1960-1972 ford trucks- thoughts?

delco1946

delco1946

Senior Member
I have been seriously looking to buy an old truck, 60/70s vintage to help with house projects/carrying soil, wood, trash runs etc. I love GMs exterior but dislike their interiors and love the interiors of 67-72 fords fxxx. That dash! :D So focusing mostly on fords (or a 1984 S10 extended 4x4 - which i grew up with :) ).

I don't really want a unibody truck. I also have noticed that 67-72s are almost exclusively v8s , which for a potential daily driver is over kill. Whats their gas mileage? Ive been looking at older too, as 60-67s are more likely to be a v6 (just right!), and i would assume get better gas MPG. of course the older I go, i fear the less of a daily driver the truck becomes. Thoughts? anyone know MPGs? Have a favorite or recommendation? Any options/years models to avoid?

-Christopher
 
I dont know exactly when the 360 engines were in the pickups BUT I would not recommend that engine due to terrible gas mileage.


Oldmics
 
I would consider finding a 73 up to 79 style. Later of those years needs to be F150 or bigger to avoid cat converters. They have a better ride and more parts available. Done lots of miles in the mid 60's ones, nothing wrong and have more metal in them but some parts for the body are hard to find now. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/. Scroll down to classic section.
 
delco1946 said:
. . .
I also have noticed that 67-72s are almost exclusively v8s , which for a potential daily driver is over kill. Whats their gas mileage? Ive been looking at older too, as 60-67s are more likely to be a v6 (just right!), and i would assume get better gas MPG. of course the older I go, i fear the less of a daily driver the truck becomes. Thoughts? anyone know MPGs? Have a favorite or recommendation? Any options/years models to avoid?

-Christopher
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Here's a couple links to the various specs for the years you're asking about.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_F-Series_(fourth_generation)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_F-Series_(fifth_generation)

I'll second Oldmics opinion of the 360. A buddy had one in a (late 60's ?) F-250 Camper Special. It was slow and a gas hog to boot, he swapped it for a 390 and was much happier.

I've owned two Ford trucks, both were used '78-ish E series vans (the '91 minivan doesn't count) one had a 2bbl 351 w/ automatic and the other had a 300 (4.9L) straight six with a stickshift & OD, which surprised me at the time. Emission equipment wasn't required here back then and what remained was removed.

My faded memory hasn't retained any real info about fuel mileage but the 300 I6 seemed a bit better and possibly as much as 20 mpg on the hiway (no cargo). I do remember it had enough torque to climb a wall. Trailer towing or hauling a load was a piece of cake.

.
 
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374242

Here are some pictures of Ford F100's from 1961 to 1972 identifying each model. They are good looking trucks.
 
I was never a fan of the Twin-I-Beam suspension in the mid 60's and up trucks. I always had odd wear on one side of each tire. I never could find a shop to fix it.
Later 70's trucks are full of emissions crap with hoses that look like someone dropped a bowl of spaghetti on the engine.
 
I had a '64 F100 pickup with long bed. It had a 292 Y-block V8 and 3-on-the-tree. Heck of a tough truck, but by the time I got it the engine smoked pretty bad. I used it for heavy hauling. Never had any trouble out of it. I got rid of it in 1979 after I had finished re-building my house.
I had a '86 F150 with 300 I-block 6, automatic, 1bbl carb and long bed that I bought new. My Dad had it for many years after that, then he gave it to my baby brother who also used it for many more years. Just sold it for scrap a couple years ago. It was a great truck while I had it.
I bought a 2007 F150 white worktruck, 4.2 litre V6 engine with electronic fuel injection, long bed brand new which I still own but run very rarely. Good looking truck, but I don't like the fuel delivery system.
 
I wish I had never sold my 86 f150. I bought it new with the I6 long bed manual 4 speed w OD and air. It was a great truck. Sold it to a friend in 2001 but haven't seen it in years.
 
I had a '65 Custom Cab Ford, 1/2 ton, long wide bed. About 10 years old when I got it. A 6 cylinder, 3 on the tree. A great combination- easy to maintain and will go forever. My last truck, a '01 Silverado was the same- a 4.3 V6, auto and air. Long wide bed. Another great combination that will go forever. The Chevy can probably be bought much cheaper than that earlier era Ford in decent condition.
 
This is all great info. I'll start to focus on I6s i think. If all V8s get less than 14 mpg, i might go crazy. I drive my crown vic a lot (292) and i have to admit, stopping at the gas station every other day gets old.....fast.
 
In my opinion, (and I've had a few pickups), the Ford 300 I-6 is a very good
engine. They had gobs of torque, better on gas than most pickup engines,
and were easier to tune up and/or work on than most engines. ;););)





.
 
Lanny said:
. . . the Ford 300 I-6 is . easier to . work on than most engines. ;););)
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They must be.
I'd never seen one before and the van came to me with the head laying across the passenger seat.
The rest of the parts were tossed in back. It was running & driveable before the end of the week.
Not sure how that happened.

.
 
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The 300 came along in the mid 60s and was basically a 240 with a longer stroke. The heavy duty truck versions manufactured later even have forged crank & rods. I can't say enough about this being the best 6-cylinder that Ford ever made. The later versions up into the 90s had fuel injection and get very good mileage for a full size pickup. I wouldn't hesitate to run one of these for mileage with excellent torque. For brute power the 390FE is hard to beat but the 300 6-cylinder will still be driving on down the road after the 390 stops for a gas break.

My brother had a 1968 F-100 with a 302 V8 and it wasn't bad on mileage but it only produced the torque at the higher rpms compared to the 300-6. Overall, it was a decent truck though. With a 2V 2100 carb it might keep a person from using too much gas.
 
wbedwards said:
I wish I had never sold my 86 f150. I bought it new with the I6 long bed manual 4 speed w OD and air. It was a great truck. Sold it to a friend in 2001 but haven't seen it in years.
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I had an 85 that was bought new with same combo but no A/C. It was a basic truck with only p/s,, side mirrors and step bumper. It was a special deal at $6995. The dealer had several on the lot in the same combo, just pick your color. I picked a silver one with a blue interior. It was a nice looking truck but not very tough. I went through two clutches by 60K miles. The clutch was two small. After upgrading to the larger clutch it was OK. The flywheel had the holes in it for the larger diameter clutch. The other issue was the transmission. It wasn't very strong either. It started making bearing noises at just over 80K. The shifter lever also sheared off near the base sometime later. The clutch and slave were cheap plastic and didn't last much longer either. The tailgate had stress cracks after a few years and by the time 5 years had passed, I had a very hard time closing it.
I always had issues with the manifold to head bolts coming loose. Even loctite didn't help. The engine developed some odd rattling noises that occurred when starting and if you revved the engine when cold. It sounded fine once it warmed up.
I ended up giving it to my dad and he changed it over to an automatic after the transmission and clutch master/slave gave him issues. He drove it until about 1993 when he bought a new F150 extra cab, also with the 300 but with an automatic. He had issues with it but never really told me anything specific. The 85 sat until he gave it away for a tax write off.
 
I can tell you what mileage a '71 F250 with 390 motor got. Bought it new, and had it for six years.

Around town...9 mpg
highway empty...9 mpg
highway loaded with 11' camper...9 mpg.
highway with camper towing '71 International Scout...9 mpg.

It was dyno tuned by Performance Associates. It would carry any load I could get in it, tow anything I tried, but the mileage was always the same, before and after the tune.

I loved that truck. A growing family caused a change to a 77 Buick station wagon, and a travel trailer. Sold it to my BIL. After years, he sold it to his nephew.
 
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In the 60's and 70's Ford did not build a V6 powered pickup. 300 inline six and a few 302 V8's but mostly 292's thru 1964, 352's from '65 thru '67, 360's from '68 thru '76, a handful of 390's from '69 thru '76 and from '77 thru '79, the M series and 460's. If you want gas mileage half ways close to todays pickups, it won't happen with any of these. Back then gas was cheap and most people didn't care because most buyers of the time bought them to actually use as a small truck, not a daily family car type driver. Most of these had at a truck type 4 speed, no overdrive and a 3.50 ratio rear end. They were purpose built vehicles and gas mileage wasn't part of the equation
 
The 300 I6 (4.9L) actually has more torque than a 302 V8, and it peaks at a lower RPM. So it actually feels more peppy in stop and go type city traffic.


Sal
 
scicala said:
The 300 I6 (4.9L) actually has more torque than a 302 V8, and it peaks at a lower RPM. So it actually feels more peppy in stop and go type city traffic.


Sal
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Yes it was peppy in stop and go traffic but it didn't really have much passing power at higher speeds. I have a 94 F150 4X4 with a 302 and 5 speed I bought used. That truck has passing power. It's an OK truck but not great. I only bought it because I needed a 4X4 and the similar GM's I searched for were at least two thousand more in price. I would have spent the extra money if I knew what I know now.
 
Grumpy Rick said:
I can tell you what mileage a '71 F250 with 390 motor got. Bought it new, and had it for six years.

Around town...9 mpg
highway empty...9 mpg
highway loaded with 11' camper...9 mpg.
highway with camper towing '71 International Scout...9 mpg.

Oh dang, i didn't think it would be that bad :(....i might have to look at s10s and toyotas. Then. As i recall my old s10 got closer to 20mpg (with 4x4).
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