by A New Work Truck That Never Worked
In July 1983, someone walked into the Ace Ford dealership in Woodbury, New Jersey, and bought this Ford F-150 XLT Lariat brand new for $10,631. Adjusted for inflation, that’s equivalent to about $34,600 today. For comparison, a modern F-150 XLT SuperCab with a V8 engine now starts at around $51,000.
It was intended to be a work truck, spending weekdays hauling loads and weekends parked at the hardware store. However, over the next 43 years, it covered only 5,800 kilometers and spent almost all its time in the garage. Now, this F-150, likely one of the least-used examples of its year in the USA, is up for auction.
The seller recently acquired this pickup from the original owner, and its condition is so perfect that it didn’t even need detailing before being listed on the Bring a Trailer auction platform.
A Time Capsule in Wimbledon White
The car is painted Wimbledon White with Candyapple Red accents and features generous chrome trim. It still wears its original 15-inch wheels with General Steel Radial tires. On the rare occasions it was driven, it was clearly not used for hard work. The body and trim look as if 1983 ended just last week.
An Interior Frozen in 1983
The same picture is inside. The bench seat is upholstered in bright red vinyl, with the same shade present on the door panels, dashboard, and carpets. The car also retains the original AM/FM radio, air conditioning, power steering, and a black two-spoke steering wheel.
There are no touchscreens, configurable displays, or menus to scroll through. Just switches, dials, and a faint sense that one shouldn’t overthink things here.
The Heart of an Era
Under the hood lies a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated Windsor V8 gasoline engine producing 133 horsepower and 233 lb-ft of torque, paired with a three-speed automatic transmission. A modern compact Ford Maverick might have nearly twice the power, but it’s not even half as cool as this F-150.
Cars like this make you realize what an ordinary American pickup actually looked and felt like in 1983, before complex screens, drive modes, and six-figure price tags quietly rewrote the formula.
If you’re one of those people not interested in modern pickups, this F-150 might be just what you need. You can view the auction lot and appreciate how rare it is for a 43-year-old pickup to look so untouched. You can place a bid, simply admire it, or marvel at the fact that someone could not drive it for four decades. The choice is yours.
This story is a great illustration of how the automotive world has changed over the past decades. On one hand, we have a genuine time capsule, a piece of machinery that was practically unused and preserved the authenticity of its era. On the other hand, it reminds us of the simplicity and straightforwardness of past cars, where every element had a clear purpose, and the driver’s interface didn’t require studying a manual. Today’s collector car market increasingly values such “time capsules”—original, unrestored specimens with minimal mileage. They become not just vehicles, but tangible carriers of history, telling stories about the lifestyle, technology, and consumer expectations of their time. The sale of such a rare specimen will undoubtedly generate interest among collectors, for whom authenticity is often more important than perfection.
