This truck was more of a rescue than a barn find. It was purchased from the estate of the previous owner. The previous owner had owned the truck for many years and performed a ton off work on it. I don't know a lot about the history, but it was a 2 owner truck originally purchased in Sandy Oregon. The truck remained there until I purchased it in 2024. When it was titled it (in Oregon), it had not been registered since 2013. It's likely it wasn't driven and maybe not run much at all.
Once I was able to acquire the truck, it needed the float replaced in the Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetor. I then replaced all of the fluids, changed the filters and had the gas tank cleaned. The truck had both a compression check and leak down test performed. The car shop owner scoped the cylinders, and his opinion was the motor has very few miles on it and may have not been completely broken in based on the visual cross hatching on the cylinder walls. His recommendation was the engine needed to have some miles put on it, so fill it up with premium and drive it. Neither the compression check nor leak down tests were perfect but clearly there are no issues.
As you can tell by the pictures, it has gone through a significant amount of restoration. I can only tell by all the things I see, not by any records. The first is the obvious rebuild and modifications to the engine. It appears to be the 360/390 engine class with that 4 barrel Edelbrock and exhaust headers. You can see there were a number of chrome parts installed.
The VIN indicates the truck came with a manual transmission and it now an automatic. Based on all of the other modifications, I'm confident the previous owner installed a rebuilt 3 speed transmission on the truck. I'll try to go back and look at how to identify the axles. You can tell by how clean everything is underneath, that someone spent time on everything around the frame. There is Rancho shocks on the suspension.
As you can see, the truck has been repainted to its original color. However, there are areas of imperfections. There is clearcoat peeling on top of the cab and a few spots where the paint is either starting to peel or has peeled. It looks great from 10 feet, but taking a detailed look, the quality of the paint job and likeliness the truck sat outside shows some blemishes. The trim and front grill have been replaced along with the chrome around the wheel wells. The chrome wheels are a really nice touch.
The interior has had some work done, but most seems original. The seat was swapped and not sure where it came from. I couldn't' find a similar Ford seat in that era.
The best part is the way it runs and drives. The automatic choke allows the motor to start right up. Just a push on the pedal, turn the key and it start immediately. As you would expect, its good to let it warm up because its cold blooded. Once it gets to operating temperature, it runs smooth. The dual exhaust sounds awesome from the outside of the truck and its pretty quiet on the inside of the cab. Every person that understands classic cars smiles when they hear the truck run. I just can't believe how smooth it operates. Especially when you consider its a 1973 4WD.
The odometer is between 99000 and 100000. The mileage will continue until its sold. I don't drive it a lot, but I start it multiple times a week.
There are some things that need some attention. However, none of the things keep anyone from driving it around drawing attention.
The swivel on both mirrors are sloppy and tend to start to fold back above 60 MPH. There is no rear view mirror. The speedometer is 10 MPH off (shows slower than actual speed). The gas tank leaks when its full and the gas gauge always show around 3/4 tank when the truck is running. The read bumper is bent on the passenger side. The headlights only work when high beam is on, but there are auxiliary driving lights.
But, guess what? I have new mirrors, some window trim, new gas tank and a shiny new chrome rear bumper. Don't expect to low ball an offer and get any of these things
There is an expectation the truck will get attention from outside of the Sacramento area. I am more than willing to work with validated buyers to complete the purchase. That includes arranging for your choice of someone to inspect it and arrangements for shipping.
As always, I will not reply to "Is it still available" type queries. I will be open to working with local classic car dealers if it doesn't sell in October.