Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire black betty (1977 F250)

So you dated whoopie?


Back in the day?

Another vote against the cab lights. Keep it smoootthhh.

Back in 79 I was a young single guy and I ordered out a new F-150 4x4 reg cab. It had a 8' box, Ranger pkg step up from Custom it had color coded rubber floor mats ,plaid knit cloth seats, dual battery system , dual tanks, intermittent wipers , ps ,pb, tilt wheel,300 ci 6 cyl, creeper gear 4 spd, with 3.50 gears Dana Limited slip up frt and Traction Lock rear, tint glass and a deluxe factory Ford topper, it was the Jade green metallic color. Damn sharp looking. As I recall it's sheet list was $9734.00 and I bought it outright at $8100. drove it for 11 years and it had 183,000 miles on it when I sold it. Those were the days, that f-150 and I went every where. When you and your son are done remodeling black betty you'll all be as proud of it as I was of mine. Keep the top slick, screw holes in the roof ugh. Magnum Man

No cab lights... Looks like a wrecker with them things..

You just described the ultimate version of the 73-79 ford pickup.

79 had better steering linkage (78-79).

And the way you ordered it was perfect IMO.

The lighter but torqey 300, so dependable. 3.50 gears, 4 speed, traction devices in both axles... Awesome.


One like that came available near me last week for $1500.... I want it so bad, but I think we have enough of these trucks already, lol.

You know Dave I thought it was. Could never find what I wanted on a sales lot. Bastard car dealers back then never ordered trucks for stock that had any features I wanted. Everyone of the trucks on a sales lot seemed to have an auto and V8. I never ever had to go inside that 300 at 183k it would be down about a half qt on the oil and I'd just change it. If Ford could have put their EFI in it and cruise on a manual transmission back then it would have been perfect. Some guys I knew never understood the 6cyl part but it would sure roll the torque on smooth and keep you from getting stuck. The truck also had a sliding rear cab window as well as all the windows in the factory topper.Seems like back then I'd wear out a set of tires every 20k until I got smart and put on a set of TOYO Open Country radials. Can't wait to see Betty done. Magnum Man

Your old truck is what I want for myself for a "hunting truck".

The ride is great in those half tons with the coils up front. The steering is nice, no noticeable bump steer.

The 300 is a great engine, very tractorish.and with the manual trans there is no "slippage" or lost rotations in the drive line.

Lighter engine, more room to work under the hood, great torque with the 4" stroke.

None of the engines made big HP in the late 70's. But the 300 wasn't far behind the 351 in HP and the 351 is expensive to mod. These days its easy to mod a 300 if u like. Get a set of efi exhaust manifolds, change out the rocker arms for a little more lift on the stock cam, those 2 things alone help a bunch. Then of course you could go after carb, intake, cam, higher compression pistons etc.

Or just leave it stock and drive it for 300k.

Not everybody needs 500 HP, I know I don't, not in that truck.

I had a 1996 2wd f150 std cab, eddie bauer edition, with the 300-6 w/fuel injection, and a 5 speed manual.
nice truck. drove it to Montana twice deer hunting.
I would have it floored for 5 or 6 hours,wouldnt go faster than 85.

I say wait on the cab lights until the paint is dry. Some colors look good with orange on top and some don't. I like the factory style better myself. Ultimately up to the tall boy kid of yours.

What IS NOT up to him is the option of hanging a set of "truck nutz" on the hind end. That would destroy a beautifule ride.



'79 F-series trucks have always been my favorite. If someone were to offer a NIB '79 F-150, I would do whatever possible to make that purchase and have an awesome DD.

I love all of the comforts of my '11 F-350 but I'll always have a huge soft spot for a '79.


Awesome job on Black Betty. I can't wait to see it in person.

I'll see how work goes today but maybe I'll swing by with a box of birthday juice.....

Ain't got to worry about that.

There's a big difference between being a kid and being a retard.

Lol.

lol
I think the boy would be the last person I'd have to worry about having "truck nuts" on his truck.

My 78 F250 came with cab lights from the factory.

It is the only truck that I have ever seen that rusted out the top of the cab over the windshield in a few years. There is no way that I know of to really seal them to the cab, because they had to be removed to change a burned out bulb.

My vote is no on the lights.

Myron

I was in my 30's and married at the time, but don't seem to recall any whoopie (but that was along time ago...)

Tailgate seems ready for some color.

Good da Coming in a little late on this thread ,but sure glad it did. Bringing back some great memories .
Back in 1978 I brought my first 4wd a 1977 F150 XLT 400M auto , cloth bench seat full load only thing it did have was no air cond.with 15,000 miles in like new condition .I drove that truck till 2005 , about the only thing I didn't change was the dash pad and the frame . Working + owning a wrecking yard sure help out .
My thoughts on a good motor for your truck . Don't waste any $$ on the 351m or 400m motors they are a over sized boat anchor. My first mond to my 400 was to put a Holley 2bl card , recurved
distributor and dual exhaust <that was the best bang for the buck> Still not happy I rebuild the 400 030 over bore ,aftermarket cam , aluim 4bl intake ,carter AFB carb ,port + polish heads. Didn't gain anymore power just used more fuel waste total waste time and $$.
Next power plant was a 428 out a 68 Ford Car , found a round top C-6 tranny out of a 74 F100 4wd <that had a 360> . Rebuilt that 428 bored .030 with aftermarket cam, aluim 4bl intake and same Carter carb ,also ported + polish cyl heads .That was by far the best motor combo , tons of power and decent fuel mileage <15-6 MPG >.
Still not happy I replaced that 428 with a 1970 Vintage 460 < had to change back to the original flat top C-6 tranny> rebuilt that 460 bored .030 10.5 compression ,aftermarket cam, aluim 4bl intake etc etc .
That 460 had tons + tons of raw torque + power ,but being a typical 460 fuel mileage was 9-10 MPG empty or loaded .
Sorry for the long winded post , if you want any more inside info on how to change over to different power train or parts let me know ,as 40+ years at working + owning a wrecking yard I have a few tricks of the trade .
Good luck on your rebuilt .
Cheers

None of my business, but I'd pass on the cab lights too.

On the other hand, I think a big chrome roll bar mounted in the bed and snugged up against the cab with a quartet of spotlights across the top rail would set off that black paint job.

,...but that's just me.

That wouldn't be bad, bristoe.

Nothing says 70's like a fat roll bar!

Don't know about the roll bar but a nicely made grill guard would surely look great. Magnum Man