The 1980 movie “Urban Cowboy” turned the pickup truck into a status symbol. The status of today’s Nice Price or No Dice F-100 pickup is cosmetically restored and mechanically resto-modded. Will its price convert that status a to a “sold” pickup?
There are a few certainties that are sure to occur over time. Mountains will erode, rivers will meander and Jaguar sedans will shed value like Shelties drop their coats in the spring. Yesterday’s 2017 Jaguar XE 35t was more evidence of this inevitability. That small Jag’s $17,995 asking was a mere fraction of its original MSRP, and it most likely still had a whiff of new-car smell about it. Of course, one person’s loss is another’s gain, and the Jag’s depreciation meant it could possibly be a decent value. That was the opinion of at least 65 percent of you, who gave the Jag a Nice Price win.
So there’s a funny thing about the ad for the 1964 Ford F-100 we’re going to look at today. It seems that Craigslist has it misidentified in the URL as a 2014 Porsche Panamera. I know, awkward. And yes, I did check to see if there was a 2014 Porsche Panamera misidentified as a 1964 Ford F-100 but apparently nature — and Craigslist — abhors equilibrium.
Regardless, we have found this cool restomod pickup, and that means we’re now going to give it the once-over. The ad describes the truck as “gorgeous,” saying that it runs like a champ and is fully restored. Part of that restoration was the replacement of whatever originally lived under the hood with a far more modern fuel-injected 5.0 V8. My Windsor juju isn’t strong enough to identify the donor simply by looking at the engine but based on the presence of the EDIS in place of a distributor I’m going to go with a late first-generation Explorer.
The newish engine breathes through its snorkel intake and is cooled by an electric fan mounted to what seems to be the original radiator. The seller doesn’t say what sort of automatic backs up the 302, but it could be the original three-speed or some sort of more modern overdrive unit, as the Windsor will bolt to pretty much anything.
A modern engine can slay a lot of drivability dragons, and the 5.0 is about as rock-solid an engine as you could want. Another update here is a bit less successful. That’s the more recent steering column and wheel, which gets tucked up to the dash in a somewhat awkward manner. The ’70s steering wheel is at least color-cued to the rest of the interior, as is the Walmart wrap it so unglamorously wears. That’s a minor faux pas, however, and the rest of the cabin looks to be in great shape. There’s a wide bench seat, and this being a ’60s truck, a noticeable lack of safety equipment like seatbelts or a padded dash.
Everything is simple and largely as-original in here, except for the odd aftermarket ignition switch on the left side of the dash. You’d think that the right one could be sourced from some reproduction house.
Other updates include disc brakes (likely just at the front) and a power-boosted dual-circuit master cylinder. That should help with stopping and maybe take some of the trepidation out of driving around without restraints or something other than unyielding metal to whack your head on in a collision.
The title is as clean as the paint, and the seller claims 6,000 miles on the odo. That may be since the restoration; it’s quite likely that both the truck and the drivetrain have done more in their previous lives. Another minor question is what has become of the chrome “D” that’s missing from the FORD lettering above the grille.
What might such a nicely freshened truck bring on the open market? Well, in this Ford’s case, that’s hard to say, since it’s masquerading as a Panamera on Craigslist. That just puts us in better stead, since we know the truth. The question for us truth-knowers is whether any of us should pay the $16,999 asking it would take to assume ownership of this Porsche… er, Ford.
What do you think, is this nicely sorted — and by its present owner’s account, gorgeous — F-100 worth that $16,999 price? Or, for that much would you want more resto and less mod?
You decide!
Los Angeles Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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