2,800 Miles! Amazing 1970 Ford F-100
We at Barn Finds love to see a well-preserved example of vintage tin, and this F-100 fits that bill with an astonishing 2,800 original miles! It’s up for sale right now, here on eBay in Phoenix, Arizona. Let’s check it out!
Throughout its storied history, the Ford F-Series has been through thirteen generations since its 1948 introduction to the world. If you’re reading this far, we figure that you’re a Blue Oval fan and don’t need a history lesson about them. We will say, though, that as of 2018, 40 million have been sold, in many different variations and special models, around the world. That’s a lot more than the original VW Beetle, but not quite as many as the Toyota Corolla. It’s so popular with the public and profitable for Ford, that they’ve discontinued some of their car lines just to focus on what’s selling.
Let’s check this one out! We’re given an excellent set of pictures, however we would like to see the undercarriage. At first glance, it looks really clean – upon closer inspection, it’s really clean. The kind of clean that you might be okay with eating food off of the body panels. Not that you would, what with that super-smooth original finish, but you get what we mean.
The seller tells us that it’s been in only one family since new, and has been off the road in storage since 1974. We’re told that it has everything with which it came from the factory, and it all functions just fine- the lights, the AM radio, the 302 V8 with column-shifted 3-speed gearbox, even the tires! The only flaws that we can see are under the hood, in the door jamb, and inside the unprotected short bed, but we can overlook them for the moment.
I’ll admit that I’m not much of a Ford guy, but if I could get my hands on an F-Series truck of this era in this condition, I’d have it in a heartbeat. My personal connection to these trucks is that my younger brother had a light-green-metallic rustbucket long-bed 1970 when he was in high school, and I enjoyed tooling around town in it now and then, whenever I was home on Leave from Uncle Sam. All that said, what do YOU think? Would YOU like to have one of these? Got a story about one? Let me know in the comments!
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Comments
I sure like this one. The vendor is a bit optimistic though IMHO. However, if I did end up with it there would quickly be a lot more miles than 2500. The 302 was a good mover but I always preferred an FE. But I would keep what’s there…
This picture is for you and Howard.
Shades of “Mad Max”….!
LOL! thanks for thinking about us; this is a classy truck. I look at this and think: The overhead adjustment is going to be a nightmare. Setting the racks would drive a man to drink. BURP!!! I see it’s got zoomies and a stack behind the cab. That’s kind of like using suspenders and a belt, isn’t it? I can imagine what it’s like driving it. Some putt-putt jockey with a 2-liter engine and 4-liter exhaust trying to cut you off. Inhale him through those owl eyes and spit him out those pipes…
How did we get here, Gregg? More MUST be better. It appears to be a V24 cylinder Allison aircraft motor with 8 superchargers. The truck looks it was a 359 Pete, the fuel tank,got to be 500 gallons,( with another one on the other side?) would be needed to propel this abomination 100 miles. One thing for sure, this will get your heavy load up over the hill and at night, 24 flames out the pipes, mighty impressive..
I should have gotten more info, I ran on to it on the internet by chance. Think it was called “Thor” ? Two V12 engines. Supposedly just sold for a ton of dough. Gallons per mile???? In any event, I’ll bet you boys could drive this “Rig” Thanks again for all your insight and education on all things Truck! I’ll check my browsing history for more specifics.
302 is a lot lighter, so unless you go with at least a 390 FE this is a better engine.
Again, with 2800 miles, it should have the plastic on the seats, if they came with it. I think this was a clean truck this dealer detailed the heck out of. I mean, 2800 miles in 50 years is like 56 miles per year. Even if 102g’s, is only 2000 miles a year, and could be done. I’ve seen guys that had trucks like this and kept them immaculate. Nice truck, but if this person actually gets this, for this, the world has truly gone mad.
Basically they are asking new truck money for this. It’s probably worth it to somebody. I remember these as beater trucks that we had in high school. I’m curious to know why it was stored in a garage for the last thirty five years…eBay ad doesn’t say.
That’s a serious point of curiosity for all of us, Bakyrdhero- why would someone store away a truck in environmentally controlled conditions?
BTW, if you got a new F150 truck for $40,000 it’d be very lightly optioned….
Or you live in Canada…They ain’t cheap.
Cabin fever set in last Sunday, I went out looking at new vehicles. Saw a great looking 3500 Jimmy 4 by 4. $73K ! I am still shaking my head.
Nevada I was thinking this must have been an estate truck used very lightly. Maybe the owner passed long ago and the truck was stored with perhaps a collection of other cars. Maybe the family is unloading now? Who knows. Good point on the F-150. The last brand new truck I bought was a Toyota Tundra in 2012. I paid $31k for a well optioned base 4×4 dbl cab. I guess my estimates are still stuck in 2012!
Naw, you’re estimates are based on REALITY-the problem is the manufacturers know people will pay ridiculous prices for a truck they’ll rarely or never use as a real truck in addition to their overpriced AWD station wagon,er, I mean CUV/SUV thing..
No, probably a wealthy rancher who decided he would rather buy a pick up to sit in the shed rather than pay taxes. The farm tax diversions were infinite in those days. I had a cousin back in the 70s who went to college on all grants because his Pa who had a huge spread made himself look real poor on paper.
Another cool short wheel base,only thing I can see it needs is a buff and polish in side the bed.I know this would be a bear to accomplish but at least it would be more uniform in appearance.
Ad taken down already. Somebody likely negotiated a purchase.
They took an offer. Nice truck, no wonder it sold so quickly.
Steve R
My dad bought a brand new one, a long bed version of this exact truck. Same color, and the interior brings back a few childhood memories. His had a 360 2 barrel FE with an automatic, which I remember him calling a dog at least a hundred times. Dad covered 2800 miles in a matter of months. Abused the heck out of it as a work truck for four years and traded it for a new ’74 F250 extra cab. That was a long long time ago for me. Trucks back in those days were users and abusers. Stood up well to the abuse too.
Nice for sure. Fram oil filters make me cringe.
Really? And 2 people agree with you? I’ve never had trouble with Fram filters. I used them for 40 years, and on my BC Cummins motors, and never can remember a filter related problem. Granted, I wasn’t driving a top fuel dragster, but for everyday driving, and available at Walmart, I think they are ok.
I used to feel that way too Howard. Bought Fram for years. I guess the proof is in the puddin though, recently at a NAPA parts store I asked if they had Fram and he said no, the company engineers tested and cut them and other brands open and found that the Frams were not filtering the oil, but just let it pass through. He said NAPA chose NOT to carry them for those findings. I think I heard the same thing on this site in the past……….
Hi guys. I figured I’d get in on this filter conversation too. You’d actually find it very interesting to know that companies such as Fram are making more filters for other brands than for itself. I don’t know what it is now but 40 years ago I’d guess that Fram made half the filters in the United States, only they were another color. Today, with all the competition around, a filter company cannot afford to make a bad filter. And if a bad filter is purposely put on the market the lawsuits will sink it deeper than whale doo-doo. I’m not afraid to use a Fram, or a Wix, or a Napa, or whatever is set on the counter. Now, what do I use today? Well, it seems that my flatheads and my ’49 Chevy with replaceable element filters, always end up with Fram, because that’s what the auto supply sells. My regular drivers usually use AC-Delco although sometimes Ford will announce a massive fleet filter special, at which time I use Motorcraft. Then suddenly the independent auto supply store will come up with a special on Fram (which I only got once because the timing was otherwise off). AC-Delco seems to win out the most because they’re just at the right place at the right time. Bottom line: I use good oil, change it regularly, and I always change the filter…
The Napa guy said WIX, AC, and Hastings were the best????? I guess it’s hard to tell………Napa filters ARE made by another company, as you say geo, Now I can’t remember which one he said, was not Fram……mercy, sucks to get old, that was only a month ago……
It’s all contracts, O&O, next year they could be made by Fram. Yes, it sucks getting old. I was at the local drug store and the cashier asked me if I was a senior citizen. I told her: ‘Hell, no! Seniors are OLD people! I’m still a young man; I got this white hair playing with a block heater cord…
Well, guys, it looks like I might have some crow to eat, and that’s always the best when it’s warm. I just got directed over to a video and I sure got a wake-up call. I wonder what the devil Fram is doing these days. I remember cutting open one a few years back and sure didn’t find the crap that this guy found. I wonder if Fram got seduced by some off-shore contractor? That is disgraceful. Watch and enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTNJLEV8CG8&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3SJYmH_dIUfcW5DYVxgeupamoIgyWMga3lav72b3TIa-F7WFB32-mhf4U
I watched the video from geomechs link. Wow. Then I saw this vid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y544o-mw2wc It shows the difference between the different Fram filters. The Ultra is ok.
The plot is getting thicker for sure. This latest video is closer to what I saw when I ripped a filter apart. I still have a bit of a problem with the paper/cardboard ends. I guess if you want the extra protection you need to be willing to pay more…
Okay, @ 2:49 in the 1st video, it doesn’t actually show you him opening them up, and in geo’s, he shows cutting one, but the others are already cut. And it sounds so convincing, with his quick talking and digital scale, and all. I call baloney, and I’m going to keep using them. A quick note on oil, and derailing this about as far as we should go, but I tried Castrol “High Mileage” in the old Jimmy, smoked like a chimney, and sucked it down, so I went with Walmart oil, lo and behold, smoking stopped. No oil consumption. I read, Walmart oil is the #1 selling oil in America. It’s unused Quaker State repackaged by a firm call Warren Packaging, and works better than any of the high priced brands.
Can’t sleep again, Howard? Really, you’re going to need to wean yourself off the ‘boat gas’ and stick to decaf.
Oh, and the oil itself. I remember conversations/debates over what oil to use, how often it should be changed, how much oil consumption before you should look at doing anything major. Well, don’t ask a mechanic about that.
People asked me how much oil should an engine burn before you do anything about it. My answer: “When a blue cloud follows you everywhere and when you drive down to Great Falls (125 miles) you have to add oil before you can drive home.”
What oil should I be using? “The kind that’s slippery.” Yes, I can be a bit of a smartass. That’s a debate that will never be resolved. For the record: I used Humble/Exxon products for most of my life; that was my choice. There might have been stuff that was better but I chose that, and besides, ‘Slippery,’ the agent, was a friend of the family. I changed oil every 2500 miles, greased every 5000, rotated tires every 10,000, changed transmission and diffs every 50,000, and so on and so forth ad nauseum. During the 70s the API came out with the specification SE-CC, and all was well. Then some hero decided to change the spec (I think they lowered the zinc–even back then) to SE-CD, and we had an epidemic of camshaft failures. They soon changed the spec to SF (brought back the zinc) and camshaft failures stopped. In the meantime, people who used oil from Wards, Sears, and Wally World had no problems. I have two theories: 1/ They had an overstock of oil with the old spec. 2/ They decided to continue with the spec they were using because there were no problems. Anyways, the debate over which oil is better/which one to use will continue until we’re all long since pushing up daisies…
You can adjust the odometer on these trucks with a pair of pliers. Just saying.
Thank you. People trust odometers today like they are the Gospel, but mechanical odometers have been “adjusted” since used cars began, and I get a chuckle how some people fall into that. Apparently, P.T. Barnum was right.
Good point, Howard. Odometers can fail and be replaced. Way back when, I remember a local guy who bought and sold used cars on the side. On some really clean cars with high mileage he would disconnect the speedometer cable, hook the cable to a drill and let it run for a few hours to turn back the miles. Or he would just replace the instrument cluster. The only true indication of actual miles is documentation. A well-trained eye can spot a fake low-mileage claim but that’s a skill not every buyer possesses.
I’d love to have this beautiful F100, it’s almost identical to a ’72 I once had; same engine/trans and similarly equipped. It was my every day driver for a few years; tough, dependable, useful and reasonable on fuel with the 302. I’ve just restored a ’95 F150 XLT that I’ve owned since 1999. A short box 2WD with a 302 5-speed stick but unlike my old F100, it’s well optioned. I’d give up those options to have another F100 like I used to have, I really liked that old Ford.
I rebuilt my own instrument clusters and have done some for outside parties. Pre-electronic odometers are nothing to roll ahead or back. Just pull the drum out and have at ‘er. I usually return them with 99999.9 so when they put them back into service they immediately roll out zeros. I have had some people request that I return them with the exact number sequence in which I received. Working as a mechanic I voided a couple of warranties because of people tampering with them. One of those was a relative who I don’t think has spoken to me for, HELL, 39 years now. It gave me great pleasure to rain on his parade anyway. Hooking an electric drill onto the speedo cable does roll it back but it’s slow and it might eat up a drill or two. There was a guy out west of Great Falls who ended up with a major fire trying to roll the odometer back that way. Myself, I’m very particular about the odometer and that it works. But that’s so I can properly do periodic maintenance. I really don’t care how many miles are on it otherwise. JMHO.
The Howard/Geomech debate on oil is an eye opener!!! Today’s cars mostly run 5W-30 instead of the 10W-40 we all grew up with!! The synthetic oils are recommended for most new cars too!!! My daily driver is a 99 ford diesel with the 7.3 liter motor!! I’ve changed the oil since I bought it new in 98!! I’ve changed the oil every 10,000 miles and she’s got 330,000 miles on her now!!! I have a 2000 UD box truck for service and we went to change the oil the other day and half the amount came out!!! I’ve used Rotella T in both trucks since new!! The UD has 70,000 miles on it!! Low and behold the oil had made its way into the radiator!!! It’s a Nissan straight 6 turbo diesel and it was running great!!! I really don’t know if I should try to change the head gasket or just see if I should source a short block!!! What do you guys think???? I’d like to have my service truck back!! I have everything in that 16 foot box and the other trucks just don’t cut the mustard!!!
Oh, I wouldn’t really call it a debate, Tim. There as many proven theories as to what oil to run and how long you should run it as there are makes and grades of oil. I used to tell my customers to use good oil in the specified class and change it regularly. I know lots of guys who go 10,000 miles on their diesels and have no problems, although I might tend to change mine a little more often. I might add that a 350 Olds diesel oil and filter needed to be changed often, like around 2000 miles. I had plenty of customers that opened the hood, saw the sticker on the batteries that read: MAINTENANCE FREE, and thought that applied to the entire vehicle. For the most part, I just told people: ‘If it works for YOU, do it. Because if you follow my advice to the letter, and your engine blows up, then it might be construed as my fault. And you won’t want to have coffee with me…’
Your UD and the oil getting into the coolant: I’m not familiar with the engine, however, if it’s running a typical Jacket Water oil cooler, that is the first place I’d look. Engine oil pressure is typically higher than coolant pressure so oil will always go that direction. Head gasket is another idea. A lot of engines lube their valve trains via a passage from the oil gallery, up through the block, head (gasket) and on. I wouldn’t get too panicky about changing out the engine just yet; the Rising Sun is typically thin with its castings but consistent with a block’s (and head’s) integrity. When you do find out where the oil is getting in, use straight water and dishwashing detergent to flush the cooling system out…
Sold, almost 40K!
Thank you geomechs!!!! It’s a standard transmission so there is no transmission cooler in the radiator!!! I’m going to flush the water system and change the oil and monitor it closely!! Hope it works!!! It’s a COE so kind of a pain to get to being there’s always stuff in the cab!!!
I had a 70 250 that was probably the best truck i ever had man could it take a beating. Only reason i got rid of it was because my ex wife was pregnant and we needed a car kick my self for that one should have kept the truck and traded the wife
geomechs:
I wish I lived up your way ( maybe some day)………….I’d let you work on my stuff any day of the week, while HoA leaned over the other fender jawing at you :)
Thank you so much for the vote of confidence, MtnW! I don’t know how much we’d actually get done, other than sharing a lot of stories. It might take a couple of days just to get an engine out of a truck. I think about this all the time and wonder what it would be like if the bunch of us were closer together. Go for coffee every Friday morning and share in the camaraderie that only a bunch of over-the-hill gearheads could appreciate. It would be quite a trip if the bunch of us showed up together at an event like the Lambrecht auction a few years back. The town would never be the same again. Anyhow, have yourself a great Black Friday (hope your Thanksgiving was good) and take care…
Thank you Sir and back at you and all the BF bruderhood
I’m 78 years old and always changed my own oil until the last two times, when health problems and the trouble of getting rid of the old oil made me decide to start having it done. I used Fram filters almost exclusively and my engines always held up fine even though I usually went over the recommended time and mileage. I watched the video linked above and I think it was contrived to make the Fram look like junk. The one they said was the Fram was just too far different and trashy for me to believe it was really the Fram. I’ve never cut one open but I saw a Fram that came out of one of my son’s race car engines cut open and it was as sturdy and as well made as any of the ones in the video that were claimed to be the best. IMO, the video was not believable.
You know, I’ve often wondered if that was set up myself. But sometimes these companies will try to slide something past. I’ve always maintained that the competition between the manufacturers is too intense for anyone to slack off. But, until I check this out myself (and I will), I’m going to have to remain suspicious…
Looks nice but I don’t believe it either!!! Who buys a truck and only puts 2800 miles on it in 50 years??? These were work trucks not the cowboy Cadillac’s that we see today!!!! There are some pretty amazing detailers out there these days and I’m sure if it was taken care of it could have easily been cleaned!! I’ve always changed my oil in any gas vehicle at every 5000 miles!! Does this truck still have its original oil and oil filter on it???
Nice! Appears to be an original survivor. Found link to more pics of this beauty.
https://arizonamuscle.com/project/1970-ford-f100/
really nice truck my dad used to have one when he was in school it was supposed to be mine but when his dad died lawyers got involved now its a pit of rust by I’ve been looking for a F100 to surprise him one day
TimM,
Sir, oil in coolant, oil cooler. Coolant in exhaust, egr cooler. These days head gasket is no longer the weak spot. Just my experience with new diesels.