Would anyone happen to know if the Ranchero, two door station wagon, and four door hard top 500 all take the same frame?
The Ranchero and Ranch Wagon frames are very near if not interchangeable. The Fairlane frame is longer and the rear body mounts are very different.
500 Fairlane and victorias are longer even with 4 doors. Includes club coupe and sedans.
Than the Rancheros, wagons, customs are all the same.
Actually, although the wheelbase between a station wagon, Ranchero, Sedan Delivery and Custom are all 116" wheelbase, compared to 118" for the Fairlane/Fairlane 500, all the 116" frames are NOT the same. I know for certain that the upper rear shock crossmember is different, because all the sedans and HTs, both 116 & 118" WB, use rear shocks with a stud on the top and the bottom for mounting, while the wagon/Ranchero/Sedan Delivery, use a stud at the bottom, but up top , have a tie bar that uses 2 bolts per shock to attach it to the crossmember. I also seem to recall that there is some difference in the rear body mounts for the sedans and the Ranchero/wagon/Sedan Delivery.
The Retractable uses the two bolt system on the top mount as well. Not sure about the rag tops.....
The Ranchero and the 2 door wagon frames have the same part number, B8A-5005-G. The hardtop frame is a different number, B8A-5005-K. Even the Custom bodied cars have a different number, B8A-5005-F. The B8A prefixes indicate that '57 and '58 are the same. John