“The all-new Ranchero Squire heads a longer, livelier, more luxurious line of 1970 Rancheros by Ford. Rancheros are now five inches longer and feature new styling from grille to tailgate. New longer wheelbase and wider track provide a smoother ride and improved cornering ability.” So says a 1970 Ford Ranchero brochure. The seller has this Ranchero Squire listed here on eBay in Hampton, South Carolina and the bid is $2,300.
The fifth-generation Ranchero was made for only two model years, 1970 and 1971. What an era, back when car companies would make a design for only a year or two, I can’t imagine we’ll ever see anything like that again, at least from a major manufacturer. This car doesn’t appear to be equipped with the optional hidden headlights, which was an option on the Squire, GT, and 500 Rancheros. Although now that I look at it again, maybe it does and they’re just not closed?
FO D. It took a bit of searching, but they seem to be available on eBay. The seller says that this Ranchero is solid other than the front edge of the hood and it sure looks good in the photos. Although, you can see some rust poking out here and there, but hopefully it’s just surface rust. The underside looks solid other than the exhaust. Ford offered the Ranchero in standard form, the Ranchero, and also the Ranchero 500, Ranchero GT, and the Ranchero Squire as seen here with woodgrain sides and on the tailgate.
The seat appears to be black and I would have guessed this car would have a dark blue interior, which it does otherwise, so Cap’n Obvious wonders: “Hmm… has the seat cover been replaced with a black one at some point?” “Uhhh, nice deduction, meatball.” – says every other living human. The dash looks like the biggest issue inside and this car has factory AC, but the compressor is missing.
This isn’t a monster 429 V8, or the standard 250 inline-six, this Ranchero Squire has Ford’s 302-cu.in. OHV V8, which with a two-barrel carb would have had 210 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque when new. This one “fires right up” and it runs, drives, and stops, according to the seller. This car has a column-shifted three-speed automatic because the Squire was more luxury than sport. Hagerty is at $9,200 for a #4 fair-condition car, how much would you pay for this Ranchero Squire?
No need for additional pics I ll purchase today.. for my bid..
I hope you can get it, Bill! Please let us know how the bidding goes. This is quite a car, I wonder what their reserve is?
Would be cool with a 4’speed and a 351c or 429!
yep….wasn’t this the last year for a good body or 1971 ?
It appears you’re again correct-it does have the hideaway headlights but they’re not closed as the left headlight is a little cockeyed in comparison to where the right one lines up with the grill.
Looks like a good project too if it can be bought at a decent price.
Thank you, sir! I guess I could have edited the first part out, where I wondered if it had them, but now you can at least see my convoluted thought process, such that it is. Ha. Thanks for confirming the hideaway headlights, that’s a really sleek look.
You’re welcome.
Insofar as the way you think and write: don’t change anything. You and your counterparts all have a distinctive and unique style that is real and refreshingly human, something muchly appreciated in a time where, ironically, we humans frequently have to prove to the robots that we’re not a robot..
There’s not room for the headlight assembly to roll over (if they did that with this model), and I don’t see any tracks for doors. (which Ford favored). I never owned one, but I recall that, like the LTD of the period, the hidden headlights used covering doors.
Your photo shows the grille is flush with the headlights – and the headlight surrounds have matching egg-crate decoration. What you’re seeing is just the three-piece assembly of the grille.
Were they hidden headlights, the headlight assembly would be noticeably behind the grille piece and probably a flat-black panel.
I’d say the most-likely is, the grille was replaced a long time ago – probably because of the troubles endemic with those headlight doors, everything from ice sticking them, to vacuum leaks. It’s also possible they were a delete option on the Squire model.
FOD indeed. I like what I saw once, someone had rearranged the letters to spell DORF. But a nice project for the right price. Mostly just paint and interior work. The crank windows are a drag though.
JustPassinThru, I think you’re right! I should have searched for a photo showing the lights opening or closing. My apologies.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QJotk0NFed0/maxresdefault.jpg
Scotty, JustPassinThru is correct-my bad. These don’t roll back, they had a cover that rolled up to expose the lights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHV6GqtDWxg
Obviously I was typing based on memory without first verifying information, and I know better.😡
And it’s still in the crate!
We can take care of that, fast, with an axe…chop it right out
Yes it does have hideaways I couldn’t tell ?? didn’t look like it did in the provided pic’s of the front grillle But if it really does have them it def’ly adds a Cool factor to this car !! along w other cars of the 60’s & 70’s cars w this added feature ;You def’ly can’t beat the look of these cars of these 2 decades w this look on the front grille
It’s hard to tell about the hide away headlights on this one. Certain models, like the Torino GT got them as standard equipment, other trim levels offered them as options, so if it doesn’t have the hide away lights and you want them, they should be a bolt-in, if you can find an unmolested, a.k.a. undamaged set from a salvage yard. Don’t forget the solenoids and vacuum switches you’ll need to make the doors operable. Ford, like most of the Big Three that used hidden headlights, used engine vacuum to operate the doors, by opening a solenoid-controlled vacuum valve that opened the doors when the headlights were turned on, so you’ll need the vacuum motors, vacuum valves, vacuum canisters and a relay wired into the headlight circuit to actuate the vacuum valve, either from the salvaged vehicle or from the aftermarket.
Sloooow sellers when new. What market was FORD fishing for?
The “Pickup Car” market. Recreational or light-use users – suburbanites, young people who didn’t need a back seat, but maybe were building or setting up a home, with tools and supplies or furniture to move.
The “Ute” market (utility coupe) is big in Australia and South America, and it was Ford testing it. The original Ranchero did good; but not good enough that it survived after the full-size two-door wagon (which it was based on at the time) was cancelled. It was moved to the Falcon platform, probably for ease of conversion; but lost all of its style. Apparently sales were enough that they thought it would work on the Fairlane platform, which morphed into the Torino. Making it out of the two-door coupe cost more, probably, but they were committed to the idea.
Around here you see more 70-71 Ranchero’s than all other years combined. Though the sight of them pales in comparison to El Camino’s in general 68-72’s specifically. They’ve always been popular, then again I grew up and still live in what would have been their target market, suburban California.
Steve R
Get another O for the tailgate and you have a real grocery getter! (I can hear the groans already)
The four lettering spaces on the tailgate would be perfect for a much more fitting word
UGLY
Yeah, but where would you get the letters? There’s a lot of fun you could have, there…OOOF or DOH or whatever. But you have to get the right-sized, right-font, letters.
I was the guy who had D O R F on the back of my rotted-out Econoline van. It seemed to fit – that thing was an eyesore.
My father had a trucking business and over the years he had a couple rancheros. He really liked them put 4 10 hundred x 20 tires on Dayton rims the jacks and tools to change them and up I 95 he would go at 100 mph in comfort and style. That’s the truth cuz I went with him many times to replace either tires or trailer leaf springs. Yes sir they were good haulers and comfortable cruisers. GLWTA
Love the combination of the wood paneling and the chrome steelies on this one. I’d clean it up, get the seat re-upholstered in blue, get the AC working and enjoy it!
No way these were “hidden” headlights as they would have been more recessed from the rest of the grill.
Owned an automotive business back in the day. Dad mostly worked on radiators and chased parts. Used his Fairmont wagon (which he loved) as a shop truck. In appreciation I bought a wrecked ‘71 Ranchero and fixed it up for him to drive. New off white paint, complete red clothe interior. 351C/auto. Put a nose with hideaway headlights on it to fancy it up a bit- but forgot to pull the headlight switch off of the donor car. Duh. (Headlight switch activates the vacuum to rotate the headlight assemblies) He thought it was beautiful! Drove it down the road and came back telling how nice it was, and how fast! I don’t think he ever drove it again. When I asked him why he told me that it was just too nice to drive. 🤷♂️Ended up trading it off.
Nice start. Black seat wouldn’t bother me. Its a driver!
This doesn’t have the hidden headlights option.
I loved the design when there first came out. It has the indestructible 302 V/8.
Yep and there is a ‘tail gate”. I find tailgates very useful since some items are longer than the bed and more support needed. Too bad they are deleted from rear hatch backs now.
I would describe the condition as “fair”. The Good: V8 power, and there’s lots of upgrades for the 302/5.0L, the Factory A/C. The Bad: Missing A/C parts, no bucket seats or console, and I wish the V8 were bigger. The Ugly: The $2300 bid is fair, but I expect that price will go higher, despite the car’s general condition.
I like the styling on these, hidden headlights or not, but structurally, I prefer the 1972-76 examples, with their body-on-frame construction replacing the unibody this example was born with. There’s a full set of Dakota Digital gages for these, so if you upgrade the motor with electronic engine controls, you can get gages to interface with the engine control electronics.
Am I the only one that fell in love with this car in the Belushi/Akroyd movie “Neighbors”: https://pics.imcdb.org/644/img_0790.jpg
Probably just the whitewalls.
Auction update: this one sold for $5,900! Did one of you grab it?