That was back in the days when trucks weren't considered cars.

That manual transmission is the NP435, where NP is New Process -- the
manufacturer.

It is perhaps the most bullet proof transmission to ever come off the
production line. The T5 is very similar, except it has five gears.

I have the NP435 in my '81 Jeep CJ5, and I only use 1st gear when I need to
go very slow over rocks, or to pull stuff -- such as drag my house off of
its foundation. 1st is geared at 6.69:1, 4th is 1:1, 2nd and 3rd pretty much
divide the range equally.

To answer your question, yes it is normal, and no trucks of that era are not
geared like cars.

As I recall, the 80s F series trucks had 3, 4-sp trannys.  The Warner
T-18/the NP435 and the SROD.  The SROD (single-rail overdrive) had all
forward speeds syncronized, while the T-18 and the NP435 had a spur-gear
as 1st gear (granny gear).  The SROD was more 'car like', but still very
strong and capable of truck work.

Dave S (Texas)

Thanks for asking this question -- it's been years since I heard
anyone say "granny gear" but thanks to your question and a touch of
Wild Turkey, the memories are coming back to me.

Back in the day -- back when men were MEN and trucks were TRUCKS -- my
friend Bob had a 48 GMC, ugly green with the curved windows on the
rear corners of the cab.

Bob's "little green truck" had a granny gear -- we called it "bulldog
gear."  When we would trek back into the Smoky Mountains and
surrounding areas, we often ran out of road.  Many a time Bob would
shove the little green truck into bulldog, pull out the hand throttle
(yes, it had a hand choke and hand throttle), we would get out of the
truck, he'd reach through the window to hold the steering wheel, and
we'd walk alongside the truck, watching for stumps, rocks , holes, and
the like while the truck pulled itself along with Bob steering through
the window.

The little green truck also had a spotlight mounted on the driver's
side windshield pillar with the control handle that aimed the
spotlight inside the truck.  We had somewhat limited funds at the time
-- being young lads who were employed delivering newspapers, cutting
grass, sacking groceries, and the like -- but we kept two $10 bills
rolled up and stashed inside the spotlight handle, just in case we
needed money.

One time something broke on the carb linkage and we fixed it -- no
kidding -- with a piece of wire cut from a coat hanger that we found
lying alongside the road.  Try that with today's truck.

Then there are all the old VW Beetles I owned . . .