No only has Ford's F150 been the nation's best selling vehicle since about the Civil War, but Ford just introduced a spankin' new one this week. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe custom job is an old-school dirt racer, but will you find its price to be totally F'd up?
Damn but I can't get enough of trucks this week. Monday we had an Aussie Datsun and yesterday we had a Land Rover Defender with a diesel and a stick shift. Both of those were pretty cool trucks, and do you know what else they both had in common? That's right, they both went down in Crack Pipe losses, yesterday's Brit getting a 62% negatory for the possibility of it being the Feds' latest crush. That sucks, but we're coming right back with - that's right, you guessed it - another truck. How'd you know?
Quick - what comes to mind when I say Full Sized Pickup? I'll bet it's Ford's F-series truck, as that's what's been the best selling vehicle in this country for… well, literally for decades. If you instead pictured a Chevy Siesta or some sort of Dodge Ram, well then you're probably some kind of cowboy hipster, so just move along Tex, and take your skinny boot cuts with you.
When it comes to big trucks Ford is the sales king, and as the company just debuted its latest and greatest edition of the venerated nameplate - resplendent in aluminum and fancy styling - it's an excellent opportunity to have a look at one that's far from both the factory, and luxurious excesses.
As such, check out this 1999 F150 4x4. The ad describes this truck as being 'very far from stock,' and just by appearance alone that's pretty obvious. First off, it's been jacked up, and features a suspension with more travel than Richard Branson. That's by way of a Fabtech 6-inch lift kit with dual shocks in the front and triple bypass surgery squelchers in the back. A modest cage in the bed provides the mounts for those, as well as a really tall jack.
I've always loved the aero-styling of this generation of Ford's F, and this one adds to that with aggressive flares at each corner and chromoly bumpers front and rear. The paint is equally custom with neon green flames over a black base giving the truck the look of a huge can of Monster ADHD beverage.
Monster might also describe the prime motivator under the hood. That's because it's a a supercharged 5.4-litre out of a 2002 Lightning, and with all SVT voodoo applied to it, those mills were capable of a healthy 380-bhp. In the Lightning those ponies were corralled by a heavy duty 4-speed automatic, but this romper stomper four-by-four ups the fun by using what the ad describes as an aftermarket 5-speed manual.
Those five cogs - plus reverse - are operated through a snake-like shift lever capped by a skull shifter wearing a jaunty top hat. That's some good whimsy right there! Aside from the blue flame gauges and Dorothy decal on the IP, there's little other to go on in consideration on the quality of the truck's interior accommodations, but it apparently does have a couple of buckets and a bench.
There is mention of mileage, which looks to be 194K, and the ad claims that truck is just a fuel cell and cage away from being race-ready. It also has some Hella-good lights up front to light the way and blind the normals.
As I noted, the F150 has been a perennial best seller here in the land of the Stars and Stripes, and the new aluminum and tech-heavy edition will probably let that bet ride. But if you want something a little more rough, and a lot more off-roadable, then perhaps this insane '99 may be your best seller. That is of course, if you think it's worth its $20,000 asking price.
What do you think, is this F150 priced to sell? Or, is twenty grand too much to put this at the top of anybody's charts?
You decide!
Washington DC Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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