1965 Ford Ranchero Deluxe Is Our Bring a Trailer Auction Pick of the Day

• This 1965 Ford Ranchero Deluxe, powered by a 289-cubic-inch V-8 and featuring three pedals, is currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer.

• Showing just shy of 35,000 miles and with a mostly rust-free body, it may be almost 60 years old but still looks young at heart.

• Bidding is open until Wednesday, April 20, with the current bid sitting at $17,750 as of Monday.

What do a mullet and the Ford Ranchero have in common? The “business in the front, party in the back” aesthetic, of course. There are other lines of comparison to draw, primarily the occasional resurgence of the two oddball styles in their respective fields. Even now, with the introduction of vehicles like the Hyundai Santa Cruz, the spirit of the ute lives on, but that look may not exactly scratch the same itch as in years past. However, if turbochargers or unconventional gearboxes don’t tickle your fancy, and you aren’t held back by the lack of creature comforts like power windows and air conditioning, the founding father of the segment, the Ford Ranchero, has you covered. And if you want to go there, this 1965 Ranchero Deluxe model is currently up for sale on Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—in an auction ending on Wednesday, April 20.

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Starting production in the 1957 model year, the Ranchero was born from a platform dedicated to sedans and wagons. Start with a wagon, take a little off the top, and you’ve got yourself a ute. That’s another hair-related joke, but it’s not that far off from Ford’s process for the first Ranchero. While the introductory model was essentially a chopped-up version of Ford’s full-size Ranch Wagon, the second iteration, starting with the 1960 model year, was based on Ford’s new Falcon compact sedan. The Ranchero was even marketed as the Falcon Ranchero during this time, sharing bits including the owner’s manual and floor mats with its sedan counterpart. The Ranchero ended production in 1979, leading into the company’s shift to a more rugged truck package in the Courier and Ranger small pickups.

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This particular Ranchero, a low-mile example owned by the seller since 2014, appears in mostly excellent condition, with only a few areas of imperfection to note. After a lovely Honey Gold and Wimbledon White repaint and interior refresh prior to current ownership, some scratches have accrued, as well as a bit of paint damage and corrosion around the gas cap. Additionally, a previous battery decided enough was enough, and caused additional corrosion on the battery tray. Thankfully, a new battery has been installed, as well as an accelerator pump. Having been driven roughly 400 miles under current ownership, this relic of years past is begging for some seat time. And, seeing as it has some beauty marks, why hold on to it like a museum piece?

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Sporting a V-8 shared with the Mustang of the time, and with three pedals to boot, there’s an awful lot to love about this Ranchero. What’s more, it has an incredibly clean interior, a crisp exterior, and practically zero underbody rust. Those are hard to come by in a near 60-year-old ride. The last 289-powered model on Bring a Trailer sold for $17,000 roughly one year ago, and with bidding already ahead of that figure as of this writing with two days to go, who knows where this will end up.

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