Any Ranchero ordered with a 429 cid V8 is wicked cool, but this particular 1970 Ford Ranchero GT Twister Special raises the bar as one of 201 Ranchero GTs built with the 429 Cobra Jet engine, one of 60 of those equipped with the Drag Pack, and one of two of those from a Ford sales promotion branding a certain cars in its Kansas City Sales District as “Twister Specials.” Thanks to twisterspecial.com and hotrod.com for details. Listed here on craigslist in Wichita, Kansas, this rare and interesting vehicle can be yours for the numerically sequential asking price of $1,234,567. On the surface this seems like a ridiculously high number, but who can put a price on this type of rarity? All kidding aside, this fictional price is apparently the seller’s way of setting up a closed-bid auction where people with a real interest call in until an acceptable value is established. It’s too bad there are no sites on the Internet accommodating the electronic auction of vehicles. Oops; did I say “all kidding aside?” Thanks to reader Sam A. for spotting this two-door ranch racer.
That rear bumper looks like someone picked a fight with a D9 Dozer and lost. Otherwise, this Ranchero shows mostly straight panels and trim with surface rust. Who knows what lurks underneath.
The Ranchero answered the call of buyers looking for a blend of car-like driving experience and styling with the utility of a pickup truck bed. This high-powered utility vehicle would have had no trouble passing tumbleweeds (and anything but a gas station) with its 370 HP 429 and 3.91 gears.
The 429 CJ motor and Ram Air hood apparently blew away some time ago. The seller offers a non-original motor and transmission, presumably at an additional cost. The perfect buyer might be someone who once owned a Twister Special, or always wanted one, or a local Ford dealer looking for showroom eye candy. That said, it would be a shame to restore this once-awesome blend of car and truck without letting it twist its tires into a smoky burnout once in a while. The optional hidden headlights would really put it over the top, but this interesting Ford is virtually unique as it sits. Who do you picture owning this Twister Special?
‘Who do you picture owning this Twister Special?’ Hi Todd, Twisted Sister maybe?
A junkyard, perhaps?
Neat car. Missing orig mill and the ram air stuff beats down the value. It would be nice to know where the guy is at as far as his price. I realize he’s trying to capitalize on the rarity; ultimately the buyer will set the value. Hope someone who really appreciates it gets his hands on it.
Cheers
GPC
“Any Ranchero ordered with a 429 cid V8 is wicked cool”. And a handful in the wet!
The twister specials were cool – Im curious though as this is from the twister special website:
“4 Torino Ranchero’s with 351 Cleveland engines” – am I missing something?
Still I havent seen one surface in a while.
better read again there were 2 429scj cars the 4 m codes were a myth
The number is 2 with the 429 SCJ and none else.
This would look nice towing my brothers ‘70 429 Cobra,drop in a 460ci mill and drive this awesome find! Maybe that’s what happened to the rear bumper?
Interesting vehicle. The license plate caught me eye
LY was the designation for LYON county. Empires being the county seat. My grandmother and aunt lived in Emporia back in the day of that plate.
it was lyons county was in a little town north of emporia named admire ks
Could be an interesting build, but why is everything always missing with the rare ones?
Power plant and shaker “ram-air” hood might be perched on a Torino! This Ranchero looks like it was used to plow up the back forty….
How much for the Mopar jacket a guy is wearing?
Still neat it survived…..
ok people price is 2 million… dont like it go find the other one…
Over priced junk. All.original .doubt it.
This car needs the Randy Deliso treatment.
He did do a car for Twisted Sister in the 80s.
Cool car. Pictures of the undercarriage and interior would be helpful, particularly if you are marketing the car as a rare find.
Two comments actually;
1). When they call it a “Twister Special”, does that mean the car looks like it was hit by a tornado?
2). When the original drive train is missing, then the alleged uniqueness of this vehicle goes out the window. It is “one of two” only if it has the features INTACT to make it unique. Remove those features, and it becomes just another Ranchero with an engine swap, albeit one of the most beat-up Rancheros I think I have seen in a very long time.
The ad says the seller will consider real estate. How about some nice river bottom where we can park this thing?
The uniqueness is tied to the VIN, not the condition of the vehicle.
Twisted Special is more like it!
Who lets 1 of 2 get in that condition?????
Can’t see this as having added value as a 1 of 2 for a local edition outside of say Kansas. It may still be rare, but rare like that doesn’t mean much to collectors from away.
You must not be familiar with the Twister Special Mustangs.
Original drive train missing and it needs a total restoration from top to bottom, inside and out. I think we can all agree it will take serious money to bring this car back to it’s former glory. Yes, as a rare 429 Cobra Jet, it will be a valuable collector car when it’s restored but you have to ask yourself how much a Twister decal adds to it’s value.
As The Walrus commented, if you’re not from Kansas, you may not care.
It’s fairly obvious by the price, the owner is more interested in simply showing this “1 of 1” off to people, simply because he can. It isn’t worth even $70K totally restored. Nice dream, but that’s all it is.
If this were a pristine original Ford with matching numbers drive train, perfect flawless interior, zero rust and low low miles it would still only be worth 1 /10th the asking price so I agree with Will Fox, he’s just showing off that he’s got a mildly interesting ride.
Seems to me that the ad implies he’s looking for interested parties. Doesn’t really have an “asking price” though.
I dont know 4500-7500 ? Someone is a ranchero guy that has to have it for 4500, but then the other ranchero guy wants it more. Sure i would put the 460 in it and leave stripes here and there.
‘ seems ‘ to be a ridiculously high number ? can you say ‘ understatement ‘
I think it’s funny that people are poo-poo’ing the car saying that it’s not worth anything because it is missing the original drivetrain and beat to hell.
Have you guys priced the Mustang Twister Specials lately? Yeah, tape and sticker package, but they bring a tidy premium over other SCJ Mustangs.
Now, consider this is a special edition vehicle that very few were built to begin with and they were all thought to be lost / never to be seen again until this one was found.
Another thing to consider: people pay BIG bucks for a Hemi Cuda ~ even one’s “restored” from scrap metal. While this Ranchero isn’t in the same league as a Hemi car, it definitely has value beyond scrap.
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hot-1971-hemi-cuda/
I don,t know what these whiners are talking about. This car is not that bad.
I know that I have seen at least one of these in my distant past! If I remember correctly the graphics were a twisting tornado down the sides on top of the white stripes! Maybe it was this one? Who knows, I lived and trucked across Kansas many years!
Give me a break !
Twister means the chassis twists under full throttle with that 429.
Ford country ’round here, but the only thing that interests me is no longer with the car The engine. Probably one of two ’cause maybe nobody really gave a flying hoot about the all new Ranchero with a stormin’ big block. Love the sleek fastbacks of ’70-’71, very slippery looking machines, but I just never cared for these Ranchero’s
If you are a Ford guy, then you should know why two were built. Has nothing to do with popularity.
I’ve seen this before. The twister “thing” was not on the back fender. It has been added on. Notice how it looks in good condition compared to rest of car?
He drafted some up for the muscle car show in Chicago. They are severely faded but there.
Yep that being said,this solid-looking Ford is desirable.The big block and options will get the asking price! Nice paint color with the GT-laser stripes too.Twister-sticker does not look original,was this built with “doner cars”?
The new Twister decal was added for showing the car, but the outline of the original was still visible on the car. There are some pics of the faint image around online somewhere ~ facebook I think.
I believe the car was verified by Kevin Marti to be all original sheetmetal / not rebodied.
Thanks to Marti report,it’s well worth getting it back to the pavement.Too bad the hood is gone,the shaker ram-air on these Fords are awesome! My recent comment to a family members ‘70 Cobra 429 (Torino-based)California car seems to have every option available,its rough but original and has beautiful saddle leather-trim interior!
Nice rare car with a missing engine and hood. Where do they all go over time, to the engine and hood graveyard in the sky!! And there are a lot of RARE cars showing up. Nice cars for a little too much money. But still nice rare cars.
Original motor is the heart of the vehicle the rest is just sheet metal that is the same on every ranchero. Without the original motor I would not put much value in the car. Rather have the original motor where the real value lies and drop it in a well preserved Ford of any model.
The heart of the vehicle is the VIN. Anyone can install an engine but only one is detonated by the VIN.