My Ranchero Resurrection

[KYBlueOval]

First I must give a BIG Thank You to CorbraJoe, for his guidance and tutorials on how to post photos.
Next, I must make a full disclosure as to the who has done the vast majority of the work that you'll see in the photos I'll post. I did some, but the majority was done by a friend, that in my opinion is a metal magican.
I'll start with the day I dug it out of a 8 year hibernation and loaded it on a trailer.
I've "borrowed" a lot of ideas from Forum Members as you'll see in the photos that follow. So here we go!

[RICH MUISE]

ALLRIGHT!!! looking forward to it. I'd suggest however, before you get too fat, that you post in the build thread area. It'll be easier to find later.
lol......"before you get too far".....that's what happens when you have one FAT finger.
8 year hibernation......? have you owned it that long, or the person you bought it from had it in storage that long. I'm assuming since you were loading it on a trailer, that was not your garage it was stored in.

[KYBlueOval]

Rich, the 8 years in the garage was during the previous owners' possession. Once on the trailer, it was taken to my house/garage to further take it apart. I'll try posting some more photos, with some commentary as to what is in the photos. Stay tuned

[KYBlueOval]

These photos show the elimination of the Gas Door. I moved it to Behind the Left Tail Light. Guenter did this, but his light swings in, mine slides out. When Closed or Open it is held in place by Earth Magnets. It slides out on a ball bearing drawer slide.

[KYBlueOval]

Stole this Third Brake Light Idea from Ford Blue Blood.........Thanks Bill!

[KYBlueOval]

New Rockers, and lower quarters were installed. Front of wheel well opening was brought down straight for bigger wheel tire fitment and easier in and out per the advice from the Forum
A major problem with Rancheroes is where does the water go that gets into the Bed. Answer.....somewhere below, floors,truck bed support pieces. Our solution was to replace the left to right support piece with a Stainless piece and create a "Gutter" for the water to run into. The gutter is Stainless and if you look closely, you'll see two drains and two holes in the driveshaft tunnel. A hose will connect the two. Will it work? We hope so.  Looks good on paper. Time will tell



If you are wondering about the "Boxes" you see, they are storage boxes, accessed from inside the cab, behind the seats.As you know there is very little storage inside a Ranchero cab. Some Rancheros have the access opening and some do not. These are aluminum, wrapped in Dynamat and a similar product on the one on the right. There is a light that goes in the front corner of each box.

I'll post more tomorrow and in the days to come. Time to watch collage football!

[CobraJoe]

Awesome pics John, looking forward to more!!!!!     

[djfordmanjack]

Stunning work on your Ranchero, John! Fantastic ideas like the ss raingutters and storage boxes. love how you used the drawer slide for the taillight/ filler access ! it is great to see that kind of work on a project! this makes me want to go out and start working again on my Del Rio project. looking forward to seeing more of your teamwork.

[hiball3985]

Looking good John.

[KYBlueOval]

[KYBlueOval]

I wanted to use rectangular AC vents to the left of the instrument cluster and to the right of the glove box, but as many before me have figured out........it won't work. On a whim, I placed the AC vent on what I'll call the Dog Leg of the dash, and my buddy Tommy said We can make that work. So duct work was made and the Vintage Air vents fit in there nicely. The AC evaporator mount can be seen on the right side of the fire wall. Have not gotten around to installing the center vents in the dash. Same Vintage Air Vent, just a little wider.

[KYBlueOval]

Have not finished the transmission mount as of yet. That will be done soon. Wheels and tires are not what I'll run.......they are what I had, and I stuck them on to roll it around. Rear brake flex lines are too long. I'll get them shortened in time. Blue tape on bolt heads is remind me to tighten them later when there is fully assembled weight on the frame

[Ford Blue blood]

Looking really good John!  Keep on keeping on....it'll get there!

[RICH MUISE]

Hmmm, typed a reply earlier and I guess I forgot to hit the post button before I left the page.
Looking really great, John. The pics show an obvious attention to detail and a substantial amount of preplanning. Execution is remarkable. I love the end of dash vent outlets...very original thinking there. I'm curious if you are planning a non-oem emergency brake setup? The reason I ask is the original cable firewall pass-thru location seems to be welded closed.
I think it was covered in an older thread, but what did you end up using for the upper control arm shafts? Are those the adjustable '58's?
What is your front disc/spindle setup?
Is that one of John Sparks R&P setups, or Unisteer?

[KYBlueOval]

Rich, Thank you. As to the emergency brake........I'm using a '68 Ford Foot Operated unit. I believe there is a hole for it. I'll  bolt it up next time I'm at the car and show you the installation. The e-brake location and  its use, was part of the thinking that resulted in the wiper motor/gearbox being recessed.
The Upper control arms are '58 Ford/Edsel. I picked them up at the Edsel convention, here in Louisville a couple of years ago. The Front Disc set up is from Drop m Stop m. 2 Piston Mustang calipers, and a 2 1/2" drop. The R&P is a John Sparks set up. You didn't ask, but the rear brakes are 2001 Ford Explorer, and the rear end has been narrowed 3/4" on each side, and has Moser axles. Picked up a Hydro Boost last winter in Birmingham Alabama, that I'm told will work with the brakes I have
I'll take some more photos when I work on it again this week, and post them, now that this Old Dog has learned a new trick.