Spring has come to Portland, the first really warm, dry weekend we’ve had this year. So along with top-down drivers, cyclists and runners, the gardeners are out in force. Can you think of a nicer nursery-getter than this sibling of today’s CC, the 1964 Falcon Ranchero?
A rigid bed cover keeps this classic and its cargo in pristine condition, but lifts on springs like a super-sized trunk lid.
Showroom-perfect interior too. I haven’t had the chance to find out what that floor shift is connected to, but I heard it running once and it sure didn’t sound stock.
A nice marriage of style and utility.
Nice, I just saw one of these yesterday, but it wasn’t as nice as this one.
Nice ute.
The finest of the American utes
I would trade an arm and a leg for this car. Nice small block V8, simple yet dependable C4 automatic, what more do you need. Great color and matching wheels.
Sadly these cars are priced so far out of this world it’s nice to see pictures of them on CC
I bet this one is mated to a 4spd manual but I like how it’s kept stock, but the drive train.
It looks great in red.
Just think, this could be the 2012 Ranchero:
Fantastic! It’s interesting to note the differences between the Ranchero & Falcon ute – the spare is under the floor in the Falcon that combines with a 4-door door & wider B pillar to bring the front of the bed forward for better weight distribution & shorter rear overhang. The Ranchero might have some more room in the cab, probably would need to remove the spare to take a bench seat back though. I think the Falcon tailgate looks a little more upright too.
The shifter looks like a 4-speed but I see only 1 pedal-what gives?
Good spotting! Wish I’d looked closer at that shifter.
I heard it from half a block away once and it sure sounded large. Are there big blocks that blow out their manual gearboxes, requiring an automatic?
Beautiful! Back in ’84 I found mine while on an aimless country drive (remember those?) in Santa Clara County, CA. It was maroon with silver side spears (terrible quality paint job though), and was sitting in someone’s front yard in a patch of 3 foot high weeds. It was love at first sight. The guy sold it to me for $50, warning me it hadn’t been started in nearly a decade. I went back with jumper cables, a can of gas, and a can of starter fluid and drove it home! It was a mess, but over the next year I got it into pretty dependable shape. Nothing on that truck was original, someone had transplanted a 5.0 V8 and a C4. The front end was toast and had to be rebuilt, and the passenger door had to be wired shut so it wouldn’t fall off! I really loved that little truck though… Her name was Angela.
She was ridiculously fast, too. Unfortunately Angela finally succumbed to the dreaded tinworm, which apparently had plagued her from an early age. Wound up as a parts car for someone’s project.
I have a friend who just imported a ’64 Ranchero and was interested in a hard cover tonneau.
Is this a new one, if so, does any one know who makes them?
Here is a picture of my XP Ute project.