The story famously goes that a customer wrote to car companies about how they needed a car to go to church on Sunday, and carry farm equipment on Monday. The “ute” was born, and Chevrolet cornered the market with the El Camino and Holden’s Australian equivalent, but there were other competitors. Chrysler sold the Rampage in the ’80s, Subaru had the Brat, even Austin made a little Mini ute. Ford’s entry in the utilitarian-sedan-thing market was the Ranchero, and this one comes complete with some interesting modifications. You can find it here on eBay.
There are a lot of new mechanical bits on the ute, and under the hood is where it gets interesting. Originally, the Ranchero was offered with just about any engine from Ford, all the way up to the 5.1 liter V-8 “Thunderbird Special.” This Ranchero is a little different, because under the hood is a rebuilt 351 Cleveland V-8 from 1973. Assuming it’s an unmodified 351, it sends between 240 and 285 horsepower (depending on how many barrels the carburetor has) through an FMX three-speed automatic transmission to a Ford 9-inch differential out back.
Inside, the seller lists a bunch of new bits the car has. It’s got a floor shifter, new glass, and an aftermarket heater, though they will include the original heater in the sale. The upholstery looks to be in decent shape, as does the custom steering wheel. There are some auxiliary gauges below the dashboard. Only offering a bench seat means you can only fit three people in the cab, which gives it less practicality than, say, a modern F150 crew cab, but a Ranchero brings charm and bragging rights to the table that can’t be replicated by anything modern.
The El Camino may be the most famous classic ute, but the Ranchero beat it to market by two years and can tie a direct familial line to the original utes based on Ford products. The bed is ready to be lined with some nice teak panels if you wanted to show it…or some bed liner if you wanted to actually use it as it was intended to be used. This Ranchero is unpainted and has a fantastic status as a project car. The body is straight and free of rust, the wheels and tires have an original look to them; it’s just a paint job away from being a show car with something interesting already under the hood.
Nice tasteful build.Good they did the brake upgrade.
Us Gringos never called them “Utes”, they were either Ranchero or El Caminos.( Coupe Express for you really old farts) It was one of the few car designs that didn’t fly,,initially. They didn’t do either job well, they didn’t have enough room inside and were poor pickup trucks. They had a very limited appeal, and not many sold. The Falcon Ranchero did better, but amazing to see one of these original ones at all.
There was a Falcon Ranchero, V-8, Four speed, only a few thousand miles, that went on Bring a Trailer, for 92K big ones!
Howard, I didn’t know the Rancheros weren’t good haulers. I saw Oddjob drive off with a 2 1/2 ton crushed up Lincoln in the back of a 64 Falcon Ranchero. I’m sure there couldn’t have been any special effects involved.
There were DeSoto utes down under too.
Ford Australia was the first company to produce an Australian Coupe ‘ute’, in 1934.
I’d call a Model T p/u a “ute”, a Hudson Big Boy, terra-planc, etc, etc. But I gotta ’69 bronk p/u (& call it ‘the 1st’ Sports utility – as the sales book calls it that model of the bronk).
Call it what you want, I wish I could call it mine. It don’t need paint. Looks Old Skool Hot Rod The Way It Sits.
Please don’t use liter designations for vintage cars. It’s just confusing. ‘57 Ranchero was available with a 312-
Also, Utes are Australian. Rancheros are American.
Instead of referring to a 312 as a 5.1….why not stay in the context of the day, back then?
This was unfortunate. Seeing the initial pic I was really looking forward to reading a nice little piece about this really nice Ranchero, as I’ve become accustom. But this was probably the worst write up I’ve ever read on barn finds. Apologies to the author, but don’t quit your day job.
I will say this. Really nice Ranchero! With lots of potential. I want it just as it is, except for the valve covers.
My bad. Missed that those are Mikey T valve covers. Keepers.
Ended: Aug 18, 2021 , 2:20PM
Winning bid:US $10,300.00
[ 14 bids ]
Located in:Bullhead City, Arizona,
I used to have access to all cars at a Ford dealership. I often would take a 1975 Ford Rancho with wood trim. Think it was a Rancho Squire. Wish I would have kept it.