- Seller: andy a (Contact)
- Location: Branford, Connecticut
- Mileage: 166,000 Shown
- Chassis #: 1FMDU77E63UB16487
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 4.0-Liter V6
- Transmission: Automatic
After a successful BF Auction for his 1949 Ford F1, Andy has decided to auction off his other truck. While it’s also a Ford, it’s a bit more modern and functional. This 2003 Explorer Sport Trac is honestly a rather interesting mid-sized truck and is in good condition throughout. He had one of our professional photographers come take photos and videos of it, so you get a good look at it. If you’ve been on the hunt for a capable truck that is easier to maneuver than a full-size truck and won’t break the bank, this one might just fit the bill! It’s located in Branford, Connecticut and is being offered here as a Barn Finds Auction!
After Ford stopped offering the Ranger here in the States, they decided they needed a mid-sized option for buyers who wanted a pickup but not the price tag or size of an F-150. They were already offering the Explorer SUV, both in two- and four-doors. It was determined that the Explorer would work well but was just a little too short, so they built an extended frame to accommodate the Explorer’s body and a 56-inch-long bed. This allowed them to use much of the Explorer’s body panels, minimizing production costs. The truck bed is made almost entirely of composite materials, again keeping costs down with the bonus of reducing how much weight was added.
The interior is in good condition. It could use a deep cleaning to really make it like new, but is usable as is. The original stereo has been upgraded to a more modern unit. There’s a switch on the dash for the rear Breezeway power window, as well as a selector for 2wd, 4wd high and 4wd low. It’s interesting to see these options on a truck that wasn’t also optioned with leather, but honestly, it’s a nice combination.
Only one engine was offered in the first generation of Sport Tracs, the 4.0-liter Cologne V6. It’s rated at 210 horsepower and is in good running condition. It’s mounted to a 5-speed automatic with the optional ControlTrac 4-wheel drive system. This selectable full-time 4-wheel drive system has proven to be quite capable and effective, both on and off-road. The seller states that all the systems function as they should and that it runs down the road nicely, with recently serviced brakes.
It’s amazing to think that this truck is over 20 years old! There was a time when we saw these all over the place, but now they are a rare sight, having been replaced by the reintroduced Ranger. This Sport Trac offers all the features you want, but with a proven track record and without all the distractions found in new trucks. If this sounds like the kind of truck you’ve been looking for, cast your high bids below. And leave any questions have for the seller in the comment section below.
Bid On This Auction
Ford Guy bid $4,700.00 2025-03-11 12:16:29
DJS BID bid $4,600.00 2025-03-10 17:13:03- Ford Guy bid $4,500.00 2025-03-08 18:22:04
explorer bid $4,250.00 2025-03-08 13:21:34
David bid $4,000.00 2025-03-08 13:16:08- explorer bid $3,750.00 2025-03-08 13:11:03
- Ford Guy bid $3,500.00 2025-03-08 13:04:21
- David bid $2,250.00 2025-03-07 13:09:56
- Ford Guy bid $2,000.00 2025-03-06 21:51:41
- David bid $500.00 2025-03-05 08:45:13
These rigs came and went before the Ranger was discontinued. They were not a replacement for the Ranger! The writeup needs to be corrected.
I had a 2004 2 wheel drive model, and I really liked it, EXCEPT for the absolutely horrible gas mileage. It road and handled well, and the only other negative issue was a mostly, non operative cruise control. When gas got to $4/gallon, I dumped it for a 4 cylinder. Cheaper to drive.
Been looking for one of these for awhile now. Any time I find one, it’s pretty well ragged out and a potential
money pit. As a dasher, I could use one of these to deliver anything from
take out to water heaters. Here in Florida, you’re gonna pay at least $15K to start. All the way up to $28K
in some markets. If it weren’t in Connecticut, I’d go for a look and maybe try to talk him down a bit.
Nice truck though.
This one is an auction and the reserve is very reasonable.
This is referred to as a Gen 1 version, which was 2002-2005. Gen 2 was 2007-2010. They skipped 2006. I had a 2005 2 wheel drive. Great truck! Only issue was the poorly designed thermostat housing will split and leak, but otherwise solid. I let it go a few years and traded for a 2009 4×4 Sport Trac. My son drives it now, it is approaching 160k miles and, again, other than the terrible thermostat housing, is a very solid vehicle.This will be a great buy for someone.
Correct. The housing is cheaply made and replacing it with an aluminum one solves that problem. The timing chain guides can be an issue too on the 4.0 if one doesn’t maintain it properly. Regular oil changes are a must. I have a 2004 with 170k and it runs great. Finding parts is getting harder though.
Guy down the street had a limited edition one of these. Not sure was it SVT or something, can’t recall. It had quite a bit of power I remember, lowered stance, he loved it.
Probably the Adrenaline. They are sweet. Hard to find and usually expensive.
Yes that’s it exactly Robbie. đź’Ż
He did wait for it to come along for some time too actually. It had a bright monochromatic paint job too if I recall.
I saw an Adrenaline the other day in a parking lot. I had never seen one, so I walked up to it had a good look.
I’m not sure if the owner had done some work to it, but it looked mean and had a nice, slightly lowered stance.
Rangers were made until 2011. Much superior to these. They had a worthless bed compared to the ranger, no interior storage compared to a suv. But soccer moms wanted them, like they want the maverick, so they can pretend to have a truck. The sohc 4.0 was a good motor.
Pretend to have a truck? If you’re towing some dirt bikes, quads, jet skis and want a small bed for all the gear this is a great rig. I have a half ton silverado and my wife has a hybrid Maverick . We end up using the Maverick for hauling lawn equipment to our properties and towing a utility trailer. The Chevy sits in the garage until I absolutely need an 8ft bed or more than 2k pound towing.
MarveH: When it comes time to trade the Flex, we are thinking of a Maverick. My wife likes them, and likes the idea of having another small pickup in the fold.
If they still made SportTracs, that would probably be the number 1 choice.
Hate to tell you this, but the SportTrac is a full frame TRUCK that easily outhauls a Ranger.
Interior room is MUCH more than want a Ranger can offer. And if you want the interior of an SUV, then you buy an SUV, not a pickup.
But, with the lockable fiberglass (that this was HEAVY) bed cover, you are never lacking for protected storage.
Oh, and if you needed more bed space, just fold out the bed extender.
Oh yeah, and the bed was made out of a hard shell plastic, which meant it didn’t rust around the fender wells like almost every Ranger and F-150 of these years does.
Seen plenty of these rust, and have never had bed rust on my 2 Rangers. All depends on maintenance in brine states.
I’ll stand by my statement these are worthless, to me, trucks.
I can carry 2x as much firewood or compost in a 6’ ranger. Or a weeks worth of camping gear, and 2 dead deer. And can sleep at 6’3” under a cap. And carry easy a load of plywood.
And can carry 2 14’ kayaks on top of the cap.
You can claim a Subaru brat is a truck, doesn’t mean it can do real truck work.
But they do carry soccer moms and their purses well.
I’m sure there are a lot of F150 owners that will call Ranger drivers all sort of names. Wanna be comes to mind.
I had a 2002 and loved it. Sadly, although it looked great, under that plastic cladding was all rot. Even the frame was getting bad.
When we moved, I donated it to a local charity for the $600 write off.
It was a great truck and still miss it to this day. Mine was 4WD, so was the go to vehicle for snowy days. It would fit 5 comfortably with plenty of storage in the hard covered/lockable bed/trunk. Bed extender made if more versatile.
It was cool – literally – to roll down all the side windows, open the sunroof, and lower the rear glass.
Up in NH, these were rare but here in GA there are still plenty of them on the road.
dont like the cologne bent6 altho a ford guy.
Otherwise, another suv (explorer underneath just like
the flex). Ford has a better idea (mmm…
This is NOT an Explorer underneath.
That is a common misconception because of the name.
This has its own chassis, and it’s a lot tougher than an Explorer.
I first saw one of these at the Ford test trac outside. Naples, Florida in 96 or 97. They had it wrapped so you couldn’t tell much about it but I told my wife I wanted one, so we traded my 94 Ranger in on a new Spirt Trac in 2005. My wife loved it so it became her car and I given her 96 Taurus. We traded it in on a new 08 Sport Trac. We just loved those trucks. I was angry with Ford when they quit making them in 2010.
God Bless America
The reserve is off!
How come no under car picture????