UPDATE 11/11/2019 – A few of you commented about the year being wrong, so Chris dug around and found an old registration slip. It turns out that this is a 1971! If you have any questions about this truck, please let us know in the comments.
Classic trucks are great and it’s easy to see why they are becoming collectible. While they built tons of these Ford F-100s, most were driven to death. Reader Chris L bought this 1971 Ford F-100 Ranger long bed from a close friend a few years ago. His friend owned it for the better part of 25 years, but by the time Chris got it, it was in need of some work. He has it running but has lost steam on it and has decided to let someone else finish and enjoy it. If you’d love to give this Black Plate survivor a new home, it’s located in Los Angeles, California and be sure to bid on it below!
This survivor is still wearing its original orange paint, which is starting to show its age. With some buffing, it could actually look really good. Given how solid and straight it is, repainting it is also an option and would make it as good as new. Chris has already had the steel wheels powder-coated and new General tires mounted up. He also recently installed a fresh battery.
Powering this Ford is a 302 V8. While you could get up to a 390 cui V8 in ’72, the 302 provides a nice balance of power and efficiency. It’s rated at 154 horsepower, which won’t win any races, but makes for a nice weekend driver. And there are lots of bolt-on upgrades if you decide you need a little more grunt. It’s paired to a manual transmission and is sending power to just the rear wheels.
The interior appears to need the most work here. There’s not much to these trucks though, so it really just needs new seat upholstery, a new dash pad cover, a headliner and a new windshield to be a really nice driver. You could probably get away with just replacing the seat cover, but parts are cheap enough for these that it would be worth replacing anything that’s worn out or simply getting old.
Sure, it has some bumps and bruises, but this truck looks to be a really great truck. Clean up the interior, buff the paint out, tune-up the engine and this will be a fun truck for everything from weekend drives to trips to the lumber yard. As Chris puts it, “if you’re looking for a real honest unmolested pickup, this is it”, and I have to agree with him! It comes with the original California black plates and is currently registered, although his Golden Retriever ate the registration card. So, if you’ve been looking for a good classic truck, this Ford is definitely worth bidding on!
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 302 V8
- Transmission: 3-Speed Manual
SOLD!
Auction your car here on Barn Finds for only $99!
I don’t want to get not-picky here but that grill looks like a’71. The’72 only had one vertical bar on each side. Just the same they were good trucks. We had a couple of’71 3/4 tons, one was a 4×4. The 4×4 was traded in for a Dodge W-300 a couple years later. It was bought by a rancher toward the Sweetgrass Hills and is still in use today.
Good catch, my friend, it is a ’71 grill. Who knows how it got there. I drove a truck like this as a body shop supply delivery driver. It wasn’t a “Sport”( whistles) or a Custom, but same 302, 3 speed, no power steering or brakes, it took a pounding. Shows, like the last Ford pickup, power steering or brakes just wasn’t ordered, and probably pretty cheap options too. Stop light express, I shifted that thing a zillion times, it never failed. I’ve driven or owned several of these, never remember a bad one. And the reason they are becoming more popular, tells me, people are finally fed up with what’s being offered today.
I had the identical truck. With the same grill. I lost in Des Moines Iowa on my way Illinois from California. I sold it to a towing company on the side of the road and kept on going. I wish I had it back.
Good Eyes!! You are correct. It’s a ’71. Just looked at the remaining bits of the registration card. Yes, I should have done that b4 listing truck. I apologize for the hassle. Chris, the seller.
Great truck and a nice setup 302/4 speed!! It’s cheap enough too!!!
With that column shifter, I’m gonna say it’s actually a three speed.
71, is my fav. of the plastic grilles. Either this one has been replaced or truck is a 71. V.I.N. will clear it up.
I think it’s a three on the tree, no 4 speed.
Yeah where’s the floor shifter????
Good point Robert!!!
Column shift–you can see it peeking out in one of he pics. A pickup as it should–hree pedals, stock steel wheels, unbutchered.
Very similar to one I had, the only differences are that mine was blue and had a short box. The 302 was a good engine for my needs; good enough for reasonable economy and with enough grunt to pull a 23′ camper. Love to have this one as it looks like a solid survivor and equipped just the way my old ’72 was. I’d probably paint it, refresh the interior and get rid of those cheesy looking mirrors.
To Howard’s point on the increased popularity of vintage pickups, I’m sure some folks may be fed up with the current pickups being offered today. I can’t afford a new one which is OK by me as I wouldn’t want one. They’re too big with too many doors and the beds are too small. So to me, they aren’t really a true pickup. I think a big reason that the older pickups are becoming more popular is that a good one is still fairly affordable. A lot of us would like a nice Mustang or Camaro but the price for a good one is beyond what the average guy can afford. Right now, the mid-’60s through the ’70s pickups are popular, and reasonably affordable but if you want one, my guess is you’d better find one soon as I’ll bet the prices for them are going to keep going up.
I agree with FordGuy, couple the general increased interest in trucks with their relatively low prices, and they are the growth area in the collector world. So yes, prices will likely be going up.
I had to chuckle at the honesty of this truck. It exhibits several interior` items which I remember when seeing a well-used Ford pickup: the completely worn out brake pedal pad, the hole in the floor mat where your heel resides, the cracked steering wheel, the hose clamp holding the shift lever in place.
I like this truck, but it’s to bad he put General tires on it, besides Uniroyals those are the worst tires ever. That’s the first thing I’d change out. Put a set of Michelins on it with high traction rating and enjoy this beauty. Grill doesn’t matter to me, I kind of like it. Everyone has their own ideas, that’s mine. The color was quite popular back then.
God bless America
I have a 71 Ford Sport Custom and, like this one, there are no Ranger emblems on it anywhere. So is my truck a Ranger or is this not a Ranger?
Can’t remember when Ford implemented the twin I-beam front suspension but if this has it, I would rip it out and add the crown vic front suspension.
There’s a misspelling on those “General” tires. The sidewall says “Kelly”.
I’m not a fan of General tires anyway, so I’ll be happy with the misspelling.
Very nice truck, it’s tempting but I’m not sure I want to drive it back to PA. Although it would be a great adventure.
I like the 71 & 72 grills best of this body style. This is a 71 according to the grilles.
Michelin owns Uniroyal tires. As Michelin develops new products, they downgrade the older product to their lesser divisions. It goes from Michelin to BF Goodrich, then to Uniroyal. Someone posting before that Uniroyal is the worst tire in the world & Michelin is great is half correct. Michelin rocks. Uniroyal is Michelins old technology. Good tires, great prices, just 3rd generation regarding tech.
I like this old truck. I had one like it many years ago. I bought it at a car dealer auction when I worked @ a small dealership prior to me starting my own dealership, also many years ago lol.
The one I bought had the same drivetrain, same non-power features, burgundy with black interior. I paid $275.00 for it. I should have kept it.
This was in the early 1990’s, during my “urban cowboy” stage lol. I felt so thick driving around the ghettos of Milwaukee in that truck. What a moron I was as a kid lol.
where is this located
Truck is located near UCLA in West Los Angeles.