In the south, I think this is true.
However, elsewhere the "Reagan Democrat" is something of a myth.
Take a look at Pennsylvania. In 1980, Reagan actually lost Allegheny and Beaver Counties (blue collar Democrat Pittsburgh area) by slightly larger margins than Ford did in 1976.
In other metro Pittsburgh counties, he did somewhat better than Ford, but not much.
On a percentage basis, Reagan's best turnaround compared to Ford were Fulton (South Central) and Pike (northeast), but Ford won those as well -- Reagan just carried them by larger margins. In raw numbers though the collar counties of Philly were much of the turnaround.
Bucks Reagan carried by 41K, Ford by just 6K
Montgomery Reagan carried by 72K, Ford by 42K
Delaware Reagan carried by 55K, Ford by 31K.
In those days though the Philly collar was Republican. Today that is no longer true...Kerry won those counties, although Bush carried much of the metro Pittsburgh area.
I am not necessarily advocating dumping the social conservative message -- indeed, Reagan could appeal to social conservatives and social libertarians.
That message has been subjected to unremitting negative advance and bracketing gimmicks since 1994 by the (liberal, hate our guts) media.
If I speak in favor of original intent and RKBA, I am a backwoods knuckledragger, and if the sound man can't get a damaging quote from me, the political reporter or syndicated polemicist will put words in my mouth, to convince suburban mothers that I want to own a .50-cal. Barrett rifle, the kind snipers use in Afghanistan, and shoot it off around schoolyards as I practice for my chance to assassinate somebody.
If I speak against affirmative action and quote Martin Luther King on colorblindness, that gets twisted to mean that I'm really a closet racist and ethnocentrist fanatic who is mean to South Asian women. (Again, the pitch will be to women, as a swing constituency -- like the Newt divorce stories.)
If I favor a strong defense, I want a war.
If I favor adoption over abortion, I'm an American mullah, an abortion-clinic mad bomber, a Holy Joe inquisitor lusting to burn abortion doctors and expectant mothers at the stake.
And on and on it goes. It's Dresden School destructive propaganda, and it never ends.
That's the main problem the social-conservative agenda has politically. It's the inability to articulate itself without reporters using their offices to do "negative advance" and polemicize for the other side.