I bought a 1989 F150 Custom 2wd short new. it was the basic inline 6 with 5spd manual, but had tilt cruise and AC. and was right close to 14,000 Canadian at the time. probably around 11,000 US.
my last new truck was a 1996 F250 SC shortbed 4wd powerstroke ZF XLT with offroad package , aluminum wheels , keyless etc. it listed at $39,900 CAN in 96 . same truck today would be in the 70,000 list range. I only paid 33,000 ish but was workign for a Ford dealer at the time.
considering how everything else has gone up in the same period. 18,000 for a bare bones pickup doesn't sound that bad.
Ford should have put a twin overhead cam head on the 4.9 efi and turbo charged it. would have been amazing