Photo: Craigslist H
A short while ago, we looked at a highly modified four-door Ford Bronco conversion by Centurion that blurred the line between a Bronco and an F-150 in more ways than one. Well, it turns out that not only did Centurion customize a Bronco to look like an F-150, but also an F-150 that inexplicably looks like a Bronco. No, seriously, we're not kidding. This is a 1982 Ford Centurion B-150 Carryall, and we bet you had no earthly idea this thing even existed.
In the late 1970s through the mid-1990s, Centurion Vehicles of White Pigeon, Michigan, took advantage of a newly and rapidly emerging bespoke, coach-built SUV market with exciting and eye-catching conversions of Ford products into some of the highest-quality sport-utility vehicles of the period. The limited-edition B-150 Carryall, based on the seventh-generation F-Series pickup, is one of the rarest vehicles ever to sport a conversion by Centurion.
The type was a Mexican market-exclusive vehicle never licensed to be sold in the US, but its grandfathering into road legality after 25 years means a fair few have made their way over the border, most notably in Texas, as this one currently hails. Thanks to the Centurion conversion, every aspect of this truck, from the custom two-tone point to the powder-white alloy wheels and, of course, the rear bed conversion, is reworked and generally improved before being sold to the Mexican public. Often nicknamed the Mariachi because of its ability to carry the whole gosh-darn band in the back, the B-150 Carryall was once in a class all its own.
But unlike most 25-year rule foreign imports with no parts commonality between domestic vehicles whatsoever, the B-150 Carryall is still just a gen-VII F-150 underneath that your average greasy old-timer mechanic with cigarette breath and no Fs left to give could repair in an afternoon. Thanks to the same 302-cubic inch (five-liter) V8 engine under the hood that was ubiquitous in Fords of the period, you could realistically do most of the maintenance in this truck yourself with the same Haynes Manual you'd use to repair a bog-standard F-150 from the period.
This means if you're the kind of guy or gal who loves quirky, weird imports that were never sold in the States but don't want to bother importing a truckload of spare parts, this B-150 Carryall is your white whale, your golden goose, the car of your dreams you thought it was never possible for you to own. But heck, here it is right in the flesh, waiting for someone nutty or eccentric enough to pay $16,999 for a nearly 40-year-old Ford pickup with 110,000 miles on the odometer. But hey, who are we to judge? In fact, we'd be pretty jealous of whoever winds up buying this brick.
The type was a Mexican market-exclusive vehicle never licensed to be sold in the US, but its grandfathering into road legality after 25 years means a fair few have made their way over the border, most notably in Texas, as this one currently hails. Thanks to the Centurion conversion, every aspect of this truck, from the custom two-tone point to the powder-white alloy wheels and, of course, the rear bed conversion, is reworked and generally improved before being sold to the Mexican public. Often nicknamed the Mariachi because of its ability to carry the whole gosh-darn band in the back, the B-150 Carryall was once in a class all its own.
But unlike most 25-year rule foreign imports with no parts commonality between domestic vehicles whatsoever, the B-150 Carryall is still just a gen-VII F-150 underneath that your average greasy old-timer mechanic with cigarette breath and no Fs left to give could repair in an afternoon. Thanks to the same 302-cubic inch (five-liter) V8 engine under the hood that was ubiquitous in Fords of the period, you could realistically do most of the maintenance in this truck yourself with the same Haynes Manual you'd use to repair a bog-standard F-150 from the period.
This means if you're the kind of guy or gal who loves quirky, weird imports that were never sold in the States but don't want to bother importing a truckload of spare parts, this B-150 Carryall is your white whale, your golden goose, the car of your dreams you thought it was never possible for you to own. But heck, here it is right in the flesh, waiting for someone nutty or eccentric enough to pay $16,999 for a nearly 40-year-old Ford pickup with 110,000 miles on the odometer. But hey, who are we to judge? In fact, we'd be pretty jealous of whoever winds up buying this brick.
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