Practically New 1980 Ford F-250 Sells for an Astounding $97,000 at Auction
Boxy is everything right now. But is it really worth Porsche money?
Considering all the first-gen Ford Bronco bodies, Icon Jeep custom chassis, and a truly endless supply of crate engines and aftermarket parts, it's never been easier to grab a well-executed, American restomod truck. In fact, for a McLaren-shaming $250,000, you can now buy Chevy C10 or K5 restomods with the same 650-horsepower supercharged LT4 V8 found in the SCG supercar. However, if you'd rather have something all-original than a modernized old ride, things are looking pretty good on that end too—though it's still gonna set you back a pretty penny. Such is the case of this 76-mile 1980 Ford F-250 4×4 that recently sold for a staggering $97,000.
The old-school ride custom finished in Midnight Blue Metallic over blue vinyl was first delivered to Frontier Ford of Rockford, Illinois, only to cover 76 miles in the last 40 years. An oil change and a new battery later, this boxy pickup truck from the '80s sold for nearly three times the price of a 2021 Ford F-250 Super Duty.
According to its Bring a Trailer description, this particular F-250 Custom is a Styleside 3/4-ton pickup from the first year of this generation, which left the factory with the 138-horsepower 5.8-liter V8 mated to a three-speed automatic transmission with a dual-range transfer case, manually locking hubs, a removable tailgate, an auxiliary fuel tank and a toolbox located in the engine bay. The list of luxuries continues with a high-output heater, an AM radio, and a hook for your coat. Of course, it sports all-terrain tires on white steelies, body-side molding, towing mirrors—the business.
Apart from the flat-spotted tires and a few scratches sustained during the four decades it spent in the former Ford dealer's warehouse, this is one of, if not the cleanest original 1980 Ford F-250 out there, which may explain its hammer price of nearly $100,000. Restoring an old pickup to high standards may be a cheaper route, yet for collectors, nothing comes close to a preserved vehicle like this Midnight Blue workhorse.
With the clue being in the name and after 62 bids, it was BaT user motorcar_collector who took the Ford with a clean Wisconsin title. All we wish for now is for its 6,000 rpm tachometer to see more action now than it has since 1980, given that this highly versatile F-250 averaged less than two miles annually since leaving the factory.
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