Make not mistake about it, this is the coolest Ford Ranchero ever built. How could it not be? The thing has a 900hp Kaase Boss 429 style engine, it has stance for days, huge rear meats, IRS, and woodgrain on the sides. The paint is immaculate, and it is clear that every stinking inch of this machine was constructed by professionals working at the tops of their respective games. Literally every part of the car/truck is done with exacting precision…but it is still a 1975 Ranchero, right? If this were a Torino, a Galaxie, a Fairlane, or even an LTD it would be at least a little different, but it is none of those things. This is a 1975 Ranchero that was built by/for a guy who loves that body style and he’s looking for someone who shares that love and has $149,000 to pony up.
This is one of those cases that shows what the car hobby is all about in the fact that the parts and pieces to construct this whole thing were far more than $149,000, especially including labor. The owner looks at whatever he spent, knocks a certain amount off and has the belief that whoever ends up buying this thing is getting it for a steal. The catch of course is the whole “ends up buying the thing” part. The reality is that there are only so many people who actually like 1975 Ford Rancheros. Then of that group there are only so many people who aren’t actually living in vans. From that even smaller pool you need a person with $150,000 to spend and basically we may be talking about a singular person who does or doesn’t exist.
This car is neat and it would be a HOOT to drive, cruise, and destroy tires in, but for $149,000 I think that the potential buyer’s pool may be so small as to not exactly even exist. That said, we hope the seller finds a buyer.
Thanks to Ron Ward (CL kung-fu ninja master) for the tip!
HERE’S THE TEXT OF THE CL AD IN CASE IT DISAPPEARS BEFORE YOU GET TO CLICK THE LINK –
For Sale! 1975 Ford Ranchero Boss 429 Hemi in Excellent Condition This one-of-a-kind hot rod is absolutely stunning! With no expense spared, this car could cost over $300K to duplicate and years to do it! This car was professionally crafted for the street or the strip. The quality is fit to take to Barrett Jackson, car shows, or drags. This Ranchero originally was a rare 1975 Ranchero Squire with wood grain exterior trim.
It has been refinished with a fantastic mirror gloss paint finish and beautiful hand wood grained trim. The body is super straight with beautiful chrome. There are also small custom body mods to make this Ranchero look even better.
This car is a frame off restoration and was completely disassembled and reassembled to be like new. The frame was custom built to handle the horsepower along with the rear end and suspension. The motor is custom made and is brand new based on the legendary BOSS 429 HEMI and is an ALUMINUM CAST BLOCK AND HEADS. It is now 640 CUBIC INCH and 920 HORSEPOWER! This motor alone is a show stopper and runs and sounds fantastic! The custom leather interior is also a work of art and the car is fitted with air condition and full power!
This Hot Rod besides being extremely fast drives very nice and is the best money can buy.
We’re asking $165K to $175K for this unique Ford Ranchero. Get your hands on this one before it’s too late!
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PHOTOS AND THEN HIT THE LINK TO SEE ALL THE PHOTOS AND INFO ON THE CRAIGSLIST AD –
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE CL AD FOR THIS WILD 1975 RANCHERO WITH KAASE BOSS POWER
Seen this thing kicking around for a couple years now. Think the owner really loved the style of the car, had the income and wanted to take the car to its limits as far as customization. But, lives change and incomes change, and he may have fallen on harder times. Cars are not highly liquid assets, unfortunately for him, and it’ll be hard to find someone with that kind of money that wants a Ranchero instead of an exotic or a high dollar muscle car (like the GTO featured).
Owner may have really loved the car back when it was stock, and now with all the parts he’s added it might not be as fun anymore. This happens a lot with Supra owners that want more and more horsepower. After a point, they find it’s just not fun anymore. You might have 1000hp to brag about, but it’s not the fun and honest street car it was back when it had 400hp.
Seller says “The quality is fit to take to Barrett Jackson” so why does he not just take it there. The answer is no one would want it and he would lose his shirt on the deal.
This is the best and worst part of hot rodding, you can do anything you want, but you may be the only person who does and this is what happens when you want to get out. I would buy it for the engine/trans and rear end but that’s about it.
Nice, but no. He’s six figures high on this one, and that’s the way the car value bounces. If he thinks it’s worth that, keep it and enjoy it. But it is rare to get back what you put into a collector car (been there, tried that).
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I want some of what this guy is smoking….If money were pouring from my ears I wouldnt pay that…60-70K tops IMHO….Thanks for the laugh this morning…
unfortunately, for the owner, not even an earlier (’70, ’71) type is worth that kinda money, regardless of investment…even with the “Griswald Edition” side trim….cool car though
I didn’t know Missouri legalized pot.
I remember seeing this Ranchero when I was stationed in San Diego, it is a well built vehicle, however good luck at selling it at that price.
By the way David H, Missouri hasn’t legalized pot.
It’s a custom built car . . . which has a very limited market. That price IMO is way too high. Maybe $60K to $75K tops.
IMO, the builder/owner is trying to price it so he takes a very small loss. With custom cars, a loss is pretty much SOP – just a question of how much.
Yeah, Lee, I keep finding myself pulled back to this article.
Of course, the CL ad was pulled quite a while ago.
In my opinion, this was one of Ford’s best body styles (I’m a Chevy guy).
I was surprised at someone’s “Griswold” reference…
I have visions of pulling the Boss 9 out and replacing it with a big ol’ FE for the street, a bit milder, for street use.
Slip the Boss 9 into a mid-’60’s Fairlane in all-white with a back-half, cage, and mondo Quick Time Pro’s and a C-6 or ‘Glide…
Whew, I was going Twilight Zone for a minute, there…
At any rate, it would be cool to see the Ranchero rated on the Velocity Channel’s “What’s My Car Worth?”. Of course, the cars featured are already committed to sell at one of the big auctions.
Thank You, this makes what I am spending on my project seem sane, that is probably the Baddest-Nicest Ranchero ever, but the general opinion that the market is probably one (already owns it) if the owner gets more then $50K it would be a miracle, could get more parting it out.
I want to know how to make the woodgrain trim.
If I’m remembering right, that’s actual wood. This was in Hot Rod a few years ago, the build quality, materials used, and attention to detail was all top notch. Not sure who’s going to buy it though.
My name is Mike Miller and I am the owner of the Boss Hemi Ranchero
First of all I’d like to clear some things up –
# 1 The car is not now, or ever has been for sale. Not at $149,00 or $49,000 I’m totally puzzled how that all got started
# 2 The motor is not a boss 429 nor is it a Kasse motor. The aluminum block
and heads were cast & machined by Carol Carter in Manassas Virginia
# 3 I’m the original owner of the car and I built it just to have fun with &
show it once in awhile and nothing more
# 4 All of the woodgrain and trim are HAND painted by Lyle Fisk
# 5 Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, and I’m cool with that, but I
spent a lot of time & effort on the car and even I’m surprised how the rumor
mill has run it’s course. Next year I will have owned the car for 40 years !
Happy hot roddin to you all —————–M.M.
Mike…..I have seen your car in person at the P.B. car show a few years ago and took a few pictures of it. The attention to detail is top notch. I’m a dare to be different type of guy and this thing hits it out of the park. People will bitch about this or that but most of them don’t have a clue the time or money it takes to build a quality show/driver. Your Ranchero it badass from top to bottom. Let the haters hate on a car they havn’t seen in person and don’t have a clue on the real details. Awesome car and kudos to you for stepping up and setting the record straight.
Cool! Even though I got the wood part wrong, it’s good to hear you’re keeping this beast. I think it’s badass, but it’s just to personal to get much out of if you actually were trying to sell it. I wonder what the hell the deal was with the Craigslist ad? Someone’s idea of a joke or were they actually dumb enough to try to scam people?
So the ad is a fake?
Your pics got hacked?
Yes
If you were to line up every model of Ranchero from ’57 to ‘ 79 and pick the ugliest one, you’d be hard pressed not to pick the ’75, with. ’74 and ’76 coming in a close 2nd and 3rd only because they are nearly identical.
I’m a Chevy guy. We have had a 69 el Camino in the family since 86. I have to say, this is a beautiful Ranchero. The couple of years prior to this were not very nice looking cars in my opinion, but this one knocks it out of the park. Great job pulling in the plus size bumpers that cleaned up the flow of the lines of the car. I’m glad it’s not for sale, I don’t like to see folks part with labors of love