3k Mile Survivor: 1977 Ford F-350 Ranger
When a person is looking at purchasing a classic vehicle, two things that are guaranteed to catch there attention are a documented low mileage, and the words “No Reserve” in the eBay listing. This1977 Ford F-350 meets both of those criteria. At the time of writing, bidding has only reached $7,100 in this No Reserve auction. Located in Springtown, Texas, you will find the Ford listed for sale here on eBay.
The appearance of this Ford can only be described as impressive. The original Indio Tan paintwork looks faultless, while the trim and chrome are also as close to perfect as you are likely to find on an unrestored F-350 of this age. The story goes that the original owner purchased the Pickup to tow a camper, but this never happened. The vehicle then went into climate controlled storage, and rarely saw the light of day. It is claimed that the Ford has never seen rain or rough roads, and the condition of the vehicle, including the underside, certainly seems to back this claim. At the bottom of this article, I have included a YouTube video which also provides a pretty good overview of the vehicle.
As with the exterior and the underside of the vehicle, the interior of the F-350 is absolutely spotless. This really is no surprise, as the Ford has only covered 3,234 genuine miles. There isn’t a mark, crack, or blemish to be seen anywhere. The owner claims that the interior even has the “new car” smell. There have been no aftermarket additions made, and while light upholstery and trim can be prone to dirt, marks, or stains, this is basically flawless. This extends right down to the original carpet that has been covered with plastic.
Under the hood is a 400ci V8, which is backed by a manual transmission. The F-350 also features power steering and power brakes. During its entire life, apart from the regular servicing items such as oil and filters, the only non-original component that has been fitted to the Ford is a new battery. Even the tires are original, but given their age, I would probably opt for some new ones if I were to drive the vehicle any reasonable distance. Otherwise, the engine and surrounds look like the vehicle has just rolled off the showroom floor. The owner also says that the F-350 runs and drives perfectly, with no smoke or issues.
There is no doubt that this 1977 F-350 Ranger offers the new owner a rare opportunity, and that is to buy a new F-350 that’s only 42-years-old. It is a bit hard to tell whether the real value of the vehicle lies in its low mileage, or the immaculate and original condition. It would certainly be possible to put some miles on it but to still maintain the immaculate condition and presentation. What do you think? Would this be a vehicle that you’d use, or would it be a man cave ornament?
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Comments
A lot of truck just for pulling a trailer. I would have expected something with lighter suspension for that task
Every one does understand this is a Camper Special, extended wheel base model, designed to haul a slide in unit , all be it a very nice one ?
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In the late 70’s, I worked for a auto paint and supply store, and I drove a truck similar to this, F150, 302, automatic, same color, was a very nice truck. I think this truck was the best one before emission laws finally caught up with pickups. No question on the mileage, again, who orders one of the heaviest duty pickups you could get at the time, and never uses it? Quite a find.
I have the same truck with just 51000 miles I am the 2nd owner My truck has just about every option that was available
If the price remains reasonable, this could be a great buy! As long as you don’t live in the rust belt, this could be a great heavy duty daily driver. Expect to replace anything rubber, but once done you would have an affordable new beast! Excellent find!
Great find for a Ford collector, but in the
real world not so much. What you have here is a true museum piece that the
average owner would be absolutely
paranoid about driving. A friend of Dad’s
bought a low mileage ’51 Lincoln ragtop
with less than 10K showing. That poor
fellow was so afraid to drive it that he wound up selling the car just to get his
peace of mind back! Nice truck but not
for me.
I don’t know, that L horn looks like it needs a repaint….
right front wing / fender looks a bit off colour to me,
Spoken like a true Brit! :-)
Sadly many f series pickups of tha vintage did have miscolored hood and fenders right when new. During assembly, the hood and fenders were painted separately from the cab and it was common to see those parts slightly off color. My dad bought a new 76 F250 Supercab Camper Special in Medium Green Glow Metallic and it had miscolored hood and fenders from the day it came from the factory. Wish I had room for this pickup.
About 20 years ago I was going down my alley & I saw a garage door open @ a house where the 103 year old lady that owned it recently passed. I stopped to see who was in the garage. Turned out to be nephew, the executor of her estate. What really drew my attention was the car in the garage. I never knew the lady had a car. Keep in mind, I lived on this block all my life. I knew the lady well. Anyhow, there was a 1970 Dodge Polara sedan in the garage with about 3 inches of dust on it. I couldn’t even tell what color it was. I asked the nephew about the car. He explained it belonged to his uncle who passed away in 1971. We opened the door & the odometer reflected 8,000 miles (give or take, it was 20 years ago lol). I ended up buying the car. I had it flatbedded to a repair shop. They eventually got the car running for me, replaced the tires, some gaskets & hoses, and got it so it would be safe and reliable. I drove it that summer & fall, put about 5,000 miles on it as a daily driver, and sold it, losing some money in the process. I wrote it up to the cost of transportation. I see absolutely no reason not to daily drive this truck, as long as you have a need for something this heavy duty & you don’t drive it in salty conditions.
As far as the slight mismatch in color, my grandparents (who also lived on this block & I saw daily while growing up) bought brand new in 1982 a Ford LTD sedan. From day one there was a slight mismatch in paint on the left front fender. It got drastically worse as the years went by. At one point about 1990 Gramps & I were @ a dealership for some maintenance. We told the service manager about it, and he noticed it too. He said that something might have happened during transit where there was repaired damage, something could have happened on the selling dealers lot, or that he recalled during that era cars would come from the factory with repairs. A defective part might have been instaled & not pass inspection later, some other issue on the assembly line, whatever. He said it was not rare for a new Ford from that era to be delivered new with a mismatched body panel. As long as the paint was the same shade, the factory would approve it as long as it was the same color, even from a different batch. I’m not saying something didn’t happen, just that it might have happened while still on the mso.
So with this truck having the extended wheelbase, is the bed longer than the standard 8ft? Never heard of extended wheelbase. Only the extended cab version.
Tommy T, still an 8 ft bed but with special sides to accommodate the stretched wheelbase. I don’t think very many people notice the difference between this and a regular pickup,hence my original comment.
Thanks for the info.
I was going to ask about the bed length. Between the cab and wheel well looked long. I have a 1970 with a 9 ft. bed.
How many had the spare mounted there?
I’ve seen a tool box there but never a spare.
This feature wasn’t available on the 67-72 trucks so you wouldn’t see it on your 1970 – only the toolbox that you mention.
This is a Super Camper special (that’s what the badges on the side say).
I looked into these years ago,when they were cheap trucks.Don’t think that I’ve
ever seen one with a 4 speed.The panel on the front
right hand side of the bed hides the spare tire.
This would make a great tow vehicle,or camper hauler.Of course,with the
400 ci engine,you’ll be using a fair amount of gas.
you bring up a interesting point! I always thought putting the spare tire there was a good idea! I know why on this truck tire size! but this is a better place than under the box at the rear! gets dirty, rim rusts, when you need it half the time you cant get it out of there! all the trucks I’ve owned [7] the first thing when new the tire came out of there and I made a bracket to stand it up in the box!
I’m always amazed that Ford tooled up a special bed, longer wheelbase, etc., for these. I can’t imagine that sales volumes justified the extra expense but who knows. I’m with @angliagt – I can’t recall every seeing one of these with a 4 speed in it. Most had 460s and autos. A ’77 Ford pickup (Supercab) with a 4 speed was our ‘family car’ from ’77 to ’93.
I am not really a Ford guy and never cared much for the 400 ci ford engine but with that said this is truly an incredibly nice old truck, I would drive a Ford if it we’re this one!
I am a Ford guy myself, and this is rediculous money for what it is! JMHO.
Very nice truck. I had a 77 F150 with the 400cid. Horrible on fuel and no power. I put a dual exhaust conversion on it, and it got worse. It was one of the nicest driving trucks I have owned. Unfortunately I had to sell it, as my budget could not afford the 10 to 12 mpg unloaded.
These trucks get the same mileage,weather
loaded or unloaded.10 to 12 isn’t that bad,as most
V* pickups get about that.
Ford offered a custom built camper for this model, the Ford American Road Camper. It was introduced in 1973 and was built by Starcraft. It was a one piece fiberglass beauty!
Qabbott,didn’t know about the american road camper, will try to find a picture somewhere . Iv’e had a couple 400’s, have to agree with all previous comments, not one of fords “Better Ideas”
americanroadcamper.com
The truck on that website sure looks better than
this on in it’s Tan color.
Ford also had some kind of a deal with Goldline
campers too.I thought those were really cool.My Uncle
had one on his ’68 (?) F250.
If I needed a truck, or had another space to park it, I would bring this baby home. Best of luck to the lucky new owner.
This is a solid old Ford for sure, but they have already pushed it up over 15g? Some people are so naive. I don’t see that kind of money in it at all. People bidding because they want and throwing rationale out the window. I buy for profit, no profit on this one at all.
I had one Just like this in the dark jade color. Hauled an 11 1/2 ft. Open Road camper in the back. The 400 wasn’t fast, but was a stump puller. I hauled that camper, and a 16’ boat behind it over the PA mountains many times and had no issues. It was the last year without the catalytic converter, that was a plus. I was seriously thinking about making a run for this one until I looked at the current bid. That’s about 3x what I paid for mine brand new!
Nice truck. Clean, low mileage examples of collectible vehicles — which now includes trucks of many flavors — bring the big bucks. I wouldn’t call it “naive”, I’d call it — the current market.
Excellent observation, Bob_in_TN. This truck is a good value at the current ~$16,500 price.
KS got it – these are rare and not to common- the stretch wheel base…as fifth wheel trailers came into vogue these were aimed to move those…..pretty sure it should still have the 16.5 wheels instead of the later 16″‘s it’s wear’n….
Beautiful looking truck. I’ve always loved the 1976 and 1977 Ford F250 and F350 pickup truck.
Fun fact – the 400 has the longest stroke of any Ford V8 ever made. Our 77 came with the 351M, which made it until about 75-80k before it burned a valve. It was replaced with a 400 which definitely had more torque. Unfortunately it was a crummy rebuild that used a quart of oil every 300 miles. Our mechanic strung my dad along until it was out of the warranty period.
How about the 4.17 inch stroke of the 5.4 Triton V8.
Let me clarify – longest stroke of any Ford PUSHROD V8 engine. Thanks for keeping me precise, Marty!
Wow, amazing truck.
I bought a brand new 1974 E-300 Ford van in January ’75, I think it was actually a ’75 which Ford banged some out before the new style went into production, it cost me $3600 with heavy-duty-everything, and it was this same color. I always called it Thousand Island Dressing.
Was going to post a photo of it but for some reason the ‘attach a photo’ is missing from this one.