The Ford Ranchero existed for a number of years as The Blue Oval’s car-based pickup, designed to compete with the Chevy El Camino in a time when lots of folks saw such a thing as the future. That didn’t quite pan out, though today, we do have some more car-like, unibody pickups to choose from, at least. Regardless, we’ve also seen lots of other Blue Oval models transformed into pickups over the years that weren’t offered like that from the factory – such as this 1980 Ford Pinto.
This 1980 Ford Pinto is scheduled to cross the block at Mecum’s 2026 Kissimmee, Florida auction in January, and it has indeed been modified in the style of the Ranchero. This Pinto started life as a wagon, but it’s been chopped up and fixed with custom steel rear panels that form a real-deal pickup bed, giving it more utility in that regard. After all that chopping was complete, the newly designed body was covered in white paint with red graphics. It rolls on a set of Billet Specialties wheels, too.
Inside the cabin, one will find a brown interior with cloth seats, which looks mostly OEM, save for some added gauges and an aftermarket Kenwood CD player head units. There’s even a custom bench seat in the rear with room for a couple of (small) passengers, which is a nice touch. Otherwise, everything looks to be clean and free of flaws or any sort of damage.
Under the hood, one will find the naturally-aspirated Ford 302 cubic-in V8, fitted with an Edelbrock intake manifold and a Holley carb, mated to a C6 automatic transmission. The small pickup features niceties like power steering, power brakes with new pads and rotors, fresh axle bearings, new Flowmaster mufflers, and Richmond 3,55 gears out back.
Overall, this Ford Pinto pickup is a pretty well-executive build, and it looks to be in great shape. Given its V8 power and various upgrades, we imagine that it would be pretty fun to drive, too.
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