Original Paint’ina: 1973 Ford F-100 Ranger

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Original and rust-free – or in the words of the seller of this 1973 Ford F-100 Ranger, rot free – is what a lot of people are looking for when it comes to old vehicles and especially old pickups. This colorful truck can be found here on eBay in Elmwood Park, New Jersey. The bids are over $5,400 with a full seven days left. Thanks to Jamie for sending in this tip!

I haven’t seen this color combo in decades. As a kid I called them “banana Fords”. I know, that’s lame now that I think about it, why didn’t my parents tell me to quit saying that?! Scarred for life. I love the look of this truck but with such a bright and happy color it seems like it really wants to be painted to look like new again. But then again, original is original and I’d hate to mess up that factory paint.

1973 was the first year for the sixth-generation F-series and the last generation of the “round” design. They had a longer wheelbase, larger cab, and relocated gas tank which gave more interior room and a safer tank location between the frame rails instead of basically behind the seat. There was also a crew cab available for even more interior room.

The seller says that this is a rot-free South Carolina truck with original paint. The interior looks like it’s in great condition. This isn’t a perfect truck by any means, there are dings and surface rust and the bed could use a little help. The Ranger was a mid-trim level above Custom and below Ranger XLT. There was also a Ranger Lariat for 1978 and 1979 that was in-between the Ranger and Ranger XLT.

The seller says that this truck has a new 390 cubic-inch V8 big block. The 390 that was available in the F-100 in 1973 would have had 160 hp and I don’t know what kind of power is inside this new one. I would automatically and naively assume that it may be more than that but who knows. This truck sounds and drives amazing, according to the seller. Would you repaint this truck or keep things as original as possible? I’d keep it original, but that’s just me.

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Comments

  1. Mountainwoodie

    Well……slushbox aside, I wonder why the motor was replaced. Given the seller’s comment about taking it to B-J if it doesnt sell on Fleabay, he’s probably set a high reserve.

    I like the colors too and if it were mine I would repaint the sections that are rusted..

    Can’t go wrong with an old truck

    Like 2
    • BoatmanMember

      Well, I would guess that with 135,000 miles, the motor was worn out.

      Like 3
  2. Howard A. Howard AMember

    It’s unusual to see a short box, as most were long boxes for construction or delivery, short boxes were for the homeowner, and pickups in the 70’s hadn’t become the vehicle of choice, like today. Nice truck, very few of these survived. Gonna suck the fuel, one of my Ford pickups had a 390, maybe 11mpg on it’s best day. A 302 pickup I drove got almost double that. Still, a great find.

    Like 1
  3. Troy s

    Ford should take note of the popularity and strong following these older models have and make a retro square truck like this….they did it with the mustang why not the truck?
    My dad bought two brand new Ford trucks for work in the seventies, a ’70 and then a higher optioned ’74 with an extra cab. The ’74 got the hot rod treatment after the engine gave up, rebuilt with high performance parts,..what a screamer that 390 was.

    Like 1
  4. JP

    One of my p/ups was a ’78 Lariat 302 & it was a real workhorse!

    Like 0
  5. SquareLeft

    I was selling new Chevys back then. You don’t even want to know what we called that particular color combination!

    Like 0
  6. Bob_in_TN Bob_in_TNMember

    My favorite years for Ford pickups are 73-79. Can’t say I like this color combo, but it does illustrate another way how times have changed…. think of all the two-tone combinations available back then. Most any color with black or white, plus the “two-shade” versions such as dark/light green or blue. So for this one, just for the sake of respect for its time in history, I’d repaint in the original colors.

    Like 0
    • Mainlymuscle

      Cute little survivorish truck ,but “going to Barrett-Jackson “
      Seriously ???
      I am pretty fed up with that looming threat from every Inexperienced dreamer there is ,but this one takes the cake.
      Unless BJ is considering a new sale in Parumph Nevada or Debuque Iowa,not a chance .Maybe at 8:00 am on opening day,when the buyers are still in bed.

      Like 1
  7. Del

    BJ on this. What a joke.

    Nice short box.

    Might get 10 grand but I doubt it

    Like 0
  8. Scotty GilbertsonAuthor

    Auction update: this auction ended at $8,800 with no sale and the reserve wasn’t met.

    Like 0

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