57 Ranchero

[hiball3985]

Absolutely beautiful! You must have the patients of a saint. I would have thrown that one in the trash bin and never looked back 

[djfordmanjack]

All about saving original stuff and not having to use minor quality aftermarket parts. great effort, well worth it !

[hiball3985]

All about saving original stuff and not having to use minor quality aftermarket parts. great effort, well worth it !

Does anyone have an aftermarket 57 wheel? There are people who restore them but they ain't cheap..

[Limey57]

The materials look like dental lab stuff.

Rich, if you ever have a dentist that wants to use that stuff on you, run!  It is basically fibreglass resin & hardener with chopped fibreglass strands in it, excellent stuff for jobs like this.  I don't know how well it will stand up to the flexing of a steering wheel, but I'm hoping that by having power steering it will reduce the flex of the wheel as I steer it.

[59meteor]

I just read thru all 7 (so far) pages, and all I can say is, WOW! My own welding and body work skills are pretty much non existent, so I am in awe of your workmanship, attention to detail, and ability to improvise in making your own patches and panels, when non are commercially available, especially with you located 1/2 a world away. And I thought being in Canada made sourcing stuff a pain! It appears that your transmission crossmember is not the factory piece, is it  custom made, or available from a vendor?

[djfordmanjack]

Does anyone have an aftermarket 57 wheel?

I was referring to those cheap, ugly foam or plastic-wood rimmed things.

[Limey57]

I just read thru all 7 (so far) pages, and all I can say is, WOW! My own welding and body work skills are pretty much non existent, so I am in awe of your workmanship, attention to detail, and ability to improvise in making your own patches and panels, when non are commercially available, especially with you located 1/2 a world away. And I thought being in Canada made sourcing stuff a pain! It appears that your transmission crossmember is not the factory piece, is it  custom made, or available from a vendor?

Thanks, I've never been one for taking the easy option! To be honest I get a lot of satisfaction making my own panels and parts I actually find it quite therapeutic!

The transmission crossmember is custom made to suit the new drivetrain (302 & AOD) and bolts onto tapped plates welded to the chassis.

[hiball3985]

I was referring to those cheap, ugly foam or plastic-wood rimmed things.

OH!! those things  The repops they make for the trucks are really nice and great quality, I've had mine for 6-7 years and it's holding up well.

[Jeff Norwell]

Incredible work Gary... wow !!!!!!

[KYBlueOval]

Gary, P.M.sent to you sir.

[Limey57]

.........reply on it's way now.

[Limey57]

I seem to have permanently moved into the garage to try and get this finished.  All pretty much done, just waiting for the P/S pump to arrive.  Sounds very nice & seems to pull/shift well, certainly sounds & smells better than my diesel BMW!  Also need to refit the hood, I'll do that last once I've finished messing with the timing.

I think I'm going to have to trim down the bump stops, the Aerostar springs give it a great stance, but I need to lose 1/2" off the bump stops to give more travel.



Garage needs tidying!!!!

[Jeff Norwell]

Awesome Gary... GREAT Stance!

[hiball3985]

Looking good and glad you have it running. Don't tidy the garage, I'm glad to see one as bad as mine 

[RICH MUISE]

Looks great Gary. Anxious to get some road trip reports (with pics of course)! My stance was similar to yours, my preference appearance wise, but gave me some issues handling wise above 60ish. The car had the feeling of the back end wanting to come around on a downhill curve. 1" lowering blocks surprisingly eliminated the feeling totally. Just something to keep in mind if the issue arrises for you....an easy fix for a change.