1981 Ford Durango

Ford stopped building the Ranchero in 1979, but for awhile you could still buy a Ford passenger-car based pick up truck from your local Ford dealer. It was this one; the Ford Durango.

The Durango was manufactured by National Coach Corporation. It's based on a Ford Fairmont Futura. The bed and tailgate are fiberglass. It came with Ford's straight 6 engine. Some sources say less than 100 of these were built, others say it was around 200. Either way, it's a very rare vehicle.

This really isn't a bad looking truck. It's certainly better looking than a Fairmont sedan.

This Durango is in very restorable condition. It looks like it could be driven as is. It has 130,000 miles on it. The seller says it needs the fuel gauge and radio repaired and could use a set of shocks. The paint has faded a bit, but the seller says it has no rust.

As I've written before, I'm a fan of car based pick up trucks. While I've never been a fan of the Ford Fairmont, I'd love to own this truck. I'd use it to haul (light) stuff and take it to a few Ford shows where it would most likely attract a ton of attention.

Located in Tulsa, OK, click here to see the eBay listing.

A big thanks to JaCG reader, Russ, for sending me the link to this truck!