Six Wheel Ranchero'd: 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III

At the risk of sounding like an old codger...I'm going to say that "back in my day" if you wanted to modify your pickup truck, it usually involved some knobby tires and removing a few letters from the tailgate to spell "yota." But this...this is a whole 'nother level of customization and will probably end up in the Swiss Museum of Art Brut someday. Find this 1971 Lincoln Continental MkIII offered for $8000 in Chewelah, WA via thefacepalm marketplace.  Tip from Matt C, who probably preferred to remain anonymous, but I hear that outing whistle-blowers is in style this week.

Edsel Camino: 1961 Ford Ranchero

The Ford Ranchero was Ford's version of the El Camino -- and it offered a decent combination of car driving capability with the utility of a pickup.  Some scoff at the awkward proportions, but we think it is rad. Find this 1961 Ford Ranchero offered for $6850 in San Francisco, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.

Custom Beast: 1980 Ford Ranchero

Ford never built a 4-door version of their popular Ranchero wagon, but if they did build a 4-door El Camino, it would have probably started with the wagon like this next thing. Find this 1980 Ford Ranchero here on eBay bidding for $3900 with 4 days to go, located in Shoemakersville, PA. Tip from Lou.

Supra 7MGE Power: 1961 Ford Ranchero

This next car will invoke some serious "why would you do it?" and "why wouldn't you do it?" discussions with car guys.  It could be the best car to meet your future inlaws and simultaneously the worst car to meet your future inlaws.  A Toyota 7M-GE from the 80s also the best possible upgrade to a 60s Ford inline-6 and also the worst engine to put into your El Cami---errr--Ranchero. You be the judge. Find this 1961 Ford Ranchero offered for $4900 in San Diego, CA via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!

Fairmonchero-amino: 1979 Ford Fairmont

Seeing that no automakers currently produce a car based ute in the US, interest in older El Caminos and Rancheros is stronger than ever.  A cottage industry has even sprung up selling car to truck conversion kits for Dodge Chargers and various VW cars.  The Ford Durango ute was not an official Ford vehicle, but some 212 conversions were said to have been produced by National Coach Works between 1979-82.  Today's car has followed the Durango formula by starting with a two door Futura model and basically losing everything after the b-pillars to create the flat floor pick up bed.  Find this 1979 Ford Fairmont for sale in Stafford Springs, CT for $8,500 via craigslist.

Dat's a Charp 'Chero Mang: 1959 Ford Ranchero

The Ford Ranchero was a car-based pickup that beat the El Camino to market by a few years, but by 1959, both Ford and GM were churning out full-size, body on frame car/trucks. I've been looking at Rancheros recently since it's a similar concept to a project I'm about to embark on - pulling the body off of a late model P71 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, and replacing it with a '60s Ford pickup cab and bed. But the Ranchero was the OG mullet mobile. Find this 1959 Ford Ranchero for sale in El Dorado Hills, CA for $8900 via craigslist.

Tank Is Half Full: 1971 Ford Ranchero

This next car comes as a tip from Scott T who writes: If a picture is worth a thousand words, this ad is worth about 1,100 words?  Though the words used seem to describe a pretty nice v8 driveline and a fair number of parts including a GT hood so that's a bonus.   $4,500 sounds reasonable given the number of parts this car has if it's not rusty.  Only one picture, and I'm guessing it's not recent.  This seems like the perfect project for an optimist.  Find this 1971 Ford Ranchero offered for $4,500 near Boston, MA via craigslist. 

Cleveland Tire Killer: 1972 Ford Ranchero GT

One of the little known facts about the world of factory car based pickup trucks, aka El Caminos, is that the Chevrolet El Camino was not the first of its kind -- because Ford had been building Rancheros for two years before the El Camino hit the show rooms.  Today you can pickup examples of the 70s Torino based Ranchero for not a whole bunch of cash. Find this 1972 Ford Ranchero GT here on eBay bidding for $8,800 reserve-not-met with 3 days to go, located in Vacaville, CA.

Loony Labor Day: 1995 Lincoln Ranchero Town Truck

Let's start off Loony Labor Day with a simple custom that isn't any more bizarre than the average crap classics we post on a regular basis.  This homage to Homerica started out as a second generation (1990-1997) Lincoln Town Car sitting on the Panther platform shared with the Mercury Grand Marquis and Ford's Crown Victoria.  It has been converted into an El Camino a Ranchero style pickup complete with Town Truck badging.  What could go wrong?  Find this 1995 Lincoln Ranchero Town Truck offered for $4,850 in Loves Park, IL via craigslist. Tip from James R.

5k: Future Foxamino: 1979 Mercury Zephyr Ranchero

The year 2045 will be a bleak and unpleasant place.  Electric cars and self driving robots will craw slowly through the hazy moss covered landscape.  Humans are enslaved by the McGooglebookmart corporate IT system that gained self awareness in 2025 and was voted in as President for life in 2035 after offering free Big Mac / iMac value meals to disenfranchised voters. Only one man will stand up for freedom, truth, and the American way -- his name is El Zephryanchero.  El Z was once a nuclear physicist (before the University of California was turned into a state funded casino and brothel -- its amazing how easy the transition went) and he figured out that the critical mass of total crap listed on craigslist had finally become large enough to create a blackhole in the space-internet-time continuum.  Quickly as he could, El Z placed four photos of his car and a cryptic cry for help on craigslist in a message that went back in time to 2014.  Find El Z's 1979 Mercury Zephyr Ranchero offered for $4595 in Orrtanna, PA via craigslist time warp. Tip from Sam.

5k: Wood and Green: 1972 Ford Ranchero

Ford did the "business in the front, party in the back" two years before Chevy made it cool with the El Camino. Actually, both ran their respective nameplates well into the '80s before gas-guzzling V8 two-seater pickups, like the mullets they embodied, became very uncool. Find this original, two-owner 1972 Ford Ranchero Squire on ebay in Arlington, TX with a current bid of $5,400, reserve not met.  Words and tip from DT commenter/contributor slowcarSLOW-MPGlol.

5k: Trailer Queen: 1964 Ford Falcon Ranchero

The Ford Ranchero beat the El Camino to the pickup-car market by two years, a handy fact at Ranchero owner's disposal when everyone asks the model year of their "El Camino".  The Ranchero sold in decent numbers for a specialty vehicle, over 500,000 in its 22 years of production (for reference, that is equivalent to 10 months of 1966 Mustang production...) but it has a bit of a reputation of being mullet-driven.  While the mullet is commonly called "Monday morning in the front, Friday night in the back", the Ranchero is "Monday work truck in the back, Friday cruiser in the front."  Find this 1964 Ford Falcon Ranchero for sale in a mobile home park in Watsonville, CA for $4,750 via craigslist.  Tip from Kaibeezy.

10k: Type 3l Camino: 1966 Volkswagen Type 3 Squaranchero

The Volkswagen Type 3 was a successor to the popular Type 1 (Beetle), but maintained the Beetle's basic architecture; rear engine, air cooled flat-4 and affordable price tag.  It was a significant update in styling terms and sold new as a notchback, squareback and fastback.  It wasn't ever sold as a pickup truck, so El Caminoization is, logically, a DIY process.  Find this 1966 Volkswagen Type 3 Squaranchero for sale in Del Mar, CA for $11,500 via craigslist.