At long last, I have one box side spotted in place. I had to melt a ton of lead off the top in order to be able to shear it to fit and weld. My shear wouldn't go through 3/16 inch of lead. I'll probably replace those areas but for now its all lined up in its final resting place.

The hard part is now done. All I have to do now is fill in the blanks. And the other side.

Quote from: jvo on 2021-03-07 13:09
I tried to take this lens apart by drilling out the rivets.  No go.  Had to grind down the outer circumference to free up the led board inside.  Easiest to grind with a 36 grit 3 inch sanding disc on the black back side.  Melts just like black abs plumbing pipe.  Smells just like black abs plumbing pipe. Dirty mess to get it apart, but it sure fits nicely inside the 57 Ford lens.

I really like your LED tail mod.  Do you happen to have a part number for those bus lights ?

It's been quite a while since I got to work on my Ranchero.  I got sidetracked with this little truck that came along, and I have always wanted one.

I have started again. I was wondering what the taillight area would look like, so I made a patch to close it in. The tailgate is pretty much aligned and sitting where it's supposed to be now. 

I spent a lot of time looking at alternative ways to finish the back end, and looked at a lot of different bumpers.  I mentioned the 56 Chev bumper to my brother and he happened to have an extra one that he brought over.  Turned out to be a winner.  I think. 

I like the truck! 

The bumper is held in place by two good spot welds, but I think it's right where it's going to live.  The only thing I need to change is the outside bottom corner needs to be tucked in to the quarter panel.  It looks like it's bent out at the bottom leading edge the way it is now.

The part here that I find comical is the 57 Ford was supposed to be the new generation of lower wider cars, but I have to narrow the 56 Chev bumper 3 inches for the "peaks" below the taillight line up properly.

The new sheet metal piece below the taillight is only a rough representation of what the finished piece will look like.  I will make a new piece for there that will replace all the crappy rough sheet metal below the taillight.

I had to mock this up so I could see if it was just a pipe dream or would it really work?  I'm kind of liking the way the new piece mimics the bumper shape, then rolls around the corner with the masking tape.

I'm itching to make that piece now, but I'm still knee deep in a bathroom renovation for the wife. I'm doing this on the sly.

The filler piece between the bumper and the tailgate is the original Ranchero lower valance.

I'll have to modify it slightly but it will still work just fine.

Now that I've posted an update, I might just feel motivated enough to keep going now that the truck is mostly done.

Forgot to state that the Ranchero bumperettes will be reshaped slightly on the inner edge that meets the bumper face, and will be bolted in place over the spot where the new welds will be.   They almost fit the shape of the Chev bumper, pretty close fit.  I'll post a pic later on that.

Your bumper alignment looks really sweet. The way the quarter panel body line rolls right into the top of the bumper makes for a clean continuation of the flow the line brings to the bumper.
On the back the roll of the panel under the tail light is perfectly lined with the curvature of the bumper as well...continuing the line down to the ground.
Well done modifications. No one will ever notice probably that the bumper has been adapted from a '56 Chev.
(I won't tell the wife you've been slippin' away to work on it! SSSSHHHhhhhh... )

So glad you're back on it. I really like that '56 Chevy adaption! I didn't look too far back, but do you have a pic further back from the side so we can see that Fairlane fender. That Ranchero is going to be so sweet. Very impressive body work.

Here are a couple pics that show the whole side of the Ranchero.  Keep in mind that the shape of the B pillar is nowhere near finished yet.  That will come later.

Hope you don't get sidetracked too many more times, but I know how that goes. That is going to flow very nicely. .....being very well done!

Very cool work on the Ranchero, will certainly be one of a kind, that will have even Ford guys scratching their heads, thinking, "something looks different, but I just can`t put my finger on it!" Great looking uni cab short box, extra cool that it`s a Mercury too ! Is it the stock front beam axle, or some type of IFS? I have seem those with Jaguar, Mustang 11, Dodge Aspen/Volare before, seen several bump and dentsides with the aluminum Crown Victoria front subframes, not sure if they would be too wide for a 61-66 trucks.   Is it a 1961 model? What powertrain?

Quote from: 59meteor on 2024-01-25 16:22Very cool work on the Ranchero, will certainly be one of a kind, that will have even Ford guys scratching their heads, thinking, "something looks different, but I just can`t put my finger on it!" Great looking uni cab short box, extra cool that it`s a Mercury too ! Is it the stock front beam axle, or some type of IFS? I have seem those with Jaguar, Mustang 11, Dodge Aspen/Volare before, seen several bump and dentsides with the aluminum Crown Victoria front subframes, not sure if they would be too wide for a 61-66 trucks.   Is it a 1961 model? What powertrain?

. Regarding the truck, it has a 300 ford six in it, as I happened to have one in the shop for my other truck, as well and an overdrive A833 overdrive 4 speed that I built an adapter for.  Offenhauser intake with Rochester quadra jet.
It has a Jaguar XJ6 front suspension, and after now driving it, I would highly recommend it to anyone.  Drives like a sports car now.  Really fun to drive.   
The truck is technically a Ford, but the only difference between a Ford and Mercury truck is the M100 or F100 serial number plate, either an M or an F, the horn button and emblems. 
There is a whole build thread on the truck on the Canadian Rodder forum, titled "62 Ford unibody roof swap to big back window".  I purchased the truck as a rollover and happened to have a really rusty Merc truck with the big back window and all the trim.  Nuff said on that.

Yes, I am quite familiar with the unique Canadian Ford products, I used to own a 1967 Mercury 100 Fleetside short box PU, with a 352, automatic, and the 5 lug Dana 60 rear end.Wish I still had that. I have also owned a few Meteors, including my 59 Meteor Niagara 300 2 door sedan, that I have owned for over 20 years now, but has only been finished (or at least 95%!) and on the road since 2020.