The Ninth Generation Ford F Series Trucks

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300ci straight 6 is pretty much indestructable. They were made til 96. That's pretty much all I know.

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Other than they all look like a giant ass Electric Shaver they are Ok I guess. Wonder when they are all just going to become as big as the friggin F550? They are almost there.

That aint a truck, THIS is a TRUCK!

I've always liked the 1978 styling...

73-78 are my favorite trucks of all time.

67-72 chevy. I hate chevy but those are beautiful.

I am a big fan of the 300 inline 6, and the 92-97 body style is one of the few I would buy as a longbed. Friend back home had a 94, forest green regular cab short box, a set of tasteful bumpers and on a 3" lift with 33" tires. I loved that truck. Had 260k miles last I heard on original motor and 5 spd trans. Hard to go wrong, although many do not like the TTB suspension - once the bushings start to go they eat tires.

I'll give you the 67-72 as a second.

My original post should read 73-79 also.

My first full size truck was a 92 F150 with a 302 set up just like you describe. I was 19 bought it with 65k, lifted it and installed 35's drove the living piss out of it until 340k with 3:55's and the original clutch amazing when you consider I was 19 and used to get the headers glowing red hot mud bogging! I was good at changing balljoints though. Great trucks IMO.

Ive owned several of these trucks. One of every engine and trans. I really miss my 95 Lightning, it was my favorite by far. I had another F150 with the 300 I6 and it was a good reliable rig, just not enough power for me. I would take the 6 over a 302, had one of those too. Have a 97 4x4 dually service truck with the 460, has good power for a work truck but shit fuel mileage.

The TTB suspension isnt bad, ive had a few F150s with it and an F250 I have currently with it. Keep the springs and bushings in good order and its a decent riding good driving setup.

This is my daily driver right now


95 F350, has the 7.3 diesel with 341000 miles. Ive put a bit of work into it and it makes 392hp and 765ft lbs to the rear tires, enough power to keep up with the new trucks and the best part is no payment!

Here is the truck I had with a 300.


Had 3.55 gears 35" tires and the mazda 5 speed. I built all the suspension, got 14" of travel out of the TTB. Gave up on it cause the body was rusted out.




My Lightning, wish I could buy it back!

I have more if you guys want to see em. Ive had so many damn Fords sometimes I forget a few.

These crew cabs still bring a premium price around here, especially a F350 diesel with a manual trans. If you want a long box crew cab 4x4 it will be a 350, did not offer that combo in a 250, only short box. Only crew cab F150s were Centurion conversions, not offered from Ford but Ive seen a few.

I got lucky with mine, found it in a pasture and brought it back from the dead.

'Cept that's a '79.

You're damned right! I've been searching high and low for one in decent shape for my return to Canada this fall. The 92'-97' generation is my absolute favourite style of more modern Ford trucks. They did a decent upgrade of the interior (more rounded) from the previous generation, while still keeping the upright wind-shield and the no-draft windows. Tell me, what other vehicles in the mid-late 90's still came with no-drafts? I love those things. Top of my list: 93-94' F350 Crewcab 7.3 IDI Turbo 4x4 5-spd. XLT trim and in two-tone black/dark grey please. Unfortunately, anything close to that in Canada has inter-galactic miles or is so badly rusted you can see through the doors.

I envy you fellows who live in areas that don't believe in slathering the roads with salt in a misguided attempt to make the roads safer for the general motoring public. Perhaps it's a good thing that I can't find this holy grail of a truck - I've already got an 87', 97' and 03' F-series......

Nice truck btw Dave.

I had a 95 f150 xlt extended cab 4x4 with the big 8 in it.

Hands down the most comfortable truck I've ever driven. Equal size dual tanks, some had a goofy small second tank. The truck got great mileage.

The only downside was the stoopid twin I beam front end for alignment.

Here's my 1993 Ford F150 4x4. LOVED everything about it but the UN-reliability. When I traded for it it was on it';s 3rd motor after only 238K, it's fourth trans (new when i got it) but I always felt I couldn't trust it like my Chevys. I had nothing but Chevy trucks before the F150 and although way better off road than any of my Chevy pickups, it never felt as if I could trust it when going out of town so I got rid of it. The extended cab was perfect for me and had it been a 5 speed diesel I would have it to this day.

I stated my ultimate 9th gen above, but then I thought I better actually add some relevant information that might be helpful for your search

Among my many weaknesses, is a fondness for Ford vehicles, trucks in particular. I don't know how or why, but I've got it. That being said, I'll try to summarize some information below:

The F150's were offered with the 300ci straight six and the 302 and 351 V8's. All fuel injected. You could get both the 300 and 302 with a 5-spd manual, the 351 came with an automatic only (afaik). Generally, the 5-spd will be the Ford/Mazda M5OD, but in some very RARE instances, I've heard of people getting the ZF 5-spd, but only behind the 300 and usually in a 2wd regular cab longbox base/work model. The Mazda transmission doesn't have a reputation for being particularly robust (the towing capacity is greatly reduced when equipped), however I've got one in my 97' F150 4.6 with 190k miles and it's still going strong, even towing the occasional 6k lbs trailer. As for automatics, they are generally the E4AOD, an electronically controlled 4-spd OD transmission. I haven't owned an automatic Ford, so I have no personal experience with these. Borg Warner transfer cases, BW1356 if I recall correctly. Been around for ages and plenty stout.

You mention looking for either a crew cab or extended cab variation. As previously mentioned, the F150 was never offered in a crew cab from the factory.

The F250's had the same choice of engines as the F150's (see above), with the addition of the 460 V8 and the 7.3 diesel (in non-turbo, turbo and powerstroke variations). Same automatic transmission and the same ZF 5-spd manual, which is fairly stout and trouble free. Both of the F150's and F250's had the (in) famous ford TTB front axle/suspension design, with coil springs on the F150 and leaves on the F250. I'm not a huge fan of the TTB for everyday use but it might be because my 87' F250 (same chassis as the 92-97) diesel has one and it eats tires constantly. That might be due to the fact that the heavy diesel engine is putting more stress on the suspension components than a comparable gas engine would. The F250's were available in regular cab and extended cab for all years and in 1997, they were available as a crewcab shortbox.

The F350 differs from the F250 in that it uses a conventional leaf-sprung front axle (Dana 60) as opposed to the TTB. Same engines/transmissions. Crew cabs were available for all years of the F350 but only in the longbox variety.

All trucks were available with trim levels ranging from "Custom" (bare bones, am radio), XL and XLT to high end Eddie Bauer (for the F150's). They made a crap ton of these things so chances are you'll find the combination you want if you wait long enough.

Problems/Points? Well, if you live in a rust prone area, the first place to rust on these things are the rear wheel wells (there is a folded seam behind there that collects dirt/water and crap) and the bottom of the cab beneath the rear side windows on the extended cab model. Parking brake cables. But I think that's just a Ford truck thing in general, all of mine require regular replacement but that might be due to the salt/winter conditions that they experience.

What are your anticipated uses for this truck? General around town driving, the occasional trip to the hardware store, etc? Perhaps an F150 would suit you. As mentioned by other posters, the 300 six is a bulletproof motor, and while it may not be fast, it will last forever. Personally, I'd skip the 302 and just get the 351 unless I really had to have a manual transmission and a V8. Not much fuel economy difference between the two. If you plan to do much hauling or towing, get the F250 or F350 with the 460 or 7.3 diesel. Remember, this generation of trucks had lower rated capacities than the current generation (eco-boost et al) so an F150 might not be up to the task.

I hope I didn't put you to sleep with all that blathering...... Good luck on whatever you choose.

1356 tcase until late 96 and 97, then its a 4407? I think that's the number. Supposed to be better but nothing wrong with the 1356. I've had 3 trucks with e4od autos so far and I like them. Stock they are a slush box, I've put a minimum of a shift kit in all of them. My diesel I have a lot more than that in the trans but they are based on the C6 and share many parts.

I have a 93 IDI diesel also, it was a non turbo model and was gutless as hell. I added a banks turbo kit and its good now but I much prefer my powerstroke.

I'm lucky we don't have rust problems here.

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I'm a fan of the 5th Gen F-Series. Although out of the "new" trucks, I have to agree, the 9th is better looking then any of the current ones. I don't really care for the aero body style.

Saw this the other day.

Any excuse to post this. 1996 F150

1996 was the last year for the straight 6 and I think the body style. Mines had no problems, little front end work here and there, the 5 speed works fine. Sort of think a 1996 Bronco would round things out but two gas hogs doesn't make sense

125,000 miles I'm the second owner. Not fancy on the inside, easy to clean.

The best part is all the Bay Area folks that ski at Squaw Valley don't try to cut in front of me

Touché. Typo...it's the 79 grille that I liked and I started seeing them on the road in the fall of '78 (I was 9).