The Ford Ranchero is a well-known footnote in Blue Oval history, having existed from 1957 through 1979 in many forms. The Ranchero enjoyed its fair share of success, racking up more than a half-million sales over that time period. The part-car, part-truck was based on a variety of vehicles over those years, including the full-size Ford passenger car of the late ’50s, the Ford Falcon, Ford Fairlane, Ford Torino, and LTD II. We’ve begun seeing more and more Rancheros surface for sale as of late, but none quite like this 1968 model.
That’s because this 1968 Ford Ranchero – currently up for auction at Bring a Trailer – was modified back in the 1970s as part of an alternative fuel demonstration program. That process involved replacing the original 302 cubic-inch V8 engine with an inline-six-cylinder mill, which in this case is powered by propane. At that time, it was also repainted in its current shade of red and gold with various lettering and graphics, touting its time on display at the Ernie Tuff Museum in Rushford, Minnesota, too.
True to form, there’s a propane tank located in the bed, where one can fuel up for journeys, but otherwise, this looks a lot like a regular old 1968 Ford Ranchero. It rolls on a set of 15-inch steel wheels with covers and Goodyear whitewall tires, covering drum brakes at all four corners.
The interior is pretty basic, sporting a black vinyl bench seat, a Philco AM radio, and a heater, along with a secondary ignition switch and a pull-knob throttle cable fitted to the dash. Under the hood, one will find the aforementioned propane powered I-6, which is the Ford 200 cubic-inch Thriftpower, sending power to the rear wheels through a three-speed manual transmission.
Meanwhile, propane continues to fuel certain vehicles out there in the world, including some built by Roush CleanTech – even school buses these days, in fact.
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