As the 1970s progressed, manufacturers found themselves down-sizing many of their middle to larger models in a bid to regain some of the performance and efficiency that had been lost to ever-tightening emissions regulations. While Chevrolet released the 5th generation El Camino in 1978, Ford were reluctant to follow suit with a new Ranchero, so a collaboration with National Coach Works resulted in the production of a limited run of vehicles called the Ford Durango. Barn Finder Ikey H spotted this particular example, so thank you for that Ikey. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, you will find it listed for sale here on eBay.
No accurate records were kept on production totals for the Durango. The most commonly quoted estimate is 212 vehicles, while there are some estimates that place the total as high as 350. The vehicle was based on the Ford Fairmont Futura 2-Door Coupe, with the vehicle’s B-Pillar providing a natural styling point from which to create the conversion. The rear section of the body was removed, and a custom bed section was manufactured and installed by National Coach Works, creating the Durango. One of the interesting styling points of the vehicle was the fact that the original Ford rear bodywork from the deck-lid down was re-fabricated into a tailgate for the vehicle, creating an integrated look to the design. The downside of this was the fact that the license plate and tail-lights were also integrated into the new tailgate, meaning that if you drove the vehicle with the tailgate open, neither were visible from behind.
While the Durango is generally clean, there is rust visible around the passenger side rear wheel arch as you can see in this photo, along with a spot behind the sunroof, and another in the lower quarter panel. The rest of the car looks to be pretty clean, and the shots of the underside of the vehicle also look quite good. The paintwork is looking pretty tired in places, so a repaint will be on the cards. The Durango is fitted with a sunroof, and also with wheels from a Fox-body Thunderbird. I have to say that I’m surprised that the Durango didn’t eventually go into full production, as it is a really nice looking vehicle.
Hiding under all of that plumbing is the 200ci Ford straight-six engine, which is backed by a 3-speed automatic transmission. This was the only mechanical configuration offered in the range, and this one is also fitted with factory air conditioning. The car runs and drives, but there are a few mechanical oddities. The transmission generally shifts smoothly, although it is apparently a bit violent when you select reverse. The engine warning light will also occasionally come on at speeds above 55mph, and this coincides with a loss of power. The owner says that he thinks that it really needs a good tune-up.
The interior of the Durango was designed to have a certain air of luxury about it, and this was reinforced by the addition of timber trim, although some of this did come in for some criticism due to the fact that the quality was a bit ordinary. This Durango still retains the majority of its factory appointments, but there are aspects of the interior that are looking tired. There are several cracks in the dash, significant wear on the wheel, and while the original 8-track player is still in place, there is no power to it. There are also numerous other minor issues there, but given the fact that the vehicle is derived from a donor vehicle that was relatively common, many parts should be fairly easy to source.
The relative rarity of the Durango makes this an interesting vehicle. If you are a fan of the blue oval badge, then it is something a bit different from the traditional classics, and it is a car that would attract its fair share of attention. At the time of writing, there have been no bids on the vehicle, which is a bit surprising The owner has set the opening bid at $4,000, with a BIN price of $5,200. There have been a couple of examples that have sold recently, and while both were in slightly better overall condition than this one, neither of them were perfect, and they both sold for several thousand dollars more than this one. On that basis, this Durango looks like it could be a pretty reasonable buy.
I’ve been under rock for 38 years for I’ve never heard of a limited run of such vehicles based on the 1981 Fairmont platform.
My apologies.
I’ve always thought that these were a damned cool concept.
Unfortunately, I’d be concerned about the unseen rust in this particular example.
I’d go with the damned concept, the cool part …..not so sure !! (Sorry !! HEE HEE !! LOL) I could not resist !!)
T
Wasn’t this car already on BF? Maybe I’m thinking of a different one. I am not fan of square, angular cars, but for some weird reason, the Fairmont is an exception for me and this one no less. I like it. But, me being me, I’d hot rod the 200, like I did for my Comet. Get it breathing better and that 200 will squeal the tires and pull nicely in day-to-day traffic.
I think there is an engine in there somewhere.
For the most part, this is a nice car. Not as big as the previous Rancheros with pleasant styling, though I don’t care for the taillight treatment. The interior has a nice, comfortable look though I think a black interior would have been a better choice. While the 200 six isn’t too exciting, it’s probably adequate for a daily driver and it does have A/C. The rust issues are a concern as there may be more than the eye can see and the transmission could need a re-build. Ford’s 200 six is durable so hopefully a tune-up solves the power loss and engine light issues. I think the price is a little high considering the condition but maybe not; it is a rare, low-production car.
For a rare car, there sure are a lot of these for sale.
Not really Miguel – there are a few of them massively overpriced that have been for sale for a LONG time and they’ve been posted here more than once.
https://www.usaridetoday.com/inventory/view/4036151/1981-Ford-Durango-%28fairmont—futura%29-Houston-TX
This one in Texas has been for sale for a couple years now – I do see that they’ve finally knocked it down to 7,995 but it’s still double what the condition indicates.
I’m glad mine has no rust. (still a work in progress) Mark S, how is yours going?
At last count we had 6 Barn Finders that own these. Which is pretty amazing considering the low production numbers.
The great part about these, (aside from the “different” aspect) is that with them being Fox body cars all the cool Mustang stuff bolts on. (except the sub-frame connectors that are 5.5″ too short due to the longer wheelbase) I finally have all the parts collected for mine and just about ready to start the modifications.
The original sales brochure (I have one) mentions that all engine options were available. (4cyl, 4cyl turbo, straight six and V8) But I have never seen one that was not originally the straight 6. I will send along pictures as progress is made.
I love the look of these. I liked the Fairmont my grandmother had one and it drove nice and got decent mileage.
Either we have seen this one before, or it is another one. I have seen these, yet was not a fan of the Fairmont and the downsized LTD. however the Ute treatment was a nice design. the carbs, at least in California, were not an easy fix or adjustment. Had this a 5.0, Would have to put weight in the back.
Chuck, a 5.0 in this car (mine will be equipped that way) will be less nose heavy than a 5.0 Fox body Mustang.
Hello guys, this is a truck not a car! What’s the matter with you gearheads anyways? :-)
Wrong Way, it’s not a truck either it’s a coupe utility vehicle, or in Australian/ English it’s just a plain old UTE !, Nya, Nya Na Nya,Nya!
A truck is about 3 times the size of a car and usually full of sand or dirt !
An F100, etc. is a pickup truck., ie: smaller than a truck but not as small as a coupe utility.
End of lesson for today! HEE, HEE !
I was just being sarcastic! LOL
I definitely remember seeing a kit you could buy to convert your Fairmont Futura to a pick up back in the day. You cut your Futura as required and drop in a fiberglass tub, trim it out and off you go. I worked in a Ford engineering office from 1973 to 2002 and one of the engineers there had some information on it. Loved it then and love it now.
Nice.
Never heard of it before.
Buy it. Its cute.
Great show vehicle.
Too much money for all the rust. There are at last count 5 of us Fairmont Durango owners here on BF.
RichS
5 of you you say, oh well you can’t help bad luck can you? (Just jokin’ mate)
At least the Ranchero and El Camino were purpose built, not a custom like these but it’s cool and different I suppose. I could never understand why Chrysler didn’t continue on with the 50’s coupe utes like the Dodges, etc. fins and all.
Tony, Oz.
May be too much money, but someone bidded 6k on it. It is currently listed on Ebay for 2 more days.
Im shopping for one of these.
Bill
Hey RichS. how is yours coming? I had counted 6 last time we counted off. But you may be correct.
Haven’t had a chance to work on it Wayne – starting to plan a garage expansion so the Durango can come inside and start being worked on.
There may well be 6 of us here now. I know there are at least 5.
I’m glad we have so many Durango owners on Barn Finders and frankly I wish I had one. I’m not sure this would be the one; I’d want to see it’s bones before I made a move. But I always thought it was a good idea and that Ford lacked the courage to go ahead with it. Let me wish all a very good 2019.
Don’t Chrysler make a Durango in an SUV these days? I think I’ve seen one here in Australia, think it was a rhd converted import.
TC – Dodge has sold the “Durango” since 1997. GM also sold a “Durango” back in the 80’s but that was just a trim level on their small S-10 pickups.
RichS, we need to get together. I am in the Sacramento area (was there back on the first week of November) And I may be there in a couple of weeks.
Contact me at allentires@att.net
William, Good luck on the search. Keep us in the loop and provide many pictures please. RichS and I are planning custom/modified front ends to enhance the differentness of the vehicle. Maybe some of us should start a registry for these cars.I always wanted to know if the rear glass is from a production vehicle as I need one. Luckily it is flat. So having one made is not a terrible expense. Has any Durango owners out there removed the “cargo tub”? I am going to repaint mine, so once the trim has been removed it looks like it should be fairly straight forward.
Come on Durango owners, ideas?, thoughts?
That’s mine in the pictures above. I took it to a transmission shop, and was told it was fine. I gave it a basic tune-up; plugs, wires, rotor and cap, oil breather, air filter, fuel filter. I sprayed the carburetor with a carb cleaner which has helped a lot with the power issues at lower speeds. Now I can drive it around without it feeling like it will stall. The only thing now is it still doesn’t want to go above around 60mph without it struggling to gain momentum which will cause the engine light to come on. I’ve tried to check the timing with a timing gun, but I cannot see the white marker as I aim it at the timing indicator. Overall, the engine sounds pretty good to me; although, it does smokes sometimes from the exhaust. By the way, the wires that were on there were stamped 1981!
lonny candelaria, warm up the engine and hook up a vacuum gauge. “SLOWLY” start to bring up the engine speed and watch the reading. (with a max RPM of about 3,000) If the reading stays the same or increases at a steady, elevated engine speed, then you probably have a timing issue. If the reading starts dropping, then you have an exhaust restriction that is most likely a cat. converter. If the vacuum gauge has a major fluctuation at idle, then you have a valve issue. That is the quickest/dirtiest/easiest way to get a “general” idea as the condition of the engine. After that you have an idea where to go next to get to the bottom of the problem. (compression check, disconnect the exhaust head pipe and try again, spend time trying to find the timing marks, etc,)
Just a thought.
Thanks, for the reply and advice. FYI, there is no catalytic converter on this Ford Durango – straight exhaust and muffler only. I’ll check into a vacuum gauge.
Well, I did the vacuum gauge, and the reading just stayed at about 15 on the reading after slowly raising the rpms. Anyway, it doesn’t matter because I sold it locally last week to a Durango enthusiast. Thanks be to God. Not that it was a bad vehicle, but it needed more work than my other cars. And I didn’t want to throw a lot of money at it like the 78 Mercury Bobcat that I had rebuilt and hardly drove.
The new owner sounds like he really wants to give the entire vehicle an overhaul which it so deserves after being neglected for so many years. I am glad that it ended up in good hands.
This Ford Fairmont Durango is for sale again on Ebay since August 18th, 2019 for 7 days if anyone is interested.
So who ended up buying that Ford Durango? I sold it locally. And that person flipped it, and he made nice capital. I think he told me the bidder who won it off Ebay was from Virginia? Is that right? Are you out there? Just curious of what became of it. Not that I want it back, but it’s different which I like. It just needed work that I couldn’t delve into at the moment. I might have kept it if I didn’t have other classic cars. Thanks.
There was one of these little ute pickups for sale in the SF Bay Area on Craigs about a week ago. The body and paint were in nice shape and sported the original hubcaps. And it had a maroon (bottom) and white (top) from bed to up the b-pillar. Unfortunately, it had front end damage from a fender bender. Asking price was fair at around $2500. Looked like it was sold as the add has been taken off.