Need help finding history on custom ranchero

[57 ranchero]

Hi im kinda new here. I have been a car guy since i was ten, at that ir was just admiring them seeing them on the street and in magazines. That was the 70s and since 1980 i have owned many cars ,vans  hot rods, customs and muscle cars . I have always had interest in there history. Its the were, when and why. Well enough of that and on to the car in question. First  off its a 57 ranchero  y block with a four speed  now the custom stuff 55 desoto grill ,58 edsel  taillights, shaved handles, relocated gas door (inside the box side) louvered hood and tailgate and frenched headlights. The engine is tri power, offenhauser valve covers and Fenton headers.The interior  is purple and white  with the pleated area being the purple, this is where its interesting, the purple is dye, under the purple is pink or what ford calls salmon  the dash is also highlighted with pink pinstripes. The pink and pinstriping carry on into the engine compartment as well as the engine is painted pink. So im thinking  there cant be many rancheros that fit that description,  especially the pink and white interior. The car now is pearl white white purple flames but my guess is at one time the pink was also on the outside. The car was manufactured in California and now resides in Canada so there is lots of space in between. I hope that sombody can bring some of its history to light.  Thankyou

[rmk57]

Post some photos on the HAMB, lots of savvy guys on there who may have some info or history on it.

[57 ranchero]

Ya i tried that, no luck and a vin seach only told me that it crossed over into Canada  in 83. The car was definitely built for show, so sombody  must know it.

[Jeff Norwell]

Hopefully next year you can come to the Jam Up..a ton of custom guys attend and they may have some clues..I will ask a few guys to see if they recognize your Ranchero.
Awesome car

[RICH MUISE]

Any chance that Ranchero has a Ron Francis Wiring harness? May seem like an odd question, but a few years back one of your fellow countrymen bought a Custom thru a dealer in Phoenix. They were selling it on consignment for a widow that did not want to be contacted. Lorne spent months trying to track down info on the car with no success. One day it dawned on me my Ron Francis wiring harness was specially built for my car and had a serial number, as all of their harnesses do. Turns out his car also had the RF wiring, and from that serial number Lorne was able to find out from them who they built the harness for.

[57 ranchero]

No the wiring looks stock, other than a few upgrades  electronic  ignition, alternator and electric wipers. There seems to be  some real vintage and rare parts that make me think ,at least sone of the work was done in the 60s or 70s , but then I'm not sure how many custom were being built in the 70s ,not really the trend then. I'm sure there were changes done over the years so the car could look somewhat different than it did. But I'm sure some of the custom mods are still the same. Its the pink and white that should stand out and im almost positive that somehow that was on the outside in some way  Thanks  for the help

[Jeff Norwell]

Well.according to my sources.. a lot of folks know that car.It was apparently Customized by Fredy Kiy out of Bowmanville(Hampton Ontario in the mid-late 80's..... the car was bought out of Holland Michigan in 83.
Fredy did the work for his girlfriend/wife Sandy Kiy. Everyone who has seen it says it has the mark of Fredys work.Apparently... the couple split and the car was sold in Ontario and I assume had a few owners.
Fredy was in an East end(Toronto) car club called "The Forgotten Rebels". Members are still around but the club is not active.
A gentleman named Louie Balough purchased the car after Fredy and he was a member of the Motor City Car Club.Mr Balough passed a few years back and maybe possibly.... this is who you bought it from.
If the above info is correct...... I would get in touch with Fredy and he can give you the US contact.......

Again.... this is just info given to me by some friends and a very reliable automotive journalist...... but hey... who knows......

[Jeff Norwell]

I might add.. when Fredy was working on it.... it was all flat black..... so you would need to decode the VIN and get the original paint code(very easy)
Here is pic of your car at a Motor City C.C. function in 2009


Yes...Fredy did all the work.... and your Ranchero was a stocker out of Michigan.

[RICH MUISE]

Excellent research, Jeff! Nice to have contacts in the know.

[Jeff Norwell]

Well.. did a bit more digging and Freddy Key did respond. your Ranchero has some cool local history... here is what I found......

[Jeff Norwell]

The pic above I believe is Freddy in a younger day..... Early 80's to mid 80's........

[57 ranchero]

Wow great research. Thank you for your help. This clears up some of my questions. Is there any way to contact Freddy  I googled him and tried 411 but no luck. Are you able to email me that photo ?

[CobraJoe]

Nice work Jeff, that is freakin awesome!   

[Jeff Norwell]

I will try and get Freddys contact for you....PM me your email and I will reach out to Freddy and see what happens......
I am busy this weekend but will try in the next week.

Jeff

[Ecode70D]

Jeff
    You did some fancy research.  I take my hat off to you. 
    I also see that Gene Winfield is mentioned in that letter.  Would you believe that he is in his 90's and is doing a tour this week in Austria and is staying with Guenter? 
Jay