Ford Ranchero Photos & Pictures

Ford Ranchero generations at a glance

What a coupe utility is, and why the Ranchero came first

The Ford Ranchero is a coupe utility, a body style that takes a passenger-car or station-wagon body and replaces the area behind the front seat with an open cargo bed, keeping the car's unified body rather than bolting a separate pickup box to a truck frame. The 1957 Ford Ranchero was the first US-built vehicle of this type in the postwar period; Ford adapted it from the short-wheelbase two-door Ranch Wagon, essentially cutting off the rear roof and fitting a bed over the floor. Chevrolet responded with the El Camino for the 1959 model year, and the two nameplates competed for the rest of the Ranchero's life. Because the Ranchero was always derived from a passenger car, its size, styling, and engines changed whenever the donor car changed.

How the Ranchero moved across Ford platforms

The Ford Ranchero never had its own chassis. For 1957 through 1959 it rode on the full-size Ford. For 1960 Ford moved it to the new compact Falcon, shrinking the truck and pairing it with economical inline-sixes. The 1966 Ranchero shifted to the intermediate Fairlane, and as Ford expanded that line the Ranchero followed it into the Torino. The 1972 redesign placed the Ranchero on the larger Gran Torino platform, where it stayed through 1976. For 1977 Ford moved the Ranchero onto the LTD II, the renamed intermediate that replaced the Gran Torino, and the Ranchero ran there through its final 1979 model year. This platform-following is the defining trait of the nameplate: a 1965 Falcon Ranchero and a 1975 Gran Torino Ranchero are very different vehicles that share only the coupe-utility concept.

Engine eras of the Ford Ranchero

Because the Ford Ranchero shared engines with its donor cars, its powertrains changed with each platform. The full-size 1957-1959 Ranchero offered the 223 inline-six and Y-block V8s in 272, 292, and 312 displacement for 1957, with the FE-family 332 and 352 V8s arriving in 1958. The Falcon Ranchero of 1960-1965 started with small inline-sixes, the 144, then the 170, then the 200, and added the small Windsor V8 in 260 and later 289 form. The Fairlane and Torino Rancheros of 1966-1971 ran inline-sixes alongside 289, 302, 351, and FE 390 V8s, and the performance versions reached the 428 Cobra Jet and, for 1970-1971, the 429 Cobra Jet. The Gran Torino Ranchero of 1972-1976 used the 250 inline-six and 302, 351, 400, and big-block 429/460 V8s, rated in SAE net horsepower from 1972 onward rather than the higher SAE gross figures used before 1972. The LTD II Ranchero of 1977-1979 was V8 only, with the 302, the 351M, and the 400.

Trims, the GT, and the Squire

Ford Ranchero trim levels followed the donor cars and broadened over time. Early Falcon-era trucks were sold in base and Deluxe forms. As the Ranchero moved to the intermediate platform it picked up the Ranchero 500 as a better-equipped grade, the Ranchero GT as the performance and appearance model (carrying the GT's larger V8s, badging, and trim), and the Ranchero Squire with simulated woodgrain side paneling in the manner of Ford's Country Squire wagons. These three, the 500, the GT, and the Squire, continued through the Gran Torino and LTD II generations, so a buyer in the 1970s could choose a work-grade Ranchero, a woodgrain Squire, or a striped GT.

The end of the Ranchero

Ford ended the Ford Ranchero after the 1979 model year, when the LTD II platform that underpinned the final generation was itself discontinued. Ford did not replace the Ranchero with a successor coupe utility, and total production across the 1957 to 1979 run was 508,355 units. The Chevrolet El Camino, the Ranchero's longtime rival, outlived it and continued into the late 1980s.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Ford Ranchero?

The Ford Ranchero is a coupe utility, a car-based pickup built on a two-door station-wagon body with the cab and cargo bed formed as one unit rather than a separate truck cab and box. Ford built it from the 1957 through the 1979 model years, and it was the first US-built coupe utility of the postwar era.

What platforms did the Ford Ranchero use?

The Ford Ranchero shared its platform with Ford passenger cars and changed chassis several times: the full-size Ford for 1957-1959, the compact Falcon for 1960-1965, the intermediate Fairlane and then Torino for 1966-1971, the Gran Torino for 1972-1976, and the LTD II for 1977-1979.

What is the difference between the Ford Ranchero and the Chevrolet El Camino?

The Ford Ranchero and Chevrolet El Camino are both coupe utilities, car-based pickups. Ford introduced the Ranchero first, for the 1957 model year, and Chevrolet answered with the El Camino for 1959. They competed for decades; the Ranchero ended after 1979, while the El Camino continued into the late 1980s.

When did the Ford Ranchero get a V8?

The full-size 1957 Ford Ranchero offered Y-block V8s from the start. After the move to the compact Falcon, the early Falcon Rancheros were inline-six only until a V8, the 260 Windsor, was added for 1963, followed by the 289. Later Fairlane, Torino, Gran Torino, and LTD II Rancheros offered a range of V8s up to big-blocks.

When did the Ford Ranchero end production?

Ford ended Ranchero production after the 1979 model year, when the LTD II platform underpinning the final generation was discontinued. Ford did not offer a direct replacement, and total Ranchero production across 1957-1979 was 508,355 units.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Ford Ranchero
• Hagerty Media, Seven generations of the Ford Ranchero
• HowStuffWorks, 1957-1959 Ford Ranchero and 1960-1963 Ford Falcon Ranchero
• Ford factory specification literature and shop manuals for the donor passenger-car platforms