I think the Ford would be a great truck. I like steel frames and bulk vs. fuel economy.
This is my 16 year old about 2.5 years ago. This past July it was passed down to my other 16 year old daughter.

My godson who is like my son (I have no kids of my own)
and hunting partner turns 15 in March and gets a learners permit...he loves old ford trucks...I found this yesterday and after checking it out, I bought it. Runs and drives great, inline 6 with 4 speed manual. He has never drove a manual
before but he started driving my trucks in the pasture across from the camp house at age 9 and has been driving on the club roads etc since about 12. It needs paint, new floor for the pickup box and some other stuff but surprisingly in great shape for 27 years old,I figure he can work on it and I will help and hopefully he will appreciate the whole car thing a little more than just handing him something when he turns 16. Have any of you semi restored a old truck have suggestions, thoughts?

Good job dad! Safety first

I think the Ford would be a great truck. I like steel frames and bulk vs. fuel economy.
This is my 16 year old about 2.5 years ago. This past July it was passed down to my other 16 year old daughter.

Fuel economy is not a factor, it's merely a nice bonus.

Airbags, anti-lock brakes, and electronic stability control are HUGE safety gains.

With due respect to the poster above (and I mean that, I'm not trying to be personally critical), the SUV may not be the safest choice. I understand the argument for bulk, but SUVs sit high off the ground and have a much greater propensity to roll than a vehicle with a lower CG.

Couple that with the fact that SUVs have very wide tires (like the one I drive). Wide tires have a much, much greater tendency to hydroplane than small, skinny tires.

It has also been my personal observation that long-wheelbase, tall SUVs are inherently unstable in a skid--very difficult to recover by steering into the skid like you can in a car.

So...you've got a rear-wheel drive vehicle that wants to hydroplane and then skid because it's being pushed by the driving wheels, is unstable when it gets into a skid, and wants to roll when it's sliding sideways. Not good.

I know all this stuff because it happened to me.

For a teenager, especially a teenage boy, I would buy (and indeed did buy) a small car (fewer passengers) with a weak-ass 4-cylinder. It is not cool and you couldn't hot rod in it if you wanted to. It has anti lock brakes and electronic stability control.

Preach smart behavior to your child: No texting, no drinking, drive defensively.

Don't scrimp on tires! Worn tires hydroplane and skid. Bite the bullet and replace your tires as soon as they get close to flunking the penny test.

That is all.

The most important thing, no matter what you buy them, is to instill defensive driving practices and under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are they to use their cell phones while driving. Especially texting.