It’s hard to go wrong with a short bed-anything these days, as vintage pickups continue to take off in price. Whether it’s a Ford, Chevy, or GMC, a pickup with short hindquarters is the one to buy. This 1969 Ford F100 Ranger is a bit rough around the edges, but it has that patina look that’s all the rage right now. The truck also comes with the sweet combination of a 390 paired to a three speed manual, checking all the boxes. If you want a perfect truck, it’s not the one to buy, but many truck enthusiasts want one that looks just like this – so check it out here on eBay where it’s offered with a Buy-It-Now of $8,895 and the option to submit a best offer if it’s your style.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Larry D. for the find. Despite the rough paint and the dented passenger door, the body is said to be solid in all of the vulnerable locations. The floors, rockers, and door jambs are all said to be rust-free. The floors and bed are said to be solid as well. The white rally wheels are a great look for a truck of this vintage, along with the white letter radials. The seller does note some small rust spots in the bottom corners of the doors and fenders, but there’s nothing that seems all that significant from this vantage point. While paintless dent removal does incredible work, the seller contends a new door skin is needed to correct this door damage.
The 390 is a nice find under the hood, offering good power and the potential for upgrades that will uncork the V8 and make some great noise when rowing through the gears. Though it runs, it has the usual issue of barn find vehicles in that the gas tank obviously has rust or sediment in the bottom, as the seller advises it needs to be replaced. The truck is currently running off the bottle, and the seller claims it has 63,000 miles. As a North Carolina truck, the other good news is that in addition to being mostly rust-free, it comes with the title, as that’s one state that’s stringent about keeping vehicles and titles together.
The interior is a serious bright spot, as despite the roughshod exterior, the cabin is in very nice condition. The bench seat is merely worn as opposed to neglected, and while it does have a rip right where the driver’s left thigh would get in and out, the rest of the upholstery is holding together. The dash and carpeting are surprisingly nice, with the attractive red carpet showing no major stains or dirt, and the dash even appears to retain the factory radio. The dash pad does have some cracks, which isn’t a big surprise, but that’s a straightforward fix. Personally, I love this F100 Ranger – and I’d fix the door and drive as-is. Would you?
Must be some good smoke going around N.C. And as far as patina. CALL IT What it really is. Rust and Neglect.
I believe it’s on the ballot there, 3 out of 4 want it legalized. Funny you call it rust and neglect, we just called it “used”.
We’ll see if the market really is preferring short boxes when I sell mine. This is an okay find, most of these were company trucks and few survived. I had a ’69 F250, 390, 3 speed column, great truck. 390 a thirsty horse, but none better. Again, no PS or brakes, seems typical of the era. I wonder why that was? They weren’t expensive options, and clearly made them safer, and more universal to drive, like for ladies. Could it be, during this time, chauvinistic men thought, you have no business in a truck, and this prevented them from driving it? Don’t laugh, my grandfather would have said something like that. Thank goodness that attitude died with him. Fact is, PS in semi trucks alone allowed more women( and weaklings, like me) to drive one, although, I have driven manually steered semis, it’s no fun. No PS really is a chore, when we’re used to one finger steering. A neighbor has a truck like this, ’78, I think, and a 6, no PS, she can barely drive it, I could just imagine with a big block. No bidders, but lots of lookers, so the interest is there, price, like I say, we’ll just see how fast mine goes,,,at half this price, and a twice as nice.
Howard A, send me some info on your truck if you want it to go to a good home . I take very good care of my toys and never sell them . Mconroy414@yahoo.com
Agreed regarding the power steering and power brakes.
In my youth, as a Southwestern Bell Cable Splicer working in downtown Houston, I drove Ford Trucks with no power steering and frequently had to parallel park the truck AND a trailer. Don’t know if I could do that now but then, it was a measure of strength and skill.
Where are you and the two trucks you reference located and, are either of the trucks for sale?
Thanks
Howard, please let me know when you decide to sell your truck. I presume you will list it in the BF Classifieds. I guess you’ll have to go through Jesse or Josh to contact me. Don’t think I am allowed to post any contact info here.
Hi, I’m in central Colorado, the Ford is not for sale, and I haven’t decided on who I’m listing my GMC with, if at all. Originally, I wanted to trade the GMC for a CJ, but may hang on to the truck for a spell, in case I don’t like the Jeep. The GMC runs so dang nice, I literally hate to get rid of it. I doubt it will be listed here, however, and I may get a stern lecture on this, but I feel “members” should be able to advertise for free, ( sorry, aside from “early access”, members don’t get many perks) and are competing with CL, and FB, and I simply can’t afford the “sellers fee”. I know, what am I complaining about, I’ll probably triple my money, and BF’s has great coverage, we’ll see. Thanks.
I think, from that under hood shot, that this thing was not loved very much. That oil filter is scary and where is the air cleaner? It does look like a new distributor cap though. I always thought of these as homely compared to the same era Chevys, but it’s a functional short bed with a 390 and a manual…
3 on the column is nice…no PS not nice..the twin I-beam steering is junk on these trucks..patina is a new word for rust..just rambling lol
Lots of potential. That’s been a hard 63K.
i would’nt give ten cents for a short bed, if it don’t have an eight foot bed to me it ain’t a truck
I agree, unfortunately its difficult to find a newer truck with a useable 8ft bed anymore.
Oddest one of these I have ever known of is a local owner who has a ’72 (I believe) Ranger XLT his father bought from the original owner when it was two years old. It has a 4 cylinder engine with two plugs per cylinder and a 5-speed manual transmission. I read somewhere they were produced in Brazil.