The Most Expensive Factory Ford Truck In 1979

In this episode, Dentside Depot investigates what exactly was the most expensive Ford truck that could be ordered in 1979? Was it a crew cab? A Supercab 4x4? A Reg Cab 4x4 Lariat? Find out next, on Dentside Depot investigates the history of Ford trucks.

[@DentsideDepot]

These were not all the options because Ford restricted the combination of options you were allowed to have on any given truck. For example, you couldn't get a Lariat with Free Wheelin stripes or the Cactus smasher with protection group because those options would essentially cancel each other out. Why did Ford have restrictions for the bed topper? Beats me I have no idea besides the gt bar in the bed.

[@HighSierra1500]

Another thing that I think is strange. According to the sales brochure for 1979 Ford F-Series Trucks is that F250 and F350 regular cabs and SuperCabs with the Camper Special package come with a Camper Special emblem, but F350 Crew Cabs with said package do not come with the emblem.

[@DentsideDepot]

@@HighSierra1500 Correct, the crew cabs have a crew cab emblem in that place. I am not even sure you could have a CC with camper special

[@HighSierra1500]

@@DentsideDepot That makes sense now. Crew Cab emblem took it's place.

[@chuckwhitson654]

My grandpa left me a 76 f250, 4wd 12:42 divorced transfer case, in bed box, sliding rear, A/C with additional lift and 40" tires, had been 390 swapped (fact. 360) headers, glasspacks, low gear diffs, big honking cool truck. Papaw was pretty cool himself. This was in the 90s and mamaw made me sell it for an "economical" car( granted the truck got around 7mpg on it's best day, downhill) got a lotus/isuzu impulse 5sp, RWD loaded. Was economical and fun but I wish I could have kept the big green monster

[@DentsideDepot]

That stinks, maybe get another for a tribute truck?

[@M.Arbogast]

The green one with the solid steel wheels is gorgeous

[@DentsideDepot]

thank you! Believe it or not those wheels are billet aluminum

[@M.Arbogast]

@@DentsideDepot sweet

[@Jdigger4130]

Nice stash of Fords man. We refer to the crew cabs as crummies in my area and are realllll hard to find one that isn't roached. I live in N Cal and I sure appreciate that yer neighbors are cool w yer treasures in the yard!

[@thomaslee6894]

This video deserves so many views. Love it man

[@DentsideDepot]

Hey thank you!

[@markchandler1130]

In around 1979 I remember seeing a 4WD step side at a dealer with sticker of just over 10K.

[@DentsideDepot]

That was certainly possible

[@larrytucker222]

I owned a 1976 regular cab swb, 3spd, 302 with no air. Sold it when the 2nd child arrived.

[@petepeeff5807]

I have a 79' f150 that was totally optioned out the sticker was $ 9,700 The old guy i bought it from was a foreman for a millright outfit. The company told him to go buy a truck and they would cut the check. I guess the company really liked him because nothing was ever said.

[@garycox2253]

That tan x36 cab looks clean. I've been trying to find a clean one and one popped up near Carlisle, but i decided to pay my property taxes 2 days before hand. 😂😂😂

[@GenderSkins]

You have to remember two things about those old dent side trucks. 1: most people were not going to drop 60K on something that they were going to beat the daylights out of, because they didn’t have that kind of money to waste. And 2: the few people that did drop 60K on a truck, had a reason for needing a F-350 because they hauled live stock, worked construction or ran some kind of wrecker/recovery service which mean they was going to beat the ever living day lights out of it. They worked and worked hard, very few people took their family across the country on vacation in a truck like my dad did. And he still worked his truck hard, as it was his work truck that he hauled telephone equipment out to the job site with.

[@gordonwelcher9598]

Counting inflation, the $5,000 F-100 would cost $21,637 today. The cheapest F-150 actually costs about $39,000 today. That is 80% more than $21,637. You are paying $17,363 for all the modern improvements.

[@Justincase625]

Yeah the government numbers really aren't lining up with reality anymore.

[@jimgoff1170]

Although that truck in today’s money was expensive, the modern version can cost well over 100,000 dollars. To be fair you get a quiet, refined more capable machine, with multiple safety systems and ergonomic improvements. But good luck maintaining that vehicle in your backyard 😊

[@johnwilburn8319]

Capable of what?Hauling a bag of groceries?

[@jimgoff1170]

@@johnwilburn8319 the new ford trucks with a diesel engine have over 1000 pounds of torque, tell me what 70’s truck had even half that. Also cooling systems are able to handle that much heat, suspension systems are much better, and brakes much more capable. Don’t get me wrong, I love the old 60’s and 70’s trucks, but they don’t compare as far as capability.

[@sombra6153]

I don’t think my dad paid much more than $2500 for his brand new 1974 F100 Custom, 240/3 speed/everything-delete. Sounds like the price for a stripped down 2WD almost doubled by 1979.

[@patman0322]

There was some crazy inflation in the 1970s, especially in the latter half, and from the beginning of the decade to the end, vehicle prices had essentially doubled.

[@79dent]

I always like your videos before watching lol. Early gang!

[@DentsideDepot]

Hahah well thank you!

[@HelloKittyFanMan]

Cool, now let's do the least-expensive version! (Reg. cab, short bed, 2WD, manual, 6cyl., etc.)

[@HelloKittyFanMan]

The camper topper was probably crazy-expensive even when ya didn't think about it.

[@Hobotraveler82]

Ive had the privilege to drive my grandfather's 78 F100. That truck has become my Eleanor. Haven't found a 78 like it. Of course that truck was a custom trim, originally had a 302. But the farmer swapped it for a 351 out of a one ton Ford. Seats were from a F100 Ranger, yes, cloth and not the original vinyl seats. Other than that. Pretty basic. 😊.

[@DentsideDepot]

very cool!

[@davidegan3280]

in regards to the 351M, the M does not stand for Modified, it refers to the plant it was produced in, Midland..

[@user-xr4sz8zl1o]

Don't forget tinted glass my grandfather special ordered a brand new 1979 ford truck with tinted glass windshield door glass

[@DentsideDepot]

Yes Sir that was included in the total forgot to mention it.

[@TheWoodButcher86]

Beautiful trucks!

[@toddmccarter45]

I wonder if you can get a marty report just asking what was the most expensive truck actually built

[@YourMemerEcko]

Let's go another vid also my ford is a 1978 factory whimbelton white

[@DentsideDepot]

Oh nice!

[@79dent]

@@YourMemerEcko I had a 78 whimbledon white as well! Mine was a ranger xlt with intermittent wipers, tilt wheel, cruise, ac, am fm radio, 351M C6 single cab long bed 2wd, it had no emissions systems on it factory. Loved that truck!

[@YourMemerEcko]

​@79dent mine is a ford f100 ranger explorer single cap short wheel base with the factory 351/400 small block

[@DentsideDepot]

@@YourMemerEcko Nice!

[@johnlincicum6390]

​@@DentsideDepotmy dad had a 1976 Ford Country Squire Station Wagon with air conditioning, tilt wheel, power steering, windows, and I think power locks. But the crazy thing about it was that it had a 460, C6, 9 inch rear end with 4 wheel disc brakes and a factory receiver hitch built into the frame from the factory. 4 corner coil springs with a single filler for the gas tank, but it had a pony tank to hold extra gas. On the rear bumper it had a plaque of the Continental United States that said you could tow 7500 lbs and put 800 or 850 lbs on the ball of the hitch! My dad bought the car from his older brother for $50 in the mid 1980s and we drove it to Albuquerque, New Mexico from Northwestern Illinois (Elizabeth, Illinois) from our farm for a family reunion on my mom's side of the family. Only problem we had on the trip was the muffler fell off in the middle of a down pour rain storm on the way back home through Texas. We had just missed a full blown blizzard on the 4th of July in Estes Park, Colorado too on the way to Albuquerque. Lol! My dad had to replace the original 1976 460 with a 1979 460 out of an ambulance later on. The shop couldn't find where the original 460 was leaking coolant into the block even after magna fluxing the block and heads. The 1979 460 wasn't quite as peppy, but did just fine. My dad had to stop driving it because it had a dash fire from the electrical wiring under the dash. It totaled the car. Dash melted, wired gone and even the windshield broke/melted! It was yellow with vinyl fake woodgrain trim on the outside and everything inside from the carpet to the headliner was green. Green vinyl bench seat front and rear. 6 passenger, no 3rd rear seat. It weighed 5800+ lbs. Fully boxed in frame. My uncle bought it from the Elizabeth Garage, Inc.'s owner who was using it as his personal car. He was a Buick, Pontiac and GMC Truck dealer though. Lol!

[@michaeledwards8051]

How did you find these cost? I would be curious to find how much my '77 F250 was. Fun & interesting

[@oregonfordguy9812]

he has the cost sheet catalog

[@DentsideDepot]

@@oregonfordguy9812 Correct, having all the literature is critical.

[@jimgoff1170]

I had a 77 f250 two wheel drive supercab trailer special with 460, c6, sliding glass, ac. 8 mpg standard 😊

[@DentsideDepot]

@@jimgoff1170 nice!

[@technicalitems731]

My dad had a 1979 ford f-250 4x4 400m camper special manual a/c wood glove box level truck. I think it had the Dana 60. I still have the truck. It ran when I parked it. Just fine. He put what we guessed to be 700k on it until around 1999. Put in a few car junkyard engines. Replaced trans a few times. Axles. Totaled 2-3 times. Kept rebuilding it. Used it for work with heavy equipment business and had a 200+ gallon fuel tank in the bed its whole life and loaded with tools. I moved it the other day with tractor. I want to get it going again. I will when I get time. I can remember my childhood through that truck! Green color. Dark green. Engine was oddly strong at low end torque. But not a peppy race truck. I remember my dad hooking it to a big Allis chalmers m100 manual transmission road grade to jump it off. It would do it. His friends 3/4 Chevy with big engine (not a 350 but someone bigger maybe a 400?) square body 4x4 manual truck could not do it.

[@moseshancock3336]

I have a 1969 ford f100 pickup three on the tree window AC 😊 love my old truck I would like to have a crew cab ford truck to have the room to go on trips

[@57WillysCJ]

In 1979 most crew cabs were for work crews like utility, railroad and some construction not family haulers. The only fancy crewcab from that period that I remember was from GM. My cousin's husband was from a well to do family and they had a GM 4x4 crewcab dually with all the bells and whistles. Seats were something you would see in a Buick. I remember riding in it to go get horses and thinking wow this isn't a truck I am used to riding in.

[@76f350]

All 77+ had the fuel doors. Why are you saying 77.5? Also that toolbox was an option, not part of the Camper Special package.

[@TheRealDrJSquared]

I didn’t think you could get Camper Special on a 4wd because it made the center of gravity to high due to the 4wd.

[@HelloKittyFanMan]

"Also... as well"? Oops.

[@LucasMeyer48]

What about the f450,f550,f650 and f750. Are they more expensive?

[@oregonfordguy9812]

nope. those were sold as stripped down work trucks. usally no trim and limited upgrades. around me the 2 ton+ sized trucks are still pretty cheap.

[@oregonfordguy9812]

side not is most weren't 50 anything. 100 counts only. 500/600/600/800. there were sone 550.

[@LucasMeyer48]

@@oregonfordguy9812 ok thanks

[@DentsideDepot]

not my area of expertise with the big boys, but OregonFordGuy knows his stuff so go with those answers

[@LucasMeyer48]

@@DentsideDepot ok thanks

[@kylebeach2316]

Well this was a pretty good video too watch cause i know someone that has a 79 f250 custom base model and now i know what upgrades i should look out for when i get my hands on the truck the only real upgrade i could see with that truck is the two tone color option lol i also believe it has a 400 in it as well unsure if its Manuel or automatic.

[@michaeldecker7363]

I really enjoy all your videos and the info you give. i am from Sullivan County PA. and owned 20 Ford trucks 13 were 1979 or older. i am near 7o years old would really love to own a 1979 f 350 4x4 with a 400 ci stick shift. if you know of any around i would really be interested not right now but within 6 months please let me know if you know of any

[@clawhammer704]

I had a silver with red interior six banger with three speed on the tree, no AC, no power steering. Sold it because no AC.

[@mumbles552]

I don't believe headliners were an option on these trucks to.

[@johnmcalisterjr3913]

I like the green f250 nice looking truck is it available

[@rvrebuild]

How much did the all wheel drive cost ?

[@DentsideDepot]

Full tim 4wd was in fact an option, it wasn't much more 100-200 I believe

[@rvrebuild]

@DentsideDepot oh ok I have one the only one I have ever seen myself

[@summerfox9292]

What about the bed rails

[@captainschannel9331]

😎🏴‍☠️

[@russellweber4334]

Do you understand that in the 1970's the vast majority of truck buyers could have cared less about optioning a truck out like a Lincoln sedan, they wanted a truck. In 1978 my parents bought me for graduating from CBC high school a 1974 F-250 custom 2wd with a 390 FE 6.4 litre with a 4 barrel carb, a 4 speed and 1 ton brakes and springs, with 46,000 miles for 2,200$. 1 of the 1st things I did was to put a jbl stereo tape deck in it with speakers from radio shack. I wanted a 1978 short bed F100 4wd with a 460 4 barrel dual exhaust with a 4 speed tranny. Why do you think so many of these 70's Ford trucks look like sh't now, because they were farm and work trucks and didn't get proper maintenance and tricked out. My old man blew the motor up in my truck and I got another 390 FE motor to rebuild and turned the truck into basically a class 8 street legal prerunner. I was the only member in Sigma Pi at the UM-Columbia that had a pickup truck. The fraternity next door was the Alpha gamma Sigma agriculture fraternity and more than a few of those farmer boys had pickups but were pretty plain and were farm trucks. They would ask me why do you have chrome spoke 8 lug rims and who is Dick Cepek, where do you get those fun country tires from? My reply was you get them from the home of bigfoot, the Midwest 4wd center.

[@DentsideDepot]

Absolutely, the majority were base customs. But, a few people did care and thats why all of my trucks have those cool options and are the most sought after today. And yup, all the new stuff from everyone is crap. Those tires came with a truck I got I have no idea

[@jordangamesvlogs9892]

I don’t think you realize that this video was meant to be showcasing what the most expensive dentside was from the factory simply for the purpose of informative entertainment

[@russellweber4334]

@@jordangamesvlogs9892 I get what the purpose of the video was, do you understand what I posted.

[@russellweber4334]

@@DentsideDepot The trucks with the custom package make way more sense that aluminum and metal trim, cheesy pinstripes and two tone paint jobs that faded and oxidized so easily. I replaced the entire wiring system on that 1974 Ford F-250 with a new factory harness, pretty easily. In contrast a sister of mine has a 2005 Ford Escape with a 3.0 liter v-6 motor that the ecu went bad. I told her I could fix it. To replace the ecu, and the 6 spark plugs and coils took over 4 hours, there were 3 wiring looms to unhook and the upper plenum had to be removed to replace 3 spark plugs and coils. It was crazy, compared to the 2 1974 F-250 and a 1973 Dodge D200 with a 5.2 litre 318 that I had,which were a breeze to maintain and work on.

[@DentsideDepot]

@@russellweber4334 everyone has their preferences. I have all of them personally

[@donaldwilliams2270]

That was a great check all the boxes video , on the next one don't forget the Factory tow hooks and rear under frame spare tire carrier also in the locking group was the , Spare Tire and Side Toolbox locks , ( all keyed the same as doors )

[@DentsideDepot]

Thank you, so factory tow hooks could not be had on an F350, they were F100, 150, and bronco only. I did include the spare tire equipment in the total, along with security group (which is the option that adds the Ford logo lock to the spare tire, and the bedside tool box was discussed in the video which always had the lock regardless.