Kornnut

Today going down the road we spotted a reg cab new f-150 for $10,727. This seems like a pretty good deal to me. I am hoping these deals stay out there till late Jan-Feb so I can pick one up.

Anyway onto the questions.

How is the 6cy in these trucks? Dependable? Enough to tow a 95 mustang to the track? General thoughts on the truck?

I have done a little searching on ford.com and here and seen an auto will tow more, and that fits in cause I will pay a little more for an auto so the wife can drive it and I am tired of shifting gears.

Octane

The 4.2L is a good engine. IMO its a little bit underpowered for towing a Mustang though.
I personally wouldnt want an F-150 with a manual transmission. The automatic tows more and have fewer issues. The 5-speed manual in the F-150 is well-known for the gear synchros failing.
Ive seen quite a few '05-'07s reg cab 4x2 V6 F-150 for sale for about $10,000 but they have all been manuals. Id half considered trading my '99 for one, but Im not sure I want to deal with the shortcomings of the manual tranny.

Mr B

I have a 4.2 with 5spd manual and tow a boat trailer on a regular basis. The power is there. Runs a little warmer than it does without the trailer, but no problems. The only issue I have is that I go through brakes faster, but that is common on our trucks.

Good old Bill

I have a 02, 4.2 auto 176K on the clock. Personnally, I find mine weak on flat roads at highway speeds. OD is off of course and any slight incline pulls you down in speed. My boat is probably equal to the mustang, on steep hills its second gear, 3000 RPM and 45MPH. Not the way to go on flat land. My replacement will be either 4.6 or 5.4. In defense of the 4.2, my old 1973 F250 with a 390, same incline, same boat, same story, 2nd gear. The incline is a good pull, 2900 foot elevation change in 14 miles. On flat roads the 390 did just fine on the flat roads.