Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Rancheros qualify for Truck Monday, too!
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.