I have lots of thoughts but on the weekends I post from a pad instead of a computer and it’s a pain to type on the pad with my sausage fingers. I’ll Log in later and update this post with some thoughts.
Update:
Ok here are my thoughts. First let's get clear what a "pro touring" truck is. To me, Pro Touring has always meant a restomod that handles better and rides better than the original. The movement came out as a backlash of the pro street fairground cruisers that looked like they could rip a 9 second pass, but in reality coult peel the skin of curdled milk. It also came out of the 1st revival of the Car Craft Real Street Eliminator competitions in the early 1990's where cars were judged on how well they stopped, handled, and rode inside as well as how many ponies they put to the ground. A former GM engineer named Mark Stielow kinda set the mold for future pro touring cars with his 1969 camaros. When talking about pro-touring trucks, in my mind these are the criteria:
- Short bed, can't make a cruise ship into a speed boat
- Significant suspension upgrades or frame/suspension swap
- nice interiors, preferably with A/C and a real radio
- overdrive transmissions
- big brakes and the accompanying wheel/tire package.
You can kind give a little in these areas but this is kinda the base line. Now in the old days the "hot setup" was to use Jaguar XJ6 suspension front and rear. this was IFS and IRS with a dana center section that made the trucks handle. Saw a decent amount of these swaps under 1950's F100s just because they make the rise plush, it's an added bonus that the truck handles better too. I haven't see one of these swaps in a while because the jaguar parts are starting to become more scarce as compared to other alternatives. The new "hot setup" is to put panther platform (Crown Vic, Merc Marquis) suspension and even frame under the cars to make them handle better. Panther's are dirt cheap to buy and they handle decently, plus you can use the DOHC 4.6 drivetrain as well and get AC and serpentine belts, etc...Some people choose just to use the suspension sections of the frame as subframes (since the wheelbase doesn't match up) and weld them to their stock frames, others lenghten the whole chassis and just slip the body over. The other setup I see a lot now are airbags which I think are a good choice, but airbags alone on a stock suspension doesn't magically make the truck a corner carver.
I have a good friend back in NY who is building a real "pro touring" 1965 C10. He's easily $20K into the project with no paint on it yet and he started with a clean rust free texas truck he shipped back to long island. It's a full custom suspension, 335 rear tires, 275 fronts, 15" wilwood brakes, 4 link 12 bolt rear with air ride, and a custom IFS front clip. It's powered by an LSX with A/C and he's looking to put down 700hp with it. He's a master tech for jet blue and doing a lot of the work himself, and he considers it his master opus for a lifetime of car building, and his goal is to be able to put down a competitive auto-x time with the A/C on at a goodguys event. I don't doubt he'll have $40K into it by the time he is done. By contrast, there is the Lucore C10, which has a full suspension upgrade but is patina'd and looks a little like a rat. If it weren't for the big meats and the stance you wouldn't be able to tell that the truck was as badass as it is.
So about some of the trucks I posted:
https://dayton.craigslist.org/cto/d/1965-f100-pickup-short-box/6600037497.html
This one jumped out at me because it has the crown vic front suspension (and presumably the brakes as well). It has a really clean box, a nice interior, there is an A/c compressor in the engine bay (don't know if it works, he doesn't mention it), it has overdrive, a nice looking recently covered bench seat and cozy interior with a tilt column, a full new exhaust, big wheels and tires to accomidate big brakes, and a ford 9" rear with good gears (3.70:1). What I don't like is that the frame is still unboxed, the rear brakes are probably drum, and the rear suspension doesn't have a sway bar or traction bars and is essentially stock (with this combo I betcha it pogos like nobody's business). Out of all the ones I posted, this is the one that fits your budget that comes closest to a pro-touring truck ideal, there are just a few small projects you can do to take it from how it is now to really something without breaking the bank and while driving it the whole time.
https://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/d/1968-ford-f100-ranger/6593646687.html
since you mentioned this one, I posted this one as a clean starter truck for a pro touring project. The guy dumped a ton of mechanical stuff into it to make it a runner, but it doesn't look like it has any real upgrades that I can see. It's the kind of truck I could see you putting $10K into over time to do the suspension swap and A/C and other upgrades. The black paint does look scary, but the thing about black is it's hard to hide defects, and although the truck certainly looks like it has it's fair share of dings and dents, and the job itself looks like it was done by the blind guy working the shift at Maaco, it isn't an angry sea of warped sheet metal and bodged bodywork, which means it is at least worth a look in person.
https://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/d/1960-international-pickuptrade/6609368414.html
I posted this one because it has the Crown vic front and rear suspension swap, and looked to have a clean interior. I also happen to love international trucks, and although this is one of the ugly ones, it guarantees you won't get lost in a sea of F100s and C10s at the good guys show. The dash also tells me it's been to the GG show and won some awards so...it's at least worth a look.
https://parkersburg.craigslist.org/ctd/d/1983-ford-f100-xlt-look-at/6601576187.html
Although I said no longbeds, this one was so clean, and so well done that I thought it warranted inclusion. It's not a corner carver by any stretch but it isn't a cut spring special either. This falls into the nice family cruiser end of the spectrum that looks the part more than it is the part. This is the kind of truck that you do a few little clean up items on, and then take to shows on sundays and let people gawk at the stock interior in minty shape.
https://youngstown.craigslist.org/cto/d/68-f100/6594231773.html
https://youngstown.craigslist.org/cto/d/69-ford-f100-short-bed/6608404402.html
These two I posted because they represented different ends of the spectrum of the same generation truck. The dark red one looks to have had a ton of interior and body work done to a really high standard and also had a big block and a 4 speed. It's basically an old school muscle truck with a few pro touring parts (wheels, disc brakes). The the truck version of the 1968 mustang GT that someone puts wheels and brakes on and takes to shows. The white one represents kinda where you want to start with this as a project and the guy is including a panther front end for the suspension swap. I figure there is some wiggle room in a lot of these prices and he has a lift so if you get it up in the air and it checks out and you can get it for sub $5K you are in an ok spot.
The last note I will add here is don't forget about the engine. You want something with a desirable engine with aftermarket support. 350 small blocks, 302/351 fords, 390 fords, etc are all engines that have decent aftermarket support and you can get hop up parts for. 352s, 360s, and other oddballs just mean that an engine swap is in your future for when you get tired of the 230rwhp they are making and want to make more.
