My Favorite Ride: Bidding stops at $283 for an old Ford Ranchero no one wanted
Evan Derry went to an estate auction in Fairmount a few years ago. A man had gone to jail for stabbing his father-in-law, and his house and belongings were being sold.
Derry grew up in the area and knew the story well. "They guy loved old Fords," he said. "And people said he was a bit crazy."
He figured, given the crime and small-town notoriety, people might be reluctant to buy the man's collection of Fords. No one would want to be seen driving them around town.
At the auction, "the local people wouldn't touch them beyond the scrap value," Derry said.
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Many of the old Fords had sat outside unattended for years. They came up on the auction block one by one. Derry had his eyes on a gray 1978 Ranchero.
It had been the man's favorite, the Ford he drove every day until the stabbing sent him to jail.
The Ranchero looked pretty rough, and he wasn't sure if the catalytic converter was gone (it was) or if the V-8 motor was beyond repair (it wasn't.)
Derry's plan was to buy the car-pickup vehicle for his girlfriend. She had been wanting a Chevrolet El Camino, but the Ford Ranchero GT was pretty close.
And right there.
Derry said other bidders fell away once the price of each car reached the amount it would sell for at a scrapyard.
He was right. No one in Fairmount wanted the convicted man's cars.
"I beat the scrap price by about $30," he said, "and saved it."
Bidding on the Ranchero stopped at $283. Derry hauled it to his parents' house.
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On their next visit, Derry was working on his 1963 Plymouth Fury, his daily driver, out in the garage. Riley Millage was looking at cars for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
He led her to a field out back where the Ranchero sat parked. "You don't need to be looking at cars," he said. "You have a car."
He got the 44-year-old vehicle running. "It needed a carburetor, a new exhaust and it had a violent oil leak," he said.
Millage spent three days using 320-grit sandpaper to block sand rough spots on the car. Derry followed with an air sander on large flat surfaces.
They painted it matte black. Millage replaced the carpet and reupholstered the seats. It needs a new headliner.
It's the car she drives every day, a 4,000-pound present with a past. "She street parks it in town," Derry said. "Can you believe it?"
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Contact My Favorite Ride reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Man picks up 1978 Ranchero at auction for $283, now it's driven daily
