History The Kustom Ranchero thread!

Ranchero's on the brain today...

I've been slowly building a Kustom Ranchero... not fast enough to warrant a build thread. Thought it would be cool to start a ranch thread, maybe there is one already? I dunno... I searched but to no avail.

So here's the skinny on mine-

I've been trying to use restraint when building this, I guess I want more of an refined Alexander Bros mods mixed with Watson style paint ... I added a desoto front bumper (thanks @Moriarity for pushing me over the edge at Clarks shop eight years ago) , recessed side pipes, shaved handles, reversed front fender trim on the doors... plans are to section a 59 imperial rear bumper frenched in the back, very slightly frenched rear tail lights (Buick) and peaked quarters. I'll run the exhaust though the upper backup lights and reverse slant the quarter fin-
The top will get a mild chop 3/4", and I plan to kant the door posts forward and round the tops of the doors.

Under the hood its getting a 390 cad with a 4 deuce cragar mated to a B&W T-86 R-11 overdrive with a hurst shifter between a pair of console bucket wanna be seats. It has duals with porter's on it.

Its getting there. I study a lot of what has been done and my biggest struggle has been how I plan to layout the trim etc.. I honestly think the Ranch has been my all time favorite old car and kustom that I've owned... I use it to haul stuff, to pull the boat, you name it... I just picked up a dresser for gamma yesterday.









Tiago's ranch made an extreme progression- I like the black paint so much better than the white.



The crazy Trendero... was able to see this up close when @Moriarity owned it.




I guess I've always pictured doing something like Terry Brownings Ranch with paint- only white with candy copper and gold plated grill insert etc, sort of inspired by Ed Roth's Beatnik Bandit and the Kopper Kart.






There have been some cool ranchero's built lately- Sondre's and that brown and white ranch from down under... ok more later-

Tuck

 

here is the bumper I'm sectioning down to fit like a "mouth" frenched into the back-

 

Yours is pure class as it is. One of my favorites right now.

 

Heres another favorite of mine. I don't know who owns it. But it sure made me want a 57.

 

I LOVE that front bumper on that car.......err, truck. I'm not so sure about the plan to chop it though.

 

Wish this thread was on 59 Fairlanes and not Rancheros.

Already have most of the parts to do a lot of these changes to my Fairlane.

Buick taillights in T-bird pans....frenched backup lights....abbreviated fins....Bellflowers...Dropped rockers...

Daylight pic of bumper/ grille by UNSHINED 2 posted Mar 29, 2016 at 9:51 PM

Now back to your regularly scheduled program

 

Great post Tuck! Love the old 57-59 Rancheros....my avatar pic has my old 57 in it before paint..428 4 speed at the time...pic is of first paint job..my daily driver at the time.I look forward to more pics of kool kustoms..keep on Truckin'!

 

Love the pic with the Hemi in the back!!

 

Here is a cool one built in Sweden about 30 years ago

 

Here's a chopped 57 I pinstriped a few years ago. My buddy sold it. Don't know where it ended up. But it was pretty cool.

 

Since you are already working on the bodywork why don't you use white primer for the finish, mix up a little clear with gold pearl powder and try out those panel paint combos you keep gravitating towards. I am surprised at how much I like the white examples posted so far.

I too have loved the look of your truck as I have run across it in other threads. The chop will take it out of commission for a while. Since you use it so much, I would avoid that mod for a while.

 

Started mocking up the rear bumper- and I installed 59 column with a 61 wheel-

 

Great vision on the bumper. What is the bumper out of?

 

Thanks man- its out of a 59 Imperial.

 

@Tuck Love the new rear bumper. keep us updated.

 

Looks great!

 

Texas car

 

I'm just getting started on mine. I chopped it 1 3/4" in the front and an 1" in the rear. Finishing up the chop now. At odds what to do with the rear bumper and tail lights.

 

One of my favorite mild custom rancheros. I stole the pic from Facebook.

 

Tuck, you have the best looking '59 Ranch I've ever seen. Those bumpers really make it! IMO, Rancheros only need a really mild chop to look good. You got the right idea about slanting the door posts forward to flow better. What are you going to about the windshield? Cut it down? Sink it a little?

I'll add mine to this thread as well to keep it going.

 

I've seen this one elsewhere on here and fell in love with it also. Bad Ass.

 

I've always thought that the rear end of a 59 Ford was all wrong. It looks like a couple of hubcaps where the tail lights are. Always thought that just a set of 59 Caddy tail lights in the back up lights would work, and remove the original tail lights all together. Just a thought.

 

My pile awaiting the infamous Desoto bumper treatment.

 

BAD ASS, Bad Rod!!!

 

Was it popular to flip the front bumper over on a 57? Where is a good source for cab floor pans?

 

Bought this a few years ago and put it away for the future. Would love to complete it as a mild custom someday.

Sorry if this doesn't belong, but if you squint just right it looks like a design study for more sporty Ranchero that never made it to production, so I thought I'd throw it in...

It's a '59 that was converted from a 2dr Fairlane, so it has a longer door and a little more legroom than the Ranchero. The proportions really caught my attention - Packard built a dream car in the 50's called the Macauley Speedster - a 2 seater luxury coupe with a long rear deck and no trunk opening or bed. This struck me as a similar concept, although it has a bed.
Its not a bad build but there's a lot to do to finish it properly.

 

That car has potential! I'd like to see more pics of it.

 

Ran across this 58 surf'n the net.

 

Mine's been posted on here before, daily driver 289 C4 about 35 years ago. Last I heard it was in Tejas.

 

My garbage truck