Nicest of the nice, best of the best. 1976 Ford F-150 Ranger XLT

Price: - Item location: Great Falls, Montana, United States
Description:

1976 Ford F-150

Attention'73-79 FORD truckenthusiasts!
***Nicest of the nice***
1976 F-150 Ranger XLT
Truck is located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Only about 3 hrs north of Montana. Because of it's "Antique" status, it is free to travel without restriction.
For sale by PRIVATE OWNER
1976FordF-150Ranger XLT
As I sat down to write this description, I was reminded ofsomething that my young son's favourite rock band, KISS, starts every show by asking.... "You wanted the best?... You GOT THE BEST!"
Please read on, and I think you'll maybe understand why that came to my mind.
Original, unrestored vehicles are KING, and this one's got to beamongst the best, of the best, of the best. I believe that anyone would be hardpressed to find a nicer or better cherished original than this. If you've paid attention to collector auctions recently, there's no doubt you've seen the trend towards vintage trucks.Also, there's no disputing that '73-79 Ford pickups are hot right now.
If you are like my wife and I, you are probably someone that finds no satisfaction in having something average. I like to find the unique, and the special. There's many many average and average-ish trucks available.I findno particular thrill or interest inproviding my hard-earned and paid for garage space toavintage autothat can be found by opening the computer nearly any other week. Property values are far to highto devote space and accommodatesomething that is just, well...maybe good enough. With that said, I believe it would take a long time to find another worthwhile Ford F-150 like this.
To best describe this vehicle, Ithink a quick rundown of it's history will paint the picture. In order to keep things brief and orderly, I'll do so in point format.
  • In 1976, a gentleman involved with the U.S. Army had gone to begin a mechanic apprenticeship at a Ford Dealership.
  • After a 3 month probationary period, he was allowed to order a brand new vehicle with his employee discount.
  • The result of his special order form was this particular pickup truck.

  • Amongst some of the most unique items, this truck has a special dealership ordered a 351 Windsor engine.
    • It also was chosen with 3.55:1 gearing.
  • This truck was indoors kept ALWAYS,
    • except for once, nearly 30 years ago, in 1988.
      • In a curious twist of fate... That night, the paint was "keyed".
  • The truck was repainted back to it's exact code, except in a very high grade base/clear.
    • This was done with particular care and attention,
      • by the Ford Dealership where the gentleman worked,
      • by colleagues he worked with daily!!!
    • Only the best products of the day were used.
      • The body is straight as a laser, and smooth as glass; much straighter than it ever was from the factory.
      • It truly shines like jewellery, and remains near absolute perfection to this day;
      • a testament to how it was cherished.
  • Throughout his career as a Ford Dealership mechanic, the gentleman that owned the truck remained an active member of the United States Army.
    • Military stickers adorned the lower left side of the original windshield.
      • Until recently, when a crack forcibly facilitated the replacement to a new shield.
      • Unfortunately, the sticker's could not be saved or transferred.
    • There is still a military decal on the driver's side of the front bumper from Georgia.
    • It remains on the truck as homage to it's previous owner's service.

  • The day that the original owner retired from Ford and the U.S. Military, is the day he sold this truck.
    • It was bought by a local gentleman from a nearby city from where we live.
      • He describes discovering the truck for sale online, and racing to the airport for his flight to go grab this truck.
      • He flew down, and drove it straight back.
    • The truck has been shown at events through our area and some of the biggest cruises in the Northern States.

A slightly larger camshaft and a few performance goodies were installed. The truck has headers, and new dual exhaust. It is tuned to perfection, and sounds great. A recent dyno-test shows 182.31 horsepower and 271.35 ft.lbs or torque at the rear wheels. It's not a significant amount but, it feels like a heck of a lot more. All in all, it revs fast, sounds awesome, and there's a lot of pep. It's fun to drive. This truck needs nothing. In fact, it has new:
  • engine oil,
  • transmission fluid,
  • rear differential oil,
  • coolant,
  • brake fluid,
  • and power steering fluid.
Each and every fluid is new. This isn't your typical Ebay truck here. There is very little about this truck that isn't overkill.
The story of my association with this truck begins when I saw it displayed at carshows. For years, I thought it was a very nicely restored truck, and admired it. Seldom had I seen a truck of this caliber. I was smitten by the degree of perfection, the quality of the paint, and the detail work. Ieven loved the color. When I discovered that it was never restored, I was shocked and stunned. I admired it with a whole new pair of eyes. My perspective changed. I decided I absolutely needed to own it. My wife and I both agreed. A dollar figure was reached, and 24 hours later it was ours. It was placed on our trailer and brought home. From there, I parked it in our garage, wrapped it in it's custom cover and, well.... that's about it.
The truck has never been restored but, with that said.... It has been adorned with many NOS parts and pieces. During his tenure as a Ford mechanic, the original owner collected a multitude of brand new factory Ford pieces.Through the years, hereplacedmany little items;even near-perfect parts as nice as 99/100 were replaced with NOS when available. It's these details that really set this truck aside. It's these little details that created the truck you see here. In addition to the near perfect original items that were wrapped and put aside, Ihave enough super-super rare, duplicate and triplicate NOS Ford parts and tidbits in their original packaging to entirely fill the box of this truck.
I hope now you understand why those initial words from my opening remark popped into my head. :-)
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write. I promise to do my best in helping, and look forward to hearing from you. -Please write sowe can exchange numbers and arrange a time.
Kindly refer to my feedback for reference.
-I place high emphasis on my integrity, and ask that anyone bidding do the same. -My reputation is very important to me. -I welcome and encourage viewing and/or any 3rd party inspections/appraisals.
No zero-feedback buyers please! -No disrespect -- I just haven't had any favourable experience. -If you do not have an established feedback record, please contact me first. Thank you.
Now, just to be very clear (because I'm still getting questions about importing the truck to the U.S.)
Folks.... There is nothing special involved. There are no "procedures". This truck is exempt from any restriction. There's no emissions, and there's nothing that needs changed. I just want to be absolutely clear about that.
In fact, and as aforementioned..... This was a U.S. truck.
It was built in the States, titled in the States, remains on the system in the States, and can be titled back to the States anytime.
Thank you everyone and good luck with your bids.