Critique my restoration plan please!

[Limey57]

Some sound advice so far!  The only thing I'll add is that if you end up with a lot of structural rust repair (rockers, body braces etc) weld some angle iron across the door apertures and from he door pillars to the transmission tunnel to keep it all in shape and work on one area at a time, even rusty metal is stiffer than no metal.

[RICH MUISE]

Bob brought up something I should have included in my list of "wished I had done"...trimming the wheel well lip. I'm kinda afraid to attempt it now that the car has been painted, because with the new sheetmetal there, and undercoating on the inner / filler/paint on the outer....I don't know where my welds are and don't want to cut them off trying to narrow the lip. I may need to though, because mine in fact are wider than normal due to me buying rear quarter panels that originally had too narrow a lip on them, so I added a strip of metal to widen.
Had I been a member of this site back then, I would have had someone tell me to get them narrowed before I painted.

[Frankenstein57]

After buying my new wheels this summer, I wished I had cut the clearance on the inner wheel lip. Don't really want to hack away at it now. I also discovered my axle isn't centered in the car, its about 3/8" off. My buddy followed me on the highway and said it dog tracked a bit. I loosened up the spring pads and checked everything, looks OK. Still off, the rear shackle kits are new, front spring eyes are old, maybe that's where the problem lies. Mark

[410ranchero]

Some sound advice so far!  The only thing I'll add is that if you end up with a lot of structural rust repair (rockers, body braces etc) weld some angle iron across the door apertures and from he door pillars to the transmission tunnel to keep it all in shape and work on one area at a time, even rusty metal is stiffer than no metal.

I was thinking about this last night, I definitely need to add this cost and time to my list. Should I brace the cab prior to removing the dash?

Bob brought up something I should have included in my list of "wished I had done"...trimming the wheel well lip. I'm kinda afraid to attempt it now that the car has been painted, because with the new sheet metal there, and undercoating on the inner / filler/paint on the outer....I don't know where my welds are and don't want to cut them off trying to narrow the lip. I may need to though, because mine in fact are wider than normal due to me buying rear quarter panels that originally had too narrow a lip on them, so I added a strip of metal to widen.
Had I been a member of this site back then, I would have had someone tell me to get them narrowed before I painted.

I'll add this operation to the list thanks! I think I will roll the lips after I replace the quarters.

After buying my new wheels this summer, I wished I had cut the clearance on the inner wheel lip. Don't really want to hack away at it now. I also discovered my axle isn't centered in the car, its about 3/8" off. My buddy followed me on the highway and said it dog tracked a bit. I loosened up the spring pads and checked everything, looks OK. Still off, the rear shackle kits are new, front spring eyes are old, maybe that's where the problem lies. Mark

Hmm, I'll add "verify rear end dimensions" to the list. I have planned on replacing all the bushings and assorted mounting hardware on the rear axle. I got a pretty nasty surprise when I went to lower the car prior to heading to the track. I jacked up the back end and layed down on my creeper, I grabbed the left rear spring to slide underneath and the rear hangar pulled out of the frame! So I am planning on removing both of these hangar brackets and taking a good look at the frame in these sections. From what I could see it was just the rivets that rusted out. The frame was solid.

My brother was giving me a bad time and said he saw a TSB about it the week before. It said on ford products over 50 years old, you should inspect the frame for evidence of rust.....

[BWhitmore]

I removed the dash from my Ranchero without bracing without any problems. The body was still bolted to the frame when I removed the dash. 

[BWhitmore]

410Ranchero:  I am not sure where you are located but if you need it I have a good Ranchero frame that you can have for free.  Pick-up only in So California.

[410ranchero]

I removed the dash from my Ranchero without bracing without any problems. The body was still bolted to the frame when I removed the dash. 

My dash will be removed and then the body removed from the frame. I think I'll brace it first.

410Ranchero:  I am not sure where you are located but if you need it I have a good Ranchero frame that you can have for free.  Pick-up only in So California.

Thats a heck of an offer! Unfortunately I'm in Tennessee. I think my frame is pretty solid other than those rivets. I really combed it over and yanked and pounded on things when the hangar fell off. Maybe the rivets just went bucked properly to begin with.