57 Ranchero based on Fairlane?

[Frankenstein57]

I would think a little stretching of the roof line would  be cool, Some of the things exstreamliner was doing to the ranchero roof on his HAMB project were perfect. Just throwing this out there, I have two solid ranchero roofs available. There will come a time I'll get tired of moving these things around, and they won't be reproduced.   Mark

[jvo]

I won't need another Ranchero roof, thanks for the suggestion.

It will definitely be low. I have the used parts on order to put disc brakes on the front of the chassis, which should lower it an inch and a half, I have read?  I also have a complete front suspension from a Jab XJ6 in the back yard, I am thinking about installing.  Does the 57 handle okay with a good sway bar?  I've never driven one in the past.  Had a 59 Ford sedan when I wore a younger man's clothes, but can't remember much about that, and it was totally worn out also. 
I know it will be much easier to just install the disc brakes and a heavier sway bar, but if anyone were to tell me the car would still handle like a barge, I would lean towards installing the Jag IFS. 

[Limey57]

Over here the Jaguar XJ6 front suspension swap is very common on Ford F100's and other US pickups as it is a decent compact unit that handles well.  Obviously it requires quite a bit of fabrication, some guys use custom made crossmembers, others fabricate new chassis rails from the bulkhead forward to mate up with the existing Jag mounts.

[SkylinerRon]

The fat swaybars and good shocks will transform a 57.
Use the Ranchero rear axle, it has the big brakes and bearings.
All 57 2dr models are the same dimensions to the rear of the door.
The extra length is behind the door.
Goodluck,
Ron.

[RICH MUISE]

Add a quicker ratio steering to what Ron suggested, such as rack and pinion from ST Fabrications, or a Borgenson box, and as as Rob described..."it'll handle like a slot car".

[jvo]

Thanks for the suspension info.  I will stick with the stock stuff then, I guess.  I will definitely use the Ranchero rearend and springs if possible, as the springs under the back end of the Fairlane are sagged out pretty badly.
I happen to have a Cavalier rack & pinion brand new on the shelf I was going to use on my 40 Ford pickup project.  That one is a long ways off, but I assume that is what they used for the aftermarket rack & pinion kits. 
So far, I have taken the skin off the tailgate, and am waiting to take it to get sandblasted.  Tailgate is in better shape than I thought.  Outer skin needs one lower corner replaced, with heavy pitting but not rusted through for about a 4 by 6 inch area in one corner. I have a second bare tailgate that the previous owner said was pristine, but I think its full of bondo.  Haven't explored that yet, but the original one is in very nice shape anyway.  I'll fix it.   Inner tailgate needs a couple patches in the hinge areas, but is in better than I thought it looked from the outside.  But blasting always reveals more crap than we figured right? 
Have the front fenders off the Ranchero also, and will blast them as well.  They aren't too rough to use again.  Not sure if the Fairlane front fenders are better yet or not.  I have the Fairlane stored about 60 miles away.  I live in the city and don't have enough room for all my projects.
Can anyone tell me of any info about how to take the bed panels out?  i.e. diagrams or sketches of how they come apart?  My bed is so full of rust and heavy paint and some sort of thin spray on box liner that I can't tell where the seams are.  I would like to remove the panels in the rear of the box that have the openings in them.  The upright panels that have a screw on cover on them?  I would like to remove those panels and make new pieces for the bottoms of them. 
The plan is to restore as much of the sheet metal as I can so it will be ready to weld onto the new structure when the time comes.  I plan on buying one floor pan, the outer rockers, possibly a couple floor braces if I can't repair the one end of the ones with rust damage, but I know I'll have to make most of my bed parts.  I'm okay with that, but I'm not stupid enough to try to make the pieces that I can easily purchase. 
I do plan on taking the skin off the hood as well, as there is a tiny bit of rust on the front edge.  Will clean up, blast and repaint it.  Does anyone know where you can get some of that "felt" material that is between the inner and outer hood pieces?  I haven't repaired a hood yet, but I assume you need to put that stuff in between when reattaching the skin to the hood structure.

I'm just itching to get the Fairlane home to fix the rockers and start cutting it apart and putting the new Ranchero parts onto it, but it will have to wait a month or two yet. 

[Jeff Norwell]

I agree with James.. it's very cool and would make an awesome custom.Or, just leave it as is and repair the problems.I keep looking at it and for a strange reason,the rear B pillars remind me of a 59 Ford.

[jvo]

I built the first piece of new sheet metal. It isn't much, but a step forward.  New strip to hold rubber in place on bottom of tailgate.  Rolled it in the bead roller, then turned one edge over 90 degrees. Transfer punched the holes same as original. Also have the tailgate disassembled ready for blasting.  Needs a patch behind the hinge area, I'm sure it will show up more once the crusty stuff comes off.  The skin needs a little repair work, after the old bondo comes off.  I will replace the bottom 4 inches of the skin and massage the dents out with hammer and dolly and shrinking disc.

[jvo]

Also spent today removing a lot of crusty pieces with the plasma cutter.  I figured if I get the crap outta the way, it will be easier to work on and build up again.  I don't have to worry about structural integrity as there isn't any.  The bottom of the tailgate opening is 48 1/4 inches and the top of it is 49 inches.  Bed sides were leaning out before I cut anything out.  I will have to rebuild the whole bed a piece or two at a time.  As you can see, the frame is totally rusted out.  All the body mounts under the bed are gone as well, let alone 90% of the floorpan. Good news is that the heavier member under the tailgate seems fine.  I can build between the cab and tailgate after I drill the spot welds out of the rest of the floor.

[jvo]

Someone asked for lots of pics, and you might be sorry for that before this is over.  Is it okay to post a build thread here?  The corner piece in the back of the bed might be one of the more challenging pieces to rebuild, but it has to be done, as I haven't seen any reproduction pieces of this yet. 
My grandson was my helper for a while today also, inspecting the integrity of my buddy's rotisserie for when we get to that point. 
Lots of rusty crap cut out today.

[jvo]

Even the bottom of the rad support was rusted right through, but the inner fenders are in very good shape.  I suspect they have been replaced sometime in the past.  The rear quarters had rusty quarters pop riveted and welded over more rusty quarter panels.  I still don't have it all cut out, but enough that I can survey how to rebuild the bed.  A shot of the spare tailgate that came with it.  Looks good, but I suspect the outer skin is chock full of bondo.  I can fix the original no problem, its not that bad.
I sort of have a plan between my ears on how to rebuild the bed area, and it will be a little more structurally sound than original.  This car is too far gone to build back to original and I don't plan on going to Pebble Beach any time soon. 
Will be a one off with a Fairlane donor car anyway. The Fairlane is coming home tomorrow morning.  My buddy that is storing it is bringing it round first thing in the morning so I can "dejunk" it.  Have to get rid of the rear seat, seized up 292 and automatic tranny, etc.  I hope the front fenders turn out to be better than these ones.  I'll post more pics in the next couple days as I get to working on the Fairlane.  Hope this isn't boring anyone. 

[jvo]

Well, I got the Fairlane home and am presently "de junking" it.  Pulled all the interior pieces out so I could see the floorboards, etc.  Pulling the front fenders and motor, trans., to make it easier to move around. 
Good news is the floorboards are intact.  I need to make a few small patches here and there mostly around the body mounts, but they are small enough I can do with patchwork, not having to put in full floorboards.  I do however need pretty much all of the body mounts.  Still assessing what I'll need for patch panels so I can make up an order and get with the program.  I have decided to move forward immediately with it. 
I know EMS makes the best panels, but does anyone else make comparable body mounts that are a little easier on the wallet?  I need all of them and its gonna be the best part of seven hundred bucks just for those. 
One other issue that is bothering me are the doors.  I plan on leaning the B pillar ahead slightly as per the photoshop deal I saw on the h.a.m.b. and I'm sure some of you are familiar with that.  I mentioned it earlier.  I'm thinking though that the door tops would be easier to fabricate from a two door hardtop car.  It would be much easier to make the little stainless strip on top of the glass with a curve on the top back corner, rather than making the door frame the same shape.  What I need is a close up shot of a two door hardtop door opening, so I know how to fabricate the door opening for the rubber window seal to close against.  I am sure I can find some door tops from a hardtop car somewhere.  I didn't realize the Fairlane vent window unbolted from the top of the door.  That makes it a lot easier.  If I go that way, I'll just sell my Ranchero doors, as they are in pretty good shape.
I will be slicing and dicing most of the car apart, and putting it back together again anyway.  The top definitely needs the 1 1/4 inch chop to match the Fairlane windshield opening.  Fairlane from top of door to drip rail is 14 inches, and Ranchero is 15 1/4 inches on mine. 
I also go under and got a few measurements to see how things compared on the frame.  I had previously noticed that the Fairlane frame had 5 inches space from the front of the rear spring hanger to the body mount ahead of it, and the Ranchero was only 3 inches for the same space.  The other measurement is from the rear end housing to the back end of the frame.  Ranchero is (I forget exactly) about 4 inches shorter than the Fairlane.  So, I figure the box will probably have to be lengthened a few inches for sure.  I'll have to look at the trim for the top of the box to make sure I can mix and match a couple pieces to make up the extra length.  Not worried about the sheet metal as I have to make it up from scratch anyway. 
Because of the extra length, I will probably extend the roof a few inches also.  I am going to go out on a limb and try to post an image I copied from the other site. Not sure who to credit for the photoshop and I apologize for stealing it, but I want to work towards this for the end product.  I will need some trim for the bottom of the B pillar from a Galaxie or T bird, or I am open to ideas for this also.  I could use some help from the gallery here on some of this stuff.  Thanks.
Also, in case there are any doubting Thomases out there, I do feel this project is doable.  I do sheet metal work now for a living, as I am semi retired.  I'm not an expert like some of the guys I have taken classes from, but its all just simple basic cut and paste stuff, and lots of planning and measuring.  Apologies to whoever I stole this photoshop image from.

[SkylinerRon]

Ranchero cabs are small so you might want to add a few inches at the back of the cab/roof.
I think it would be easier to add length at the front of the bed too.
Goodluck,
Ron.

[Limey57]

Was this one sitting on the ocean floor for a few years?  Really impressed that you've decided to save such a rough example, a good many would have left it to return to nature  Going to watch this one with interest, a really good project is brewing here!

[hiball3985]

WOW! that's quite a project to tackle. I don't know how you guys can do it with all the rust. I freaked out when the top of my gas tank rusted out