need to be in decent shape to drive a truck like that. If she is not a strong and physically fit girl, she may have difficulty.

That much said, if she's game then she gets my thumbs-up.

EastCoastMojo wrote:

Flight Service wrote: Oh yeah and they can cut down light poles and drive off. Ask me how I know that one.

Ouch. That sounds like a bad day.

Actually, just a new fender, and head light trim assembly thing. I was able to pull the bumper back to "shape" with a chain and light pole.

Flight Service wrote:

EastCoastMojo wrote:

Flight Service wrote: Oh yeah and they can cut down light poles and drive off. Ask me how I know that one.

Ouch. That sounds like a bad day.

Actually, just a new fender, and head light trim assembly thing. I was able to pull the bumper back to "shape" with a chain and light pole.

I was referring more to the occupants of the vehicle. It takes a hell of a whop to take out a light pole.

Ok. So my brother's requirement of "damn near indestructable" is apparently covered and then some.

Hiw bad are bushings to do on the twin I beam setup?

Are parts readily available?

My neice is all of five foot nothing and a competitive cheer leader who WANTS an old truck for her first car. I think we've done well.

Id still add ps/pb/ac if its financially feasable and mechanically simple. Already have an old underdash unit.

Anything to be concerned about with the three on the tree?

Rust, rust, rust. A 70s Ford is a 60s Ford is an 80s Ford, basically. About everything should be available, the advantage of a blue oval or bow tie.

Adding PS/PB should be pretty easy with lots of PB blaster and muscle.

"It drives like a tractor, but it drives like a tractor!"

EastCoastMojo wrote:

Flight Service wrote:

EastCoastMojo wrote:

Flight Service wrote: Oh yeah and they can cut down light poles and drive off. Ask me how I know that one.

Ouch. That sounds like a bad day.

Actually, just a new fender, and head light trim assembly thing. I was able to pull the bumper back to "shape" with a chain and light pole.

I was referring more to the occupants of the vehicle. It takes a hell of a whop to take out a light pole.

Well it was a single vehicle incident and I was the only passenger, so you can judge how it effected the passenger.

Dusterbd13 wrote: Anything to be concerned about with the three on the tree?

Never force it. Never, ever, ever force it.

It's not a concern, its just a reality. She will have to learn to wiggle it into gear, and occasionally lift the hood and align the shifter linkages. Part of the package.

Early 80's had a '77 F-150 2WD, LWB, 300 six, three on the tree, p/b but no p/s or air. Pretty close to what the OP is considering. Bought it for condition, looks and price. Threw some aftermarket wheels and tires on it and DD'd it. Really didn't mind the column shift, still pretty common back then but if I had to do it over I'd probably go w/ an automatic and more options... but the price was right for a broke 20 y/o.

300 was a great reliable engine, no problems w/ it but the single barrel Carter carb body would loosen up occasionally. Throw a rebuild kit in it (at least gaskets) and Loc-Tite the carb body screws. Not gonna win any races w/ that engine tho but they oughta run damn near forever if well maintained.

King pins got tight and the easy fix was to drill a hole in the sleeve and shoot w/ lube occasionally. Never attempted to replace the bushings as I traded it on a '81 F150 4x4. Everything on that truck was super easy to work on btw.

Down the road those bodies didn't hold up well at all in the northeast. Typical rust in cab corners, lower fenders, rear wheel arch of bed etc. Co-worker has a '79 4x4 that was recently restored into a show truck. Most body is repaired original but he did use southern fenders and bed IIRC. He hasn't had any problems locating parts except for some specific trim pieces.

I'm guessing the OP is southern as he didn't mention rust... and that's half the battle. The mechanicals should be straight forward enough.

SVreX wrote:

Dusterbd13 wrote: Anything to be concerned about with the three on the tree?

Never force it. Never, ever, ever force it. It's not a concern, its just a reality. She will have to learn to wiggle it into gear, and occasionally lift the hood and align the shifter linkages. Part of the package.

Hurst floor shift conversion oughta eliminate that

I guess im gonna ask you to learn me the floor shift conversion...

3 on the column will be fine if its in good shape, shifting a loose one fast can end you up in 2 gears at once though(locks rear tires).

Bigger concern is the front end, if it isn't TIGHT it will be terrifying at speed.

Parts are easy to find - mechanical, body, trim or interior. Dennis Carpenter is my first choice for aftermarket but I suspect you can still get some stuff from the dealer. If the front end is greased up and in good condition, steering is no problem once the truck is rolling, but parallel parking can take some effort. Power steering or power brakes can be retrofitted easily enough if desired.

I had a 79 short bed version of that truck. Sometimes I wish I still had it. It was indestructible.

How hard are the front end to work on? Haven't driven it yet. Goung Saturday morning for a test drive and possible purchase.

Our second farm truck when I was young was a '77 Ford. 301 and auto plus power steering so downright lux in its day.

What I remember about it howere was the absolutely terrifying steering. It wasn't the front end or suspension though, the problem is in the steering column itself. There is a coupling "joint" for want of a better term probably withing a foot of the brake master cylinder. The bushings will pop off randomly and the steering wheel will suddenly have 1/2 turn of play before anything engages the front wheels.

Keep an eye on that and have old truck fun!

RoughandReady wrote: Rust, rust, rust. A 70s Ford is a 60s Ford is an 80s Ford, basically. About everything should be available, the advantage of a blue oval or bow tie. Adding PS/PB should be pretty easy with lots of PB blaster and muscle. "It drives like a tractor, but it drives like a tractor!"

the good news about the rust is that it's so bad that you are very unlikely going to find one that's not been taken care of- it will have been returned to the earth, grain by grain.

I had a '77 for a few years after I bought my house. What a POS. But it actually had power steering. 300/6, three on the tree, yadda, yadda... I could see the road between my feet.

My biggest rust problem was the rear drums were so rusty I could not take it apart. no bleeding, nothing. Even after I put in a new metal line.

Being that one of my first vehicles ever was a '77 460, I really just can't love the truck. We also had a '67 that we gave away for the really bad paint job on the '77. Too bad, since the '67 was cooler.

but the rust difference between Idaho and Michigan is astounding. One place you can find a cool old truck with faded paint, the other you can find a truck who's paint looks like iron oxide.

Im in nc. These trucks are still fairly prevalent here. But most of them look like cab corners and wheel lips are rotted out. Im not too concerned about non-structural rot. Cosmetic stuff I can deal with for her if it lives long enough. I just get worried about a brand and model I know absolutely nothing about.

Dusterbd13 wrote: How hard are the front end to work on? Haven't driven it yet. Goung Saturday morning for a test drive and possible purchase.

It'll depend on how rusty it is.

Is the niece going with you for the test drive? At 5 foot nothing, she may have trouble reaching the pedals and being able to fully depress the clutch - which is fully mechanical rather than hydraulic - so it'll require some effort.

The ease of a P/S & P/B conversion may depend on how many of those trucks are left in local yards. They're pretty much gone up there.

I've had two 70's Ford trucks in the past: a '71 F100 4x4; 3 spd on the floor; manual everything. and a '78 F150 4x4; 4 spd/flr; P/S & P/B. The F100 was a brute to drive, but it did have 31x10.5" tires. The F150 was substantially easier to drive, even with 36" Super Swampers. The F150 I had looked like the one ECM linked, only in dark blue. Really wish I'd kept it and hadn't lifted it.