Ransom's 1963 Ford Ranchero

I couldn't let Ditchdigger have all the fun, and when this popped up on CL for a price that wouldn't let me think about other things 'til I called the owner, I found myself making plans to go look at it before I even knew what I was doing... My family had two '64 Falcon wagons while I was growing up, and I learned to drive in the second one. I've also had a '64 Ranchero and a '64 two-door Falcon sedan.

The good news:

The bad news:

The mitigating factor that Ditchdigger spent Sunday afternoon helping me cut off of a car that happened serendipitously to be on CL being parted out at the same time:

It was originally a six-cylinder car, but now has a 351 Windsor and C-4 autotragic. The five lugs still unfortunately fasten the wheels to drum brakes all around. The rear is out of a '68 Mustang, I think. I've got receipts back to the '80s (though it hasn't been registered since '97), covering the engine rebuild, rearend rebuild, wiring re-do and other miscellany.

I really dig the canopy; clearly made to fit a Falcon Ranchero.

The sideswipe is almost a good thing, because it removes any temptation to let the flares continue to exist. Those are apparently the outer few inches of '68 Bug fenders, screwed on and bondoed over. They were done by the guy before the guy before me.

This thread will probably be pretty slow for a while, as I still need to finish wiring the shop (and drywalling, and ???, and...) before I can fix the quarter panels and do the other miscellany that it needs. But at least I've got the car and the replacement panels (which need a bit of work; they're not perfect).

Anyhow, pretty excited about it, and looking forward to bringing it back to life. And to learning how to do some stuff I've never done before, like major body panel replacement. I knew I'd be doing it at some point...

As a funny aside, the Ranchero we pulled those quarter panels off of was sitting on a Toyota pickup chassis. Weird.

The donor

and Ransom cutting away

I am really looking forward to this build

Verry cool.

I love this. Did you need those inner fenderwells too? For a vehicle that's that obscure, I might have have taken the whole back half of the donor.

These are on my "this will cause a divorce" wish list. I really dig them. I'm looking forward to the build process.

In reply to Woody:

I believe the inner fenders are the same as a wagon, or possibly even a sedan. I could be wrong, and I hope I'm not; as you might expect, the original outer half of the inner fenders are shredded under those flares. The inner half of the inner fenders are in fine shape, just like the interior of the bed.

I wanted to grab a bit more than I did, but we ended up having a heck of a time with some of the internal bracketry that made it harder to remove stuff. If I had more parking I'd have been talking to the guy about taking the whole thing (though sitting on the Toyota chassis it probably would have been missing every odd and end I went for...)

In the end, I went through all four cutoff wheels I originally bought, the two more Ditchdigger said I should probably grab, and the two more I grabbed since I was already getting extras. We got what we got with the last disk down to nubbins... I did feel pretty dumb for not bringing a drill or sawzall; I was too excited about my new grinder

Are those trailer wheels?

In reply to fidelity101:

Are you kidding? Those are one of the most popular aftermarket wheels in the world (in the '70s)

Though I do associate them almost entirely with trucks, and I'm actually not at all fond of them; my plan is to go back to stock steels (if wider) with period-correct Ford hubcaps, or possibly some kind of baby moon cap.

I'd have been tempted to push out the windshield, take a sawzall and make a generous cut at the base of each windshield post and another straight across the floor, just ahead of the b-pillar. Just like when you find a wrecked Mustang fastback.

ransom wrote: The bad news:

I can't believe we didn't think to grab a front fender too.

In reply to Woody:

I agree completely, but the ability to haul and store half a Ranchero isn't there. It was even already freed of the floor panels, so it would have just been A-pillars and rockers (and whatever was holding the back half down to the Toyota chassis).

fidelity101 wrote: Are those trailer wheels?

They were/are known as "Mojock" wheels. At least that is what I remember everyone calling them in the early 80's. Super common. Almost plague like.

In reply to ditchdigger:

I already have a replacement fender (came with the car), and it's much straighter than the one that was on the junkyard car.

Wondering how hard it's going to be to straighten the front bumper, and whether the chrome will survive the return trip to its original shape...

Those wheels would actually be perfectly acceptable on a Falcon down under. Sunraysia wheels were good enough for Mad Max.

In reply to ransom:

My problem is that I was born in the 80s...

Not too much to report so far...

Just ordered a new battery tray and hold-down.

Established that the engine is a 302 and not a 351W, which is fine, and also jibes better with the receipts. It got a full rebuild in '89, but I have no idea the specifications of the crank, pistons, cam, etc that show up as line items. It was apparently from a '73 pickup; hopefully it wasn't just rebuilt to stock smog-era specs

The shift linkage actually appears to be fine. I'm wondering whether the PO simply forgot the weirdness of how the Hurst ProMatic operates in the sixteen years the car was idle. The would-be thieves apparently pulled the top cover off, but that's about it. I do need to see if I can find the bits to get the indicator working again.

I've established by rocking sideways that there's an audible amount of fuel in the tank, but I couldn't get any going with my little HF hand pump in my attempt to transfer it out into a gas can for burning off bit by bit in the van. I guess when the new battery tray gets here I'll put in a new battery and see whether the gas gauge can give me some idea of how much ancient gas is in there

It's neat to have odds and ends to replace on a car for which parts are not infrequently available. I'm about to order side mirrors and a gas pedal. Also researching the best way to get discs on it. After Ditchdigger's experiences waiting around to find Granada spindles, I'm wondering about doing one of the Scarebird kits... Also need to measure the rear end and see whether it's too wide to run without the stupid flares. That'd be a bummer; according to the receipts, this rear end was rebuilt about three years before the car was sideswiped and parked.

Dang, now it's just dawned on me, are the Granada spindles dimensionally different? i.e. do they contribute in addition to the "Shelby drop" to increasing the angle of the upper A-arm and attendant camber gain?

I grew up knowing those hweels as Weller 8 spokes. Very very common in the UK in the late 70's and 80's

I think every kit car built had them, especialy Dutton Phaeton's

I actualy think it was law that all Mk II Escorts had to have them fitted until about 1985!

Cool truck BTW, I like the color scheme on the donor vehicle.

Also, it appears Woody was right. I don't know why I was so sure I'd seen inner fender wells available as reproductions, but I'm sure not finding them now.

I guess I'm either waiting for another pair to surface, or I'm going to get to fabricate them. That'll be a learning experience... At least they aren't visible.

Dang... looks like that one didn't have the flat section behind the cab either OR the piece I need for my dad's 66 Ranchero.

Looks good.

They are still available fro JC Whitney for under $65, and are the best way to upgrade your CJ to bigger meats on a budget.

ransom wrote: Also, it appears Woody was right. I don't know why I was so sure I'd seen inner fender wells available as reproductions, but I'm sure not finding them now. I guess I'm either waiting for another pair to surface, or I'm going to get to fabricate them. That'll be a learning experience... At least they aren't visible.

There was a Falcon supply place that had them. Just have to google them. Sherman makes a lot of the weird oldball repro metal.

In reply to Ranger50:

No dice at Sherman. I've been Googling away... If you think of a name, post it!

We always just called them "wagon wheels" in my 4wd days.

Not much to report...

• side mirrors on their way
• battery tray hasn't gotten here yet (taps foot impatiently)
• found a group 24F battery locally that should work properly with the old hold-down-clip style tray (though I'm wondering whether the radiator is from something wonky and is going to impinge on the battery location...)
• accelerator pedal ordered
• missing top left windshield trim found used

Put the battery in today and the gas gauge says there's very little left. Better yet, Ditchdigger pointed out to me that if I'd just stick my head further under the car, there's a drain for the tank. So I can get rid of the ancient stuff and put in a gallon of fresh to start it up without dumping a ton of fuel into a tank that I'm going to want to remove soon for the cutting/welding/ignition-source phase of reconstruction.

Wondering whether I can find wheels with backspacing to make the '67 Mustang rear axle (about 2" wider than Falcon) work without the flares, or whether I need to go ahead and pursue the narrowed-Explorer arrangement. I'm leaning toward a set of Wheel Vintiques steels in the OEM Ford style in 15x7 with the stock Ford hubcaps of the era...