My dad is a big-time outdoorsman. He has explored more terrain in the Rocky Mountains than I’ll ever see in my lifetime; fishing, hunting, and camping are a few of his favorite things. And for many of those types of adventures over the years, his trusty sidekick has almost always been a Ford truck. His on-road car in the 1970s was a 1968 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova.
I’ve followed in Dad’s footsteps as far as truck ownership goes, since I picked up my 1994 F-250 a couple years ago. I’ve logged about 5,000 miles, and I’m loving everything about it except the gas mileage.
When I was just a wee lad (see me with the bike in the above pic?), Dad had a silver 1979 F-150 4×4 with a long list of upgrades. I must have been only a few years old at the time, so that means the truck was relatively new, too. I’m guessing the photos accompanying this story were taken in about 1985.
Look at that immaculate suspension (that’s me on the left). Dad’s truck came from the final year of the sixth-generation “Dentside” F-Series (1973-79). Ford pickups from this era were known for being strong workhorses, featuring tough ladder frames and available V-8 powertrains.
By the late 1970s, Ford trucks were already on a roll from a sales perspective. One magazine advertisement said, “Tough Ford Pickups: America’s No. 1 Sellers.” It went on to say, “Ford pickups are built tough. With tough Twin-I-Beam front suspension, an all-welded cab, extensive rust protection, and a double-wall box on every Styleside. And they’re tested tough at Ford’s Arizona Proving Ground over miles of truck-jarring bumps, chuckholes, and salt sprays.”
Dad’s truck was beefed up with a modified suspension and oversized tires. Period-correct updates included mesh-style headlight guards, bug deflector, and red pinstriping. If you look closely at the back window, you can see a gun rack mounted there. Again, a reflection of Dad’s outdoorsy hobbies. Although, based on how clean the undercarriage of the truck looked, it appears as if it rarely left the road. Under the hood was a 351ci Cleveland V-8, a mid-range choice considering the base engine was a 300ci inline-six and the largest was a 460ci V-8.
Look, even Mom got in on the photoshoot action. Hubba hubba!
It’s clear that automotive enthusiasm runs in my family. I sure wish Dad had hung onto that old F-Series. Unfortunately, I didn’t acquire his skillset with regard to being a fisherman, either.
