We've seen a late-60s Torino-based Ranchero and a Malaise Era Thunderbird-based Ranchero so far in this series, but how about the Falcon-based Ranchero? I found this cartruck parked next to the '69 Buick Electra 225, and I suspect they were owned by the same person (the Buick has since departed, presumably sold).

After spending the late 50s as a big, unwieldy cartruck based on the full-sized Ford Ranch Wagon, the Ranchero then became a small, easy-to-park Falcon cartruck. You could get this generation of Ranchero with a 144- or 170-cube inline six engine, or step up to the 260 or 289 Windsor V8.


This example doesn't show any 289 badges on the fenders, though it may have been fitted with a V8 since being built. Overall, it's a very solid and rust-free machine, and it's good to see it parked on the street every day.


But was the Falcon-based Ranchero too small for serious truck use? I had a '60 for a while and it did fine for my purposes, but I'm not a big hauler of large quantities of hay bales, sacks of cement, or livestock. And, yes, that's a really clean '65 Impala in the background; I'll get some photos if it I see it parked on the street.

Send an email to Murilee Martin, the author of this post, at murilee@jalopnik.com.