57 Ranchero

[JPotter57]

That looks so good..you are certainly a talented metal man, for sure!

[pepfalcon]

excellent example of a great restoration. your many talents are obvious, and to be envied.

[Limey57]

Not updated this for a while, been too busy on it to remember to take photographs!  However, the hood was waiting patiently for paint, but of course it wasn't that easy.......

The acid dipping had triggered severe rust in the folded seam so it was strip down time, seperating the inner frame & outer skin, shot blasting, painting & then re-welding:













The front apron panel (between the bumper & grille) is painted, I'll fit it when the paint hardens & finally straighten up the bumper.

[GaryI72]

Fantastic job.

[RICH MUISE]

As always...looking great.

[Limey57]

Still moving forwards, aiming for completion next year.  Engine is away for machining, a stock late '79 302, typically the standard sized bore needed a 40 thou bore to completely clean it up.  Guess who had already bought some 30 thou pitons assuming a 30 thou bore would be more than enough..........?

Anyway, here's a few updated photos:

Pulled it out into the road for a wash (the wheels are irritating me, I MUST get them painted the right shade of blue & fit the trim rings & caps!!):







The pick up bed floor had been cut (okay, hacked) in two by a previous owner and crudely fitted with household door hinges to allow the floor to be lifted up for access. The welding of the hinges was pure "quality", I wish I'd taken a photo....... It wasn't as simple as just butting the two back together & welding as there was a gap between them varying by 1/16" to 3/8", so I clamped them together using two lengths of 2" tubing to keep them flat and welded a strip in.



There were numerous dents in the floor and with it being thick and ribbed a hammer & dolly were pretty ineffective so I slid the floor under the car and using a bottle jack (with two pieces of steel either side of the dent) jacked the car up and used the weight to push the dents out, crude, but it worked quite well! After shot-blasting and painting it was screwed into place with stainless screws and plenty of sealant:





Fuel tank was next, I shot blasted this (after plugging up every hole) the coated the top side with fibreglass resin and a layer of coarse stranded mat as there were a lot of pits after blasting and while they hadn't perforated the tank it was thin in places. The retaining straps were blasted and painted black before having adhesive-lined heat shrink tubing applied. The tank was painted with 2K silver gloss, a new sender unit fitted and bolted into place:



This picture reminds me just how big the 57's were:

[Limey57]

Another seemingly minor bit I'd been putting off:

In the rear corners of the bed are two blanking panels that cover access to the rear light:



I had one for the O/S but the N/S one was missing:



Fairly straightforward with a return flange but a subtle tapered curve. First step was to take a tracing of the one I had:



Transfer it to a steel sheet, remembering this one was the opposite side, so all bends and returns had to go the opposite way:



Complex radius aids were used with a steel rule to get it right:



Once cut out returns were folded, although these only needed to be 4mm deep, I made them 15mm initially to keep the panel straight and also to allow them to fit in the jaws of the shrinker/stretcher:





The tapered curve was made carefully using the shrinker on the straight return bend but the curve ran into the radius on the corner of the panel, as the stretcher only works on flat parts I had to resort to other methods. I trimmed down the return flange in this area to the required 4mm which allowed me to form the rest of the bend by bending it round a driveshaft.





Once checked over I then trimmed the rest of the return flange down to 4mm and checked it against the opposite side, job done apart from drilling holes & painting.

[Limey57]

4mm = around 3/16".  Keep forgetting you guys use imperial measurements!!!

[hiball3985]

Looking good Gary. You are truly talented in the sheet metal department. The whole car is looking excellent.

[RICH MUISE]

x2!!!

[Jeff Norwell]

Lovely work.

[lalessi1]

Can't say enough.... AWESOME! 

[JPotter57]

Gary, you have done a tremendous job on that car.  It could stack up next to the best in the business, and do quite well.  Awesome workmanship!!

[Limey57]

Thanks folks, it's been a bit of a battle at times, the fit of the doors, the acid dipping doing more damage than it cured, a batch of paint that as WAY off colour and when a spider decided to land in the paint of the freshly painted hood and walk through it..........

I'm sure there are bits a pro- wouldn't be happy with, but I get a big kick out of the restoration side and trying to solve problems.  Learning new trades is also rewarding.  I've restored several cars over the years, usually English classics, but the Ranchero is the second US car, I'm hoping the third will be a 57 Fairlane (if I can find one).

I have to say that the work has been helped a LOT by the advice and help from people on here, words of encouragement, advice on solving problems and actually supplying parts.  I won't name everyone who's helped just in case I accidentally miss someone, but everyone that has helped or taken interest, thank you.

If any of you ever visit the UK (bring warm clothes) give me a shout and if anyone decides to restore an English car, learn to weld!

[Zapato]

if anyone decides to restore an English car, learn to weld!

truer words seldom spoken

Zap-