There’s a certain distinction to having a classic car, period. And usually, one associates a classic car with something expensive. But there are plenty of old geriatric wheels out there that escape the attention of avid collectors. This is why some of these vintage beauties end up on the classic car bazaar rather cheap.
And this can happen with any classic car, including Ford classics. Now, we’re not saying that you can get a T-bird or even a Mustang for peanuts, but if you look hard enough, the used market is filled with overlooked classics that are worth at least twice their asking price.
Several classic Ford cars also slip through the cracks, especially for some of their lesser-known or respected model years. While a cheap classic may not bode well for a seller, it does make the world brighter for a buyer.
Keeping that in mind, here go 10 classic Fords that are notoriously underpriced, often for no fault of their own. Would you like any of these to be your 2021 ride?
10 1985-89 Merkur XR4Ti: The Long-Forgotten Import
The what? If you haven’t heard of that Merkur (pronounced Mar-koor) XR4Ti, we don’t blame you. This was Ford’s idea of getting one of its European stars, the Ford Sierra hatchback XR4i into the US, with a name that was basically German for Mercury. Ford played the name-change game well considering GMC Sierra’s existence.
Only, to get this car certified for US sales, they had to put it an additional 850 parts, and no, we are not overstating the issue. Costs went up, interests went down and today, you can have one of these for as low as $2,000-3,000.
9 1964-65 Ford Falcon Sprint: Trampled By The Mustang
The Ford Falcon was a cool enough car, so much so that the Mustang, which debuted in 1964 mid-year, arrived riding on the Falcon’s underpinnings. To match up to the Mustang, Falcon came out with the Falcon Sprint at the same time, with a beefier suspension as well as the same V8 of the ‘Stang.
Sadly, the Mustang trampled the Falcon with nary a care and while the buyers flocked to get their muscle car, the Falcon was forgotten and off the market by 1970. If you still are not convinced, this was the cool car of the original Mad Max movie.
8 1954 Ford Crestline Skyliner: A Cheap Rarity
The Ford Crestline Skyliner was a single-year model, one that bore a glass-roofed hardtop, and was the top of the line trim for that year. While the Skyliner carried on, the trim moved onto the Crown Victoria from 1955 onwards, leaving the Crestline to do other not-so-fancy stuff.
It was popular for its year, some 13,000 units being sold, far more than the Mercury Monterey Sun Valley, yet another mouthful of a ‘50s car. It came with a new V8 and jetted 130 horses mated to a three-speed manual transmission. Today, it's easy to get one for $10,000-15,000, tops.
7 1970 Ford F-100 Ranger: For All Classic Truck Fans
Long before the Ranger became a nameplate, it was a trim on the Ford F-100 and came with a large OTT grille, a short bed, and a two-tone paint job that made it look pretty cool as a classic. And yet the 1970 model isn’t all that old in tech too, especially for anyone who is a classic truck cognoscente.
What’s even cooler is that you can get one in fairly good condition for under $10,000, making this quite the cool classic Ford buy. And honestly, nothing beats the appeal of the Ford F-100 in any case, especially if it bears the Ranger name.
6 ‘70s Ford Ranchero: One Stylized Ute
Today’s vehicles are mostly crossovers, able to bridge gaps and perform more than just one function, and assuage the multiple needs of their buyers. It was, after all, a truck built on a station wagon, impersonating a muscle car under the hood. It may have met its end by the end of the ‘70s but still has plenty of takers.
You can get some of these even under $10,000 but they are likely to come well ridden or needing some work. For mint condition models, $20,000 is a cool figure to go up to, which in the classic world is peanuts.
5 1964 Ford Thunderbird: The Oft-Ignored Model
So the ‘60s Ford Thunderbird did not impress all that much. It was stylish and comfortable, yes, and came with enough V8 power, to the tune of 300 horses. While this was also a movie car and featured in Goldfinger, this was the car of the Bond villain.
The fourth generation of the Ford Thunderbird was A-okay back then and some 100,000 of these were made. Enough numbers to be able to get one rather cheap today, somewhere between $10,000-15,000, a little higher if you want a convertible.
4 1962 Ford Galaxie 500: Overlooked But Not Overpowered
Before the Ford Taurus SHO, there was the Galaxie 500 SHP, one that came with a 6.6-liter V8 that jetted more than 400 horses. A larger radiator, beefier suspension, and specialized intake worked hand-in-hand to launch this biggie to 60 mph in a matter of 6.1 seconds.
A quarter-mile was done in 14 seconds, making this one of the most powerful cars of its times, and also one cool contender against the Chevrolet Impala SS. But the Galaxie was not that well known a brand and today, you can have one of these beauties for under $20,000.
3 1958-1959 Ford Fairlane: The Sidelined Beauty
The ‘50s and even the ‘60s were mostly ruled by Chevrolet and even Chrysler for that matter, so most classic car aficionados still look to the Bel Air or the Imperial when it comes to the late ‘50s. The Ford Fairlane gets passed over and although it did look sleeker than its contemporaries, it still had the ‘50s design flair.
Somehow, these models can be had for cheaper than the others, and yet their performance is more than up to the mark with 1959 models getting a 350-horsepower V8.
2 1966 Ford Country Squire: Fancy A Land Yacht?
The 1966 Ford Country Squire Wagon was the soccer mom vehicle of then, and more of a road barge than a car. At the time, they really made these big, enough to need some serious garage or driveway space for parking.
You can find many pretty good examples of this station wagon for under $12,000 and it manages to do well for its V8 engine with a four-barrel carburetor and a three-speed automatic transmission. A ‘60s model will be affordable, go earlier than that and the classics get a little pricey.
1 1983-1986 Ford Mustang 5.0: Finally, The Stallion Too
The 1983 Ford Mustang was a big one for its time, coming as a convertible model after a decade’s gap. Now while we call this model a four-eyed fox, it did have many things to boast about, including a new transmission.
Once the Mustang prettied up and came in special GT models and more, the prices went up and remain on the high side for the classics as well. But if you fancy a classic Mustang, this is the one to get, especially because you can have it for less than $10,000…
Sources: CaradnDriver, BringaTrailer