Michael Petti
Back in 1979, when I was engaged to my wife, Bobbi, she was looking to get rid of her 1966 Thunderbird that was giving her trouble. We were going to be moving away from her parents, and she wanted a reliable and economical car to drive when we visited them. I tried to convince Bobbi to buy a midsize Ford Futura, but she wanted a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. I was driving a 1974 Valiant Scamp and liked the rectilinear style of the Fairmont-based Futura, but she bought the Monte Carlo. We were still driving that Monte Carlo 16 years later when I drove it to work one day and the left front wheel fell off.
The ‘Futura’ of Ford’s Ranchero
In addition to myself, the Futura’s “basket handle” B-pillar caught the attention of Jim Stephenson. He thought the Futura would make a great downsized Ford Ranchero. The plus-size LTD-II based Ranchero was gone by the end of 1979, and Ford had no plan to replace it. At this time, Ford Motor Co. had to shrink all of its automobiles to the tune of billions of dollars to meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, and tooling up to produce a new, low-volume Ranchero wasn’t in the cards.
Stephenson ran an auto body and paint shop with his partner, George Price, in Pacoima, Calif. He convinced Price that he could build a car-truck hybrid Futura. As a result, Price bought a new Z-7 — the badge-engineered Mercury counterpart to the Futura — and Stephenson did sheet metal surgery.
The end result was spectacular. The prototype’s wide “wrap over roof pillar,” as it was described in a Futura brochure, became a flying-buttress sail panel that extended beyond an upright rear window. A one-piece fiberglass pickup bed that would not rust or become scratched was installed where the trunk once was. The sloped tail section of the Futura became the tailgate for the pickup truck.
Michael Petti
Stephenson and Price showed photos of the prototype to Holmes-Tuttle Lincoln-Mercury in Van Nuys to generate interest in marketing this new Ranchero. The dealership was intrigued and showed the photos to Ford honchos in Detroit. Ford became involved and there was talk of Stephenson setting up a conversion facility near Kansas City, where the Futura was assembled. Ford even gave him engineering specifications of the Futura. Before it could go farther, Stephenson became seriously ill with a collapsed kidney and plans were halted.
As Stephenson’s health somewhat improved, he contacted Bill Feldhorn, president of National Coach Products in Gardena, to produce the pickup as the company was already converting vans. Since Ford would not let Stephenson use the Ranchero name, Feldhorn named his car-truck hybrid “Durango” long before Dodge used the name on its Dakota-based SUV.
Stephenson still had medical issues, so instead of a hands-on position, he acted as a consultant. Thus, unlike the prototype that had reflectors in both ends of the bed box when the tailgate was down, later Durangos only had reflectors and taillamps in the tailgate. There also was no hinged license plate holder when the tailgate was down. A disclaimer warned drivers not to drive the Durango with the tailgate down.
Michael Petti
Futuras could come with an overhead-cam four of 140 cubic inches good for 88 hp, a 200-cid overhead-valve inline six that produced 86 hp or a 225-cid V-8 with 115 hp. The four bangers could come with a four-speed manual or an automatic while the six and V-8 only came with an automatic transmission. The estimated 212 Durangos produced in ’81 and ’82 were all equipped with the six-cylinder.
The base Futura cost $ 4,223 and $ 2,000 was added for the pickup conversion. In contrast, a base El Camino was $ 6,988—some $ 700 more.
A barn find Durango
At 32 years young, old car enthusiast Chandler Yates, of Lehi, Utah, owns the featured 1981 Ford Durango. He owns, drives, restores and maintains vintage vehicles.
“I became aware of the Durango when I was out purchasing a Ford LTD from an estate sale,” he recalls. “I was wandering around and found this in one of the barns. I knew instantly I had found something very special. It was something I had never seen before.”
The “Rip Van Winkle” Durango had been hibernating for 20 years. According to Chandler, it had electrical issues. He realized this pickup was a vehicle one would not often see on the road, but so did others.
“It was a tough negotiation,” Chandler said. “There were people aware of this pickup and trying to purchase it from different states. I was able to secure the deal and the game began. It took almost six months for the family to locate and reissue a title.”
Chandler used his skills to quickly put the Durango back on the road.
“I was able to pick it up and get it home; we had it running the same day. I spent some time with the electrical and was able to sort out the underlying issues. I wasn’t done there, though. I wanted a reliable and fuel-efficient vehicle that I could use in the high elevation of Utah, and also combat the heat of the desert. I went to the drawing board and designed an adapter plate and built a custom Sniper electronic fuel-injection system for the Durango, bringing the vehicle into the new age of reliability. Being a true survivor, the intention is to restore and repair what is there and keep things as original as possible from when it left National Coach Works facility.”
Michael Petti
Chandler had help from his best friend, Nicholas Day, on the Durango and other restorations, like his ’65 Mustang convertible. But unlike the Mustang, Chandler doesn’t plan to restore his Durango.
“I find the patina and age of this pickup to be really beautiful, and I don’t want to take away from the history it shows. The future of the Durango is to become mechanically sound first, and do suspension upgrades, such as disc brakes and air shock suspension. I’ll continue to add some creature comforts like a Bluetooth radio and hands-free calling.
“I can’t help but call it a ‘Foxchero,’ being the only pickup truck built on the Fox-body platform. I intend to keep the pickup and start showing it next summer. Maybe one day my kids will have this vehicle that is rare and was close to their dad’s heart.”
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