Unused UTE: 1979 Ford Ranchero 500 1,300-Mile Survivor – NOW $42,500

May 22, 2023 Update – After a four-month pause following the expiration of their original ad in January, the seller of this 1,400 original mile ’79 Ranchero posted a fresh Craigslist ad.  While the pictures and description are similar to the original listing, the seller lowered their asking price from $45,500 to $42,500.  Since the original ad, the seller appears to have added one hundred miles to this survivor.

January 24, 2023, Update – We confirmed the listing for this “Classifind” expired, so with no replacement found, we’re assuming this ride is “Sold?” until we come across a replacement listing.

Malaise Monday collides with Trucking Tuesday as 1979 proved to be the final year for Ford’s half truck, half car Ranchero.  This silver-over-red 1,300-mile 1979 Ford Ranchero for sale, originally listed in January 2023 on Craigslist in Boston, Massachusetts, is likely to be the lowest-mileage example left in existence.

A very well-optioned example featuring a leather interior, the seller reports their Ranchero remained a part of a Ford dealer’s collector for nearly all of its life.  According to the seller, Ranchero enthusiasts consider this model a 79 1/2 as the Ford product planners fitted these final run models with an upgraded Thunderbird interior.

Now offered for $42,500 (the original ask was $45,500), Classic.com, the analytics and search engine for the collector car market, confirms the ask is well above the one-year rolling average of this guide’s summary for similar 1979 Ford Rancheros of all trim and power train combinations.  By clicking on the green dots in the graph below, you can navigate to each comparable car sold as a way to help you evaluate the price of the Ranchero featured here:

As a second data point, the  Collector Car Market Review Online Tool reveals the seller’s ask falls well below this guide’s #1 “Excellent” appraisal of $31,000 before making adjustments for the power train and accessories.  The premium here is for an extremely low mileage, unused, like new time capsule.

With the Torino ending production after 1976, Ford restyled the 1977 Ranchero in line with the Ford LTD II mid-sized car line which replaced the former using the same platform. The same three models available since 1968 were still offered and the Ranchero could be ordered in quite a luxurious form. Engines fitted went up to 400 cubic inches. Production ceased in 1979 with, among the traditional choices, a commemorative “1979½” model. Although Ford only produced the LTD II-based Ranchero for only three model years, this body style with stacked rectangular headlamps is among the most popular among collectors and many have been customized with easy-to-swap front clips from other mid-size Fords and Mercurys of the period.

By the late seventies, the combination of moving away from heavy body-on-frame construction with increasing government restrictions made car-based truck production, at least for the U.S. market, less attractive from a manufacturing standpoint. Meanwhile, purpose-designed light trucks had to meet much less stringent requirements for emissions and fuel economy. Ford saw the way the market was going and decided small light trucks were the wave of the future, beginning with the Mazda-built Courier pickup. This vehicle would be a “stepping stone” during which time Ford would develop their homegrown replacement, the Ranger.

With no commercials or road tests available on YouTube, we came across this 1979 Ford Ranchero sales brochure sourced from the Ford Heritage Vault:

Cars are only original once, so short of building a time machine, donning a leisure suit, and traveling back to 1979, we doubt you’ll have the opportunity to buy a lower-mileage 1979 Ford Ranchero any time soon.

Here’s the seller’s description:

Show or go: What would you do with this 1979 Ford Ranchero 500 time capsule for sale?  Please comment below and let us know!