If you’re looking to own an reasonably rare car without having to spend a lot of money on it, this 1981 Ford Durango sort of fits the bill.
According to estimates, no more than 350 units were made (no official production figures were kept), though those same rumors point to as little as 80 to 100 units getting built in total. Whatever the real number is, you can still easily call this a rare car.
It also comes with an interesting origin story. Ford intended for the Durango to follow in the footsteps of the Ranchero, and even sent it out to dealerships for market testing purposes. In the end, it was supposed to be a direct rival for the Chevy El Camino.
The Durango was built by National Coach Works, who removed the roof along with the trunk lid and rear seats on the Fairmont Futura two-door coupe, and added a flat-floor fiberglass cargo bed. The car even came with a disclaimer warning drivers not to drive with the tailgate down – since the tailgate also included the license plate and taillights.
Specs-wise, it came with a 200 cubic-inch inline six (from the Fairmont line), and a three-speed automatic gearbox. This particular one also has 43,000 miles (69,000 km) on the clock, and looks to be in pretty good condition judging by the Craigslist ad.
The seller states that he’s open to trading the car for either a van conversion, van or sail boat.
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