57 Ranchero

[Limey57]

Thanks Rich.  The biggest obstacle I'm facing now (apart from the usual British weather turning cold) is trying to get five mates all to turn up at the same time to lift the body off the frame!  Might try and tempt them with beer & food......

[alstoy]

Yep Gary, beer and food worked for me with the labour required for lifting. My only problem was the old mathematical equation that goes something like ' The time spent helping, is roughly multiplied by 10 in drinking' not sure if it was Einstein, did he have a '57 ?

You are in a good place with the Ranchero, all the fun stuff is in front of you.

Keep it up, AL 

[shopratwoody]

I
can relate to the misery you're going thru



NASTY JOB

[Limey57]

The bit that I've not been looking forward to doing is the panel under the tail light, its a compund curve in two directions & repair panels aren't made. The previous "restorer" had tack welded & hammered some steel roughly into shape then spread a load of filler over it! So, removing the plates left this lot:



Cutting it all out revealed the inner panel had also started to get a bit perforated.... easy enough as its just a flat panel:



After much head scratching I realised the complex (for me anyway!) shape could be replicated from two pieces, each curved to suit with the edge where they meet kicked up, lower piece being tried for size (inner panel not repaired yet as I wanted to keep the original datums while I made the outer panel):



With that done, the inner panel was repaired & the new lower curved panel welded in. The upper panel was then cut to shape & tried for fit. All repairs on this car are butt welded so the fit is critical, but it means a lot less filler is required afterwards:



Weld, grind:



Fill, sand & prime:



I'll do the other side next week time permitting. I also managed to score a pair of new wheelarch repair panels on EBay (from the guy selling the 60's & 70's manufactured repair panels) for $65. The US seller was happy to ship to England for a reasonable $50, so thats another rot-spot dealt with when they turn up.

[shopratwoody]

I was lucky enough to buy the piece for under my rr tailight. Same problem. Nice work.

[Limey57]

Got onto the other side, rust damage was the same, but some old accident damage meant I had to make the repair panel longer (folded it up round a prop-shaft!):



Grind, fill, sand, prime......



As soon as I'd primed that the postman turned up with these:



So thats the next job lined up!

[shopratwoody]

Very nice Work

[Limey57]

As the temperature drops I get kinda thankful for welding & grinding to keep me warm!    Been busy over the last few weeks, first off, fitting the wheel arch repair panel:

Inner arch lip was getting thin, so I used the shrinker/stretcher to make a new one, here it is tacked into place:



The new arch repair panel was then welded into place & ground back, the front half of the arch wasn't included with the panel so I had to make that using the shrinker/stretcher (they're usefull bits of kit!!!):



After I'd cut the original arch out, the panel sprung out of shape so I had to apply pressure to the joint while welding it to keep it "true".  Not having enough hands and nobody being around to help I had to improvise, a garden rake being the ideal length!!!:



Lower 1/4 next, although these looked sound the metal was getting thin in places:



While I'm pretty good at fitting repair panels, hand-forming ones with compound curves is beyond my skills, so I had to look for something similar.  I discovered that the early Ford Transit vans (long wheel base models) sold in the UK from the mid 60's up to the early 90's had lower quarters that looked similar, so I scored a pair of new replacement panels from the local spares shop:



Chopping out the lower couple of inches of the 1/4 showed the inner was pretty good, but the front half needed replacing:



The new outer panel was trimmed & offered up and it was a 99.9% spot-on fit!  Incredible, at least I'm using a Ford panel to repair a Ford!  It was seam welded in & ground back:



Skim of filler, sand & a coat of primer:



Next job is to take the body off as I'm concerned about getting overspray on the fully restored & painted chassis (I think the layer of dust on it is protecting it!).  The only problem I'm faced with is its getting real cold over here now!

[shopratwoody]

Sure looks good. Nice work!

[Lgcustom]

You're doing great work there! I love the garden rake! As they say, all's fair in love, war and body work.

[Ford Blue blood]

Unless you realy want to lift the body off use tin foil to wrap the frame.  It is a pain in the butt to do but it stays in place for a long period of time, fits around irregular surfaces really tight and is easy to remove when you are done.  I keep a roll in the shop.

[Frankenstein57]

I heard of guys using saran wrap also, the clear plastic kitchen wrap. Then peel off when you are done. The aluminum foil would work better on sparks,  Mark

[Limey57]

I can't believe its over six months since I updated this!  Father-in-law died in January, work, building work on the house, vacations, working on the Ranchero and forgetting to take photos, etc, etc........

I replaced the passenger side rear arch and lower rear corner then I had to lift the body off, I couldn't avoid it any longer.  I figured I needed six mates to do it safely, but trying to get six mates together (and sober....) at the same time was difficult, so using axle stands, jacks & a steady hand, I lifted the body & rolled the chassis out.  Following this I finished rebuilding the brakes, fitted the differential, handbrake cables etc & shock absorbers.  Took me ages to get the bumper brackets straight, but the work was worth it in the end.  The bumpers are re-chromed to a really high standard.





Then it was time to roll the body over. It sits on a custom made jig made by the previous owner, it is very well made with all joints being TIG welded, but the front part of the jig sat under the floor, I wanted to move this to pick up on the front body mounts so I can get to all the floor for prep & paint. With this done I started to roll the body. I couldn't do this on my own so using all manner of blocks of wood & a jack I started it off, when it was at 45 degrees I could push it by hand, I have to admit to having a butt-clenching moment as it turned over & the roof gutter passed the roof joists in the garage with about 1/4" gap! I've now started to replace a couple of flor braces & finish off the underside.





Hoping to get the braces replaced over the next few weeks then need to sort out some rust in the "spare wheel" well.

[Limey57]

Has it really been that long since I updated this?  A few progress bits & pieces:

The trunk floor was pinholed with rust in the spot welded seem, I removed the well & repaired it with a piece cut out of a Ford Capri (Merkur Capri in the US) spare wheel well, shot blasted the seams & welded it back in.









The gas tank mounting was also shot and needed replacing.





Body braces just behind the cab were shot, shipping on these was as much as the braces so I folded some up & welded them in, various repairs were needed to the inner wheel arches & other body mounts.  Weld, grind, prime etc, etc........







Where I'm at now.  The underside has been painted with stone-guard (under coating) and finished in 2K gloss.  This afternoon I got it all bolted back down, it took me 6 hours to align the body with the mountings.......  All done on my own, lifting the body with an engine crane, axle stands, crossed fingers and wearing steel toe-cap boots, "just in case"!







Now the warmer weather is finally here (winter seemed to last until about a week ago over here) I intend to crack on and also to check in here a bit more often, now, what's next....?

[Frankenstein57]

Nice work Limey! That's a sweet looking job, Mark