'73 Ford F-250 Ranger XLT Camper Special 59K Original Miles One Owner

Description for Ford F-250 1973

Available is a '73 Ford F-250 Ranger XLT Camper Special two wheel drive regular cab pickup truck.
Apologies for the lengthy description.Story:This truck was rescued from craigslist in February of this year.The person selling it was a 'flipper'.He sold two vehicles in front of the house while I was looking the truck over on the side of the house.
At first glance, it looked to be a beat-up old man farm truck. Then I looked into the glove compartment.In it was the documentation from idea( as in 'I'm going to buy a new F-250' ), to original title, and finally death certificate.One person's name is on all of it. Henry Brandt, HB for the rest of the story.
I'm not a name-your-vehicle-kind of guy, but I made an exception with this truck.The obvious name was Henry.
HB was 95 years old when he passed. He ordered Henry just like he wanted. He was 50, and probably figured this would be his last new pickup.He missed a few things, AM-FM stereo, dual exhaust and the fancy front seat.
The negatives will be covered first.The tires are poor. They hold air. There is no spare tire.HB removed the A/C compressor and mounting brackets from the engine, they're gone.The heater core is by-passed.The heater fan does not work.The bed floor is rusted below the rear window.A typical FE exhaust manifold gasket leak. Not terrible, but there. Doesn't rattle on de-accelerationHB used the truck as a tool. He took good care of it, but it does have obvious signs of wear.The engine compartment is original, meaning 47 years of grease & grime.The horn does not work.HB hit stuff. There is damage to both front fenders, both doors and the hood.There was primer on the hood and both doors.I got as close as possible with over-the-counter rattlecan.A green tailgate would have looked hideous in my opinion.I also repainted the rear bumper, it was unsightly.
The worst areas were the tailgate, grille surround and rust cavity in the passenger rear bed corner.I am not a mechanic or a body man.
I tried to do right by Henry with no budget, just minimal skills and a few years of knowledge.I put screen in the rusted corner and covered it with filler.The tailgate, grille surround and passenger rear wheel arch trim all came from the same donor truck, a '73 pea soup green F-250 Ranger Camper Special that was fresh to a local wrecking yard.HB had ripped off the last 1/3 of the passenger rear wheel arch trim.There is rust on the lower front passenger corner of the bed, behind the lower trim piece.The passenger mirror frame is bent.
I used Henry earlier this year to move some furniture, and haul a lawn mower a few times.He performed flawlessly.
Mechanically the only thing I did was change the oil and filter. I added Lucas Oil Stabilizer.The engine does no smoke, knock or tick.

The truck is still a project.
Keys: 2 original ignition/door 1 original glove compartment 2 original for the side tool box 2 for the locking gas caps 1 additional ignition/door
Now the good.Henry starts right up even after sitting for weeks. A recent stretch of below freezing nights finally required a jump.He has started the last few days, so the battery is holding a charge overnight.The drive in the original starter is beginning to fail. He usually starts the next try if the drive doesn't kick up to the flexplate.Every single light on the outside works. The one exception was the passenger front side marker light.After trying a couple of different bulb sockets, I ran a wire from the driver front marker.The AM radio still functions.The factory intermittent wipers still work.The light in the ashtray and glove box still light up.The lighter still works. It does not appear HB smoked cigarettes, both ashtray and lighter have no evidence of use.All of the gauges function.Both fuel tanks were working in Feb, but I've only used the rear.He still has the original license plates from 1973.I only use premium fuel.
I updated photos of both front floor undersides and the rust cavity.
The following was missing, damaged or not functioning;The cargo light. The lense was broken and HB had enlarged the bezel to fit a toggle switch.I pulled a cargo light set-up that was listed and installed the correct switch and another bezel.The cargo light now works correctly.The driver door outside trim was missing.The rear wheels were split rims, two dog dish hub caps on the front.The original tailgate was missing. A beat-up primer gray '67-'72 tailgate that functioned was in place.The front grille surround had multiple dents.The dash lights did not work. A different headlight switch took care of that.The toolbox door lower trim, and the piece to the right of it were damaged. I had replacements.The right grille insert was broken, the donor truck had a usable one.The original front bumper is bent, and at a friend's house to straighten, however time has escaped for that.It can be included with the truck, it has a better shine.The rear view mirror was detached and splotched, I reattached a better one from a '75 F-250 Trailer Special parts rig.

I am probably forgetting a few more things, that may be added later.
A cross-country journey would be a poor idea without some maintenance of most systems.
Please email any questions.
A $50 non-refundable deposit is due within 24 hours of auction end.The balance paid in full by cashier's/certified bank check before the vehicle and title are released for transit.