The Ford Ranchero is no stranger to Alameda; so far we've seen this '64, this '65, this '68, this '79, and this '79 in this series. Today we've got a Ranchero work truck with a nice flame job (flames always run the risk of looking clichéd, but I think they almost always look good on a Falcon-based Ranchero).


In 1965, the Ranchero was still called a "Falcon Ranchero," and you paid $2,095 for one. That got you the uninspiring-but-reliable 170-cube six with a three-on-the-tree manual transmission. The base '65 El Camino- which was a bigger vehicle- sold for $2,272, but the tough choice for Ford truck shoppers might have been the F-100-versus-Ranchero decision: just $1,981 for a Styleside F-100 pickup. Of course, the Ranchero was the better choice if driving comfort was more important than load capacity.

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.