Concept Corner: dreaming up a retro Ford Ranger

16 October, 2015

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“Every month NZV8 ask their cover car owner for the concept that they’d most like to build, or see someone build”

Lyndon Hakopa had Matamata Panelworks build a very cool XW Ford Falcon ute, which we managed to feature on the cover of Issue No. 126. If you’ve read the article, you’ll know that Lyndon is a family man, and as such the ute is a bit tricky, being just a two-seater. So when we asked Lyndon for his concept, this is what he came up with.

“I love Ford Rangers; they’re just so handy — although they’re a bit high to put the dog or motorbikes on the back easily. They’re far easier around town than an F150. So a lowered Ranger would be pretty cool; but then again, you just can’t beat the look of the older stuff, like XWs. So my concept is to mix the character of old with the convenience and reliability of new.

Utes like my XW are great if you’ve only got one passenger, but when you need to take the whole family, you need a crew cab, so I’d graft an XW ute and wagon together to get a double cab. The tray would still need to be long to help fit stuff on, but to help with proportions it could be shortened a bit.

In an ideal world, the whole lot would be built over a Ranger chassis, so that you’d get the mod cons like ABS and good suspension, but, to get it sitting down low enough, the chassis would need to be notched in the rear and Z’d in the front. With a few other suspension changes, like lowering springs, it should be able to sit low enough, especially once the wheels were swapped out for the same style as on my XW.

Building it off a Ranger chassis, it would make sense to use a full Ranger as the donor — that way you’d get the interior, also, which I’d graft in. I’d even go as far as to use the firewall out of the Ranger so there were no issues with the brake booster and steering-column fitting.

Of course, the Ranger motor wouldn’t cut it, so I’d drop in a Coyote motor, backed with an autobox, just to make it nice to drive around town. It’d be the perfect thing to chuck the kids in, dog or motorbike on the back, and head out of town.

As for the colour? The Matamata Panelworks team did a great job on the XW, so it’d make sense to paint this one the same.”

Sounds like a cool concept to us. Make sure to have your say on our Facebook page.

What are your thoughts on it? Post in the comments below.

You can get a print copy or a digital copy of NZV8 Issue No. 126, where the concept was first featured, below:

Buy a print copy of the magazine for NZ$10

Buy a digital copy of the magazine for NZ$6.99

The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.

A diamond in the rough

24 June, 2025

Two years ago, Lew finished a thorough restoration and the impressive ute has taken on a new life and colour. Lew plays down the amount of effort required but, despite his protestations, I suspect he put a lot of time into the project. A few unwanted tenants were evicted along the way.
“It didn’t take me long. There had been mice living in the firewall, which had caused a bit of damage. It apparently broke down and was pushed into a shed. It was 20 years to the day when I pulled it out and it sat in my other shed for 3 years before I started on it. That’s why it’s in such good order — it’s been kept in a shed for so long and still is.”