Independent · Source-led · American performance history Issue 01 · 1951–2023
American Muscle Car Facts

Showroom arguments.
Race-bred answers.

1968 · Ford · United States

1968 Ford Ranchero GT: Torino GT trim on a sedan pickup

The Ranchero GT carried Torino GT trim; 1,669 GTs were built, per reference-site counts in the Standard Catalog lineage.

United States · researched through 2026-09-25

White 1968 Ford Ranchero GT with a red body-side stripe parked in a suburban driveway beside a garage and a flower bed
1968 Ford Ranchero GT in white Ford Motor Company Archives

Wikipedia records three trim levels for the 1968-1969 Ranchero: the base Ranchero, the Ranchero 500 trimmed like the Fairlane 500, and the top Ranchero GT carrying Torino GT trim specifically. Ford-Torino.de's production overview gives 1,669 Ranchero GTs for 1968, a figure this record's own dek states plainly rests on reference-site counts within the Standard Catalog lineage rather than on a factory production document read directly by this record's research.1,2

This record's own production notes describe a second, independently named source now matching that 1,669 figure: The Production Figure Book for U.S. Cars, a 1977 reference book by Jerry Heasley read via search-inside snippets, gives the identical 1,669 GT count alongside matching figures of 5,014 for the base Ranchero and 10,029 for the Ranchero 500. This record states directly that this agreement does not confirm either compilation against an actual Ford production record, since both remain enthusiast or reference compilations rather than factory documents, but the GT figure is no longer resting on a single unverified source for this year specifically.3

This record's own price section carries an explicit editorial note rather than a figure: a price drawn from J.D. Power's live valuation pages was removed as of September 24, 2026, because those pages can change without this record's knowledge and cannot be independently checked, and no replacement source this record can stand behind has yet been found. The same note warns that other sites quoting a suspiciously exact price for this car may simply be echoing that same unverified J.D. Power figure without saying so, several having been caught doing exactly that during this record's own research.2

Beyond production and that price caveat, this record's engines, transmissions, options, paint, specifications, performance and identification sections are all empty for 1968, a broad and explicitly documented gap rather than an assumption that the GT shipped without a drivetrain, colors or dimensions. What this record does carry in detail is sixteen interior trim codes shared with the Torino GT, spanning bench and bucket-seat versions of roughly six base colors, charcoal black, light and dark blue, dark red, pastel parchment, light aqua and light nugget gold, with the Ranchero GT's own body code 66D listed on most of those rows alongside the Torino GT's coupe and hardtop bodies.4

Two unpublished leads bear on the production figures already given above. A ranchero.us club forum post repeats the identical 1,669/5,014/10,029 lineage but names no source of its own, with the figures usually attributed to the Standard Catalog of American Light-Duty Trucks, a book this record's research could not read directly. A French enthusiast photo site, trombinoscar.com, prints the same three numbers for 1968 but mislabels the 1,669-car line as "500XL" rather than GT, an error this record notes explicitly rather than silently correcting, since that same site's Ranchero pages carry labelling errors across several other model years as well. Neither lead changes the production figures already carried in this record's own production section; both simply repeat the same underlying lineage with varying degrees of care in how the rows are labeled.2

Fact sheet · 1968 · United States

The numbers

1968 Ford Ranchero GT — The Ranchero GT carried Torino GT trim; 1,669 GTs were built, per reference-site counts in the Standard Catalog lineage.

Coverage: Partial — researched sections are shown; missing ones are not yet sourced. Researched through 2026-09-25.

Every figure is labeled with how sure we are. Reported means a manufacturer, registry, or reference figure we cite but have not reconciled against factory records ourselves. Disputed means credible sources disagree and both are shown. Rows are separately scoped; don't add them together unless the note says they make up a total.

Production

Totals
What was countedCountBasisStatus
All 1968 Fairlane Rancheros (Heasley printed total)3 all trims · sedan pickup · as published A total printed in the source; it equals the sum of the three body rows above (5,014 + 10,029 + 1,669). Heasley does not say whether it counts model year or calendar year beyond the section heading; it is recorded on the same model-year basis as the rows. 16,712 built, model-year Reported
Series
What was countedCountBasisStatus
Ranchero GT2,3 GT · sedan pickup · as published 1,669 built, model-year Reported
Context
What was countedCountBasisStatus
Ranchero (base)2,3 Ranchero (base) · sedan pickup · as published Not a GT; context for the GT share. 5,014 built, model-year Reported
Ranchero 5002,3 Ranchero 500 · sedan pickup · as published Not a GT; context for the GT share. 10,029 built, model-year Reported

The GT, base and 500 counts each now match a second, named lineage: The Production Figure Book for U.S. Cars (Jerry Heasley, 1977), read via search-inside snippets, gives the identical 1,669 / 5,014 / 10,029 figures. This does not confirm either compilation against a Ford record, but it is no longer a single-source figure.

The GT count comes from Ford-Torino.de, an unsourced enthusiast reference in the Standard Catalog lineage; the Standard Catalog of American Light-Duty Trucks or a Ford production report would allow verification.

Interior trim codes are from the fordfairlane.com registry's 1968 table, which it says was taken from the Ford Master Parts Catalogue and the 1968 Color and Trim Guide; the GT codes are shared with the Torino GT (bodies 63D, 65D, 76D) and list the Ranchero GT body 66D on most rows.

Ranchero counts above come from Ford-Torino.de's production overview, an enthusiast reference site in the Standard Catalog lineage; the forum list in the unpublished leads gives the same figures.

Prices when new *

No price is shown here. One was, until 2026-09-24: a figure from J.D. Power's live valuation pages, pulled from every page on this site because those pages can change without our knowing and we have no way to check them independently. We haven't found a source we can stand behind to put in its place yet. A price for this car elsewhere that looks suspiciously exact may be quoting that same J.D. Power figure rather than confirming it — several sites we checked turned out to be doing exactly that, without saying so.

Interiors

CodeTrimBuilt
6A Charcoal black crinkle vinyl and charcoal black kiwi pattern vinyl; bench seat; bodies 63D, 65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
6B Light blue crinkle vinyl and dark blue kiwi pattern vinyl; bench seat; bodies 63D, 65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
6D Dark Red crinkle vinyl and dark red kiwi pattern vinyl; bench seat; bodies 63D, 65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
6U Pastel parchment crinkle vinyl and pastel parchment kiwi pattern vinyl - with black; bench seat; bodies 63D, 65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
8A Charcoal black crinkle vinyl and charcoal black kiwi pattern vinyl; bucket seat; bodies 63D, 65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
8AA Charcoal black crinkle vinyl and charcoal black kiwi pattern vinyl; bucket seat; bodies 63D, 65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
8B Light blue crinkle vinyl and dark blue kiwi pattern vinyl; bucket seat; bodies 63D, 65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
8BA Light blue crinkle vinyl and dark blue kiwi pattern vinyl; bucket seat; bodies 63D, 65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
8D Dark Red crinkle vinyl and dark Red kiwi pattern vinyl; bucket seat; bodies 63D, 65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
8DA Dark Red crinkle vinyl and dark Red kiwi pattern vinyl; bucket seat; bodies 63D, 65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
8K Light aqua crinkle vinyl and dark aqua kiwi pattern vinyl; bucket seat; bodies 63D, 65D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
8KA Light aqua crinkle vinyl and dark aqua kiwi pattern vinyl; bucket seat; bodies 63D, 65D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
8U Pastel parchment crinkle vinyl and pastel parchment kiwi pattern vinyl - with black; bucket seat; bodies 63D, 65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
8UA Pastel parchment crinkle vinyl and pastel parchment kiwi pattern vinyl - with black; bucket seat; bodies 63D, 65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
8Y Light nugget gold crinkle vinyl and light nugget gold kiwi pattern vinyl; bucket seat; bodies 63D, 65D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
8YA Light nugget gold crinkle vinyl and light nugget gold kiwi pattern vinyl; bucket seat; bodies 63D, 65D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
LU Pastel parchment crinkle vinyl and pastel parchment kiwi pattern vinyl; bench seat; bodies 63D,65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced
LUA Pastel parchment crinkle vinyl and pastel parchment kiwi pattern vinyl; bench seat; bodies 63D,65D, 66D, 76D; Torino GT, Ranchero GT4 Not yet sourced

Identification

Read a 1968 Ford VIN

The VIN decoder runs in your browser and never sends the VIN anywhere. How the factory numbered this year's cars:

Same model year

Also in 1968

  • AMC AMX AMC's two-seat AMX arrived mid-year on a 97-inch wheelbase. The enthusiast production table counts 6,725 cars, two-thirds of them with the 390.
  • AMC Javelin AMC's first pony car, launched in September 1967 as base and SST hardtops. Production of the two combined was about 55,000.
  • AMC Rebel and Rebel Machine Now badged AMC, the Rebel came in 550, 770 and SST trims and could be ordered with the 315-hp 390. It is host-car context for the 1970 Machine.
  • Buick Riviera Record Riviera sales of 49,284, including 5,337 with the GS handling option.
  • Buick Skylark Gran Sport, GS and GSX On the new 112 in two-door body the GS 400 was joined by a GS 350 hardtop, and a dealer-installed Stage 1 package arrived for the 400.
  • Buick Wildcat 73,561 Wildcats with the 430 V-8.
  • Chevrolet Chevelle and Malibu SS The restyled Chevelle kept SS 396 as its own series and added an SS 396 El Camino: 62,785 SS 396s in three bodies.
  • Chevrolet Chevy II and Nova SS engines per the source: L48 350, L34 396 and L78 396. Enthusiast-compiled production: 183,552 cars; Super Sport 5,571.
  • Chevrolet El Camino SS The first factory Super Sport El Camino: a separate SS 396 model, 13880, built 5,190 times.
  • Chevrolet Impala SS Super Sport becomes an option again (RPO Z03): 36,432, plus 1,778 SS427 (RPO Z24).
  • Dodge Charger The redesigned 'Coke bottle' Charger and the new R/T multiplied sales roughly sixfold over 1967.
  • Dodge Coronet R/T and Super Bee The redesigned Coronet kept the 440-powered R/T and added the budget Super Bee coupe, a 383 car with an optional Hemi.
  • Dodge Dart GTS, Swinger and Demon The new Dart GTS brought a 275 hp 340 or a 300 hp 383, and in February Dodge released 80 Hurst-completed LO23 Hemi Darts for Super Stock drag racing; GTS production was not reported separately.
  • Ford Fairlane The restyled intermediate split into Fairlane, Fairlane 500 and the new Torino series; the Fairlane 500 fastback shared the Torino GT body and the 428 Cobra Jet arrived on April 1, 1968.
  • Ford Thunderbird The new 429 Thunder Jet V-8 arrived as the Thunderbird's optional engine at 360 hp.
  • Ford Torino Torino arrived as the new top series of the restyled Fairlane line, the Torino GT fastback became its volume performance car, and the 428 Cobra Jet was added on April 1, 1968.
  • Mercury Comet and Cyclone The Cyclone moved to the new Montego-based intermediate; the fastback outsold the notchback hardtop by about ten to one, and the 428 Cobra Jet arrived mid-year.
  • Mercury Cougar The year of the 427 GT-E, the mid-year 428 Cobra Jet, and the XR7-G, with production down to 113,741.
  • Mercury Marauder and S-55 Neither the S-55 nor the Marauder model appears in the sources for 1968; no performance full-size Mercury production figure was found.
  • Oldsmobile Cutlass, 4-4-2 and Hurst/Olds The restyled 4-4-2 became its own series, the W-31 small-block arrived, and Hurst built the first 455 Hurst/Olds: 515 cars in the tabulation.
  • Plymouth Barracuda and 'Cuda The new 340 arrived in the Formula S alongside the 383, and Plymouth issued a competition-only Hemi Barracuda under order code BO29.
  • Plymouth GTX, Belvedere and Satellite The GTX became its own model on the restyled 1968 intermediate body, still with the 375-hp 440 standard and the Hemi at $605, and outsold its first year.
  • Plymouth Road Runner Plymouth added a stripped Belvedere-based coupe and hardtop with a special 335-hp 383 as standard and the 426 Hemi as the only engine option, and sold 44,599 of them.
  • Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am The first full season: the six grew to 250 cu in, the 326 gave way to a 350, and output rose to 107,112.
  • Pontiac GTO A new 112-inch-wheelbase body with an Endura nose, the sport coupe dropped, and 87,684 built.
  • Pontiac Grand Prix The last full-size Grand Prix: 31,711 hardtops, with a 390 hp 428 HO at the top.
  • Pontiac Tempest and LeMans The new two-door body arrives, and a 350 HO replaces the 326 HO.