This 1988 Ford F-150 XLT Lariat looks like it just rolled out of a dealership showroom, and the listing indicates it has 17,000 miles on the clock. Even more amazing is that the seller is located somewhere near Boston, Massachusetts, and as someone who lives near this cold northern city, I can tell you trucks like this rarely come out of the woodwork. Florida, Arizona, southern California – sure, those are places where time-warp survivors reside in surprisingly high numbers. This F150 sports a variety of desirable options and is listed here on craigslist for $24,000.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader FordGuy1972 for sending this find in. The F150 is a 4×2 model equipped with the 5.0L V8 and the “Explorer Special Value Package” which got the first owner complimentary air conditioning and a sliding rear window. The interior also shows that power windows and locks were on the menu, and the truck is also equipped with speed control and air conditioning. The bench seat cloth is in excellent shape, which is what you’d expect in a low-mileage specimen, but there’s no guarantee that vehicles that see limited-use emerge from their hiding spot completely unscathed. This truck certainly has.
A 5.0L V8 with the auxiliary gas tank rounds out the list of notable features this F150 is equipped with. The engine bay photos show that the truck is as clean and detailed under the hood as the two-tone paint job and interior are. The asking price is certainly top of the market, but there’s no denying that this F150 looks like it may be one of the best examples on the market right now. There’s a good chance the price shown here is cheaper than what it would sell for at one of the major auction houses, and very rarely do you find anything on four wheels that’s completely original save for a replacement battery.
No cup holders 😢😢!
Actually there are 2 in the center armrest though they are very shallow and worthless.
Very clean and attractive truck. I love the two-tones of the day, especially classic combinations such as this red/white. Highly optioned. It illustrates that, even 35 years ago, some people were interested in trucks which were meant to be more luxury than work.
Hmmm…too good to be true?
Trucks like this give me a strange feeling. What an excellent time capsule but at the same time, whoever buys it almost certainly won’t bear to use it as a truck. In this condition you can never haul bricks, never take it camping, never load up your lake gear or you risk losing thousands of dollars off your investment. I’d love to see a life for this one in the future but I know it probably won’t happen.
I beg to differ, buy this truck for half the price of a new one and use the snot out of it for 10 years.
Anyone that would buy this and not gently preserve it should have their head examined. If you want a hard working pickup buy a new one. They’re not unique and they’ll make more.
Sadly they aren’t making 88 Fords anymore so anything that has survived deserves to be respected.
Of course a pickup can be used as a pickup for hard work. But why would anyone do that to this one, when there are other nonpreserved ones to be had.
I had a 89 same colors for a short time I got it from a dealer in Olympia Washington for $2200 and resold it on craigslist for $3500 don’t recall the mileage on it
I had this exact truck. Bought it brand new. Drove it for a couple of years and couldn’t wait to get rid of it. It wasn’t a bad vehicle, but it was not good either. Low towing capabilities, really poor brakes, sub par gas MPG for its power. Cramped cab, terrible off road or 4×4 use. I never had a truck get stuck so easily. In reality it was a more boxy car than truck. Can’t imagine paying their asking price. Even in its condition, it seems 10K too high to me. But who knows, there is no reality check on prices people will pay right now and it only takes one buyer.
I had the same truck as well, only a more basic F150 Custom. Had it for 11 1/2 years (1990 – 2001). Six cylinder with a five speed. That thing took me everywhere.
The 1980’s brought luxury to pickup trucks. Especially since after 1985 when GM made the majority of their cars FWD. If you wanted a V-8 RWD vehicle, you were pretty much relegated to luxury cars of the Big Three. This fine example we have here is the one of the first generation of luxury trucks. The reason for trucks being so popular today is a direct correlation to the fact that you increasingly couldn’t get what you wanted in a car starting in the 1980’s. This one will sell, and it should, for probably what they have it listed for or even more. Great article and good luck.
Good comments Robert. I have noted before that today’s F-150 luxury trimmed pickup (Lariat, Platinum, King Ranch, Limited) is in some ways a descendant of the 1965 LTD: when a “regular” rear-wheel-drive vehicle was successfully moved up-market.
And… “couldn’t get what you wanted.” I’m wondering if we are approaching another time like this….
Bob, I think we are already there. Can you even buy a new vehicle that is not loaded down with computers and electronics? And all those “safety” features that buzz, blink and tell you what you should already be looking out for?
Why wouldn’t ya? A new one is three times the money.
My 90 F150 has a 300 six and 4 spd,and it rides great,doesn’t lose 1 mph when towing my boat. I won’t brag about the mileage because it gets 14 at 70mph. At 55 I can get 16 mpg.It was ordered with the 4spd, and 1 fuel tank so the range is about 200 miles. That’s about time to shake hands with the governor anyway:-)
I have a ’88 F150 4×4 with reversed colors-white where the red is and red where the white is. Mine has the 302 as well and the MPG is the same-14 to 16.
I”m a big fan of Ford trucks…but my dad had one very much like this but with a 4 speed manual. I hated that truck! He eventually got a 96 F-150 4×4 which I inherited and loved every minute of owning it
has anyone else looked at the engine pic? If that is a 302 V8 then I’m the dali lama.
Well I’m not sure what religion or nationality you are but the window sticker photos in the CL advertisement does say it’s a 5.0, which would be a 302.
I always thought the twin air inlets indicated a 351, but this shows otherwise.
That’s definitely a 5.0 had one in my 91 looks identical.
Those late 70s and 80s Ford pickups were absolutely beautiful. Just gorgeous. Just shows How far we’ve fallen when you picture this next to a 2023 F150. New ones are styled and detailed like crap compared to these.
If I could get a new pickup today that looked ad good I’d order it tomorrow.
I really like this style
This would be just fine parked beside my 87 Silverado. I have a 82 that has been with me 20 or so years with few or any real problems, an F350 version with a Jerr Dan bed. I almost bought a decent one of these about two years ago but it was gone when I got there. Just a nice design to me.