In this episode of “Dude, I Love/Hate My Ride @Home” edition, we focus on classic Ford trucks. It’s a testament to the reliability of the these trucks when new, as well as the gumption of their owners to treat them right and keep them running. Let’s get started:
1995 Ford Bronco
Jordan from Alabama sent in this beauty. After sitting under a tree for eight years, he got it up and running with a rebuild of the 5.8-liter V8 and after rewiring the whole shebang. He added 33-inch tires on a 15-inch rims to give the truck a nice fat sidewall look. Brand new, this Bronco was a fully-optioned luxury variant with leather seats. Obviously the paint and chrome are in great condition. The interior is as well, except for the front seat bottoms that have rotted away. Jordan’s only complaint: the manual locking front hubs.
Currently, the truck serves as his daily driver and as he says, “It’s geared to just cruise all day.” Bonus: See if you can tell what other classic Ford trucks Jordan has parked in the background of his video.
1948 Ford F-1
David sent in a video of his $1,600 barn find, this F-1, which he got up and running in roughly 30 minutes. Amazing considering that the truck had been parked for 15-20 years. He was able to get an approximate date on the rubber as well. They were new in 1968, and they’re still holding air. The 100-hp flathead V8 runs like a champ and is reliable enough that David uses this truck as a daily driver with only a couple of mods: aux gauges under the dash and a dual straight pipe exhaust. The Ford’s heavy-duty suspension still serves him on summer nights when he hauls his jet skis or boat to the lake, or in the winter when he uses the truck to move his snowmobiles around.
His only complaints: The rusted out front fenders and the ripped up seat. Bonus: Check out the cherry, mid-’60s Pontiac GTO parked in David’s garage.
1978 Ford Bronco
From Michigan comes this unbelievable find: a pristine ’78 Bronco with a 351 V8. Mark and his father found it about four years ago and are only the third owners. Somehow, despite its former use as a plow truck and surviving all those hard Michigan winters, the body and the interior are in mint condition. The only modifications they made were to upgrade the rims and tires to something more off-road worthy. Otherwise everything else is stock. Once you see the interior in the video you’ll wonder how something that old could keep this well.
