Hello! I'm new to the forum. My Dad and I Have stared restoringWhat we thought was a1969 Ranchero GT. But the more we look into it the more we find thatno onehas herd of before.the truck was white with black strips on the rocker pannels, the hood was blacked out down the middle where the hood scope is, it has the fairlane 500 interior with bucket seats. it has the 390 with the 4 speed. and we have all four origanalmagnum 500 wheels with the ranchero rio grande wheel centers, this is what no one has ever seen before atleast in casper, wyI have tried to find info on this version of the ranchero but all I can find is that it was only produced for one year (1969) it came in three colors, and that there were only 400 of them made.

I'm looking for anyone whocould tell me anything about these ranchero's, there's just not alot of info on them. anything would be helpful.

thanks
Quinton

 

A little-known and extremely rare offering in 1969 was theRio Grande. Available on special order, this was essentially a GT in the so-called "Grabber" colors of "Wimbledon White", "Poppy Red" or "Calypso Coral," partially blacked-out hood with scoop, side stripes, bed rails, vinyl top and unique "Ford Ranchero Rio Grande" wheel centers. As a result, Rancheros so equipped received Ford's "SPECIAL PERFORMANCE VEHICLE" identification on the data plate regardless of engine choice. These vehicles may be identified by the aforementioned designation as well as a blank space where the trim code would normally be found. Production figures are unclear, but may have been around 900 total units.

 

With the low production figure - obviously worth restoring. I've seen the GT's but none of these. Although I JUST slipped through Ebay and saw a set of BRAND NEW wheel centers for this.

 

Maybe as far the the bookwork you could try bookstores (some are interconnected and may send you in the right direction), maybe your local library (you never know), flea markets, car shows, and old car parts dealers. My book only hasthem up to '65 or '66 so I'm just shy of the mark by a few years. Maybe even internet search engines may shed some light.

 

Thank's for the info guys. I have another problem now, ford can't even tell us what this means. the door tag has the special performance vehicle writing on it but the order numbers are not correct or thats what ford says.

the numbers are as follows

9A48S281857

66B HA24F 512563 6 5
Body Color TrimDate DSO AXLE Trans

there is no color code and ford is saying that the DSO number is not valid. the way I wrote it is the way it apears on the tag. anyone have any sugestions on what this means?

I have a 69 ford torino restoration guide book that lists a few ranchero things in it. it shows the rio grande wheel center but nothing eles on this particularmodel. it says that the DSO number is supost to be two digit's not six. we also found the build sheet in the passenger seat back, none of the numbers match the door tag on it either.

Any and all info will help

P.S. goinstrong thanks for the tip about the wheel centers onebay I picked them up for 34.00, fig they would be a good thing to have around

 

According to your VIN and data, you do have a rare Rio Grande Ranchero. The dso is correct. The first 2 digits are the sales district (51) Denver, the next 4 digits is the consecutive special order number. Your vehicle was the 2563rd special order for the Denver district. The color is what should be blank on the data plate. The special exterior paint was not coded for the vehicle application. Most Rio Grande models came with the 351W, but any engine except the 6cyl, was an available option. Although Ford based this model on the Ranchero 500, there was a 66A (base model) Ranchero discovered in GA. that was a Rio Grande. It was equipped with the 302 engine. Yours was scheduled for build on the 24th of June, which makes it one of the last produced. Ford was famous for adding, or changing a special pkg. from the original intended production model, especially late in the model year right before a major restyle. Cleaning the parts shelves, if you will. This one is a keeper !!

 

Hi all,

I am also new to the forums, and my dad just sent me his cherry red 69 Ranchero Rio Grande.
Mine has only one center wheel insert left, which has a bull head and Ranchero Rio Grande around the inside edge of the insert.
I can't seem to find those new inserts for $34, but if you could post it, I'd love to find out where to buy them.

My Vin & Data are as follows. I'm going to try to find out where to decode those, but here it is all the same...

Vin
9K42H1777612


63D C 8Y 03A 72 6 X
color trim date DSO axle Trans

I tried to match them up with what was under the numbers.

Any help would be appreciated.

The front suspension & steering seems very loose... I'm wondering if those performance suspension packages on ebay are worth it...

Steering column is very loose, and it seems to hit reverse instead of park...
I'm wondering about the best way to go about fixing this... amco or the local tech school, or the mechanic down the street.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Oh, this one has the 302 and originally came with the bench seat and no tachometer on the instrament panel.
Does anyone have ideas on replacement dash? His is ripped and shrinking around the sides.

Thanks.

 

Well, I remembered my dad replacing the door, but he didn't.
And sure enough, the door id tag doesn't match the vin# under the windshield.

The door looks as if it came from a Torino fastback hardtop.

I tracked down the vin info from the true vin# 9A47FXXXXXX.

Mine came standard with the 302, and it is the Rio Grande, based on the wheel insert, but too bad I can't see the rest of the info from the original id tag.

 

I currently own a 1969 Ford Ranchero Rio Grand in original condition with 48,000 actual miles. It has a bench seat and an automatic trans with a 351 Cleveland engine. It's the Poppy Red with the original wheels. I've been told by more than one "expert" that they all came with Windsor blocks but this one is definitely a Cleveland