Snake Truck: 1967 Ford Ranchero 428 Cobra Jet
If Carroll Shelby had decided to make a Cobra truck, a 1967 model would have been a good starting point. Light weight, Mustang interchangeability, and plenty of room in the bed for tires and parts would have made it an easy choice. History tells us he stuck to cars until his Dodge days, but if he had brewed up a fleet hauler, it might have looked like this 428 Cobra Jet powered Ford Ranchero 500 XL. Find this flood free ‘67 model here on craigslist in Houston, TX for $14,995.
This Ranchero started out life with a none too shabby 390 V8 with C6 transmission in Central Texas, but now sports a hulking solid lifter 428 CJ. Factory front disc brakes, Traction-Lock rear, and a Shelby drop with Granada sway bar help keep this beast on the road. If that is just too much engine, the original 390/C6 is included, as well as a slew of parts, including New Torque thrust wheels, original steel wheels/hubcaps, and the original rear end.
Not sure if you could fit the original AC under the hood with that big block, but it is also comes with the sale. Owner states this Ranchero still needs sorting to make all the performance goodies and mods work together. I bet this truck is no stranger to a gas station, so let’s hope that gas gauge is working!
Outside this Ranchero is no trailer queen. The louvered hood and lowered front end make it look pretty menacing. Plenty of patina is peppered through out but adds to the overall character. Rust is said to be in the bed drains and rear seat area, and dings and scratches show the truck was actually used as a truck. All the lower deluxe trim and badges are present, as well as some period window stickers. Current owner since 1992 and claims the garage kept truck is a 100 footer – looks like he added one to many zeroes based on the pictures. Paint still has some shine but the fiberglass bed cover needs to blow off! If the hot rod look isn’t for you, everything needed to put this truck back to factory has been retained.
Inside is bit of a mixed bag. Yep, the buckets and carpet are a mess, but new seat covers and carpeting in the box are included. The wooden Shelby wheel is a nice touch to the red XL interior. The door panels look presentable but the dash pad might be hiding some secrets under the fuzzy cover. If restoration is possible, the slew of gauges at the bottom of the dash need to either be hidden or sent to live with the bed cover. All the issues appear to be cosmetic and a Ranchero has a lot less to redo inside as compared to a sedan or wagon. Wonder if the vent windows help with heat from that 428 Cobra Jet? This owner has definitely created their own idea of a hot rod hauler. If you were to make your own Shelby truck, what truck and mods would you pick?
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Comments
Interesting comment in the ad , ZERO FLOOD DAMAGE. Too much money for a non matching numbers car.
I commend the seller for actually stating there was no flood damage since most of Houston had been under water from the hurricane lately. Also, the seller is including the original engine and transmission for the car so how is it not numbers-matching?
I was in Houston pulling cars from Copart and from what I saw, only parts of Houston was hit. I saw very little damage. The picture is me in Downtown Houston.
I would be interested to know if you guys in America have the same fast Ford tax as we do in the UK. Just today a mk2 escort rs2000 sold for £98,000 and a mk4 escort rs cosworth sold for nearly £100,000 and they were cheap compared to the Sierra rs500 cosworth that sold for over £120,000. Yes they were low miles prime examples. I would be interested to find out if it’s just a UK thing or if it’s all over the world. If fast Ford prices keep rising as they are I might have to go buy a modern but cheap performance Ford and wait for a few years.
The US never had your escort ours was a entirely different car, front wheel drive small four-cylinder cheap and crappy car. We had the Sierra from 85-89 four cylinder Rear wheel drive it was called the mercur XR4TI it did not sell well Car magazines liked the car said the dealerships did know how to work on them if I Remember correctly
Ford never sold a fast well handling all wheel drive car here until this year
It’s mainly the Mustangs that have the strong following in the U.S., even then it doesn’t apply to every year or model. Once you move on to other Ford models those generally sell for significantly less money than a comparable Chevrolet.
As for the “fast Fords” you reference, we never really had access to the performance compacts that were popular in Europe and elsewhere. The Escort sold here was just a generic economy car.
Steve R
Except for the F-trucks Steve, tjey have developed a cult following over the years and seem to fetch higher prices than their HM counterparts.
I love these years of the Ranchero and with the 428 CJ it just says YES, and I don’t think it would take much to make a decent show car.
The A/C will fit just fine, since the 427 and 390 are dimensionally identical.
This in my opinion is a hell of a lot of car for the money – especially with the original engine thrown in.
Mucho auto, bajo dinero.
Sorry, I meant 428 CJ & 390. However; ALL FE engines are externally dimensionally the same.
Now, THIS one has “plenty of grunt”!
Until you get into the medium and hi riser heads. Could not make the factory 390 brackets fit this 427 HiRiser that I put into my 57 TBird.
Imo this appears a $6-8k driver.
What part of not sure doesn’t make sense to you? Instead of assuming something, I use words like unsure, maybe, don’t know, probably. Why don’t you ask the owner his opinion of why he didn’t put the AC in?
Maybe instead of using words like, not sure- unsure- don’t know- you could or should look up some facts. I’m sure your response to Jeff6599 is rude, not called for.
I have a ’65 Ranchero w. a 9K balanced and blue printed 1993 Mustang 5.0 w/auto. unfortunately w/ no power steering that goes like a scalded rat in a straight line. Like this one it looks better at 100+ 10 feet because I had to let it stay out in the rain which totaled the clear coat over the red. It was on my list for a repaint and exit from my yard this summer, but my painter never got it done. Jesse wasn’t excited about having on here because it was not a true Barn Find, but rather a “garage find”, because I knew it was there where I had parked it 14 years ago when the paint was good and I had to put it out in the rain. (I could flesh that out using my adaption of Richard Harris’s MacArthur Park, but it would take to long to make it and I have to pan to bake it” so I won’t) I like this listed one more because of the 4 speed and color. I’d trade mine for his now as they both need paint, w/ his needing a new interior. Were I the owner and factory seat covers were in my possession, I would have had to have them installed immediately as tolerating worn out seats with factory NOS or reproduction covers readily available drives me (in a fast car or any car) cuckoo. Kinda like dressing in my 50’s white bucks, white paints, tucked in florescent long sleeve held in place by my thin black suede belt only to arrive at the door step of the dancing queen for our fist date which I was hoping to be as described by the Byrds in their cool “Mr. Tamborine man, dancing across the sky cause we had no other place we’d rather be- and spotting in my reflection in the brass plate of the door knocker the presence of a newly formed pimple on the end of my nose as glaring as a police lights, just as she opens the door.! {that would be sufficient to fit with the remainder of the song in bringing “the evenings Empire crashing into the sand” and truly leaving me with no place to go to. A bit windy and over-dramatic but it was fun for me and you don’t have to read it. I really don’t like telling people what to do, but it’s a habit I cannot break due to my poor choice of professions. If you don’t like it, you can always file a Bar Complaint, but if you do, try to make it at Del Monaco’ s. I’;; buy the first round @ which time I will need to revert to decaffeinated diet Coke if I am to keep my engine running.
Ruined the hood with holes. Cool car but that makes me lose interest.
Amen to that. If it was a 32 or something like that it would be appropriate but not on this one. Change the hood, fix what needs to be fixed and drive the wheels off it.
The original ad says they are including the original hood and a spare IIRC. At least one hood for sure.
Pretty cool combo.
Looks like a tire fryer!
I am sure that he burns up alot of tires! With no weight in the rear this would hop around like a Mustang or worse! I love it though what a sleeper it would make if put back to stock!
Cool rare truck – big block early Ranchero’s are like the competition SS 396 El’s Camino’s….not easy to find – original paint and all….yes the inside’s look to be the most work…a 428 – how mu one of those…what are those SS396 going for now days only….original motor is there….priced high but you cant’ start lower…..
So, back to the question, I would choose a 67 f100 for a cobra restotruck
Probably very difficult to launch with all that power, but man, just check out that motor! Ford fans drool over these, and it’s too bad this engine hadn’t actually been around in ’67. A 428 cobra jet in the lighter weight ’66-67 Fairlane would have given Ford some added street cred, but it took a Ford dealership and a magazine to wake those guys up. Without the 428 cobra jet Ford would’ve had nothing in the 60’s, those 427 galaxies and fairlanes were very far and few in between.
The FE engine took many different directions. Why? I’ve always been an FE fan in cars or trucks. There’s no way of knowing what the engine actually is once the hood is open. But a poor old 352 Stang sled engine can be dressed up to look like some kind of Vette eater, till you actually drive it. Even with 427 stickers all over it that 352 can’t do much other than the speed limit. I do own an AC Cobra replica with a genuine side oiler. I own an engine rebuilding machine shop and restore the mechanics of any and all V8’s that walk in the door. I’ve driven them all and can report that nothing made by any auto manufacturer can compare to horses produced by the FE 427 Side-Oiler. Side by side the FE can not be identified by looks alone, unless you crawl under to see if it is a 4-bolt Side-Oiler. In the sixties you could order what ever engine you wanted in any Ford car you wanted it in, except Lincoln. If you happen to see a 427 Hemi in a Fairlane station wagon 4 speed at a car show it may just be stock from the factory.
I couldn’t get the youtube link to work
luv da ‘stacked’ headlights (1 yr only in this ‘chero?) & the frnt discs.
The sedans/coups w/this motor won big on the track back then.
Even the 390/C6 would B too much 4 me (C4 & 250/4.1?)
$8000.00 Dollars to much.
Looks like there are a bunch of parts that go with the car also.
front clip, new 16x8s, 390/c6, a 3rd hood…
sold to a great home!