The "Blue Oval" El Camino.....

Had some people asking me why I didn't mention the Ranchero in the post about the "Other" El Camino. First off-Here's your sign. The post's title said "GM's other El Camino". Last time I checked GM and Ford were separate companies. Anyhow the blue oval boys did market a similar car / truck hybrid for many years. It debuted in 1957 on the Fairlane chassis. From 1960-65 it was on the compact Falcon chassis. These have the endearing quality of being "cute". Other than that-as a utility vehicle you can't really haul much in the tiny bed, and the compact sedan suspension won't carry anything much over 800 lbs so actually using it like a truck-like you would a 1/2 ton pickup say-is pretty much out. And since they were only available with a 200 inch six-cylinder or a 260 or 289 V8 with a 2bbl they don't make much of a musclecar either. They are very light-about 2,500 lbs-and with some traction aids and maybe a 345 hp SVT 302 crate motor-you could build a cool cruiser with some balls-but their really just too small to make into a major-league badass. In 1966 Ford went back to mid-size Farlaine chasiss, which would allow it to compete with the hated Chevys. Since you could get a 396 in an El Camino Ford made sure you could get a 390 in the Ranchero. 1967 was pretty much unchanged. In '68 they went to the Torino bodystyle which was still based on the Fairlane chassis. The 289 was discontinued, but the 302 was an option, as were the 351W and the 390. In 1970 the engine lineup was expanded to include the 351 Cleveland and the 429 CJ. They stayed with the Torino body through 1976. In 1972 the high-compression,375 hp 429 CJ was dropped. You could still get a 429-but it was a "station wagon" engine that only made 205 hp. In fact-the 351CJ that was rated at 266 hp was the most powerful engine available in the Torino line that year. In 1973 the 429 was dropped but the 460 was added. In 1975 catalytic converters threw a monkey wrench into everyone's performance. The 351C was dropped in favor of the 351 / 400M line. 1976 was the last Torino-based model and they were pretty much the same as the '75 models. In 1977 they went to the longer,lower,wider LTD II chassis which actually made them a nicer car. The interiors were much more roomy and sumptuous and the car handled and rode smoother, and the bed was big enough to actually haul something. Most had the 351 / 400M for power but the 460 was available. '78 was pretty much unchanged, as was '79. However for some reason-the 460 was dropped in '79. I guess sales weren't up to Ford's expectations-because like I said in the earlier post the Chevy El Camino soldiered on until 1988. '79 was the last year for the Ranchero. I would have thought they might have revived the name in the '90's during the SUV craze-maybe putting a Mustang or T-Bird front clip on it-or making a larger version on the Crown Vic platform, but they never did. Anyhow-if your a Ford guy and want one-or if you just want a car that can haul some sheetrock or an engine block-a Ranchero may be just the ticket for you.  Mastermind