Hagerty
It’s a cool truck, really, but that doesn’t mean that I like it in its entirety. Photo credit to Hagerty.
It was supposed to be an advertisement for their new V8 electric motor substitute, but with a useless bed, I couldn’t be bothered ever to consider it a real thing. What would a Camaro owner do? Lose the trunk and the rear seat? Now, Ford has done the same thing, only better. Honestly, it doesn’t pain me to say that, as I don’t have a dog in this race. I build Chevy stuff because it’s cheap and common, not because I’m a diehard. If Ford thinks they can get my attention with a plain jane old dentside F-100, well, they’re right. It looks great.
The 1973-1979 Ford F-Series has to be one of the last “old” trucks to gain popularity. I generally think of either a handyman or a small-town monster truck when I think of them. There’s not a lot of meat in the middle. It’s either beater or full build. Since they’ve been an overall untapped resource, you’re now seeing more and more of them getting pulled out of the weeds. An old truck can do many things a new truck can do without the hefty payment plan. In my opinion, Ford did this truck almost perfectly. It sits low enough to tuck the tires but high enough to take a pothole. The grey and copper paint job reminds me of the blue and orange Gulf colours on the GT40. The bumpers and grille are painted grey, and the steel wheels are body colour as well, capped with dog dishes for the ultimate no-frills look. Inside, it’s straight tech. There’s a digital display where the gauges would normally be and a big tablet in the middle of the dash like a Tesla. The buckets, console, and door panels are pretty modern, but the upholstery does fit the truck’s age quite well. I like it a lot. It’s only a bench seat and a V8 away from being perfect.
Under the hood is the new Eluminator electric crate motor, except it’s not. The Eluminator makes 281 horsepower and 371 pound-feet of torque, while this truck uses the dual-motor setup borrowed from the Mustang Mach-E GT, making 480 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. Talk about the old bait-and-switch when showing off the new electric powertrain, hey? I’m sure even the weaker crate motor would move this little pickup along just fine, and it can be had at an affordable four-grand US. For those thinking it, yes, that’s cheaper than buying a carbureted 302 crate engine. The kit comes with most of what you need aside from the control system, traction inverter, and battery. I couldn’t find a price on the control system or the traction inverter, but electronics are never cheap, especially when they’re new. I did, however, find a price on the battery, as this truck uses the same battery that the Mach-E GT uses. If you’re not sitting down, you will be. It’s about thirty grand, including five grand for the core charge because you obviously don’t have an old one if you’re buying a crate motor. There might be an aftermarket for cheaper batteries that fit in that 60kWh to 90kWh bracket, that part I don’t know. With some quick math, I could buy a crate 302 and enough regular unleaded to go 100,000 miles for the same price as this swap. There are certainly variables and uncertainties that can lean in financial favour of either option. Still, I can guarantee you that a 302 with a pair of Magnaflows will always be the ticket for me, in an F-100, anyways.
Have a question or comment for Kelly? Post it at lmtimes.ca/kirk
