1978 Ford F150 Custom 4x4 from North America - Comments

Nothings failed on it, they called this the Golden Age of Ford for a reason.

I bought this truck from a farmer a little while back. It has always been my dream truck and it has been everything I wanted and more.

It is a standard cab short bed. 351m engine with 76k original miles. C6 tranny that shifts perfect. 9" rear end. Dana 44 full floating front axle. Originally full time 4x4 that had manual locking hubs put in awhile back to give it a 4x2 option. Of course it has the 4x4 floor shifter, none of that push button 4x4 crap.

This truck fires right up every time. It is easy to work on, the easiest part being that I rarely have to work on it, and when I do it's either an oil change or I'm adding something for fun.

I have 31/10.5/15 tires on it right now, thinking about going to 33s. I have taken it off road a few times, not any of that ridiculous stuff some people do where you are biting off more than any truck can chew just to get your rig stuck and spend 2 hours trying to tow it out. I just take it on trails, through mud, through the woods, etc. Hot, cold, dry, wet, it doesn't seem to matter. I have never had to put it in 4 wheel low, 4 wheel high walks me through anything I attempt.

The truck is rough cosmetically, since I got it from a farmer it was a work truck, and looks like it. But mechanically it's flawless. I can't decide if I want to fix it up just a little bit so it looks decent, or let it show its battle scars. Both options are honorable.

This truck only has a 2brrl carburetor, but with the way it screams and pushes you into the seats when you bury your foot in the gas, you'd think it was a 4brrl.

A lot of people don't want to believe this, but I get 15-18 mpg in this truck. They tell me I should only be getting 5-8, not 15-18, but its not complicated to estimate gas mileage. I will fill the tank, go 100 miles, then fill it again, depending on the driving I was doing it takes around 5.5 or 6.5 gallons to fill it back up, give or take 10ths of a gallon. That equals out to 15-18 mpg the way I ad it up.

I love everything about this truck, the style, the rugged heavy duty, "over built" way it's put together, the ease of working on it, and how cheap the parts are. This truck is 30 years old, runs like it's new, and I bet it will still be worth keeping around 30 more years from now.

15-18 is completely believable. I know people with 2wds with 300 sixes that get over 20 mpg. My own 77 F-100 once got 26 mpg but usually averaged 23-24 mpg. I also had a 79 F-250 2wd with a 400 auto and that would get 16 mpg. I got 14.7 loaded with 3000 pounds worth of stuff in the bed. Doesn't seem like we have gotten very far in the last 30-40 years. New trucks get the same if not worse mileage than these old beasts.

It only has 76,000 miles. Just wait until the miles get racked up, it won't be running so well then. Buy a Toyota before it's too late.

"I can't decide if I want to fix it up just a little bit so it looks decent, or let it show its battle scars. Both options are honorable."

My opinion is this: clean up any rust, and let the rest of the battle scars show. If the paint is scratched or chipped, leave it until it rusts.

Nothing says, "I love you" to a Ford like 200,000 hard miles or a couple of scratches. Ford trucks were meant for WORK, not SHOW. Drive that thing till it dies. You've got a real gem.

Who calls the late '70's the "Golden Age of Ford"?

Besides you, that is?

It was the golden age, at least for trucks, it's been downhill since then.

Buy a Toyota before it's too late? Hook a strap between the original posters 79 and a Tundra. That'll prove who's got the real truck.

It may be more powerful, but it'll never last as long.

Other than the fact that more were produced to begin with, there must be a reason you see MANY MORE old pickups out there than cars. How many Ford sedans from the 60s and 70s do you see in comparison to pickups? Those things just keep going.

The reason you see more old pickups than cars of the same vintage is because a pickup truck has just about the same utility value at 25-30 years of age as it did when it was new. Someone using a pickup mainly to haul stuff around is not going to care whether it has a few dents or the interior has a lot of wear and tear, so they will repair problems as they arise and keep driving it.

Whereas someone with an older car that is showing a lot of wear and tear would be less inclined to keep it going, instead trading it off on a newer model. The "cash for clunkers" program will certainly accelerate the disposition of older cars, at least the larger ones, which is what Obama and his lackeys in Congress wanted...

Well, I call it "The Golden Age of Ford" because it is. Ford trucks got better and better every year until the 73-79 generation, in 1980 they changed the body style, they had a lot less power because they had to meet EPA standards, so some of those V8s were only pumping out 115 horsepower.

Also, an entry line pickup (half ton) came standard with solid front axle 4x4 in 73-79; in 1980 you got that independent front suspension crap. Not to mention in 73-79 they galvanized the body panels, so they were not as prone to rust or corrosion as every other year model. Oh, and growing up in old school shops where we specialize in world of wheels cars, and talking old cars my whole life, I can't count how many times I heard these trucks referred to as "the golden age of Ford" by every guy that had something to say about them. And 76k miles is good, but I have personally seen some, and heard of more, that get 300k plus on them. I think I remember even reading a review here on carsurvey about a guy who had 800k miles on his, though I can't say if it's true.

I actually am a Toyota fan, you can't deny they make good trucks. But I prefer the style of a 78 Ford vs any year Toyota. I prefer being able to buy parts that are in stock and cheap because I drive an American vehicle. I prefer having the same gas mileage as a brand new Tundra (rated at 18/19mpg highway) and still having the power to accept any offer to chain up to one any time. I prefer having a vehicle that is so simplistic I can easily access everything, and even sit in the engine compartment while changing spark plugs, than popping the hood and looking for a place to get past the over crammed plastic working of the Toyota.

Let's not forget, Toyota has been making trucks for years, but only making full sized trucks less than 10 years, so the full sized line hasn't stood the test of time. As far as the old ones go, well, my father in law has an 87, and it runs great, after you let it warm up (let the second engine warm up that is, not the original) then fight the transmission that needs desperate attention, while noticing it is laid out terribly uncomfortably on the inside, and being eaten away by rust on the outside. and of course ends up dragging its hitch on the pavement when you put any weight in the bed. Yeah, Toyota, great for little Asian guys pretending to be cowboys, but in America, where we use our trucks for REAL WORK AND REAL PLAY, nothing beats an old Ford.

I have owned all types of new trucks and cars, but after the last truck I owned (a 2007 dodge ram with the 5.7 hemi,) I sold it and went back to the first truck I ever owned a 1978 ford f-15- 4x4, love it to death it will be the last truck I ever own, it dosent lock its doors or make noises when I don't do something, its just a simple awesome truck!

I agree this was the golden year for Ford trucks. As far as for the Toyota guy on here, we are talking a 1978 Ford F150 and you're talking a Tundra. Hmmm, lets put a 1978 Toyota behind that 1978 Ford. If you don't like that, then bring your Tundra on over and hook it to my 7.3 Powerstroke.

The Ford Trucks back in the 1970's were awesome, they were reliable, simple to work on, cheap to buy parts, tough as nails, made in America, out of thick metal, they just don't make em like that anymore. It's sad to say, but if you have an old truck just hold on to it, (new trucks are just gonna be made crappier and crappier) cause these old trucks are just going to go up in value, the new ones will be lucky to last 1/2 as long as trucks from the golden age. I would suggest you fix that truck up, make it shine, make it look as good as the day it was new, we need some more beautiful old trucks on the road.

Show these new trucks how things were made back in the day...