1969 FORD Ranchero- Ritzville, WA

Story and photographs copyright D. S. Brown

Note the chrome Ranchero logo just above the chrome strip that flows into the rear bed surround. This Ranchero was likely used more as a pickup truck than a city car as hinted by the National Rifle Association sticker in the driver's side of the rear window. Further down in the story the extreme dirtiness of the engine suggests extensive driving on dirt roads.

This 1969 Ranchero was just sitting in front of an old garage as if time had raced past both of them. The VIN below has the significant digits removed in case the car is still registered to someone.

First digit 9= 1969 model year.

Second digit K= manufactured in the Kansas City, Missouri factory.

Third and fourth digits 48= Two door Ranchero 500. This is one step up from model 47 the base Ranchero and one below the hot model 49, the GT.

H= 351 250 HP (this is the 2 barrel Windsor engine).

Below you can see that the passenger side of the Ranchero is a bit straighter and less blemished than the driver side.

In the backdrop you can see silos and rail tracks. The nice downtown core of Ritzville has preserved buildings and a quiet peaceful atmosphere. Ritzville was a huge wheat depot and transported the most wheat of any place in the world in 1901.

The 1969 Ranchero was based on the intermediate sized Ford Fairlanes. To see the background of the Ranchero model, read the 1965 Ranchero story in the ALLEY FINDS section. The rear license plate sticker below shows the car was last registered in 2005. The numbers are removed for owner privacy.

An exhaust system lies rusting alongside a beer can in the bed of the Ranchero. The rust and dents indicate this car was used for hauling stuff in the past.

The engine view below seems to support the impression that the car was left for servicing and then time blew over the station and the car. The air cleaner assembly was nowhere in sight. A fresh two barrel carburetor sits atop a very greasy worn 351 Windsor engine. It looks like someone was in the process of trying to get the car running again.

The black interior was dirty and musty with the Fairlane 500 trim level 'wood grain' inserts as seen in this picture of the passenger door panel below. The Ranchero has round four pod moldings standing out of the dash with deeply inset dials similar to what was used in the 1968 Olds Cutlass. This Ranchero was missing its speedometer so no way to guess at mileage.

To see more pictures of Ritzville see the story OOCC GTO NATS TRIP DAY 4 in the DESTINATIONS part of the TRAVEL STORIES section of this website.