Worth Reviving: 1966 Ford F-100 Stepside
Hiding under that healthy layer of dust is a pretty decent looking 1966 Ford F-100 Stepside. It will need some work to get it up and running since it has been sitting for 20-years, but it looks like a pickup that would be worth the time and effort. Located in Reidsville, North Carolina, you will find the F100 listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding for the F-100 has opened at $5,500, but at this point, there have been no bids made. There is a BIN option available at $6,500, and with 23 people currently watching the listing, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some action in the very near future.
See, I told you that there was a pretty reasonable looking vehicle hiding under the dust. According to the owner, the Stepside was treated to a full repaint not long before it went into storage. As part of this process, the truck was also fitted with a new tailgate and new passenger side fender. Once the paint had been applied the Ford received a new windshield, new window rubbers, new door seals, and new door channel kits. In addition, the Ford received some new emblems and a new set of bumpers. There are a couple of spots that will need some attention, including small spots on the lower rear fender, and the radiator support. The grille and headlight surrounds look like they would benefit from a trip to the plater, but the rest of the Ford looks alright.
When I see a vehicle like this, it makes me wonder what the circumstances were that saw it parked after so much work had been completed. The refurbishment that the F-100 has received on the outside has been carried over inside the vehicle, and it still looks nice and fresh. The painted surfaces look good, the seat looks like it has a new black cover, and the owner does say that the headliner is also new. There is a radio/8-track player fitted into the dash, and the speakers are mounted in a box on the floor. I don’t mind the aftermarket steering wheel, while the F-100 now also sports a Hurst floor shifter.
While the engine bay doesn’t present as well as the rest of the vehicle, there’s nothing there that can’t be improved without a good clean. It houses a 240ci straight-six engine, which is backed by a manual transmission. While he doesn’t state the type, I do think that this is probably a 3-speed. Now we get to the point where the next owner is going to spend some time, and possibly a bit of money. The owner says that the F-100 doesn’t currently run and that it will need a new gas tank, and the carburetor will need at least a rebuild as the starting point. The brakes were new when the pickup was parked, but with the pedal now on the floorboards, it sounds like there is going to be some hydraulic work required as well. The tires are beyond help, and it actually sounds like driving on them would be quite dangerous, so new ones will also be required. Of course, the next owner might just fix the brakes, replace the tires, and drop another engine under the hood. That is a possibility that has its attractions.
While there hasn’t been any action on this Ford F-100 at this point, I suspect that this will change. Older pickups are vehicles that have a strong following, and this one is a pretty reasonable one. If it can be made to run and drive again, it would serve as a good daily driver with no real problems, or the next owner could choose to take the refurbishment up a notch on what is an attractive looking vehicle.
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Comments
I’ll admit this is a pet peeve of mine: A Ford like this is a Flareside, not a Stepside. It can be generically called a (uncapitalized) stepside (i.e. with external fenders), but its proper model name is Flareside. To me, this is like calling a sporty Camaro a “GT” or a sporty Mustang a “SS.”
Anyhow, thanks for the write-up. The truck looks reasonable. This is very close to the first of my dad’s series of Ford work trucks. His was a short wheelbase 1966 Flareside 300 straight six three-on-the-tree stripper model.
This step bed is cool 😎
I used to own a javelin zl1
And camaro Eddie Bauer edition too.. with the Levi interior that sets the pace on looks 👀👍
This is a nice truck!!!!
It is a pet peeve of mine when people say it is a three on the tree.
It is a column not a tree!!!
There are even four on the tree transmissions out there. I had one in a 1951 Jowett Jupiter that you pushed a button on the end of the shifter and went into the number one position to pick up reverse. I sold the 1951 Jowett Jupiter in 1977 for $1,200. I thought I cut a fat hogg, because I traded a 1962 Chevy Impala that I paid $150, for the Jupiter. They are going for $75,000 today. Hindsight sucks.
I learned to drive stick in a 1951 Ford custom sedan, 3 on the tree, flathead V8 that my parents gave me when I graduated high school way back in 1974. I drove that car all over Southern California in 75 / 76, I got to where I could shift from 2nd to 3rd or down from 3rd to 2nd without using the clutch. My dad told me they used to put 3 – 2 barrel carbs on them and race. Must of been a blast, I remember racing a Camaro down Grapevine hill on Interstate 5 at 109 mph. He just beat me by 1 car link before he exited I-5 at the Taft exit before Bakersfield. I had just slowed down to the speed limit when a California Highway Patrol pulled up next to me and then raced off looking for the guy in the Camaro. You will do some stupid stuff when you are 19 years old. LOL.
Authentic Original. Keep it as is…no need to chrome and make fast. Trucks are trucks, we love ’em as they are.
Really nice truck at a decent price!!
That 240 six is pretty much the same as the good old 300, BULLETPROOF.
I really like this truck. I once owned a 65 352 3 speed with overdrive. I really liked that pickup. It had the long wide bed which I really over worked hauling 300 gallon water tanks on the farm. It was a 1/2 ton pickup and those water tanks would drop the rear of the truck and raise the front to the point it was hard to steer. These days I’m a city dweller so this truck would only haul a few things from Home Depot once in awhile. I don’t think I would change a thing, just drive it as is. Just do the brakes and tires.
God bless America
I call any pickup with this bed configuration a stepside. My Dad owned a couple of ’65 F100 shortbed stepsides that he bought from gov’t surplus sales….They were former US Air Force trucks.
One day, he stopped into a Ford dealership in the late 1970’s looking for a new F100 shortbed.
When he was talking to the salesman about wanting a shortbed stepside, the salesman kept correcting him saying it was a flareside.
The salesman was so intent on correcting the terminology rather than to hear my Dad out regarding a new truck, my Dad got mad and got up and walked out….He decided that the salesman was not that interested in making a sale so my Dad went elsewhere and bought a shortbed Chevy stepside.