We hear the word "rare" bandied around quite frequently in our hobby. But rare is all relative. For instance, this is definitely a rare car in the Torino ranks, since a mere 1,658 Ranchero GTs were built in 1969 out of a total production of 18,082. So the GT is an unusual piece for these car/trucks-truck/cars. If the GT (which was available with anything from a 302 to a 428 Cobra Jet ram air) is unusual in the ranks of the Ranchero, then a 428 Cobra Jet-powered Ranchero GT packing a four-speed has to be the rarest of all.
At first blush, the GT with the 428 would seem to be a wild and potent ride. After all, most of the weight of the SportsRoof and hardtop was gone. But sadly, all the missing weight was where the 428-powered Ranchero needed it-over the rear axle. According to Marti Autoworks (www.MartiAuto.com, 623-935-2558), there were only 80 of these 428 four-speed monsters built in 1969-a definite rarity, indeed.