Roadside Sighting: Cheap 1963 Ford F100
Reader Steve S recently drove past his local Pick-n-Pull and spotted this Unibody Ford in their parking lot with a price tag. Salvage yards typically don’t sell the vehicles that come in unless they are in good enough shape that they feel they can make more selling it as a complete car than parting it out. With a price of just $1,399, this seems like a decent deal if the truck runs and can be made to drive with minimal work. The yard was closed when Steve was there, so it wasn’t able to get more information, but this Pick-n-Pull is located in Sherwood, Oregon.
Due to the lack of information, I had to just guess the year, but based on the grille mounted turn signals and fender badge I’m fairly certain this is a 1963 model. The fourth generation F100 was the first unibody truck from Ford and while it looks great, the initial response wasn’t as great as they expected. Complaints about the doors jamming when the bed was loaded hurt sales and in ’63 they stopped offering this unibody design. This one is going to need work, but could be a great rig to restore or turn into a rat rod! Our thanks to Steve for sending over his Roadside Sighting. If you come across a classic along the road with a killer price, please share!
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Comments
If it runs well, seems you could eBay it immediately for 2-3 times as much.
Don’t think so. The just sold a fully running unibody here with a pretty straight body and it lasted for several weeks listed under $3000. Existing price on the truck seems pretty fair.
Was your a long bed or short bed? This appears to be a short bed rleetside, that’s what the market values at this time.
Steve R
Good price, wish it were here in Ohio
This would be a great truck to fix up. The unibodys are pretty rare and more likely to go up in value. These are the precursor to the Ranchero. I love the styling of these trucks though I think these still had the solid axle and Y block V8. I had a ’66 F250 and that was a nice truck. It made me a Ford fan.
“Precursor”? The Ranchero came out in 1957.
This is closer to the current Honda Ridgeline. Purpose built as a light truck rather than adapted from an existing car chassis.
That’s started me wondering. In the interim between this and the Ridgeline, did anybody else try to sell a purpose-built light duty unibody pickup? All the ones I can think of off the top of my head (VW, Dodge, Subaru, etc) were variants of an existing passenger car.
Not that I can think of.
These trucks aren’t unibody. The cab and bed are welded together, but they sit on a conventional frame.
Since it has a gear and lightning bolt on the hood, I would expect to see a 223 I-6 under the hood.
Maybe the Chevy Avalanche?
Unibody is a bit of a misnomer. Unitized body is a better, and proper, description.
Lamborghini built one, can’t think of any others.
The Ford Unibody’s are actually body on frame contruction. Jeep made an actual Cherokee unibody truck during the 80’s.
Right. Jeep Comanche.
There’s some talented metalworkers out there who have created crewcab Comanches by welding the bed onto the back end of a Cherokee. Awesome, although the proportions are odd. Looks like an automotive Dachshund.
Leyland Sherpa from the mid seventies in the U.K. might qualify. On a frame but factory made in van or pick up style. Only made the one piece body for two or three years before going to separate flat bed style box on the back and one piece cab.
Cool truck for the money. Though potential buyers should know that it may carry a salvaged title coming from a dismantler- they don’t always go to the trouble to also have a resellers license also.
I purchased an un-wrecked, running Honda CRX Si years ago from a salvage yard in California and had to jump through a LOT of hoops to re-register it, all for the pleasure of a salvaged title. I won’t do that again.
am pretty sure it is a 62
Isn’t that a ’62 Ford truck, instead of a ’63? (the green and white one)
It’s a ’62. ’63 had a checkerboard grill, and amber turn signals, I believe. Great find, I’m sure it doesn’t run. That price indicates, it must have sat in the back of a car lot, and finally hauled it in, for whatever reason. These are kind of rare, they sold a bunch, but as they rusted, many were junked. I’d love to have it. If it was in Colorado, I’d go for it.
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/02/looking-back-1961-1963-ford-f100-unibody-pickups.html
Pick and Pull does list many of the “builder” cars on their site but because inventory is always changing it’s usually not all that accurate. Here’s the listings for that yard:
http://www.picknpull.com/we_sell_cars.aspx?LocationID=119
It rains a whole lot and snows there in Oregon plus they use salt in some places. Cool truck. Hope somebody rescues her. Lotta work.
Decent price. And no extra charge for the patina. But what’s under the hood?
holden (gmh) and ford in Australia made them along with 1 tonner cab and chassis