Looking to relocate to Washington or Oregon anytime soon? Your new Durango might fit in just nicely amongst the rest of the traffic.

For all intents and purposes, that excerpt was pretty damn funny. On a more serious note, when’s the last time you heard of someone being able to own a piece of Ford history for under $5,000? Fortunately for you, that’s exactly the case with this 1981 Ford Durango we came across on Craigslist in the Southern California area. Veteran Blue Oval enthusiasts might recall that the Durango had an interesting inception – one that spawned from a hybrid of Ford and the National Coach Works’ efforts. It’s a concoction of an early Ford Fairmont Futura and the possible replacement for the Ford Ranchero, though that never came to fruition.

OK, now let’s get to the fun stuff. This Durango, like all of the others produced, is powered by a 200 cubic-inch inline-six engine. It was borrowed from the Fairmont line, and is paired with a three-speed automatic transmission. If we were to have our way with this American Ute, we’d rip out the inline-six for a 351W and build a nasty (yet street friendly) naturally aspirated combination for it.

Maybe even pair it with a built automatic transmission like a C6, swap a 9-inch into it and a fat pair of drag radials for the rear. How’s that for a cup of joe? Checkout the original ad here for yourself if you’re interested in it. The seller is asking $3,750.