What happened to the 77? Did you sell it?
I traded it in at the ford dealer in Athens in 2002 or 2003. I was having to drive it over 120 miles a day to work and back daily, I couldn't afford that at age 23. Well I got a thing in the mail from Athens Ford for $3500 off of a used car. That was the tipping point. Went up there and found my 2001 ford focus ZTS and traded up. Focus was (IIRC) $12,000 and had 35k on it. Got about 2K for the truck and had that $3500 coupon. I never looked back, got my little focus and it's been the best car I've ever had as far as reliability. I still had it when I got the 78 C20, but when I got the Brown Impala, I gave it to my mom.
She needed a new car and she just wanted our little focus. She always liked it, and she still drives it now in 2026. She got it painted 2 years ago. Been the single most reliable car we've had and it looks like brand new. When she got it painted I found online a whole bunch of NOS parts for it to make it brand new again for her.
Now the painful part. I'll always remember driving away from the dealer in my new car, and seeing my truck in the rear view mirror as I drove away. It felt like I had left a GOOD dog behind.
On the plus side, trading up at that time made my life a whole lot better. it improved everything for me getting 32mpg. So i dont regret it but it sucked when i was doing it.
First pic is 2009 my car n truck.
Second pic was when I lowered it an inch or so and yellowed the tires. It was a cool little car.
Third pic is in 2023 after mom got it painted and I put new brakes on it, installed the 7" Alpine touch screen radio with an amp, new speakers and replaced all the lookey worn parts with Ford NOS Stuff. I even found an NOS chrome exhaust tip for it and new inside rear view mirror. Both came from the UK. (those cars are popular there like camaros and mustangs are here, so lots of parts) Serviced every single fluid, new brakes, new tires, new belt.
It's not lowered now, Dad found a set of SVT springs and such and had all the work suspension parts replaced. It drives very nicely. It's dirty looking in the picture but that car is like brand new looks wise. Just can't kill it. I won't stop running.
I love that little car. I went for the 2018 impala premier I have now because I wanted the extra room. But that lil focus been our most reliable car I've ever had.