Hey Rick, I helped build this car for the owner. All the Frontenac badges were add ons from Canadian eBay. The old guy Barry(rip) who owned it had done his research. There are 11 originals known about in Canada.
The current Canadian flag was introduced in 1965 and has the prominent maple leaf. In 1960, the flag of Canada was the Red Ensign with the flag of Britain in the upper left corner. That said, the red maple leaf was a recognized Canadian symbol by 1960 and led to its adoption as the new flag. As a kid, I never understood why my Dad's Pontiac Paisienne looked weirdly different from the Revell plastic models I was building. Had to wait for TH-cam to be invented to discover the answer.
A Falcon sedan was available in Australia from September 1960, and a station wagon was added in November the same year. The ute was introduced in February 1961. Cheers from Australia 🇦🇺
Interesting to note that the American style Ranchero "utes" ran a much longer door than the Australian "utes" which were the same length as the sedan door.
G'day from Australia 🇦🇺 Yes I am another Aussie (Pronounced Ozzie) Some information on the Ute ( Ranchero ) The sedan based ute/ranchero was designed in Australia in 1931 and available in 1932 The abbreviated story is A farmers wife wrote a letter to ford in Geelong Victoria Australia, Asking if ford could make a vehicle usable for daily use , Church on Sunday and to take pigs to market on Monday ? Said letter was handed to a young engineer/designer Named Lou bandt . And so With assistance from the Design department The 1932 A model solid side utility (ute) created PS Geelong is pronounced Jee long .
As an "aussie" the falcon had bit of class, which the local product didnt. With the ute, the difference to the yank ones you have hear is the rear cab pillar was quite chunky and made the look tougher. Love em, and thanks for a little context and history...👍
Wanted to buy one while in high school, but the 69-63 body style was the best for me, and they were still quite expensive for my part time income in the late 60's. Family had a 64 Falcon wagon, but Dad wanted something bigger so It got sold before I could afford the asking price. Ended up with a 63 Chevy II wagon, hell it got me around cheap. Have been looking for a early Ford Econoline, Chevy Van, or Dodge, but that is like finding a unicorn. Sorry I can't justify $10K for a rust bucket that is locked up, so forever it will remain a dream.
It is most likely the same thing that my father did to his 67 Ranchero. My father replaced the Fairlane nose with one from a Mercury Comet. The great thing about Ford is that parts are very easy to swap
I have a little history tidbit for you Rick . Up until 1964 Canada flew the Union Jack style flag as a commonwealth state of Britain. In 64 we got our own unique flag red and white with the maple leaf in the center. So in 1960 the Frontenac maple leaf emblem was just that, an emblem. I have a friend who just sold one (sedan) from up here to an artist in California. He flew up and drove it all the way home with no issues. As to the ranchero connection I have no idea. Cheers 🇨🇦
The new maple leaf flag was made official by a proclamation from Queen Elizabeth II on January 28, 1965. On February 15 of that year, it was inaugurated in a public ceremony on Parliament Hill. www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/flag-canada-history.html
I have seen another Frontenac Ranchero on TH-cam. It was in a junkyard near Edmonton Alberta. Alex, who has Curiosity Incorporated, found it a few years ago. He likes and restores classic vehicles, including some that need rescuing, like a Frontenac sedan he made into a police car. The Ranchero was in reasonably good shape, but he passed it up in favor of another vehicle. I like your conjecture that a dealer in Canada rebadged US built Falcon Rancheros as a publicity stunt, BTW.
I've found about 75 Frontenacs over the years, people that own them like owning more than one. There are 4 even being driven in my home town in Alberta Canada! I've seen 3 Frontenac Rancheros so far, none of them factory, but I've always heard rumors that there were dealers that converted some to Frontenacs. There was also Frontenac kibe of cars before Ford from 1931 to 1933 from Durant. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Motors_Frontenac
I think that it is interesting how Frontenac is the name of a company that made speed equipment for Model T Fords, particularly the over head valve and over head cam heads.
Looks like a home build where an American ranchero was merged with a Frontenac. The Frontenac was probably rusted out but had good chrome and steering wheel. The Ranchero body was solid comming from Calif. Someone in Canada had an old Frontenac sedan and decided to give some of it a new life as a Ranchero.
Very nice car whether it’s authentic or not. The restoration is impressive. I had a 63-1/2 Falcon Futura 2 door hardtop with a 170 ci 6 and 3 on the tree with non-synchro 1st gear. I promise you that 144 was a weakling. Besides that the windshield wipers were vacuum operated and would pause under acceleration. Most people don’t realize how primitive and basic cars were even in the 60’s.
A friend had a Falcon (not Frontenac) wagon in 1968, not sure of the model year. We were reservists and got permission from the principal and our CO to have a recruiting drive at our high school. Four of us went to the armory with John's Falcon Wagon in the four types of uniforms current at the time. and loaded up with an FN-C1 rifle, FN-C2 LMG (both versions of the Belgian FAL), a 30 cal machine gun on a tripod (re-chambered for 7.62 NATO and designated GPMG), a 3.5 inch anti-tank rocket launcher, 9mm Sterling SMG, some dummy grenades and rockets, and a 9mm Browning pistol. No live ammo or breech blocks. We did our little 'show and tell' and headed back. On the way we drove through a city police speed trap, they just ignored us, even with the GPMG set up in the back of the wagon! Hit the A&W for lunch then hauled the gear back to the armory. Never get away with that now. John was my driver in a 1/4 ton jeep ambulance the next year at the summer Prairie Region Rank and Trades School, and helped me drive three guys back to the base hospital after they were injured in an accident on a firing range.
I agree with those who think someone converted a Falcon Ranchero into a Frontenac Ranchero. I own a Frontenac (4Dr Sedan), and my research tells me that all Frontenacs were made in Oakville, Ontario. There is one number in the VIN which was 7 for Falcon and 8 for Frontenac. Seeing the full VIN would help.
Looks like a Ford Falcon Ranchero with a Frontenac front clip and badges. It’s common practice to swap out front clips between the same body style families. I’ve seen el Caminos with Cutlass, GTO and 442 front clips.
A friend of mine used to own a '68 Buick Electra 225. The car took a major hit in the front end but he couldn't locate a front clip for it. However, a local salvage yard had a '68 Wildcat that had been broadsided but the front clip was perfect. The end result was a car we all called the Electra Cat.
I had a Chevy Chevette and a friend showed me a Frontenac version and it completely imploded my poor brain! It was the first I had even heard of rebranding. The Chevette by the way was a great little car, never had a problem 🤗
1 it'd not a flag, it is the Maple leaf 2 All Frontinacs were huilt in the Oakville plant. So someone just changed all the badges A total of 9,536 Frontenacs were built at its Oakville, Ontario, plant. In August 1960 a prototype 1961 Frontenac was driven from Halifax to Vancouver for a photo shoot only for the crew to learn that the Canadian model was discontinued from the domestic market and replaced by the Comet for the 1961 model year.
We didn’t get our own flag in Canada until PM Lester B Pearson made the decision in 1965 we needed one and not the British flag or Union Jack. The Frontenac my parents purchased in 1960 , Mom got a station wagon after Dad got a 4 door sedan, were nice. They traded in those in 1963 for Mercury Comets Mom got a 4 door and Dad got a 2 door. Now I remember sitting in the show room in a Frontenac Ranchero. I’m sure it was robins egg blue. Canada didn’t mandate metric odometers or speedometers until we went metric in 1977.
As another commenter has noted, this car was built as a Falcon Ranchero. But... supposedly there were two Frontenac Rancheros built as prototypes in Canada for the 1961 model year. These "crucks" were scrapped, along with the half-dozen or so sedan prototypes for 1961, when the decision was made to replace the Frontenac with the Mercury Comet at Mercury/Meteor dealers. The Comet was originally intended to be the Edsel Comet, but was introduced midway through the 1960 model year following the cancellation of the Edsel brand.
The Falcon based Ranchero was a rare sight here in British Columbia, but we always noticed as soon as we crossed the border down into Washington, we didn’t have far to go before we saw our first one.
If it were a true Frontenac it would have been built in Oakville Ontario or St Thomas Ontario. I suspect someone either obtained all the Frontenac trim pieces and put them on a Ranchero or they had two damaged cars and merged the two. There are also a number of people who have put Comet front ends on Falcons and called them Comeros. Great videos Rick! I like odd facts of automotive history. The biggest reason Canada had some odd ball Ford brands was that the original dealership agreements for Ford were too generous - granting large territories. As the population of Canada grew post-war, this led to Ford needing more dealerships and the only way to do it was to come up with some additional "brands" that would get them around these original Ford Dealership agreements.
Also Mercury dealers in Canada were given their own badged version of the Ford truck line up to the medium class..even their own version of the Econoline van. This was until 1968 when Mercury dealers up North were given the right to sell Ford Trucks.
Well, thanks: interesting…..Anyways, the “ Dealer , Options, installed , Specialties, COACH CRAFTSPEOPLES“, not to mention Day One Builders ( Yenkos,ETC), ….. GREAT STUFF….
In addition to your “Comeros”, years ago I saw a ‘65 Comet front end grafted onto a ‘64/65 Falcon Sedan Delivery body. A year or so later, that body was grafted onto a F250 4x4 chassis. That created a 4x4 Comet Sedan Delivery.
The St Thomas Assembly Plant did not exist in 1960, Oakville was making Falcons. IIRC Ford dealers in Canada sold Falcons, Lincoln Mercury dealers sold Frontenacs, Meteors et al. Most of Canada's Falcons were Oakville production, some were US produced. Pre-Auto Pact of 1965, Canada was at an auto trade deficit with the US, things were not as cut and dried as they may seem, a lot of US made cars ended up in Canada. As for the Frontenac Ranchero it has a possibility of being legit, if not exactly regular production, I'd love to know more about its journey.
Maybe contact the Canadian automotive museum in oshawa Ontario. They have a Frontenac on display there.. they also have quite a library of info on canadian cars. They might be able to help with solving the mystery.
I had an Australian falcon ute of a similar age and colour . They were shorter to cope with the road drains in Sydney ,where rancheros would bottom out .
I understand the car companies must use the model names or they lose their trademarks after so many years, so maybe the Maverick name was about to expire, the Ranchero name was used as late as 79 later than the maverick name. just my guess. Using maverick for a truck is just wrong, ranchero is wrong too...but better.
As others have suggested, probably a backyard badge and grille swap. Frontenac and Meteor were tarted-up badge-engineered versions of Ford models sold by Canadian Mercury dealers. Outside of the major cities, most Canadian towns could not support both franchises, so you would have a Ford dealer in one town and the Mercury in the next town over... Same with Chevrolet and Pontiac, and the Canadian Ford dealers could offer the Monarch, a badge-engineered Mercury, for their customers who wanted to move up a notch in status.
@@RobertJarecki Yes, Canadian Pontiacs were built on the same line at the GM plant in Oshawa, using Chevrolet chassis and powertrains, not so noticeable until the early 1960's when Pontiac went with the "Wide Track" look, then the Canadian Ponchos looked a bit odd with the wheels set somewhat inboard of the Pontiac body shells. Canadian Pontiac dealers sold the Acadian and Beaumont, which were Chevy II and Chevelle clones. Typically, dealers were either Chev/Olds or Pontiac/Buick with the larger volume ones offering Cadillac. I don't think we ever had free-standing Cadillac dealers. Interestingly, for imports, U.S. dealers had Opel, but here we were lumbered with the British Vauxhalls.
a correction sir, I had a registered 1959 Frontenac (Strait axel gasser) that used to tow dolly my 61 falcon to mission raceway, 2 dr as far as we found out it was sold a few days before the turn of the year, and I believe it is the only registered '59 Fronenac in existence, Never seen a Ranchero before , a real jem! there are a couple here in BC Canada Also used to own a 1969 Vauxhall Viva...
I'm pretty sure all the Frontenac's were built in Canada. I believe someone has taken all the Frontenac grille and badging and put them on an American built Ranchero. Cool nonetheless, I'd be happy to own it.
Might be a one of a kind custom conversion. Between 1979 and 1982, a company converted a small number of Ford Fairmont wagons into UTEs they called Durango. Ford had discontinued the Ranchero, and the conversion company offered the Durango as Ranchero’s unofficial replacement. The Durango was sold through Ford dealers and produced with Ford’s blessing. This was in the days before the Dodge Durango. There was also a conversation company that made Cadillac Eldorado UTEs - they billed it as a pickup truck for the country club set.
The Australian falcon utes and wagons had a longer wheelbase to eliminate that silly overhang behind the rear axle. Ford Australia also had the mainline ute
@@alexwallace9832yes ford Canada had the rights for British Commonwealth countries, not USA. The fords came as knocked down components and assembled in Australia and gradually introduced locally made parts. Same with Chrysler valiant.
@@richlawrence4160 As I recall, the Valliant was originally going to be a new brand, just like Dodge or Plymouth. After some thought it became the Plymouth Valliant in the USA.
Did not have longer chassis. The Wagons had the US overhang shortened due to fear of bottoming out on very rough terrain. Same for the Ute/Ranchero, shortened overhang, shorter sedan doors & interior parcel shelf. The earlier Mainlines Ute [ Mainline only used for commercial in Aust.] had an imported convertable chassis as it was heavier built & necessary for heavy loads these would have got in Aust. Cheers. NZ
This is another facet of automobiles that is so fascinating. It's barely more than 60 years ago, and we have a bit of a mystery. I tend to agree with you, a badge swap seems the mostly like explanation, given the VIN information. Perhaps a dealer conversion? An individual? If ownership could be traced, that may give us the full story. Thank you for sharing another great piece of automotive history. ~ Chuck
Most major manufacturers at the time built for there own markets. Each country manufacturer was seperate of the Detroit parent company to keep from being an import tariffs and fees at the time.
As others have said, and I'll state it, you "need the VIN to win" and the "tag to brag". Without that, we're sad. Going by what you stated as being the VIN, we don't have it, so we don't win: 0 for 1960 model year, R for San Jose, CA, 27 for Falcon Ranchero, D or S for 144 CID straight six with one barrel and the rest is the production sequence. The San Jose CA plant was also called Milpitas Assembly and operated from 1955 to 1983. No tag, can't brag, but can be figured out, no doubt: 66A for Falcon Ranchero, possible C for Aquamarine exterior paint, possible 36 for Black and White interior trim, and the rest isn't known without the tag.
What I found interesting is that the Frontenac (automotive) name was started by one of the Chevrolet brothers, and they made speed equipment for Fords! And this was *after* the Chevrolet Motor company was founded.
The first car I rode in was my dad’s 60 Frontenac 4 door sedan. Almost bought one and a few years ago , thinking I would recreate the one that he had when I was a baby.
Learned to drive on a '60 Falcon. With the 2 speed automatic, pulling out onto the highway and up a grade was painfully slow. If you had 6 passengers I think a horse could beat it.
Not a Frontenca Falcon, simply a Frontenac, unless this unit is a conversion! Need a dogdish hubcap? Have an original. It's not the Canadian flag, simply a maple leaf in the grill, hubcaps, horn. The car is a fake, and I believe there are 3 of them out there. Similarly, you could buy an Acadian, same vintage, which was a Nova, sold in Canadian Pontiac dealerships. Acadian Beaumonts, particularly the SD, are rare and very collectible (Big Block version very rare). Great video, thanks
Many people, especially USAmericans, 'convert' their Ford F-100 pick-ups into Mercury trucks. Mercury trucks were Canadian only, as were Fargo trucks. Aside from buying actual Mercury trucks, there's also a hot, and profitable market in selling tailgates, hub caps, horn caps, grills and emblems allowing for this conversion. It's not far fetched this Ranchero was merely rebadged. Another indication is it was built in San Jose, California. The Canadian Frontenacs were built in Oakville, Ontario.
@@edwardfletcher7790 Nope. Pretty significant differences between the Australian ute and the US Ranchero. Our Ute was based on the 4-door wagon, the Ranchero was based on the two door wagon. Our utes use short sedan doors with a big B-pillar sail panel, the Ranchero uses longer doors with a much more abrupt end to the roofline. Most importantly the Ranchero was available from the launch of the Falcon in the US in September of '59. The XK Falcon ute didn't make it to market until May of 1961. The car in the video is a phantom build based on a US Ranchero. I've seen a 1959 Meteor Ranchero that was a similar deal.
It seems to me this was converted by either a Canadian Ford engineer type who wanted to explore the idea of a Ranchero for the Canadian market. An GM marketing exec engineer did the same with a GTO front clip attached to an Elcamino back in the late 60s. Such one-offs were fairly common....
Edsel years are 1958, 1959 and 1960. Fun fact the Falcon and the Comet were originally designed to be Edsel's. And yes 1958 Edsel small series (Ranger Pacer and wagon) front clips will mount to a 57/58 Ranchero. 1958 Corsair and Citations wont. Being they are Mercury based cars. 1959 Edsels are Ford based. So all 59's will work.
When I was a kid about the age of 3 - 6 I remember a small little truck like this being studied by Edsel . I dont remember the name it being Frontenac . But it was a one off deal to help save Edsel . I belive it was 1959 to 1960 . The ford Falcon was being produced in 1959 for study only and was in production by 1960 . Ford had three line ups on the falcon A two door , 4 door sedan . Two door and four door wagons . The little truck and a van . Edsel was a disaster and Edsel want to save face and did studies on the idea of a lux compact cars that had a bit more than the low budget Falcon line . But I was only 4 -6 years old of the time and I seen ithis in a mag at one time of the talks and a drawing of it . I could not read well ether . Dang I loved cars back then and this kind of things gave me a lot of fun . I even used to draw cars and trucks . I was OCD on them . When I seen my first Ford Thunderbird my friend dad had bought he took me and Joey for a ride to see the progress of the Arch being built . He was one of the engineers on the job . So we got on the construction sight of it . Then we went to Drews for Custard That was in 1963 or 4 . I remember asking why the T-Bird was so big being a sports car and to compete with the Corvette . The vet was lighter and had a smaller 6 cylinder engine . The T-Bird have a V8 . The Vet had the 6 from 1953 - 54 . The V-8 did not come in untill 1955 with a 265 . Buy then Ford had already using the 312 as racing engines for the small blocks goes . This was until the 410 Mec and the 406 Ford came into play . See now I am way off now . This is my mind . Lets get back to Yes I do remember this car . I believe this was Edsel .
🇨🇦 That's just a maple leaf not a Canadian flag and the first use of a maple leaf on a Canadian flag was in 1965 when it replace the Red Ensign which was the previous national flag. Canada didn't go metric till 1977, before that all measurements were in Imperial. Frontenacs were sold by Mercury dealers not Ford dealers 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦
I found a 63 /3 window econoline pickup complete rust free dent free sitting in a storage lot in Kingman az. The guy had stored it for 12 years and never was able to get it out and rea build it i got it for 400:00 dalars flew down and trailerd it home and I'm finally retired so I can start fixing it up i bought it in 2006
I think this car may simply be a Ranchero with a Frontenac front end and trim, there’s a few pictures of another Diamond Blue car in a junkyard from 2007 and I know of a white car as well, to my knowledge both cars are modified Ford Racheros with Frontenac trim.
thinking back, Ford made the full size Ranchero and Chevy chased after that with the El Camino. Ford made the Falcon version (down-sized) but Chevy never made a similar vehicle out of a Nova. Wonder why? After all, Chevy already had the smaller Chevy II wagon so it wasn't a far stretch from there to a UTE.
My favorite Ranchero movie scene was the movie Goldfinger, where they use one to carry a continental that had been crushed into a cube, with a million dollars in gold(at $35 an ounce!) in the trunk.
Yes. Somehow a 4000 lb plus Lincoln, plus the gold it was carrying, were put in the back of a Falcon Ranchero (without collapsing the rear suspension). Couldn't do it in a F100 or a Super Duty for that matter.
Dealer modifed? I had a dealer modified '55 buick that shipped from the factory one way and had factory original dealer availible options applied on arrival. Dealer swapped parts bin Frontenac chrome on the factory built Ford truck seems a likely possibility. I had the only dealer original lemon aqua trifive in existence and I sold it to Aussie father son collectors. It is in the front porch scene of A Beautiful Mind painted black and white, with one period incorrect radial tire up front. Still makes me cringe. 😅
Interesting ute. I recently had a South African import "ranchero" in my Australian workshop.. Australian built , 1969 falcon based ..but badged as a ranchero.. engine bay decals in both English and Afrikaans. Basic trim pack and a 302 Windsor and c4 . No seatbelts ex factory and absolutely no luxury items. 10:18
I collect 1960 Frontenac's and can tell you for sure that Ford Canada did NOT build it this way. The vin plate has to have an 8 as the first digit for the model code. I started an Owners Registry some 40 years ago. I also have a 1960 Ranchero that i have "dressed up" to look like a Frontenac just like this one but i always confess to someone who ask about it. Many comments are true in that the maple leaf was not part of our flag till years later. Jon Rideout designed the Frontenac but not sure why the Maple Leaf came to be part of the trim. We did not have the Mercury Comet for 1960 in Canada so Ford rebadged the Falcon with Frontenac trim so the Mercury dealerships had a product to sell. The Comet came here in 1961 so the Frontenac ceased. Rick i will send you PM with my contact info. I would like to see a picture of the VIN plate . Best regards.
It's definitely a US Ranchero. The question is why is was built. Was it just someone who wanted to play "what if", or was it the factory that was testing what it could potentially build.
Pretty easy to swap the Frontenac shiny bits onto a standard production Ranchero. That’s the simplest explanation. My dad had a ‘60 Ranchero when I was a little kid.
What's up with the hood? It's paint color does not match the fenders or body. I can see it has been restored, but that suggests some tinkering with the unit that is less than top notch work. What else may have been done?
Folks converted the last Rancheros, the LTD II version into late ‘70s Cougar or T-Bird by switching front clips, which is probably what happened here with additional wagon trim. 40 years ago I swear I saw a ‘64 or ‘67 Beaumont El Camino in a Wisconsin yard - did that ever happen?
A maple leaf is not a Canadian flag. The Canadian flag has a maple leaf on it but that does not make every maple leaf a Canadian flag just like every star is not a U.S. flag.
Look at the serial number and data plate and find out how the car was built. Chances are it is a modified Falcon Ranchero done by the owner, very small chance it was a factory prototype.
Thank you for the video Rick. When we saw this at Martin Museum on display it wasn't as clean looking. It's been detailed and looks great 👍 thanks again. Dave Tucson 🌵
As others have stated, I’m not sure why he’s referring to those red maple leaf crests as “Canadian flags.” The Canadian flag sporting the single maple leaf wouldn’t appear until five years after the Frontenac was constructed.
It seems likely that it's a Ranchero "customized" by someone with the Frontenac detailing. Shame that Kevin Marti has no records of Ford products built prior to 1966, which would help solve the mystery.
Very nice, and very well done, but after seeing Vista Cruisers turned into 442 station wagons by the addition of badges and a scooped hood and, LeMans station wagons turned into GTO wagons with a GTO Endura front fascia grafted on, I'm suspicious about this one. It would be too easy to take a Falcon Ranchero and a Frontenac donor car and cobble this up.
You only have to glance at Australia to see it’s no mystery. The 1960 Falcon ute was the beginning of this shape, with some face lifts, sold until 1965. (XP)
Hey Rick, I helped build this car for the owner. All the Frontenac badges were add ons from Canadian eBay. The old guy Barry(rip) who owned it had done his research. There are 11 originals known about in Canada.
? Did Barry die
I helped him with some info ref the trim.
Richard
That is not a Canadian Flag. It's a Maple Leaf symbol.
Canadian triffs car to get around it 😊
Which is our symbol 😊
kinda like saying the Bald Eagle is the US flag when it's really just another common symbol for the country.
@@rupe53 Except the eagle isn't on a flag; the maple leaf is. But, yeah, the maple leaf wasn't on the flag in 1960.
The current Canadian flag was introduced in 1965 and has the prominent maple leaf. In 1960, the flag of Canada was the Red Ensign with the flag of Britain in the upper left corner. That said, the red maple leaf was a recognized Canadian symbol by 1960 and led to its adoption as the new flag. As a kid, I never understood why my Dad's Pontiac Paisienne looked weirdly different from the Revell plastic models I was building. Had to wait for TH-cam to be invented to discover the answer.
A Falcon sedan was available in Australia from September 1960, and a station wagon was added in November the same year. The ute was introduced in February 1961.
Cheers from Australia 🇦🇺
Interesting to note that the American style Ranchero "utes" ran a much longer door than the Australian "utes" which were the same length as the sedan door.
G'day from Australia 🇦🇺
Yes I am another Aussie
(Pronounced Ozzie)
Some information on the
Ute ( Ranchero )
The sedan based ute/ranchero was designed in
Australia in 1931 and available in 1932
The abbreviated story is
A farmers wife wrote a letter to ford in Geelong
Victoria Australia,
Asking if ford could make a vehicle usable for daily use , Church on Sunday and to take pigs to market on Monday ? Said letter was handed to a young engineer/designer Named
Lou bandt . And so
With assistance from the
Design department
The 1932 A model solid side utility (ute) created
PS Geelong is pronounced
Jee long .
Well said was going to mention it too
I'd love to own one. The sheer simplicity makes it great.
All Canadian cars came with speedometers that read in MPH not metric until 77, which was the year Canada changed over from Imperial units ...
1978 model year was the km speedo not 1977 in canada
doesn't matter what year, as Canada is leaps and bounds ahead of the USA in being able to measure stuff ....😂😅😂😅😂
Good to know. Thanks for making me smarter than the guys at work.
@@matt0607hkgts I'm betting you'll receive a 53 foot trailer full of thumbs up on your observation. ;)
As an "aussie" the falcon had bit of class, which the local product didnt.
With the ute, the difference to the yank ones you have hear is the rear cab pillar was quite chunky and made the look tougher.
Love em, and thanks for a little context and history...👍
Wanted to buy one while in high school, but the 69-63 body style was the best for me, and they were still quite expensive for my part time income in the late 60's. Family had a 64 Falcon wagon, but Dad wanted something bigger so It got sold before I could afford the asking price. Ended up with a 63 Chevy II wagon, hell it got me around cheap. Have been looking for a early Ford Econoline, Chevy Van, or Dodge, but that is like finding a unicorn. Sorry I can't justify $10K for a rust bucket that is locked up, so forever it will remain a dream.
It is most likely the same thing that my father did to his 67 Ranchero. My father replaced the Fairlane nose with one from a Mercury Comet. The great thing about Ford is that parts are very easy to swap
True! Years ago a friend of mine swapped a '58 Edsel front clip and Edsel station wagon taillights onto a '57 ranchero. All bolt on, looked factory.
I have a little history tidbit for you Rick . Up until 1964 Canada flew the Union Jack style flag as a commonwealth state of Britain. In 64 we got our own unique flag red and white with the maple leaf in the center.
So in 1960 the Frontenac maple leaf emblem was just that, an emblem.
I have a friend who just sold one (sedan) from up here to an artist in California. He flew up and drove it all the way home with no issues.
As to the ranchero connection I have no idea. Cheers 🇨🇦
The new maple leaf flag was made official by a proclamation from Queen Elizabeth II on January 28, 1965. On February 15 of that year, it was inaugurated in a public ceremony on Parliament Hill.
www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/flag-canada-history.html
Good to know!
I have seen another Frontenac Ranchero on TH-cam. It was in a junkyard near Edmonton Alberta. Alex, who has Curiosity Incorporated, found it a few years ago. He likes and restores classic vehicles, including some that need rescuing, like a Frontenac sedan he made into a police car. The Ranchero was in reasonably good shape, but he passed it up in favor of another vehicle. I like your conjecture that a dealer in Canada rebadged US built Falcon Rancheros as a publicity stunt, BTW.
I've found about 75 Frontenacs over the years, people that own them like owning more than one. There are 4 even being driven in my home town in Alberta Canada! I've seen 3 Frontenac Rancheros so far, none of them factory, but I've always heard rumors that there were dealers that converted some to Frontenacs.
There was also Frontenac kibe of cars before Ford from 1931 to 1933 from Durant.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Motors_Frontenac
@QuanticChaos1000 a very cool read. Thanks for the link.
Hi Rick. Miss you on the Phoenix news station. I'll be checking out your other videos. Good job, as always.
Local TV was great, but it's always fun to play with cars!
I think that it is interesting how Frontenac is the name of a company that made speed equipment for Model T Fords, particularly the over head valve and over head cam heads.
Fronty-Fords were built by the Chevrolet brothers after their falling out with Billy Durant at GM.
Looks like a home build where an American ranchero was merged with a Frontenac. The Frontenac was probably rusted out but had good chrome and steering wheel. The Ranchero body was solid comming from Calif. Someone in Canada had an old Frontenac sedan and decided to give some of it a new life as a Ranchero.
Looks like an Australian XL Ford Falcon utility.
The grill is uneak
@@timothydempsey8963 I think you mean unique.
Makes sense.
@@DBAllen I are correct sir
Very nice car whether it’s authentic or not. The restoration is impressive. I had a 63-1/2 Falcon Futura 2 door hardtop with a 170 ci 6 and 3 on the tree with non-synchro 1st gear. I promise you that 144 was a weakling. Besides that the windshield wipers were vacuum operated and would pause under acceleration. Most people don’t realize how primitive and basic cars were even in the 60’s.
A friend had a Falcon (not Frontenac) wagon in 1968, not sure of the model year. We were reservists and got permission from the principal and our CO to have a recruiting drive at our high school. Four of us went to the armory with John's Falcon Wagon in the four types of uniforms current at the time. and loaded up with an FN-C1 rifle, FN-C2 LMG (both versions of the Belgian FAL), a 30 cal machine gun on a tripod (re-chambered for 7.62 NATO and designated GPMG), a 3.5 inch anti-tank rocket launcher, 9mm Sterling SMG, some dummy grenades and rockets, and a 9mm Browning pistol. No live ammo or breech blocks. We did our little 'show and tell' and headed back. On the way we drove through a city police speed trap, they just ignored us, even with the GPMG set up in the back of the wagon! Hit the A&W for lunch then hauled the gear back to the armory. Never get away with that now.
John was my driver in a 1/4 ton jeep ambulance the next year at the summer Prairie Region Rank and Trades School, and helped me drive three guys back to the base hospital after they were injured in an accident on a firing range.
I agree with those who think someone converted a Falcon Ranchero into a Frontenac Ranchero. I own a Frontenac (4Dr Sedan), and my research tells me that all Frontenacs were made in Oakville, Ontario. There is one number in the VIN which was 7 for Falcon and 8 for Frontenac. Seeing the full VIN would help.
The VIN shows it was built in San Jose, California so it's definitely not a Canadian car. But did Ford Canada do the conversion?
A very interesting mystery, Rick! Can't wait to hear more about the car's origins.
Looks like a Ford Falcon Ranchero with a Frontenac front clip and badges. It’s common practice to swap out front clips between the same body style families. I’ve seen el Caminos with Cutlass, GTO and 442 front clips.
A friend of mine used to own a '68 Buick Electra 225. The car took a major hit in the front end but he couldn't locate a front clip for it. However, a local salvage yard had a '68 Wildcat that had been broadsided but the front clip was perfect. The end result was a car we all called the Electra Cat.
I'm not sure they even swapped the clip. It's likely just grill and badging.
I had a Chevy Chevette and a friend showed me a Frontenac version and it completely imploded my poor brain! It was the first I had even heard of rebranding. The Chevette by the way was a great little car, never had a problem 🤗
Your Chevy Chevette was also sold as the Pontiac Acadian in Canada from 1976 to 1987
1 it'd not a flag, it is the Maple leaf
2 All Frontinacs were huilt in the Oakville plant. So someone just changed all the badges
A total of 9,536 Frontenacs were built at its Oakville, Ontario, plant. In August 1960 a prototype 1961 Frontenac was driven from Halifax to Vancouver for a photo shoot only for the crew to learn that the Canadian model was discontinued from the domestic market and replaced by the Comet for the 1961 model year.
We didn’t get our own flag in Canada until PM Lester B Pearson made the decision in 1965 we needed one and not the British flag or Union Jack.
The Frontenac my parents purchased in 1960 , Mom got a station wagon after Dad got a 4 door sedan, were nice. They traded in those in 1963 for Mercury Comets Mom got a 4 door and Dad got a 2 door. Now I remember sitting in the show room in a Frontenac Ranchero. I’m sure it was robins egg blue.
Canada didn’t mandate metric odometers or speedometers until we went metric in 1977.
As a Canadian I recognized brand right away. My friends dad had a Frontenac wagon and his brother had the Falcon sedan.
Not a lot of Frontenacs out there because it was just a one year model.
As another commenter has noted, this car was built as a Falcon Ranchero. But... supposedly there were two Frontenac Rancheros built as prototypes in Canada for the 1961 model year. These "crucks" were scrapped, along with the half-dozen or so sedan prototypes for 1961, when the decision was made to replace the Frontenac with the Mercury Comet at Mercury/Meteor dealers. The Comet was originally intended to be the Edsel Comet, but was introduced midway through the 1960 model year following the cancellation of the Edsel brand.
Someone who knows what they are talking about. Thank you.
The Falcon based Ranchero was a rare sight here in British Columbia, but we always noticed as soon as we crossed the border down into Washington, we didn’t have far to go before we saw our first one.
Mission raceway, circa '99/00, used to tow dolly my Falcon with my Frontenac strait axel Gasser!!!!
If it were a true Frontenac it would have been built in Oakville Ontario or St Thomas Ontario. I suspect someone either obtained all the Frontenac trim pieces and put them on a Ranchero or they had two damaged cars and merged the two. There are also a number of people who have put Comet front ends on Falcons and called them Comeros. Great videos Rick! I like odd facts of automotive history.
The biggest reason Canada had some odd ball Ford brands was that the original dealership agreements for Ford were too generous - granting large territories. As the population of Canada grew post-war, this led to Ford needing more dealerships and the only way to do it was to come up with some additional "brands" that would get them around these original Ford Dealership agreements.
I love the subtle differences between US and Canadian cars during that era.
Also Mercury dealers in Canada were given their own badged version of the Ford truck line up to the medium class..even their own version of the Econoline van. This was until 1968 when Mercury dealers up North were given the right to sell Ford Trucks.
Well, thanks: interesting…..Anyways, the “ Dealer , Options, installed , Specialties, COACH CRAFTSPEOPLES“, not to mention Day One Builders ( Yenkos,ETC), ….. GREAT STUFF….
In addition to your “Comeros”, years ago I saw a ‘65 Comet front end grafted onto a ‘64/65 Falcon Sedan Delivery body. A year or so later, that body was grafted onto a F250 4x4 chassis. That created a 4x4 Comet Sedan Delivery.
The St Thomas Assembly Plant did not exist in 1960, Oakville was making Falcons.
IIRC Ford dealers in Canada sold Falcons, Lincoln Mercury dealers sold Frontenacs, Meteors et al.
Most of Canada's Falcons were Oakville production, some were US produced. Pre-Auto Pact of 1965, Canada was at an auto trade deficit with the US, things were not as cut and dried as they may seem, a lot of US made cars ended up in Canada.
As for the Frontenac Ranchero it has a possibility of being legit, if not exactly regular production, I'd love to know more about its journey.
Maybe contact the Canadian automotive museum in oshawa Ontario. They have a Frontenac on display there.. they also have quite a library of info on canadian cars. They might be able to help with solving the mystery.
I had an Australian falcon ute of a similar age and colour . They were shorter to cope with the road drains in Sydney ,where rancheros would bottom out .
Ford should gave called the new Maverick the Ranchero.
I understand the car companies must use the model names or they lose their trademarks after so many years, so maybe the Maverick name was about to expire, the Ranchero name was used as late as 79 later than the maverick name. just my guess. Using maverick for a truck is just wrong, ranchero is wrong too...but better.
As others have suggested, probably a backyard badge and grille swap. Frontenac and Meteor were tarted-up badge-engineered versions of Ford models sold by Canadian Mercury dealers. Outside of the major cities, most Canadian towns could not support both franchises, so you would have a Ford dealer in one town and the Mercury in the next town over... Same with Chevrolet and Pontiac, and the Canadian Ford dealers could offer the Monarch, a badge-engineered Mercury, for their customers who wanted to move up a notch in status.
I understand that many of the Canadian Pontiacs were built on Chevrolet chassis. Sounds like a similar slight move up.
@@RobertJarecki Yes, Canadian Pontiacs were built on the same line at the GM plant in Oshawa, using Chevrolet chassis and powertrains, not so noticeable until the early 1960's when Pontiac went with the "Wide Track" look, then the Canadian Ponchos looked a bit odd with the wheels set somewhat inboard of the Pontiac body shells. Canadian Pontiac dealers sold the Acadian and Beaumont, which were Chevy II and Chevelle clones. Typically, dealers were either Chev/Olds or Pontiac/Buick with the larger volume ones offering Cadillac. I don't think we ever had free-standing Cadillac dealers. Interestingly, for imports, U.S. dealers had Opel, but here we were lumbered with the British Vauxhalls.
@brunobandiera2062 Thank you for the thorough response. The particular differences between the Canadian products and the USA products are Interesting.
a correction sir, I had a registered 1959 Frontenac (Strait axel gasser) that used to tow dolly my 61 falcon to mission raceway, 2 dr as far as we found out it was sold a few days before the turn of the year, and I believe it is the only registered '59 Fronenac in existence, Never seen a Ranchero before , a real jem! there are a couple here in BC Canada Also used to own a 1969 Vauxhall Viva...
I'm pretty sure all the Frontenac's were built in Canada.
I believe someone has taken all the Frontenac grille and badging and put them on
an American built Ranchero.
Cool nonetheless, I'd be happy to own it.
Might be a one of a kind custom conversion. Between 1979 and 1982, a company converted a small number of Ford Fairmont wagons into UTEs they called Durango. Ford had discontinued the Ranchero, and the conversion company offered the Durango as Ranchero’s unofficial replacement. The Durango was sold through Ford dealers and produced with Ford’s blessing. This was in the days before the Dodge Durango. There was also a conversation company that made Cadillac Eldorado UTEs - they billed it as a pickup truck for the country club set.
I remember the Durangos! To be honest, in all my years at Barrett Jackson I've never actually seen one.
The Australian falcon utes and wagons had a longer wheelbase to eliminate that silly overhang behind the rear axle. Ford Australia also had the mainline ute
The early Australian Falcons were assembled from Canadian built cars.
Cheers from Australia
I think the mainline was a factory modified ford customline sedan, to produce a ute and unique to Australia
@@alexwallace9832yes ford Canada had the rights for British Commonwealth countries, not USA. The fords came as knocked down components and assembled in Australia and gradually introduced locally made parts. Same with Chrysler valiant.
@@richlawrence4160 As I recall, the Valliant was originally going to be a new brand, just like Dodge or Plymouth. After some thought it became the Plymouth Valliant in the USA.
Did not have longer chassis. The Wagons had the US overhang shortened due to fear of bottoming out on very rough terrain. Same for the Ute/Ranchero, shortened overhang, shorter sedan doors & interior parcel shelf. The earlier Mainlines Ute [ Mainline only used for commercial in Aust.] had an imported convertable chassis as it was heavier built & necessary for heavy loads these would have got in Aust. Cheers. NZ
This is another facet of automobiles that is so fascinating. It's barely more than 60 years ago, and we have a bit of a mystery. I tend to agree with you, a badge swap seems the mostly like explanation, given the VIN information. Perhaps a dealer conversion? An individual? If ownership could be traced, that may give us the full story. Thank you for sharing another great piece of automotive history. ~ Chuck
We currently have a 63 Falcon at our shop. It has a 289, 4-speed, Fox-body Mustang suspension, Wilwood brakes...
I think the unique brand names in Canada and Australia have something to do with tariffs and import laws…
Most major manufacturers at the time built for there own markets. Each country manufacturer was seperate of the Detroit parent company to keep from being an import tariffs and fees at the time.
I would call the chrome pieces on the quarter panel/bedside "spears"...
As others have said, and I'll state it, you "need the VIN to win" and the "tag to brag". Without that, we're sad.
Going by what you stated as being the VIN, we don't have it, so we don't win: 0 for 1960 model year, R for San Jose, CA, 27 for Falcon Ranchero, D or S for 144 CID straight six with one barrel and the rest is the production sequence. The San Jose CA plant was also called Milpitas Assembly and operated from 1955 to 1983.
No tag, can't brag, but can be figured out, no doubt: 66A for Falcon Ranchero, possible C for Aquamarine exterior paint, possible 36 for Black and White interior trim, and the rest isn't known without the tag.
Thinking about the Caddy Camino and the Wagon.
Great video. Ford Falcon was a very popular car in Australia and was built until 2016.
What I found interesting is that the Frontenac (automotive) name was started by one of the Chevrolet brothers, and they made speed equipment for Fords! And this was *after* the Chevrolet Motor company was founded.
That maple leaf is not a Canadian flag. The Frontenac predates the emergence of the flag.
My sister had a blue 1960 4 door Frontenac as her first car. I still have one of chrome fender script badges. It came off the car when she crashed it.
The first car I rode in was my dad’s 60 Frontenac 4 door sedan. Almost bought one and a few years ago , thinking I would recreate the one that he had when I was a baby.
Not an exciting car, but it would be easy to work on!
They made Frontenac wagons..
The Ranchero shared the platform.
Likely homebuilt. But cool regardless..
Learned to drive on a '60 Falcon. With the 2 speed automatic, pulling out onto the highway and up a grade was painfully slow. If you had 6 passengers I think a horse could beat it.
The Meteor was Mercury version of Fairlane 62&63..
At one time I owned '61 Ranchero and a friend gave me a Frontenac grille, tailights, and hubcaps. I did swap over the tailights.
Not a Frontenca Falcon, simply a Frontenac, unless this unit is a conversion! Need a dogdish hubcap? Have an original. It's not the Canadian flag, simply a maple leaf in the grill, hubcaps, horn. The car is a fake, and I believe there are 3 of them out there. Similarly, you could buy an Acadian, same vintage, which was a Nova, sold in Canadian Pontiac dealerships. Acadian Beaumonts, particularly the SD, are rare and very collectible (Big Block version very rare). Great video, thanks
Many people, especially USAmericans, 'convert' their Ford F-100 pick-ups into Mercury trucks. Mercury trucks were Canadian only, as were Fargo trucks. Aside from buying actual Mercury trucks, there's also a hot, and profitable market in selling tailgates, hub caps, horn caps, grills and emblems allowing for this conversion. It's not far fetched this Ranchero was merely rebadged. Another indication is it was built in San Jose, California. The Canadian Frontenacs were built in Oakville, Ontario.
ah back in the day when you opened the hood and the only thing you saw was the engine lol. i do miss my 63 falcon sprint with the 260 v8.
That sure is a sharp looking car.
I’ve heard the words “hash marks” used to describe the chrome trim pieces similar to the ones you mentioned for the rear fenders.
Sold in Australia as a Ford Falcon ute.
Exactly !
It's the Aussie model the company imported one to evaluate 👍
@@edwardfletcher7790 Nope. Pretty significant differences between the Australian ute and the US Ranchero. Our Ute was based on the 4-door wagon, the Ranchero was based on the two door wagon. Our utes use short sedan doors with a big B-pillar sail panel, the Ranchero uses longer doors with a much more abrupt end to the roofline. Most importantly the Ranchero was available from the launch of the Falcon in the US in September of '59. The XK Falcon ute didn't make it to market until May of 1961.
The car in the video is a phantom build based on a US Ranchero. I've seen a 1959 Meteor Ranchero that was a similar deal.
It seems to me this was converted by either a Canadian Ford engineer type who wanted to explore the idea of a Ranchero for the Canadian market. An GM marketing exec engineer did the same with a GTO front clip attached to an Elcamino back in the late 60s. Such one-offs were fairly common....
No worries neat pick-up
Do you have a Meteor Rideau 500 in the collection?
Just a fun conversion, like when people put 57 Edsel front clips on 57 Rancheros. Fender/door lines all lined up.
Edsel years are 1958, 1959 and 1960. Fun fact the Falcon and the Comet were originally designed to be Edsel's. And yes 1958 Edsel small series (Ranger Pacer and wagon) front clips will mount to a 57/58 Ranchero. 1958 Corsair and Citations wont. Being they are Mercury based cars. 1959 Edsels are Ford based. So all 59's will work.
I've seen a similar thing done with a '59 Ford Ranchero that was trimmed to be a phantom '59 Meteor Ranchero
Built 64 years ago. Many things can happen in 64 years. Someone took a Ford Ranchero and a Frontenac and put them together in a custom way.
When I was a kid about the age of 3 - 6 I remember a small little truck like this being studied by Edsel . I dont remember the name it being Frontenac . But it was a one off deal to help save Edsel . I belive it was 1959 to 1960 . The ford Falcon was being produced in 1959 for study only and was in production by 1960 . Ford had three line ups on the falcon A two door , 4 door sedan . Two door and four door wagons . The little truck and a van . Edsel was a disaster and Edsel want to save face and did studies on the idea of a lux compact cars that had a bit more than the low budget Falcon line . But I was only 4 -6 years old of the time and I seen ithis in a mag at one time of the talks and a drawing of it . I could not read well ether . Dang I loved cars back then and this kind of things gave me a lot of fun . I even used to draw cars and trucks . I was OCD on them . When I seen my first Ford Thunderbird my friend dad had bought he took me and Joey for a ride to see the progress of the Arch being built . He was one of the engineers on the job . So we got on the construction sight of it . Then we went to Drews for Custard That was in 1963 or 4 . I remember asking why the T-Bird was so big being a sports car and to compete with the Corvette . The vet was lighter and had a smaller 6 cylinder engine . The T-Bird have a V8 . The Vet had the 6 from 1953 - 54 . The V-8 did not come in untill 1955 with a 265 . Buy then Ford had already using the 312 as racing engines for the small blocks goes . This was until the 410 Mec and the 406 Ford came into play . See now I am way off now . This is my mind . Lets get back to Yes I do remember this car . I believe this was Edsel .
Great job and interesting presentation
🇨🇦 That's just a maple leaf not a Canadian flag and the first use of a maple leaf on a Canadian flag was in 1965 when it replace the Red Ensign which was the previous national flag. Canada didn't go metric till 1977, before that all measurements were in Imperial. Frontenacs were sold by Mercury dealers not Ford dealers 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦
I found a 63 /3 window econoline pickup complete rust free dent free sitting in a storage lot in Kingman az. The guy had stored it for 12 years and never was able to get it out and rea build it i got it for 400:00 dalars flew down and trailerd it home and I'm finally retired so I can start fixing it up i bought it in 2006
falcon in Australia went all the way to 2017 with 6 basic style and many cosmetic updates.
I think this car may simply be a Ranchero with a Frontenac front end and trim, there’s a few pictures of another Diamond Blue car in a junkyard from 2007 and I know of a white car as well, to my knowledge both cars are modified Ford Racheros with Frontenac trim.
thinking back, Ford made the full size Ranchero and Chevy chased after that with the El Camino. Ford made the Falcon version (down-sized) but Chevy never made a similar vehicle out of a Nova. Wonder why? After all, Chevy already had the smaller Chevy II wagon so it wasn't a far stretch from there to a UTE.
My favorite Ranchero movie scene was the movie Goldfinger, where they use one to carry a continental that had been crushed into a cube, with a million dollars in gold(at $35 an ounce!) in the trunk.
I forgot about that!
Yes. Somehow a 4000 lb plus Lincoln, plus the gold it was carrying, were put in the back of a Falcon Ranchero (without collapsing the rear suspension). Couldn't do it in a F100 or a Super Duty for that matter.
The grills on the Frontenac were obsolete the minute they rolled off the assembly line. You could not buy a replacement from the dealer.
Dealer modifed? I had a dealer modified '55 buick that shipped from the factory one way and had factory original dealer availible options applied on arrival. Dealer swapped parts bin Frontenac chrome on the factory built Ford truck seems a likely possibility. I had the only dealer original lemon aqua trifive in existence and I sold it to Aussie father son collectors. It is in the front porch scene of A Beautiful Mind painted black and white, with one period incorrect radial tire up front. Still makes me cringe. 😅
Neat car. Ford by the way did not produce a six from 1908 thru 1941. Henry did not like them. So they really weren't "familiar going way back".
Great video Rick.!.....thank you🎉
Isn't that the Ranchero that Odd Job used to haul off Aurei Goldfinger's crushed limo in James Bond's " Goldfinger "?
Interesting ute.
I recently had a South African import "ranchero" in my Australian workshop.. Australian built , 1969 falcon based ..but badged as a ranchero.. engine bay decals in both English and Afrikaans. Basic trim pack and a 302 Windsor and c4 .
No seatbelts ex factory and absolutely no luxury items. 10:18
I collect 1960 Frontenac's and can tell you for sure that Ford Canada did NOT build it this way. The vin plate has to have an 8 as the first digit for the model code. I started an Owners Registry some 40 years ago. I also have a 1960 Ranchero that i have "dressed up" to look like a Frontenac just like this one but i always confess to someone who ask about it. Many comments are true in that the maple leaf was not part of our flag till years later. Jon Rideout designed the Frontenac but not sure why the Maple Leaf came to be part of the trim. We did not have the Mercury Comet for 1960 in Canada so Ford rebadged the Falcon with Frontenac trim so the Mercury dealerships had a product to sell. The Comet came here in 1961 so the Frontenac ceased. Rick i will send you PM with my contact info. I would like to see a picture of the VIN plate . Best regards.
It's definitely a US Ranchero. The question is why is was built. Was it just someone who wanted to play "what if", or was it the factory that was testing what it could potentially build.
I think Barry Norman wanted to create a "conversation piece". I will say he did a very through job!
The VIN indicates what the car was when it left the Ford factory. Any difference is an aftermarket modification.
Wonder if the Ford factory made a few for Canadian dealers to pick up and deliver parts, etc
Pretty easy to swap the Frontenac shiny bits onto a standard production Ranchero. That’s the simplest explanation.
My dad had a ‘60 Ranchero when I was a little kid.
What's up with the hood? It's paint color does not match the fenders or body. I can see it has been restored, but that suggests some tinkering with the unit that is less than top notch work. What else may have been done?
Folks converted the last Rancheros, the LTD II version into late ‘70s Cougar or T-Bird by switching front clips, which is probably what happened here with additional wagon trim. 40 years ago I swear I saw a ‘64 or ‘67 Beaumont El Camino in a Wisconsin yard - did that ever happen?
Just like the Belmont with gm
beaumont not belmont
@@hillbillymark100 Belmont was the poverty pack trim level in Holdens from 1968 to late 1970s. Usually for taxi, or fleet cars.
saw a ranchero with an Edsel front clip for sale.
I'm thinking someone took a Ranchero and swapped a Frontenac front clip, and other badging.
A maple leaf is not a Canadian flag. The Canadian flag has a maple leaf on it but that does not make every maple leaf a Canadian flag just like every star is not a U.S. flag.
I think the tail lights give it away as being a converted US car.
A mixture of body parts. which were interchangeable.
Look at the serial number and data plate and find out how the car was built. Chances are it is a modified Falcon Ranchero done by the owner, very small chance it was a factory prototype.
That’s what I was wondering! As much jumping around is this man is doing he didn’t seem to check the Vin plate.
Thank you for the video Rick. When we saw this at Martin Museum on display it wasn't as clean looking. It's been detailed and looks great 👍 thanks again. Dave Tucson 🌵
I think Canada switched to the metric system on 76
It is called a ute. Invented in Aust
As others have stated, I’m not sure why he’s referring to those red maple leaf crests as “Canadian flags.” The Canadian flag sporting the single maple leaf wouldn’t appear until five years after the Frontenac was constructed.
Car manufacturing went away in Australia (along with all GM car sales and 90% of the Ford sales).
It seems likely that it's a Ranchero "customized" by someone with the Frontenac detailing. Shame that Kevin Marti has no records of Ford products built prior to 1966, which would help solve the mystery.
Ford of Canada can help
Very nice, and very well done, but after seeing Vista Cruisers turned into 442 station wagons by the addition of badges and a scooped hood and, LeMans station wagons turned into GTO wagons with a GTO Endura front fascia grafted on, I'm suspicious about this one. It would be too easy to take a Falcon Ranchero and a Frontenac donor car and cobble this up.
You only have to glance at Australia to see it’s no mystery. The 1960 Falcon ute was the beginning of this shape, with some face lifts, sold until 1965. (XP)
This one is definitely a US car. Was it a fun tribute or was someone at Ford Canada considering a new model?
Think you Rick
Canada went metric in the 70’s about the same time they tried it here in the states
Speedometer cluster is out of a ‘62.
Someone simply switched the grill and badges. Those Canadian flags you mention are maple leaves, not flags.
S. America had them and Brazil
Rebadged Ford Falcon. Made in Canada for use there. Must be fairly rare.
looks like an Australian 60's Ford falcon ute changing a few badges still a Ford Ute, if the cat had kittens in an oven wouldn't make them scones
I'll remember never to put a cat in an oven...