Old photo time.....

KK you are most likely correct. Mine was also the XLT. Those 460's were very good pulling engines. Got 9 MPG with or without the fifthwheel RV. I suppose my 3/4 ton had one ton springs is why it was rated a one ton trailer special. I loved your write up and photos. I have very few old photos of my vehicles. Those are neatly buried someplace in a closet or spare bedroom.-PS wingnut, why were we in such a hurry to get to a campsite? I guess for the same reason those bassboat drivers are in a hurry to get across the lake!

 

Great pics! I have an ad somewhere for a Mazda like you had. Those early 70's Rotary ones were really cool and you never see them now.

Like the Z-car too. I remember when the new '84's came out. My father was a 280Z fan and I remember going to see the first 300ZX's with him at the Datsun dealership in Denver. I was in live with the goofy digital dashboard option...I was 10 years old then. Ha!

Glad you posted the pic. Enjoyed them!

-Mike

 

Ok, Little late getting back to this thread.
First off KK, if you have any more pics of the XLT crew cab I'd love to see em.
As far as the round vs square headlight debate goes:
1978 was the first year of the new grille that lasted 2 years through the 79 model.
From what I've read, in the begining of 78 the square headlight had not yet been aproved by the Govt for mass produced vehicles. FORD intended to realeas the 78 with square lights, but due to waiting for uncle sam, the first 78's came with the round lights.
All Grille surrounds were chrome-ish, the Ranger and Ranger XLT were the ones that got the Chrome grille and chrome headlight bezels.
My truck, an early 78 Custom (base model) came with the round headlights, black buckets and flat grey grille.
I didn't care much for the look of the round lights and swapped in square lights and a set of Chrome bezels I scored at a wrecking yard.

Here is my truck the day I bought it:



Paint prep:



All shinny with new Grille and headlights:



Side note:
All pre 1980 FORD crew cabs left the factory as chasis cab, standard cab trucks. They were sent to Canada for conversion into crew cabs. You could get an F-250 crew cab in 2wd or 4wd, with the largest displacement engine being the 400. You could also get a long box crew cab in the one ton, F-350 configuration. F-350 could be ordered with the 460, but no long box 4wd crew cab was offered until 1980.

I am a bit of an Old FORD crew cab nut, and a member of the OFCC forum. http://www.oldfordcrewcabs.com/
I could go on about em for hours.

Sorry for the high Jack KK.:sorry:

 

That just reminded me. Since we were buying the 300ZX new, I was bound and determined to get exactly the one we wanted. We started visiting Nissan dealers in their off hours, just to see how they were equipped. We wanted the leather vs. the cloth, and once I saw the digital dash, I knew I wanted the analog one! We got lucky and happened to find the exact one we wanted, in stock at the Anaheim Nissan dealer.

No problem, J.
Thanks for all that crew cab info - lots more than I knew about them...
I may have some more pics around - somewhere.
BTW, after I sold it, I'm pretty sure it ended up in Mexico. Heard they're very popular down there

 

Thanks for sharing your photos Krash... somehow seeing pictures from the seventies and early eighties makes me feel getting old(er).

Somewhere I must have a photo of my first Buick back in 82 orso....will upload once found.

 

Great pictorial history, KK. When I have some time, I'm going to go through my old albums and see what I can find. Unfortunately, I don't think I have any of my dad's cars; all the old family photos got lost in a house fire, but I do have some of mine.

 

thanx for the pics KK...great history

dont you wish you could find another Mazda wagon????

ive been on the lookout for a 808 or RX3 for about a year now...they are getting freekin rare....id even settle for a Toy Corolla 72 or 73...i aint fussy

 

KK, that Courier is great! I always liked those with those wheels.

I think we can closely date the picture based on your head of hair and the size of the mustache.

Thanks for the photo history. Now I'm going to get out the old album and do some scanning.

 

Sure do....
I've seen a few RX-4 wagons for sale on occasion, but they're usually beat up pretty good. Hard part on those would have to be the interior - they didn't last very long - big dash cracks and all......Mine was sarting to crack after only a couple of years or so......

I saw a write-up in some on-line 'import' e-zine on a guy in Torrance, CA who fixed up a yellow RX-4 wagon like mine. Dumped a RX-7 turbo engine in it, lots of other things, a real screamer. Who knows, it could have been my wagon?

 

What? No Kadillac?
Nice trip down memory lane. I was working for Mazda in those days and remember the RX4 well. The real screamer in the line up was the rotary pick-up, RX4 motor in a lighter vehicle.
How did that Ah oodi work out?