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Patina-Infused 1972 Ford F-100 Flareside Hides a Crown Vic Surprise Underneath

When discussing the F-Series, some fans take 1977 (the year when the Blue Oval took the pickup market crown and never relinquished it since) as the reference point. But the company also has a treasure trove of previous generations, and many have taken notice of how easily these can be turned into attention-grabbing machines without much of a hustle.
1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era 16 photos
Photo: Ford Era/YouTube
1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era1972 Ford F-100 Ranger Flareside restomod on Ford Era
Let’s take this rusty 1972 Ford F-100 Flareside in Ranger trim that’s affectionately called “Shorty” by the new owner (because of obvious reasons). At first glance, you’re not going to say “wow” or even consider it as a possible candidate for the “What The Truck?” series of the Ford Era YouTube channel.

A second look would quickly indicate there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye, though. Hints come from some of the details that adorn this patina-infused F-100. Take the LED headlights, or better yet, the almost invisible LED stop lights that vertically adorn the sides of the truck’s bed.

Do not overlook the factory rear bumper that got shortened, or the front one that was “massaged” to get rid of the license plate and make way for the classic-looking yellow fog lights (sourced from a VW!).

With these custom builds, the case usually gets settled when the owner lifts the hood. This time around, the driver only needed something to get him around, so there’s just a 4.6-liter V8 in there that will eventually get swapped for a Coyote V8 - either when there’s enough cash or the mill dies out of extensive use...

Anyways, the F-100 does hide a couple of neat surprises. First up, there’s a fully custom-built interior, in a very appropriate maroon shade that bodes well with the outside’s flamboyant rust and decay atmosphere. This one, along with some other modifications we’ll discuss in a moment is representative of the owner’s personal taste.

The other surprise won’t be credited to the current owner, who bought a one-way ticket to Texas to get “Shorty” back home in Arizona after finding out the F-100 had been treated to a full chassis swap to Crown Vic technology.

But that’s not all, because once in his possession, the owner – who is also the host of the 315 Squared channel on YouTube – has embarked on his own customization journey. That eventually led to the fully built interior and the F-100 sporting full Ridetech coilovers, a wider bed, the LED lights, or the Dakota Digital instruments, among others.
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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
Aurel Niculescu profile photo

Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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