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 F-100 Ranger. A southern truck with a great look, a torquey 302, and a fun 4-speed, this is cowboy cool at its finest.
Scan the long flanks, covered in bright blue, and you'll find a driver-grade paint job that was done not too long ago. Not perfect, but plenty flashy and definitely the kind of truck that gets all kinds of thumbs-up gestures out on the road. 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. 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 is clean and holding up very well. 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. Tinted glass is a nice touch which makes for an even more comfortable ride and gives it an updated, sleek look. The bed is clean, wearing a spray-in bedliner and a set of shiny bed rails add the finishing statement.
Inside, you'll find a reupholstered seat in factory-style gray fabric taking center stage. Rangers came with carpeting instead of rubber floor mats, and that made a world of difference in cabin noise. The dowdy two-spoke tiller was ditched in favor of a classic three-spoke piece with a fat rim that's easy to grip and a modern AM/FM/CD stereo replaces the original AM unit. The woodgrain on the dash and bright seat hinge covers are other Ranger touches. Matching gray door panels feel more sophisticated than the original vinyl units and speakers have been installed down low in the doors for improved sound. The gauges are original and the lens is a little cloudy, but we have to admit that we like the look and especially the blue-highlighted FORD lettering across the center. And yes, that's a Hurst T-handle shifter for the 4-speed manual gearbox underneath, making this pickup feel a lot more muscular than you'd expect.
Under the hood is a 302 cubic inch V8, a big step up from the standard straight six. It's dressed up a bit with a new chrome air cleaner and freshly painted valve covers; after all, who can resist a little bit of the shiny stuff? There's a modern serpentine belt drive setup on the front of the engine, which helps with reliability, and an Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetor up top for horsepower. The twin I beam suspension and tall 3.00 gears in the 9-inch housing out back make highway travel just as pleasurable. There's a nice rumble from the dual exhaust with glasspack-style mufflers, offering that traditional 5.0 rumble that's become so familiar. The frame and floors are original, untreated and not doctored with in any way; this really is a clean truck. Fat 255/60/15 radials on late-model F150 aluminum wheels set the attitude. Best of all? This truck DRIVES great!
They built a lot of F-series trucks over the years, but few survive in this condition, and that's why this one is special. If this is your ideal ride, call today!
