Disclosure: This site may receive compensation when you click on some links and make purchases.

“The Ranch Relic” 1969 Ford F-100

Culturally speaking, this 1969 Ford F-100 hails from about as far away from the Lone Star State as you can get and still be in America:  Los Angeles, California. Called a “community-inspired ranch truck,” the standard-cab, long-bed Ford features cowhide upholstery, a retro-style Bluetooth stereo, and more. The faux fun continues with a weathered-looking paint job. Mechanical upgrades included a Pertronix retrofit electronic ignition, new fuel tank, power disc brakes, and more. If you’ve got a hankering to lasso this genre-embracing mechanical tumbleweed, take the bull by the horns and sidle on over to eBay Motors, where at least nine bidders have its market value over $8500. Just by having an eight-foot bed, this Ford already outguns most modern pickup trucks.

Underdash AC vents suggest refreshment, though the listing makes no mention of it, and the lack of an engine compartment photograph complicates things as well. Rubber flooring promises garden-hose cleanup after a long day in the backcountry. While this generation F-series ran through 1979, this ’60s dashboard ran only through model-year 1972.

Ranger trim adds some bling whether you spend your nights sleeping under the stars or trolling the clubs of L.A. This rig recalls the ’79 F250 that served my Aunt’s horse farm for years. She had the standard bed fitted with a dump mechanism, and raising it part-way to fill the tank was about the coolest thing ever for a 20-something would-be ranch hand. The FE-based 360 cid V8 (5.9L) V8 (not shown) served a host of Ford trucks well into the 1970s. While not as awe-inspiring as the 428 or 460, the 360 earned a solid reputation for hard work and dependability, characteristics prized over showmanship in places where folks work for a living.

Most Texans would advise against putting steer horns on your pickup truck unless you’ve spent plenty of time in the saddle, but they certainly make a statement. My Aunt’s ’79 wandered like a drunken mule, but I learned not to overcorrect in tunnels and construction zones. A light hand on the reins would keep you between the barriers. Who do you picture taking the wheel of this Texas-inspired southern California classic?

Comments

  1. Avatar angliagt Member

    All that “patina” looks pretty pathetic to me –
    like they’re trying too hard to recreate something
    that never was,just for the sake of reselling it.
    I think it’d look better (& sell for more) without
    all the added garbage on it.

    Like 21
  2. Avatar Boatman Member

    Some tough guy gave that truck a black eye! (A ’70 bezel perhaps).

    Like 6
    • Avatar Mark

      69 had black bezels, the non black is likely 68

      Like 2
      • Avatar Boatman Member

        Some were black, most weren’t.

        Like 0
  3. Avatar gaspumpchas

    The time spent to add so called latina you could have a decent REAL Paint job. Another opinion from an old grey hair. Happy Motoring, BTW that 360 could pull but other than that its a dawg
    Cheers
    GPC.

    Like 8
  4. Avatar geomechs Member

    Lots of these (sans horns) out west. Fords were very popular trucks. No real powerhouses but they held their own. A change of carburetor, advance curve and exhaust system really woke them up.

    Now this one. Back in the day there was a trend amongst the drugstore cowboys to have (2) spare tires sticking up in the back of the bed. Actually some more legitimate cowboys liked that arrangement too. I viewed that with the same comtempt as I did to lead sleds of the 50s with their flying squirrel tails and fender skirts. Of course that tire arrangement fell by the wayside with the advent of 5th wheel trailers and other goose neck hitches. Myself, I preferred to just lay the spare down in the bed where it was accesible by the driver (and unfortunately a few light-fingered A-Ho’s). It’s an OK truck; just ditch the horns and the spare tire mount and prepare it for a respray. I like the color; I just don’t like the rusty patches…

    Like 7
  5. Avatar Todd Zuercher

    Todd – this gen of truck (the bumpside) went through ’72, not ’79. The 73-79s (the dent side) were the next generation.

    Like 5
    • Avatar RMac

      Todd Z you beat me to it bump side 5 th gen. F series ran until 72 only 73-79 were 6th gen. Dent side
      My neighbor has an almost look alike to this truck but it on a crown Vic fox chassis with a 400 hp 5.0 in it and Dakota digital dash same patina and color but the name on the side is his tire business

      Like 0
  6. Avatar Rod

    How cute ! It would look delightfully out of place where I live in Europe.

    Like 3
  7. Avatar Dave

    This truck was on display at SEMA. An artist did the paint job. Really remarkable about the narrow minded, and frankly ignorant comments here.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Pnuts

      That explains a lot. It looks a lot more like cheap art work than body work. And, I don’t care if Big Daddy Roth himself did it. It still looks like cheap, redneck, backyard, Sunday afternoon drunken beer party work to me.

      Like 6
      • Avatar Dave

        Because your work is all over the show circuit…

        Like 0
  8. Avatar Keith

    The only thing missing is “COWBOY CADILLAC” printed backwards on the leading edge of the hood. I really like the commercial rat rod pick-ups that are “tastefully” done but this was overdone, and sort of typical of what you might expect to see at SEMA. Probably good for the owner that there are a few people like Dave who appreciate this artwork,

    Like 3
  9. Avatar angliagt Member

    I can’t believe that you can make A LOT of money
    doing stuff like that.

    Like 3
  10. Avatar Christopher Gentry

    Pull off the horns and respray it those same colors. But each to thier own. I had a 76. A tad different. But very familiar

    Like 1

Leave a Reply to Boatman Cancel reply

RULES: No profanity, politics, or personal attacks.

Become a member to add images to your comments.

*

Get new comment updates via email. Or subscribe without commenting.