Ford Ranchero
Muscle · Ford
Ford Ranchero: The Car-Truck That Beat the El Camino to Market
The Ford Ranchero is a coupe utility, a pickup built from a car, that Ford made from 1957 to 1979. It came out two years before the Chevrolet El Camino, and Ford built 508,355 across seven generations.
The idea came from Australia, where Ford designer Lew Bandt built a coupe with a smoothly integrated bed in 1934, creating what Australians call a "ute." Ford introduced the Ranchero in December 1956 on its new 1957 full-size car, essentially a Courier sedan delivery with an open, reinforced bed, and sold it through its truck division. Ads called it "More Than A Car! More Than A Truck!" It could carry about 50 pounds more than a half-ton F-Series pickup, and buyers could order any Ford car engine up to the 312 cubic inch "Thunderbird Special" V8.
The Ranchero changed size with Ford's car lineup. In 1960 it moved to the compact Falcon with a 144 cubic inch six. For 1968 it moved to the Fairlane and new Torino, becoming the biggest Ranchero since 1959, with a Ranchero GT trim and a 428 Cobra Jet V8 available from mid-1968. The 1970 restyle offered the 429 Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet with a "shaker" hood scoop mounted to the carburetor. The last generation, from 1977, was based on the LTD II, and its stacked rectangular headlights are among the most popular with collectors.
Production ended in 1979 with a commemorative "1979½" model. Rancheros are reasonably collectible today, though they're often overlooked for the El Camino, which stayed in production eight years longer. The Ranchero name also turned up in South Africa on an Australian Falcon ute and in Argentina on a locally built Falcon pickup.