The Ranchero started (re)using the Fairlane/Torino as the platform in '67.
It was originally based on the Fairlane in the late 50's except for the
brief time ('62-66 IIRC) that it was based on the Falcon and was quite
fugly. In the mid 70's it was an obese ugly POS IMHO. You know there's a
problem when the hood is almost as long as the truckbed.

I own a '68 Ranchero 500 and it is my daily driver. The options package from
what I can tell is drawn from the Fairlane line and not the Torino. The
interior appointments on a Ranchero 500 were drawn straight from the
Fairlane interior. In fact the door panels even say "Fairlane 500", not
Ranchero. The thing that ticks me off the most is when people ask me if it's
an El Camino, even though it has FORD emblazoned on the hood and the
tailgate. The other one that ticks me off is "El Rancho". "NO!" It's not a
burrito sauce thank you!

The El Camino always looked good, IMHO, however the Ranchero rarely looked
good. The '57 looked great and then you have to jump more than 10 years to
get a good design again, and even then it only lasted until about '72 when
they got bloated and ugly again.

An idea I've had for a few years was to turn my Ranchero 500 into a Ranchero
Talladega. However, finding the correct nose pieces would be nearly
impossible. It would look pretty cool though, IMHO.

I can't tell you for sure, but my best guess would be early 70's
They just looked RIGHT. Agressive nose that fit the style of the vehicle.

Here is a small summary
http://www.dearbornclassics.com/ranchero.html

The one I like is the 72

Kate