According to the 1971 Ford Trucks brochure, the swanky Ranger XLT shown above was the Ford truck that was driven by the foreman, or perhaps the guy in charge of engineering who’s looking at his watch because he’s such a busy guy. You don’t have to be in charge of the jobsite or the blueprints to own this 1971 F-100 with a purported 24,209 miles on it. Whether or not the odometer has rolled, this looks like a solid, original truck with the biggest engine available in the pickup line in 1971. Bind Finds reader Mike F. spotted it here on craigslist in Florence, Colorado, with a pretty decent asking price for a truck that the current owner has been using as a daily driver: $7,500.
While the 335-series (351C/400) and the 385-series (429) engines had replaced the FE big-block in Ford’s car lines by 1971, trucks continued using them up through 1976, and this F-100 has the big 255-horsepower 390. The seller says that the truck has been treated to “new belts, hoses, radiator, thermostat, timing chain, water pump, carburetor, tires and transmission service,” in addition to new brakes. You can see that the Ranger has power brakes (new booster, too?) and power steering with an oil cooler. For a minute, I questioned why the owner would have replaced the timing chain when there were “24,209 original miles on the factory motor,” but then I remembered that Ford (along with other OEMs) used plastic cam gears in the timing set, and 55 years have certainly made them brittle. If that’s the case, it’s no evidence that the mileage isn’t original.
Honestly, if I were thinking of buying this truck, I wouldn’t even care about the mileage. Look at how solid those doors, rockers, and cab corners are. An FE will run for a long time, but rust is forever.
That seat cover will have to be thrown away, burned, or some combination of the two, but underneath, you can see the factory cloth-and-vinyl seat, which has some torn seams but is still recognizable as having factory upholstery. You can also see the Ranger XLT’s full carpeting in this picture, but just out of frame is the missing clutch pedal: This truck has the optional Cruise-O-Matic. The Ranger XLT, as the line-topper, had woodgraining on the dashboard, along with extra bright and woodgrain trim on the exterior.
Not to belabor the point, but look at this solid bed. Who cares if it has 124,000 miles on it?
The one thing missing that I see is the woodgrain accents on the bodyside molding and the tailgate. (Here’s an example of a restored Ranger XLT.) It’s completely possible that they’ve been removed after they started fading or peeling, but I kind of like the truck without them. This isn’t a Country Squire, it’s a truck, and its original paint (one of three greens available in 1971), along with the dings and bruises of time, give it the exact vibe that I’d want in a truck. What do you think would be a fair offer for this one?
Suuuure it does, this truck had 24K when I graduated HS(1972) Like the author sez, mileage shouldn’t matter, these are so hard to find today. This truck had some kind of cap on the back, as they never would look like that, and still a great find. From a time when a pickup was a pickup. Great find, once so popular, had a couple myself, and drove several for jobs, and for the record, Mr. Bossman never drove a F100.
Now a word about “Florence”, home to ADX Florence, or “Alcatraz of the Rockies”. OOO, all the bad boys go there, El Chapo, the Unibomber until he died in custody, that “tennis shoe” bomber guy, yep, all at Florence. Colorado? Really? Some deterrent, send them to those urine soaked heck holes in Peru, that will learn ya’,,,
If that only has 24k miles on it, it was an awful hard 24k miles. As we used to say… looks like she was rode hard and put away wet.
That said, she’s in decent shape for the age and price.
Let’s see, /checks calendar, the old girl is 54 years old. They’re not all in climate controlled storage.
I owned and the twin to this truck for 20 years. Mine was a 1970 and had the 360 and no power brakes. Totally dependable. Only had two issues: The exhaust manifolds occasionally got loose and had to be re-sealed, and the neighborhood mice used it as their winter residence. I finally couldn’t deal with the critters any longer and I donated the truck to the auto shop at the local vocational school.
Very clean truck here with a lot of work done and the price seems good.
Aaron, You have found us another Great Truck!!! By the looks of the seat it has the 124k milage.. V8, Auto trans, power brakes and steering checks all the boxes. This truck will make someone a great daily driver, thou a little tough at todays fuel prices, a great weekend work horse and with some TLC an interesting survivor vehicle to bring to local shows and cars & coffee.
fair price. it would be nice to see some docs to back up miles claim. looks like a survivor. if had endless cash i would be all over it. that price is a good deal.
2 years ago I sold a 65 galaxie with an FE 352. Some parts are interchangeable with the 390 ( not the heads or intake.
It had the original plastic timing gear. Also lots of paraffin buildup from old oils.
It had 110k on it.
It was advertised as quieter than the rolls Royce in its commercials.
I’ll bet it’s gone
I bet its gone especially cause it is a ford.