The archetypal hero of literature and cinema is the strong, silent type, but that motif perhaps shouldn’t extend to salesmanship. This is the exact text of the craigslist ad for this ’69 Ford: “1969 ford ranger f100 asking 15,000 obo.” That’s not a lot to go on, but this Wyoming truck looks fairly solid, it’s a desirable short-bed “styleside,” and it has a V8 with a four speed. That’s enough to take a closer look at this Bumpside Ford; thanks to Zappenduster for sending it our way. Let the detective work begin!
We’ll start under the hood as car buyers tend to do. Ford did us a favor by offering only four engines in the ’69 pickups, and two of them were sixes; therefore, this can only be a 360 or a 390 FE. I think I might be able to kind of/sort of see a “6” in the middle digit of what’s left of the air cleaner decal, and anecdotally, it seems like there’s a 360 under the hood of approximately 95% of Ford trucks from the ’60s and ’70s. If it is a 360, it’s a 215-horsepower two-barrel job with 327 lb.-ft. of torque, and it will probably get 10 miles per gallon no matter how you drive or what you pull. There’s no power steering and no power brakes, so you’ll get a workout for free every time you get behind the wheel, but if you’re going to play the part of the hero, you might as well be authentic.
Behind that FE is a four-speed transmission with a dashboard-height floor shifter. The transmission itself is probably an NP435, which would include a “granny” low, so it’s effectively a three-speed transmission on the floor with no overdrive. This is a two-wheel-drive model, so you could order rear axle ratios from 3.25:1 up to 4.11:1; for today’s driving, I’d prefer the 3.25, but we don’t know what this truck has (and it’s possible that the seller doesn’t either – who thinks about gears?).
The interior looks very nice, with new upholstery and a clean dash pad, which has to be rare out west. I’ve been to Wyoming, and everything is wide open; there’s no place to hide from the sun.
This truck is looking like a pretty good driver: The pictures show obvious front fender rust, but the rest of the truck, including the bed, looks solid, and this truck has clearly not been beaten to death. I think I could do without the ’50s GM hood ornament, and I’d try to exchange the ’80s-era hubcaps with something original, but it’s a cool truck. There is, however, the question of price. A few months ago, an extremely nice ’69 F-100 sold on another well-known website for $18,000, but it was a long bed, and it might have been a bit of a steal. I’m not sure if $15,000 is too much or just right, but it has been on the market for over a week, so I’d say there’s a little bargaining room here. What do you think about this honest old hero?
Take off a couple grand for paint and if everything else checks out I would think $10 to $12 k would be reasonable.
Had a 4wd w NP 4 speed. Toth is 💯 correct, most every time you would take off in 2nd gear.
55 chevy hood ornament?
The author is 100% spot on. 10 MPG no matter what you did. Start out in 2nd gear everytime. Price is a little high. Drove a bunch like this. The rear axel are weak if you do hole shots. The junk yards could not keep them in stock. I know from experience.
Just like the good old days.
I think the truck is a very good prospect to make a very nice quality driver, but be aware, it is over priced. I say that because over the last year I have restored a 73 Ford F-100, short box, 302, 2-WD, 3 speed, column shift and factory A/C. In comparison it appeared much nicer than this one. But, it had been in long term storage for over 30 years. What looked new wasn’t, much of it was NFG from a simple lack of use. I paid 20 K for it and spent double what I thought ir would take to make it a very nice truck. It took me a year and it is nice, but I have 35 K in it. My warning is, it is easy to fall in love, but have realistic expectations of what it might take to get to that happy place. Remind you of something, like a marriage, maybe? Back to reality it is easy to fall in love, but just think about IT! Is this a forever relationship, or just an intermittent fling, while looking for the one love of your life!
I have one of those hood ornaments hanging on my bathroom wall.
Nice truck but not for me. Hood ornaments were outlawed due to pedestrian injuries. Only the spring loaded ones were allowed. I personally like hood ornaments. The one on the RR that hid away is my favorite. It’s a lady and not to be trifled with. The one on this truck is really cool, but I’m not sure of its origin. Long live the hood ornament.
God Bless America
This truck might be a deal if the milage has not turned and its just a ranch truck with 58,000 miles. The Ranger trim looks nice too, as does inside the bed.
This truck might be a deal if the milage has not turned and it’s just a ranch truck with 58,000 miles. The Ranger trim looks nice too, as does inside the bed.
I had a ‘72 F150. 360 2bbl. 2WD. Drive it like a stole it. About 12 mpg in mixed driving. Took it camping fully loaded. Camping gear, firewood, outboard motorcycle in the back. 10 foot fiberglass boat on top of the canopy. 14.6 mpg at 70mph.
Bought a ‘75 F150 Supercab. Rare high compression 4bbl 360, 2WD. Had the engine rebuilt and balanced. It was good for 15-16 daily driving with premium fuel- if you stayed out of the secondaries. Had a light on the dash labeled “Secondaries” to help in that regard.
There were more than 4 engines available. 302 Windsors were popular.
I had a 69 F-250. I this I did was selling it It was one of those PU that always ran an never had to worry about NOT Starting. was very dependable. Been trying to find another, What is the mileage on this one?