Traded my '97 7.3 with 168k today. I bought it new and have many great memories from the past 15 years with it. My wife, son and I used it to travel to just about every drag strip in the upper midwest to run a junior dragster. Needless to say, my family spent a lot of time in that truck.

In my mind it's still a new truck, and while it has been bullet proof, it was time to replace it. I almost felt a little sad on the drive to the dealer, like losing a trusted friend.


I didn't feel at all sad driving away in a '12 6.2 CC Lariat. This thing rocks in almost every way over my '97. If it's even close to being as reliable, it will be a fantastic truck. I like how it looks in the garage too.




And I want to show you the world's greatest dad. He retired from Ford Motor Company in the 90s after 35 years in the St Paul Assembly plant. It was sad to watch that place close last year. I can still get A plan pricing through him. Makes a truck like this a lot more affordable for a regular chuckle head like me.

Thanks Pops! I love you.


I'll report my mileage from time to time. I have a book of every gallon I ran through the '97. It will be interesting to compare, although I sure didn't buy this for mileage anyway.


Jimmy B

 

That's one hell of an upgrade! Congrats!

 

i love mine too!! enjoy

 

Truck looks great, congrats!
It's also cool that you didn't get stuck with the Conticraps.

 

Nice looking truck, I love that blue. You will like the truck the more you drive it.

 

I do like it more today. I put a few miles on driving around looking for the box rails I wanted, but nobody had them in stock. I did find this under bumper step for $200 though.
Then I scrubbed my old rubber mat and tool box and through those in.

 

Congrats on the truck! It's hard not to like the new 6.2's.

 

Good to see your dad is a Vikes fan. Tough after a 3-13 season. Keep your fingers crossed for this season. Oh, great truck...I love mine, and the Vikes.

 

That is one great upgrade... and the family history only adds to the Ford family.

 

I haven't had to put fuel in it yet since it came full from the dealer. Not sure how 'topped off' it was, but the dash screen is telling me 11.9 average for the first 250 miles. I haven't been nice to it since I like the sound it makes when I hold the throttle down for a while, so the 11.9 seems reasonable. I expected 12. I am only dissapointed by 0.1 mpg. I'll take it!

 

Looks like you took excellent care of your '97...very nice rig. Of course...the 2012...is sweet too! Congrats!

Definitely a thumbs Up to your Dad...for his 35 years of service to the FORD family!


Oh yeah...let the mods begin. Oh wait...you already have that covered! LOL!


biz

 

It's almost always tough to be a Vikings fan. It can only get better.

I did work hard to take good care of it. That's why I was so disappointed when I realized how bad the rust was underneath. Getting this new truck wasn't so much about getting a new truck as it was about getting rid of the old one before a major disaster happened. That's why I also bought out of dealer stock rather than order and wait.

Filled up for the first time yesterday and averaged just under 12. Pretty good for the 10 mile drive to work that I have. After filling up I headed out on the highway to pick up my bed rails and mud flaps that came in. I actually saw 14+ on the gauge for a while. I can live with it just fine.

Putco bed rail bars. I had these on the '97 and loved 'em. They hold up extremely well w/o much maintenance.


Weathertech no-drill mudflaps fit really nice and obviously, no drilling.


Changed out the antennae to a shorter one. I have about 1" of roof clearance with my short garage door. The stock one would bend and twang really bad. I like the little skiulls and have them on a lot of my stuff.


I want to get the spray in bed-liner done yet and I need to order a new frame for my plow and then I'm just gonna drive it.