Finding CCs to shoot for this series has actually been quite easy. Getting to them with minimal interruption to our travel plans, on the other hand, has not. So unless I spot something really special, I’m limiting myself to cars for which I can quickly pull off, shoot and get going again with minimal eye-rolling from my wife.
Such was the case with this sixth-generation Ford Ranchero Squire…
I was only able to narrow down the model to something between 1973 (the introduction of battering-ram bumpers) and 1976 (last year for this generation). Perhaps a commenter will know what to look for and can pin it down more specifically.
Ranchero Squires are actually pretty rare birds. Peak production for this generation was 4,787 units in 1973, with volume dropping each year thereafter to a low of 1,172 units in 1976. This compared to over 25K units for the Ranchero 500 trim in 1973 and over 15K for the GT trim in the same year. By 1976, just under 10K units of the 500 trim and 4,942 units in GT trim were produced.
These appear to be original hubcaps, which were originally motivated by anything from the 260 (4.1L) l6 up to the 460 (7.5L) v8.
I believe this car would originally have had “simulated” woodgrain paneling (Di-Noc, I presume), which has here been replaced with a tastefully coordinated shade of brown.
That’s also quite the topper on this car… Gem Top still appears to be in business.
The interior was a bit worse for wear… There was a For Sale sign on the driver’s side, but it had slipped down inside the door most of the way. The car looks like it’s been sitting quite a while, but in the dry western air, it will probably last many more years before the tinworm really takes hold.
Cool find! As you mentioned, not many Rancheros were made with the Squire option. Probably even fewer have made it to 2012. I can tell you this is a ’74, as that was the year they got this grille and wheel covers. While they looked the same in 1975-76, the straight-across steering wheel tells me it’s a ’74. Later versions got the U-shaped steering wheel, as shown below:
Long, long ago, vast herds of mid-sized rear wheel drive 70s era Fords roamed the North American continent only to vanish into dust. We shall never see their like again.
Is that your ride in the background?
Stand by for more eye rolling. Looks like you are getting out of salt country. The skeletons, like those of the buffalo, are still to be seen.
As much as I think those are great pics, in my opinion this epitomizes everything I hate about American cars of this era, almost as much as the Cordoba! At least this one had a bed for some practical purpose.
@pfsm – yep, we’re in the mighty ’05 Town and Country…
No offense to anyone who has one, but why are you looking for the ugliest Ranchero Squires? They were also optional on the 70-71s and the 72, it was similar to later models above but with cleaner looks and more power.
There are probably more kept in good condition too.
Not looking for them, they just find me somehow…
Agreed! I have a pair of identical twin ’71 Ranchero Squires. Not many made and way fewer survived!
hmm, in the bloat-tastic Torino/Ranchero family, “cleaner looks” is a very relative term indeed
Those hubcaps are great!
Hey, I actually agree with someone here! This was always my favorite bodystyle Ranchero..although I preferred the ’72 front end styling.
If these things are bloated, WTF do you call the blobs & jellybeans being produced today? Blimps?
No question heights have increased a lot, but there aren’t so many 220-230″ long monsters
I’m assuming the writer is traversing South Dakota – as one gets further West the air is drier and the tinworm more kept in check. Worked out there a summer; cars were cleaner than in my native Great Lakes region but not as eternal as in Arizona or California.
FWIW, the rolled-sheet-plastic fake wood stuff was the weak point on any Ford with the Squire option. In the Northeast, moisture would get underneath it, and rust through the metal…leaving gaping holes covered by UV-decomposing brown plastic. In the South and West, the hot sun would fade the Di-Noc horribly…it would turn into a sort of off-gray. Nasty looking stuff, and usually too expensive to remove professionally.
I had a Pinto Squire that did nine years in the Texas sun…the paint burned, as expected; it didn’t look that horrible. But the brown glue-on stuff turned that grayish shade on the parts more angled up, while in the undertuck lower down kept its original hue. Meantime the border strips, turned an off-whitish; and the protective clear plastic covering lifted and let water in…slime and mold growing between plastic and fake wood.
Taking it off wasn’t an option. Even if I could have used a chemical stripper to get the sheeting off, there were big holes all along the sides where the border pieces fit in. I just decided the hell with it.
This is a 74-76, the grilles had smaller mesh. Same fronts as the infamous ‘Starsky’ Gran Torino of same era.
The ’73 grille had a bigger, ‘egg crate’ style mesh.
I had a 72 Squire. Wish I would have kept it. Loved that car.
Mmmmm…Copper orange…Mmmmm