1972 Ford F-100 Ranger

Description

Work or play, there's always a place for a clean pickup truck. Rugged, dependable, stylish and user friendly are but a few words to describe this 1972 Ford F100 Ranger. A southern truck with lots of options and a cool color combination, this is cowboy cool at its finest.

Scan the long flanks, covered in two-tone Seapine Green and Winter Green, the original color combination, and you'll find a very straight pickup. There's a nice run of trim down the sides, a bright grille up front and a tailgate applique: this is a top-of-the-line Ranger XLT. Bright windshield moldings, rear window moldings and drip rail moldings speak quietly what the badges on the side of the bed loudly shout. Being a Southern truck, the cab and bed are solid, and the repaint (which was done quite a few years ago) is clean and holding up well, but this is definitely not a show piece that needs babying. The '72 only grille is excellent, as are the big F O R D letters on the hood. All lights and lenses are clear and work as they should. The bed is clean, wearing the same light green paint as the rest of the truck. Bed rails add the finishing statement and there's a sturdy diamond plate bumper out back that looks like it could tow a locomotive.

Inside, you'll find a wide bench seat in two-tone green vinyl taking center stage. Rangers came with carpeting instead of rubber floor mats, and that made a world of difference in cabin noise. The two-spoke tiller has some woodgraining on the horn button to add an upscale air and the door panels are nicely detailed with a bit of chrome trim. The gauges are stock and in good order and even the original AM radio is still in the dash. Unusually, this truck came with A/C from the factory, but few other option, which is always kind of interesting. There's a trailer controller under the dash, which means this hauler is still up for doing a little work, and you can imagine what a cool tow rig this would be for your vintage Ford.

Under the hood is a 360 cubic inch FE V8, a big step up from the standard straight six. Essentially a destroked 390, the 360 was filled with beefy parts for strength and effortless torque. Ford Blue gives it a correct look and even the air cleaner and valve covers are OEM, so it's stock throughout. Power steering, power front disc brakes and a solid C6 automatic make city driving a cinch and it is surprisingly easy to handle around town. The twin I beam suspension and tall 3.00 gears in the 9-inch rear end make highway travel just as pleasurable. There's a nice rumble from the dual exhaust with glasspack-style mufflers and a reasonable ride even for a hauler like this. The frame and floors are original, untreated and not doctored with in any way...this really is a clean truck. Fat Uniroyal 225/70/15 radials on late-model F-series wheels with trim rings and set the attitude.

Usually, being rare motivates collectors. This truck conquers with ubiquity simply because there were a staggering 389,337 F100 Stylesides built in 1972. That's more trucks than EVERY Mach 1, Boss and Shelby Mustang ever built! Few, however, survive in this condition. If this is your ideal ride, call us today!