Thoughts on this 69 F100 Ranger. Newbie Here.

[Studio8jared]

Hi all,

I've recentley been bitten by the Ford Ranger bug and am on the hunt for one to call me own. I came across this California owned 69 F100 Ranger recently and went to check it out today. As a total newbie on most of this and no past experience buying/owning a classic truck I'm hoping to get some advice/guidance from you all. Owner is asking $8500, but says he's negotiable.

Here's what I know about the truck....
- Current owner has owned it for 2 years. He bought it from a local guy who may or may not have been the original owner. I'm guessing he was not as the VIN suggests it was sold to a dealership in Denver back in 69.
- Odometer reads 9,760. The seller is unclear how many times its rollover. I checked the titles for the odometer reading from when he purchased it 2 years ago, but the titles doesn't list the odometer.
- It has a 360 engine 2 barrel carburetor V8, but I'm not sure what that truly means as again I'm a bit of a newbie here
- Has power steering.
- Has front and rear drum brakes.
- He thinks it has original paint, which I could believe, however the hood paint is slightly different in sheen than the rest of the body. It's very subtle, but as if the hood is a replacement or possibly re-painted at some point.

Below is a link to a bunch of photos I took today. Curious about the condition of the underneath. Has some rust, but doesn't look serious to me. Would love some opinions from some of you more knowledgable guys about this. I've also called out a few things in the photos that I'm not are issues I should be worried about or not.

1.jpeg

6.jpg

12.jpg

VIEW MORE PHOTOS HERE: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b4ar9swt8rvx ... g1Cfa?dl=0

I took it for a test drive and it ran pretty well. Started up great although you have to pull up on the gear shift while in park and then turn the key for it to start. Not sure what that's about, but could be that the gear shift is loose?
No strange noises I could tell while driving. The breaks did squeal a bit when pressing down firmly though. One thing I would definitely do if I buy this truck is convert the front drum to disc brakes. This was my first time driving something with drum brakes and I wasn't a big fan. Stopping was a bit more difficult than expected.

The horn doesn't work and as you can see in the photo's the horn ring is a bit wonky. I think it needs to be adjusted or replaced? Doesn't seem to line up in the correct spot with the steering wheel. The horn ring also seemed to be plastic? Is that normal? Felt cheap and I'm not sure if they originally were made from plastic or something more durable like chrome?

Other tidbits...
The driver side door handle on the interior is broken so the door needs to be opened by rolling down the window and opening from the outside. Anyone have any experience replacing interior handles? Is it relatively a easy job?
When driving I noticed having to press the gas pedal almost to the floor when starting from a stop in order to get going. Seemed to accelerate a little slow, but perhaps that's normal for truck like this?

To be honest at $8500 I don't think I'm the buyer as I would really want to covert the front drums to discs right away which I think is pretty pricey. I'd probably want to fix the horn and door handle as well asap. Not sure how pricey that would be though.

Would love some of you alls thoughts on the price and condition of this truck. Am I getting myself into something that will need a lot of work? Is the rust and other things I've pointed out in the photos anything to be concerned with? What about the numbers of actual miles being unclear?

If everything checks out I was thinking of offering around $6500 and hopefully meeting somewhere around 7K after negotiations. Thoughts?

Thanks for taking the time to read and helping educate me. I really am interested in learning more about trucks like these. I think I found a new hobby!

VIEW PHOTOS HERE: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b4ar9swt8rvx ... g1Cfa?dl=0

Best,
Jared

[Mancar1]

To much where I am at. JMO
I am thinking of listing my 68 again. Maybe I am thinking to low.
Good luck on it. I would start at $4000. and go from there.

[basketcase0302]

"Studio8jared"]Hi all,
I've recentley been bitten by the Ford Ranger bug and am on the hunt for one to call me own. I came across this California owned 69 F100 Ranger recently and went to check it out today. As a total newbie on most of this and no past experience buying/owning a classic truck I'm hoping to get some advice/guidance from you all. Owner is asking $8500, but says he's negotiable.
Here's what I know about the truck....
- Current owner has owned it for 2 years. He bought it from a local guy who may or may not have been the original owner. I'm guessing he was not as the VIN suggests it was sold to a dealership in Denver back in 69.
- Odometer reads 9,760. The seller is unclear how many times its rollover. I checked the titles for the odometer reading from when he purchased it 2 years ago, but the titles doesn't list the odometer.
- It has a 360 engine 2 barrel carburetor V8, but I'm not sure what that truly means as again I'm a bit of a newbie here
- Has power steering.
- Has front and rear drum brakes.
- He thinks it has original paint, which I could believe, however the hood paint is slightly different in sheen than the rest of the body. It's very subtle, but as if the hood is a replacement or possibly re-painted at some point.
Below is a link to a bunch of photos I took today. Curious about the condition of the underneath. Has some rust, but doesn't look serious to me. Would love some opinions from some of you more knowledgable guys about this. I've also called out a few things in the photos that I'm not are issues I should be worried about or not.
1.jpeg6.jpg12.jpg
VIEW MORE PHOTOS HERE: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b4ar9swt8rvx ... g1Cfa?dl=0
I took it for a test drive and it ran pretty well. Started up great although you have to pull up on the gear shift while in park and then turn the key for it to start. Not sure what that's about, but could be that the gear shift is loose?
No strange noises I could tell while driving. The breaks did squeal a bit when pressing down firmly though. One thing I would definitely do if I buy this truck is convert the front drum to disc brakes. This was my first time driving something with drum brakes and I wasn't a big fan. Stopping was a bit more difficult than expected.
The horn doesn't work and as you can see in the photo's the horn ring is a bit wonky. I think it needs to be adjusted or replaced? Doesn't seem to line up in the correct spot with the steering wheel. The horn ring also seemed to be plastic? Is that normal? Felt cheap and I'm not sure if they originally were made from plastic or something more durable like chrome?
Other tidbits...
The driver side door handle on the interior is broken so the door needs to be opened by rolling down the window and opening from the outside. Anyone have any experience replacing interior handles? Is it relatively a easy job?
When driving I noticed having to press the gas pedal almost to the floor when starting from a stop in order to get going. Seemed to accelerate a little slow, but perhaps that's normal for truck like this?
To be honest at $8500 I don't think I'm the buyer as I would really want to covert the front drums to discs right away which I think is pretty pricey. I'd probably want to fix the horn and door handle as well asap. Not sure how pricey that would be though.
Would love some of you alls thoughts on the price and condition of this truck. Am I getting myself into something that will need a lot of work? Is the rust and other things I've pointed out in the photos anything to be concerned with? What about the numbers of actual miles being unclear?
If everything checks out I was thinking of offering around $6500 and hopefully meeting somewhere around 7K after negotiations. Thoughts?
Thanks for taking the time to read and helping educate me. I really am interested in learning more about trucks like these. I think I found a new hobby!
VIEW PHOTOS HERE: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b4ar9swt8rvx ... g1Cfa?dl=0
Best,
Jared

Jared,

You have to first realize that the owner knows this is a 69' Ranger which is one of the most sought after models of the bump era trucks, (or his price would be slightly cheaper IMO). The Ranger models are becoming few and far between and this truck will probably sell for this much out there in Cali-but as John said above I would probably not pay that much for it either-your bargaining / haggling is also in order to me but don't gbe surprised the guy don't go down as i said I bet he gets his asking price as even movie sets will scoop up the trucks for this in a heartbeat.

1) The front disc brake swap is easily and cheaply don't if you follow the 73'-79' "dent era donor tutorial (using one of those trucks I-beams / spindles / calipers / bearings).
2) I too would be concerned with the rust under the truck but you need to look at a few key places other than just "surface rust". Look at the outside top of the roof where the front windshield meets / look where the front cab mounts set on rubber bushings (one on each side underneath just behind the front wheels) / look at the rear cab mounts (underneath again at the end of the cab also sitting on rubber bushings) / look at the radiator core support looking down into the very side corners where dirt accumulates and guys never cleaned it out (it basically holds both side of the front sheet metal together as well as supporting the engine radiator) all of which are the most common area's that rust out first on the bump era trucks. My guess from the pics is that this truck actually spent some time in the salt covered roads of Colorado to which I believe a Marti report would verify, (but costly).
3) The broken "thing" you pointed out on the front is the radiator shroud-which you can order i believe through DC parts.
4) Get a tie down on that battery!
5) Leak under the truck lokks as simple as the transmission pan gasket-but could be the selector shaft indicating a rebuild on the tranmission would be in order-take a rag and wipe the oil off of the gasket area and selector shaft (the shaft where the linkage hooks onto) / drive the truck then inspect again.
6) Pulling up on the shifter in park to start is either just an adjustment of the neutral safety switch which is easily done-or replacing to which I believe DC also sells the part for around $35.
7) Horn ring parts are available and also an easy fix.
The inside door handle is also being reproduced (available) but usually just a binding linkage issue behind the door panel and also easily fixed with a little time.
9) Pressing the gas to the floor could be a number of things. Something as simple as the accelerator pump on the carburetor (which is a cheap $5 part) or...something as major as engine compression (the amount of oil bathing this engine would concern me as the engine having never been rebuilt?). The 360 is a tough engine as tough as Ford ever made and almost impossible to blow up. If this would be a "weekend grocery getter" the engine wouldn't / shouldn't be an issue as most folks here opt for replacing the 360 with a 390 that will melt the rear tires (down the road) anyway.

Many other valued opinions here should come along, and good luck if you decide to "bite the bullet" as it is a looker-but get it out of the weather (indicative by the surface rust in the rear bed area)! These trucks don't simply drive themselves like the newer models do-they do require working on them, so be prepared to do that but you've came to the lead source of information for doing so, (bump era Ford trucks) here on Fordification.

[sargentrs]

Way too much $$ for my area. That's a $4000 truck in N. Georgia. Having a 360 lowers the value more so than if it had a 390 or even a small block. If nothing serious or difficult is wrong with that transmission leak, you're looking at around $200 parts and a couple full weekends of labor just to fix leaks. Those areas you highlighted in the front end, transmission and rear end are all signs of leaks that don't appear to have been addressed and the road grime has caked up around them. I see potential repairs for wheel cylinders, transmission pan gasket, rear transmission seal and differential gasket, at first glance. You'll probably get into other things while you're repairing those like brakes, seals, u-joints, axle bearings/seals, etc, which will jack up the repair bill. It's one of those "while you've got it apart" things. The body and interior are in really good condition but not $8500 worth.

[DuckRyder]

I hate those wheels.

This looks like an overall solid truck, Basket case gave you some good details, if the cab mounts are solid, thats a BIG plus. Look at the cab crossmember as well (under the seat area), my truck is pretty rust free but that crossmember is junk due to mud, road debris.

The interior looks messed with, black dash pad, tan seats... maybe i’m wrong check the interior code and see what it is supposed to look like.

Considering the amount of transmission fluid and your description of sluggish performance (does it rev high, shift 3 gears) I’d probably budget for transmission rebuild and be happy if I got off for less.

I think 8500 is too much. Based on what I see and if the cab mounts check out 6500 is more in the ballpark I would expect.

[chicof100]

The mirrors aren't original. Radio is after market. Horn ring is an easy fix. Engine and trans need a good steam cleaning to determine what is leaking.
The headlight bezels are not Ranger bezels. The 69 Ranger headlight bezels are indented where the black paint goes.
I can't get a picture to upload, otherwise I'd show you the difference in headlight bezels.

[basketcase0302]

Good stuff guys! I saw the wheels and failed to comment Robert-just exactly what are they?!
Good catch on the headlight door TheGrillGuy/Chicof100, here's the OEM look-but an awesome grill still is that one of yours?

[chicof100]

Hey basketcase0302, it's possible it's one of my grille's. I've done over 500 grilles, probably 200 of them were 69 Ranger grilles.
I haven't done a Ranger grille in the past 6 months. Last two went to Texas. I think I sent 3 to Texas in the past year, same guy.
I've shipped all across the United States.
Thanks for asking.
Robert

[Studio8jared]

Thanks so much everyone for all the helpful thoughts and advice.

Since posting and taking everyones advice to mind I decided to pass on this truck. The owner decided he was not flexible on price and at $8500 this is not the truck for me. My hunt continues!

Shoutout to basketcase0302, sargentrs, DuckRyder, and everyone else for taking the time to discuss this truck with me.

[basketcase0302]

More than welcome to help. And don't give up I'm sure you'll find one to fit.
There are many...decent bumps for sale over here on the East coast right now for a lot less than that.
Don't rule out making a trip to check one out then hiring transport, (there were a few haulers hanging out here awhile back that could get the truck across the map for around $1200) to get it home.

[Studio8jared]

More than welcome to help. And don't give up I'm sure you'll find one to fit.
There are many...decent bumps for sale over here on the East coast right now for a lot less than that.
Don't rule out making a trip to check one out then hiring transport, (there were a few haulers hanging out here awhile back that could get the truck across the map for around $1200) to get it home.

Thanks basketcase0302. I just posted a new thread on a potential contender for me. Would love your thoughts if possible. http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... hp?t=86921

[67mann]

My hunt continues!

[DuckRyder]

See this tread:

http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... hp?t=86921