Hi from Cape Town. South Africa.
I am about to buy an El Camini or Ranchero. The choice is mine but if anybody has any info on which is better and why, please let me know.
I am looking for a 6cyl beast as fuel prices here are very high.

There's no comparison, go with the El Camino! There's so much more available to restore them and keep them running and besides that you've got this website at your fingertips. Find any websites like this for that awful FORD RAUNCHERO? NOT!

CapeTown;

To be honest, I'd love to see picture's of either of your possible considerations. A classic car of any name tag can be appreciated by either crowd. Obviously we're GM oriented here...so keep that in mind

Capetown.

I own a 75 Ford Ranchero and a 79 Chevy El Camino, and I would have to say besides that Chevy bodies have smooth lines and Fords have blocky appearances, both look great. Mechanicly, the Chevy seems more reliable. But both prform well. I just think Chevy's take less tinkering.

I used to say about my Ranchero "Fix Or Repair Daily" and it will be "First On Race Day"...

But in all honesty, I think the Chevy would win the race...

Thanks for the replies Guys,
Appreciate the photos too, makes it easier to have something to compare to.
Mike, actually Ford have a site almost identical to this one!

Talking of classic cars, I own a '69 Beetle 1300, a '71 VW Camper (going fishin this week-end) and a superb '76 Mazda Capella.

I did own a Chevy Malibu Station-Wagon some years back, but that was in Zimbabwe and I had to leave it when whites were no longer welcome there.

Today I saw a brilliant looking C10, now that copuld have possibilities too.....

Are older/classic American cars really as prevalent as you make it appear in South Afirca?

Rancheros, El Caminos, F100s, F250s, F350s, C10s, C20s - are reasonably available and still running, but the majority of the older vehicle fleet (and newer) is German and Japanese.
Datsun, Nissan, Mazda, Isuzu are the preferred pick-ups, particularly diesels.
Yank-tanks, as they are affectionally known, are not popular due to the high fuel consumption, though there are enthusiasts and farmers, transporters etc who swear by them.
Most are used by people who require the hp to tow with.
I have just checked the local weekly, and it is suprising how many vehicles are out there for sale.
This weeks free-ads paper (for Cape Town area only) has
2 x El Camino
1 x Dodge 6cyl
1 x Ford F100
1 x Ford F250
1 x 1946 Sleepmaster
1 x C10
1 x Chev C30
1 x Jeep Wagoneer
1 x Chev Commando sw
1 x Chrysler Charger 1970
1 x 1969 Ford Fairlane
1 x Ford Fairmont
1 x 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback

... which is better...

El Caminos are good for you.

Rancheros are bad for you. If you buy a Ranchero it will eventually end up in a goat infested junkyard like this one did.

http://elcaminocentral.com/users/elcamino/rahchero1.jpg

:mrgreen:

8) Well, you came to the right place for the right answer...El Camino! Out of over 75 vehicle's that I have owned, (I like to buy, fix-up & sell) I have only bought 1 ford & that was a Truck only so that I could trade it for a Harley Sportster! Even if I had the Luck to purchase the "MUNSTER'S KOACH", I would replace the drivetrain with a Chevy drivetrain..."SKULL" :twisted:

Ya'll be nice now...

I'd really like to see what this one looks like 1 x Chrysler Charger 1970 Maybe time to bring her back home!

The Chrysler Charger is apparently in excellent condition, with the original owner's manual, and is on offer for around USD 3800.
How does this price compare with prices in the US?
An El Camino in reasonable condition will fetch around USD 2000 here.

Battled to find an F100 that wasn't rusted all to hell, or completely refurbished. I gave up trying to find a particular model and eventually decided that any model in my price range would do, as long as it was automatic and 6 cylinder.

I suppose I could have waited, but this truck must work as well as give pleasure, so time was critical. I am starting production on aluminium boats as well as pontoon bass boats, so needed something to cart the bits around.

So here it is, apparently a 1982 F100, with highly modified bin made of good South African pine. Not exactly original but still looks damn good and is exactly what I need for work.

What do you think.
http://http://uk.photos.yahoo.com/bc/scatterling61/vwp?.dir=/Wheels&.src=ph&.dnm=Ford+F100.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//uk.photos.yahoo.com/bc/scatterling61/lst%3f%26.dir=/Wheels%26.src=ph%26.view=t

Capetown, good luck with your new truck and your new building venture.

Just for info, here's the Ranchero website: http://www.ranchero.org/main.html

Many of you know that I enjoy anything automotive, as you've seen from my "Top Five" listing and the variety of many (now) collectible vehicles I've owned. I even enjoy the '57 Ranchero and my brother once owned a '64 Ranchero with a "Sprint" engine. It was a neat truck. Those are the only two years that I find interesting.

Hands down the El Camino is far more superior to the Ranchero. At least I think so....AND EVERYONE ELSE ON THIS WEB SITE! I believe that there is no better feeling than while you're driving your Elky down the road pull up beside a Ranchero...drop it into 1st and smoke the pile of rust....haha just a personal experience...plus i don't really like the name "Ranchero" ...sounds like a cheesy lame excuse for a spanish word. El Camino means "The Road" which is what you are driving on and what you "own" when you're driving one. 8) anyways personally i feel that the elky is better but hey but if you just need something to get you around then i guess a ranchero aint to bad :lol:

El Camino means "The Camino" duh! (spanish 101) :lol:

El Camino means "The Camino" duh! (spanish 101) :lol:

Actually it could mean "The Road" or "The Trail" or "the route". Camino is Road, or Trail or route, depending on the context, according to one or two of my Spanish Speaking friends.

direct link to the ranchero message board btw...
http://www.beef-cake.net/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro

It would be interesting if you were to start an identical thread over there, asking them if you should get a ranchero or an elcamino....

:D
We'd probably see mirror image responses...


I was amazed to look through that webpage- there are a TON of Ranchero specific car clubs all over the country! Looks like our dear old elcamino has been lacking for all these years...

I guess its easier for us to just ride on the tails of chevelle clubs- the ranchero had to ride on the Fairlane, then the falcon, then the fairlane again, then the torino, then the LTD.... whew- glad that chevy only made the platform change from Impala to chevelle, and no others!
:)

Interesting stuff.....

Hmmmmm, could it be that the theory of parallel worlds, one good one evil really does exsist? :lookround:

...the ranchero had to ride on the Fairlane, then the falcon, then the fairlane again, then the torino, then the LTD...

I forgot about the Falcon Ranchero! :rolleyes: My friend and I used to cruise around in his Futura. What a POS car that was. I couldn't see myself driving in a Ranchero based on one of those.

:mrgreen:

el camino's are alot more popular, thus making them worth more.

if you got a ranchero, people that don't know much about cars will be like "thats a pretty nice el camino", and that'll get old. so you might as well get an el camino.

El Camino means "The Camino" duh! (spanish 101) :lol:

Actually it could mean "The Road" or "The Trail" or "the route". Camino is Road, or Trail or route, depending on the context, according to one or two of my Spanish Speaking friends.


I think he was trying to be funny.

I'm glad somebody got it 8O