At $14,500, Would You Ride Off Into The Sunset In This Colorfully Striped 1979 Ford F-250?
Today's Nice Price or No Dice F-250 is a Camper Special, but what's really special is its amazing '70s chromatic decal look. Let's see what that crazy color scheme might ask of your green.
We sometimes come up against a wall here in the voting and valuations we undertake. It's not a real wall, mind you. It's a virtual wall, like that one that's not going to be built on the Southwest border. This imagined wall is between our consensus on a particular car's value and what the market out there (gestures broadly) will bear.
That was evident in both the comments and voting on yesterday's 1999 BMW M3 convertible. That was a very tidy car with modest miles as well as some well-considered additions and reversible mods. The seller was asking $17,900 for the package and that got a negative nod from the majority of you. The thing about it is, that's about where the market lies on E36 M3s.
This model is seemingly following its E30 older sibling up the value ladder, and nice ones do sell for a good bit of coin these days. In the end, that puts the market at odds with our candidate's 80 percent No Dice vote. Perhaps we are the lone (collective) voice of reason in a crazy car market? If so, consider yourselves the smart ones.
Of course, there will always be older vehicles that command big bucks. Whether it's because of pedigree or the mix of desirability and attrition akin to kids on a Wonka factory tour, some cars and trucks just get valued more.
One category of such vehicles is old pickup trucks. For whatever reason, workhorses of a certain age now are in vogue and as such command prices that may run counter to our sensibilities.
I would classify today's 1979 Ford F-250 Camper Special among those seemingly overvalued trucks, but then...well, just look at it. That black paint and chromatic sunset decals are right out of a '70s Ford brochure and look absolutely amazing.
Well, they look amazing from some angles. From other positions, you'll note some fading in the underlying paint and some cracking in the decals themselves.
Call it patina or whatever, the flaws are relatively minor and somewhat add to the truck's overall appeal. This isn't some museum piece, it's a cool cruiser.
That cruising is made possible by way of a massive 460 V8 along with a C6 three-speed automatic. Getting the job done out back is a Dana 60 axle. The 7.5-liter big-block was part of the 385 engine family, and in this model year it made 220 horsepower. That was a sizable jump from the 169 horses of the next-biggest 6.6-liter engine and almost twice the 116 ponies offered by the F-100's entry-level 4.9 liter six.
The ad claims the truck to be completely rust-free and to sport a mere 87,800 miles. The long bed box isn't all beat up, and it wears its mud flaps at the extreme rear, beneath the bumper. The truck also wears alloy wheels, although I'm not sure if those are the factory originals or not. The undercab running boards are definite aftermarket add-ons but are a nice touch.
The interior is clean as a bean and is a nice example of just how spartan trucks of this era could be. The knitted vinyl bench seat looks to be completely intact and without issue, as does the rubber floor covering. This is a full-three-across cab with a reasonably low transmission tunnel and three-on-the-tree column shift. And yes, I know that three-on-the-tree typically references a manual, but it works in this instance as well. The ad claims that all the gauges function and portends expensive fuel stops by noting that the truck carries two gas tanks both of which are also in functional shape.
The title is clear and the seller offers a Marti report that notes this to be one of only 82 such trucks to have been sold with the fabulous decal package in 1979. The report also reveals that the truck was built at Ford's San Jose assembly plant. Closed in 1983 after a 28-year run, that factory didn't last nearly as long as has this F250 that it sired.
OK, with all that in mind and those cool chromatic decals making you dream of piña coladas and warm summer days, what might you pay for this "time capsule" truck?
The seller asks $14,500 for it, and it should be noted that this is a primo year for Ford pickup aficionados. It's the last year before the F-Series went through a slimming restyle, and its pre-electronics drivetrain makes it fairly easy to wrench on.
Ah, but for us, is it worth that $14,500 asking? What do you say, could this artwork F-250 be worth that kind of cash as it sits? Or, does that price make this sunset-hued Ford a dark deal?
You decide!
Columbus, Ohio, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Tony A. for the hookup!
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