Vehicle 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 fantastic color combination, this is cowboy cool
at its finest.
Scan the long flanks, covered in bright red paint, and you'll find
a very straight pickup. It's simple, no doubt about that, but with
a set of flashy wheels, this old farm hand takes on an entirely new
look. There's a nice character line down the sides, a bright grille
up front and a tailgate with big block letters on it, all of which
should look familiar to those of us who grew up working for a
living. 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, and has been protected by a
well-done spray-in bedliner that means you should feel free to put
it to work on weekends.
Inside, you'll find a wide bench seat in basic black 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two-spoke tiller has been replaced by a deep-dish 3-spoke wheel
with a fat rim and the door panels have been painted to match the
bodywork to keep everything simple. The gauges are stock and in
good order and even the original AM radio is still in the dash.
It's not flashy, it's not sophisticated, but it does have an
honesty to it that's very appealing and to many of us, this is what
a pickup truck should be: simple and no-frills.
Under the hood is a great-running 302 cubic inch V8, a big step up
from the standard straight six. It would eventually become the
venerable 5.0, and even in 1972, it was filled with beefy parts for
strength and effortless torque. Ford Blue gives it a correct look
and it has been dressed up with chrome valve covers and a matching
open-element air cleaner. For a bit more horsepower, there's a
Holley carburetor on top of an Edelbrock aluminum intake, and a
recent tune up ensures that it runs its best. A 3-speed automatic
transmission makes city driving a cinch and it is surprisingly easy
to handle around town or on the open road. The twin I beam
suspension and tall 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 with a
light dusting of undercoating, but it hides nothing. Fat
white-letter radials on late-model aluminum F-series wheels 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!