Daily Driven 1976 Ford F100 Bicentennial Edition 1 of 2,237 Ford's gift to America for turning 200!

This is a rare truck. Never heard of the bicentennial edition Ford F100, F250 or even the F350? Well, like most people these trucks were few and far between and only were only sold for a short duration of the 1976 year. 1976 had pop culture going nuts for anything patriotic. This bicentennial edition is proof of that. Enjoy a little history as we scope out Ford's gift for America's 200th birthday.
1976 was a landmark year when it came to the creation of things that would be sold to hipsters decades later in antique stores at Sotheby's prices -- everything from John Deere foam hats to musical concert T-shirts that were too tight around the midriff for their own good. Gerald Ford was in office, and our nation, still smarting from the oil crisis, was celebrating its 200th birthday in grand style.
For automakers, this meant putting the stars and stripes on just about everything. And since it was 1976 outside, this often meant gas crisis specials like the Chevy Vega, which was grandly advertised as the Spirit of America Edition, while International Harvester offered patriotic buyers the Scout-Spirit of '76.
Every domestic marque (lawnmower manufacturers included) got on the bicentennial train, with the exception of nameplates that considered themselves too upmarket to feature red, white and blue stripes. This didn't apply to more entry-level cars like the Chevrolet Nova that tried to be trendy, and ever-opportunistic American Motors Corporation also squeezed everything it could out bicentennial fever.
Ford took a more measured approach to special editions, perhaps sensing that consumers would notice when automakers were overplaying their hand, and debuted the Ford F-series trucks with the Bicentennial Option Group in spring of 1976. And perhaps uniquely, Ford went for colors other than red and blue over a white body.
Offered on the F-100 through F-350 Custom styleside pickups in regular cab and SuperCab models, the Bicentennial Fords were available either in Wimbledon white or Bahama blue, and featured a golden eagle design on the side. This package also featured contrasting red and blue border stripes, which were about the only place where the colors of the flag were featured on the exterior. The special interior treatment was equally muted, and offered red, white and blue plaid cloth inserts framed by blue vinyl bolsters. The only other unique interior feature on this special edition was an eagle badge on the glove box, positioned just right above the "Custom" lettering.
Ford managed to pull off this special edition without jumping the bicentennial shark, which is more than could be said for other automakers, and the Bicentennial Option Group was a popular box to tick for 1976. Since these were working trucks at the end of the day, not too many survive -- the option was available for just a few months.