(first posted 11/19/2014) What constitutes rare? It’s a term that get bandied about in the automobile world with reckless abandon, and oftentimes, is abused. We’ve all seen the Hemmings or eBay listings advertising an auto as being, for example, “one of 16 ever built with AC, radio delete, 3-on-the-tree and the pink & purple polka dot interior option”. Based on this criterion, every car ever made could have this label applied to it. We all know that a Boss 429 Mustang or Hemi powered Mopar E-body convertible is rare. The former for being a rare model, the latter for an unusual body style and powertrain choice. By the latter criterion, I would like to nominate a ’72 Mustang with the 351-HO engine as rare. By the former criterion, I would like to nominate the above car as being exceedingly rare: the Ford RF-500.
The what? That looks like a brochure pic of a Ford Custom that someone crudely photochopped an LTD grille and vinyl roof onto. I have a confession to make: That’s exactly what it is. However, products closely resembling this did leave the line at Ford’s Oakville, Ontario plant. I would have never known about this car had it not been for a copy of a book I found in a Calgary Public Library branch on a cold autumn afternoon in 1992. It was title “Canadian Cars”, by Perry Zavitz.
Oh sure, I knew all about the Meteors, the Canadian Pontiacs, and the mix & match sheetmetal Chrysler products, AKA Plodges. However, a very short paragraph mentioned something that even a most ardent full-size Ford enthusiast such as myself had never heard of: The Rankin-Ford RF-500. Evidently commissioned by London, Ontario based dealer, Rankin Ford, the RF-500 was created by grafting an LTD hidden headlight front onto a base Custom 2-door sedan, and topping it with a black vinyl toupee. A similar package was on offer for 1969 as well.
In the ensuing years, I have been on an obsessive quest to find any and all information on this freak show rare and obviously valuable classic. It has been all for naught. The only information extant on the web is in the final paragraph of Ford of Canada’s heritage site on postwar Fords.
http://www.ford.ca/heritage/#page=postWarFords
To save you the click, I will simply repost what it said.
“On very rare occasions, dealers would concoct a variation from the normal production model. In 1968 and 1969, at least one Ford dealer sold a special Custom two-door sedan model. It featured a vinyl-covered roof, and the LTD front end with hidden headlights. This was an unusual combination of prestige in the very bottom end of the full-size Ford range.”
Not even a mention of the dealer’s name, which, thanks to Mr. Zavitz’s book, I already knew. Subsequent research on Rankin Ford indicates that the agency was at least prosperous enough that it could afford to field a succession of B/FX drag racing Falcons in the 60s. Evidently, Rankin Ford possessed enough clout with the factory that they could get this built just for them.
http://www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/2005/03/01/hmn_feature15.html
One has to wonder at the rationale for offering this package. The meme of the cheapskate fiscally prudent Canadian car buyer is well known on this board. Was there a public clamoring for a taxi-cab like 2-door sedan with a high-end model’s face grafted on? The last line of the Ford Heritage site got me to thinking. “An unusual combination of prestige in the very bottom of the range”. The mind’s eye pictures a man very much like Bob & Doug McKenzie’s father
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086373/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
lounging out on his front stoop in his undershirt after a hard day at the factory, stubby of Molson’s in hand, admiring the sleek, hidden headlamp prow of his new Ford, smugly & silently congratulating himself on his shrewd purchase, which looked “just like an LTD”, at least from a distant front view.
That jig would soon be up upon getting into the car, as he would be presented with a view very similar to this (4-door model shown)…
or this, possibly, depending on what year he had.
And Mr. McKenzie had better have been diligent about getting it Ziebarted upon purchase, and subsequent bi-annual oilings of its underside, or it would have degenerated into a pile of orange flakes faster than you could say “take off, you hoser” – Ontario being in the very heart of salt country. This factor alone, along with the regional nature of its sales, practically guarantees that these are extinct today.
But then again, one never knows. Maybe somewhere, in the rickety old garage of a brick house somewhere in southern Ontario, there sits an RF-500. So, Doug, like… what are we gonna do with dad’s old Ford eh?
If it was not real-and I`m not too sure if it is, it would obviously be Photoshopped.However, an interesting concept.A dealer made “hybrid”combining elements of the bottom line and top line cars . A strange brew (get it) for sure. I`m kinda surprised that you put this article up now instead of on April Fools day.
Sounds like a British New Wave band, eh?
I’ve seen some salvage re-builders swap damaged front clips with those from more expensive and newer models. A couple of Canadian oddities I have seen over the years. A 1964 Mercury Comet 404 ordered late in the year came in with a Calliante interior. The dealer offered another new car to the new buyer if they weren’t happy. They took the odd-ball and were delighted. A friends father ordered a new Plymouth Fury III 4 door hardtop. When it arrived three door trim panels were worded Fuey III but the right frond was marked Polara 880. Canadian Dodges did share interiors and instrument panels with Plymouth.
It’s not April 1st, so, I’ll buy in.
Hidden headlights in the U.S. probably hit their peak in terms of standard features and options in 1977, especially at Ford. Living in snow country, I’d hear occasional curses about the doors icing up and being stuck closed. Some folks would have them disabled in the open position for the winter.
So, I strikes me as slightly ironic that a Canadian dealer would order up a batch of hidden headlights where they are not usually featured.
Being a ‘ frugal ‘ Farmer typ , I like it…..
How many people does that front seat hold and the seat belts look odd..
-Nate
Well, it’s really a just a brochure rendering, so it’s not totally accurate. The buckles are actually a little small, but they really did have that many. 3 laps, and don’t forget that the shoulder belts had a separate buckle then.
There was a brief period there where the “new” mandated shoulder harnesses were buckled separately from the lap belts, so there are 2 buckles for every outboard passenger and a lap belt for the center, resulting in a bucket load of buckles in the front seat, I know that GM cars did it mostly for 1968, later the shoulder harness was made to clip on to the lap belt so they could be bucked together.
It really didn’t matter though since no one used them anyway…..
My Dad’s ’68 Fury II was like that, front seats only though.
Oh yeah, it was font only, I don’t think Domestic cars were required to have rear shoulder belts until like 1989-1990. In 1968 all you would get in the rear was lap belts.
Little known fact, dealer installed rear shoulder belts have generally been available since ’68. Just try and find some, though.
“…However, products closely resembling this did leave the line at Ford’s Oakville, Ontario plant…” I am aware of these from the Zavitz book as well, but I’ve always imagined that they were cobbled together at the dealership rather than being a production run.
In concept, it’s somewhat similar to the 1970 Plymouth Fury Gran Coupe, that used the Fury II 2-door sedan body with the Sport Fury’s hidden-headlamp grille.
Wow, never heard of (much less seen) one of these. The grille swap could have been a fairly easy switch, just needing the vacuum tubing for the doors. As for the roof, did Ford offer a vinyl roof on the 2 door sedans in 68-69? If so, that would have been another easy special order.
The alternate theory could be that these could easily have been cobbled together in the dealer’s service department, as well. Special order of some LTD grilles and a trim worker could get this done too. Surely the local body shops could use the removed grilles.
And if there were ever a car with the almost genetic self-selecting trait for extinction, it would have been these in salty Ontario.
I never thought of that-I suppose it’s possible that they did it at the dealer level, but that seems like the un-economic way to go about it. First, you need to order brand new parts, including a headlight switch and a whole new hood for the ’69. Then several hours of billable labor, including painting of said hood, and billable labor for the vinyl top, plus removal of already paid-for parts. Then, it has to be sold at a profit, but at a bargain basement price point. I just figured a factory build was the only way they could come out ahead.
There’s simply no solid information out there, no known sale literature, nothing except what’s been already cited.
WRT to spotting one, I’d imagine even if people did see them, they’d just assume it was home built.
I forgot about the 69 Hood difference on the LTD. I guess in those days before computers completely controlled the production process, it was possible to get a short run of about anything as a special order.
I am just amazed that we have found a Canadian variant on a late 60s Ford that you cannot document for us! 🙂
Now there’s irony for you….I read about Mr. Zavitz’s book nearly 20 years ago and tried to find a copy. The book is as rare, if not more rare than it’s subject matter.
I’m still trying to find a copy. 20 years ago I was told it was out of print. If anyone can tell me where I can find a copy….it would be greatly appreciated.
http://www.amazon.com/Canadian-Cars-1946-1984-Perry-Zavitz/dp/0934780439/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416412022&sr=1-1&keywords=Canadian+Perry+Zavitz&pebp=1416411940834
Check out the price on a new copy! Take off, eh?
Those hosers need to lower the price, eh?
“Slightly higher in Canada”.
I’m a Ford fan and hidden headlight fan so I like it a lot.This is what I love about this site finding cars I’ve never heard of or seen before.Thanks Roger
My, my the knowledge I have gained on this web site. Never knew about this Ford model. I have Perry’s book on Monarch Meteor. Perhaps I should get a copy of Canadian Cars now.
This rare model reminds me of Healy Ford in Edmonton who back in the day would dress up plain Jane Fairlanes, Falcons, Mavericks and Customs with half-vinyl roofs and other such tacky add ons to appease customers or make a few extra dollars per basic car. These were easy to spot on the road as a half-vinyl roof with no Chrome trim was a dead give-a-way the vinyl was a dealer add on.
Great feature Roger.
Other than the vinyl roof these are quite understated and oddly compelling. The unusual factor did not jump out at me upon first glancing at the pictures.
With the undoubtedly low production of two-door sedans, combined with this being a dealer brainchild, could more than a few dozen have ever existed?
Roger, I have thoroughly enjoyed this and it has me wondering about other “what-ifs”.
What…wait!!! Those photos are chops. The top photo has the grille crudely inserted, and you can see the pixelation along the edges of the black vinyl roof on the second photo.
Not to say the car didn’t exist. I used to live in London (Ontario, of course) back in the 80’s, and Rankin Ford was a huge dealer covering a large geographic area full of frugal tobacco farmers…
I guess you didn’t read it carefully? 🙂
that looks like a brochure pic of a Ford Custom that someone crudely photochopped an LTD grill and vinyl roof onto. I have a confession to make: That’s exactly what it is.
There are no remaining images of the RF-500, hence the author had to replicate it, in photoshop.
I think he might have been thinking what I first thought, that they were pre-historic “photoshoped” photos that were not uncommon back in the day,
“Hey lets make this 71 into a 72 for the brochure…..ok were done….lets go to lunch”
Roger628:
When I first heard about this book, it was via the internet so I immediately made a beeline for Amazon.com. Back then they had a listing for the book complete with price but it was listed as out of print. I seem to remember the price they listed back in the 90s was either $20+ or $40+. So yes, a “starting price” for a (possibly) used paperback of about $200 out strips inflation.
Too bad then Ford didn’t continued the 2-door sedan for the 1970 model year or even the 1971-72 models since they shared basically the same chassis. I think having a 1970-71-72 Canadian Rankin Ford would had been cool.
Strange coincidence, I posted on Casey’s Art & Colour blog, the idea of a Custon 500 2-door sedan as a reply to the 1970½ Plymouth Fury Gran Coupe. Little I knew about that Canadian Rankin Ford. ^_^;;
This Ford is certainly a strange brew. Good article, Roger. I’m enjoying your angle.
Thank you for the article. It’s always great to learn about special edition, dealer-specific or regional cars. I’d bet that if someone ran a Marti report on one of these cars, we’d learn even more. But one would have to have a VIN first!
I agree, it could be fun to see if someone had taken some pictures of these Rankin Ford RF-500 back when they was new?
And speaking of dealer-specific cars. A former Pontiac-Buick dealer, Stampede Pontiac-Buick of Calgary did a kind of “poor’s man GTO Judge” with the 1970 LeMans “The Jury”. http://canadianponcho.activeboard.com/t49542792/1970-pontiac-lemans-the-jury/?sort=oldestFirst&page=
The Jury. Hehehe
Lame sticker, though.
Thanks for another car I never knew about.I’ve read about other dealer specials but only the really well known ones like Mr Norm and Yenko
I had a ’70 Galaxie at one point. The odometer rolled from the top down, which always seemed weird to me. Don’t know how common that was in Fords.
CC effect strikes again as I bought Classic American magazine for the 2015 calender and sure enough there’s a feature on Canadian cars!
The photo does show a lot of retouching and it appears that the 2-door Custom has (had) Michigan plates with the year, “Michigan” and “Great Lake State” blanked out.
I am not surprised that a then-mega-Ontario Canada dealer would’ve had Ford these as it WAS common in the day for large metro dealers/dealers that moved LOTS of volume had clout with the factory to build specials. I think of Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago, Yenko in Pennsylvania, the Cincinnati Bengals ’69 Dodge Chargers, all those Dodge Texans in the 1950s and so on. The RF-500 makes sense, especially considering the frugal nature/less expendable income of Canadian car buyers in those days.
For the record, growing up in the S.F. Bay Area, I remember seeing a new 1973 Chevy Bel Air back in the day that had a black vinyl top over that metallic pea green ’70’s GM color; whitewalls with full (Impala) wheel covers, bumper guards and rubber trim strips like a Caprice.
I also remember the typical late 60’s Chevy accessory booklet that usually showed a Biscayne dressed up with dual mirrors, wire wheel covers, bumper guards, rub strips, . . . the works!
Canada had a few odd ball cars line the Meteor line out of Oakville ,Ont , and the Mercury ranchero or a canada only full size Ford with a 6 cylinder engine not offered in the USA.
Canada had not standardized the Left hand drive system across 4000 miles from province to province where some areas had left handed drive rules in . This made the 4 door cars a favourite because passengers could exit from either side of the car ( 1930’s).
My friend that worked at a FORD dealer in Toronto, Canada, told me about the odd full size luxury cars he saw because it was normal to take a FORD and trow on some new trim or alter the dash and call it a Mercury . One dealer produced a Stallion which was a 1967 Mustang fastback ordered with a beefy 289 or the S code 390 GT and interior options like the headliner warning console, the car had Cougar tail lights , black hood scoop , modifed grille , black b pillar with Chrome strips at the edges , plus the fake side vents aft the doors were chromed , the gas cover had a stallion engraved into it and the GT removed . I saw a Brown one on the used car lot in 1970 by that same dealer, but I never saw another since that one.
love the reference about the guy sitting on the step admiring his car, that’s exactly what I did after installing a top of the range Fairmont grille and front cornering lights on my base model Aussie 2003 Falcon Ute.(pick up).
Except it was a can of Victoria Bitter… ah the simple pleasures.
All you were missing was a dog….
I once foolishly didn’t buy a gussied up 1956 Ford Ute some enterprising person imported from Down Under , silly me ~ I wanted a ’41 Chevy he said he’d bring next but never did .
Utes are good looking Cars and handy for light duty works too .
-Nate
Yes utes have been a successful part of our car industry over the years, unfortunately that all comes to an end soon as GM Holden & Ford are pulling out.
Hope to get a Ranchero or El Camino one day
Is it O.K. to segue this thread into a discussion of El Camino Vs. Rancheros ? .
Both have their plus and minus’ , I prefer a 1/2 Ton Short Bed Pickup but I nearly bought a Falcon Ranchero a couple times , I know a guy who had a Factory red ’64 El Camino with 230 C.I.D. i6 I could buy but , I couldn’t leave it parked anywhere for fear of theft…
Just thinking instead of Working , I’d better go now .
-Nate
Yeah sorry for changing subject,
I’m a bit new to this
Not to worry ~ if it’s wrong , you’ll be told .
Often threads meander all over the place and you’ll get to learn many new and interesting things you’ll never find out about elsewhere , enjoy the ride .
-Nate
What about those “Timmonds” Fords ? Supposedly built from left over parts by a guy who took over a factory after Ford shut it down. The story goes that he wasn’t allowed to call them Fords, so the scripts were left off. This was in the 1930’s. Urban legend ?
Or did some one confuse it with the reproductions built by Andrew Timmis in 1970 ?
I had never heard of either, but a quick google revealed that Timmis Ford appears to be an ongoing enterprise:
http://www.timmismotor.com/
This is a terrific looking car. Shot in 3B, right? (Three beers)
It predates the Thunderbird, based on the Torino by a decade!
You cannot tell me that a 1977 Mercury Cougar stripper wasn’t the same thing.
Practical too.
It is a lot easier to wash out that interior after pigging out of Molsons and poutines the night before and ralphing on the way home.
And I’d like to point out that these photos have not been faked, or altered in any way. In fact they have time coding, which is very hard to fake. Well, uh… just because I don’t know what it is, it doesn’t mean I’m lying.
“We’ll always have our memories. The Colonel’s dead. Here we are still enjoying his chicken.”
Ford is not the only maker to have done this. For example some Cadillac dealers in the 1970’s offered special editions of the low-line Calais. There was one called the L’Etoile that was offered in Detroit, and maybe elsewhere, and another called the St. Moritz that was sold in Philadelphia. These were less ambitious than the RF Fords, usually involving just unique vinyl tops, trim and other bolt-ons that could have been dealer installed. This ad for a St. Moritz shows that the amount of additional external bling was very small, and they still had the plain trim-less rockers that marked them as Calais models.
Philly trivia fans will note that the location of this photo is the top of the Art Museum steps made famous in the film Rocky.
Back around 2001, I was given an ’84 Dodge 100 work van with smashed grille & headlights, along with the complete chrome grille, headlights and all the hardware from a ’79 to install on the ’84.
Thing is, I actually would’ve preferred the round headlights and grey plastic grill of the ’84. The stacked rectangular lights and chrome on a work vehicle seemed akin to putting lipstick on a pig, and all the chrome was pitted and ugly. Plus all the extra work converting from 2 round headlights to four rectangular ones.
But you know what they say about gift-horses.
Anyway, the van proved uncomfortable and uneconomical for a work vehicle. So It became a storage shed!
Happy Motoring, Mark
Inspiration for the original Plymouth Fury Gran Coupe? In both cases, I wonder if State/Provincial highway patrols unexpectedly switching from 2 to 4 door pursuit cars resulted in a glut of bodies that needed moving.
Super interesting read! Thanks for posting this. I had never heard anything about the RF500. I would bet my thrifty nickels that Ford did these roofs in the crinkle black paint meant to resemble vinyl at a distance. My dad’s 67 Meteor came with that “option”. It was not nice. I think it started fading 10 hours after application. Nonetheless it was an option and it was cheap which would suit this combo perfectly. As Jason put it… strangely compelling.
The pic bellow actually features the crinkle top I just mentioned in my last post. This brochure pic is of a 68 Meteor, but virtually identical to my dads 67. The grill change, missing radio antenna, missing raised hood ornament, and dog dish Meteor hub caps are the only differences.