Ranchero build

Ford Blue blood · 2015-12-04 16:02

Here are the results......with the carb closed the spoon is just short of 4" off the floor, at wide open it is just short of 1" off the floor. Think that will do. Have to add a couple of springs to see how it feels but I think it will be good.

RICH MUISE · 2015-12-04 19:07

Nice engineering, Bill. Did I miss where you had posted what drivetrain you're using, or just need my memory jogged a little?

Ford Blue blood · 2015-12-16 17:09

Rich I have installed a 351C/AOD and plan on running the 3.56 gear that was stock in the car.

Couple of update pics. Not a lot getting done, Thanksgiving, wife to the cardiologist (false alarm but needed done) and my annual physical combined with just everything going on with Christmas most of the shop time was piddly stuff.

Have the floor pan in and bolted back down, little finish welding on it plus some patches on the toe board. Rocker is dumbied in, needs to come back off for rust prevention, hole drilling for the spot welds on the inner and fitting to lower portion of the front quarter.

Big pile for such a little area cut out! Happy with the fit of the EMS rocker and floor pan. Plenty of material for "problem" areas if you have them.

Getting ready to head north for the annual family Christmas visits which means I will enter the "Techno black out zone" for a week!

Ford Blue blood · 2016-01-25 23:05

Back at it. Slow when life gets in the way. At least all the checks of the wife's ticker turned out good!

Got the rocker and quarter repairs in solid. Floor pans turned out to be a little more of a challenge. Turns out I should have ordered the toe board as well! Was going to patch the rear pans but they turned out to be just as bad as the toe board was on the drivers side even though they cleaned up well. They just did not survive the "slam them with a screw driver test" so patching is out! Ordered those today. Still have to do some clean up grinding on the pan. Starting the passenger side tomorrow after the pile of rusted parts is cleaned up. Not too exciting I know, just wanted to let you guys know it is being worked on. Might run the risk of finishing it before I die :<)!

RICH MUISE · 2016-01-25 23:52

Thanks for the update. Bummer it turned out to be more than you were expecting.
Glad to hear things went well with your wife's tests though!

Limey57 · 2016-01-26 05:31

Excellent progress, I know it's soul destroying when it just seems like an endless task of rust repair. What I do is to completely finish each repair (weld, grind the welds, filler work then primer) so that as you move on, the repair you've just done is pretty much "ready for paint". It then makes the car look as though it's progressing. I find it depressing to finish the last rust repair then have to go all round again grinding, filling, seam sealing etc, etc.

Ford Blue blood · 2016-02-05 16:15

More progress. Once again "life" happened but still got some stuff done. Big part was the undercoating that was sprayed on the interior floor boards and then the jute backed mats put in place. What a mess! Three days part time to clean it all out. All the new metal is treated and primed on the under side, the top (interior side) is treated and ready for seam sealer and primer after the rest of the fab work is done. Now have a clean surface to begin the hole welding and sound deadening. One more patch on the passenger side before the rocker goes in. The front of the hinge pocket on the very bottom (fender bolt area) and the front side was rusted to nothing so that should be the last patch for this end of the car.

RICH MUISE · 2016-02-08 18:19

looking good. What's that sheet metal piece lying on the floor near the pliers.

Ford Blue blood · 2016-02-09 17:01

Rich it is the piece I made to replace the "rust worm" eaten up part. Not very pretty as I have not finished the "clean up" work. Hope to put the rocker in tomorrow!

RICH MUISE · 2016-02-09 17:25

I thought maybe that was what it was. I had a similar problem on the driver's side of my car, but not as bad. Oddly enough on mine, the rocker was rusted, but neither of the two panels it's sandwiched between were. Just a heck of a job getting them apart to get the new middle piece in there. You're doing a nice job on the repair, Bill.

Ford Blue blood · 2016-02-10 08:06

Thanks Rich. It is a tough slog, figure out how it is put together, then figure out how to take it apart to get at the "bad" stuff without messing up the rest of the good stuff in the area. But a little "six pack" engineering, a little hammer work, a little cutoff wheel, a little flapper wheel, and multiple fittings the welding it in is almost anti-climatic :<)....but you already know that!

Ford Blue blood · 2016-02-13 15:04

Alrighty then, have the right side rocker, inner rocker, lower cowl, floor pan, and toe board repairs finished up! The remaining part of the rocker and the lower part of the quarter were very good with only three pin holes that welded up really easy. I cut the rocker where I did to give access to the body mount at that location. The inner rocker was almost totally missing to about six inches before that body mount.

Decided I needed a little motivation to continue with the sheet metal repairs so put the dash and steering column back in for a trial fit and look see. They both have to come back out for further mods to the dash, the ash tray is going away, have not decided on location for the sat radio and the middle A/C vent location/style.

gasman826 · 2016-02-13 20:42

Just an example. The center registers could be farther apart for a radio. My radio was a newer style and hidden. It came with a fob to control channels and volume. Picture cut off the outer registers.

KYBlueOval · 2016-02-14 05:31

Quote from: gasman826 on 2016-02-13 20:42
Just an example. The center registers could be farther apart for a radio. My radio was a newer style and hidden. It came with a fob to control channels and volume. Picture cut off the outer registers.

Gasman, I really like what I can see of this dash. Could you post some additional photos showing the other A/C vents and the gauges. What is the brand or source of the A/C vents and gauges?
Thanks
John

gasman826 · 2016-02-14 08:11

That dash was V2.0 of my Custom. The dash was used for a couple of years...7307.2 miles (still have the Autometer 3-1/8" tach and speedo). The vents are Vintage Air. Picture does not show that the right hand accessory plate was also removed, smoothed and the Vintage Air Gen IV Dakota Digital billet controls were mounted. Unfortunately, no other dash pictures survive. Dash went to scrap a long time ago.

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Ranchero build