HELP me help my dad...RANCHERO

My dad just picked up an all original '61 Ranchero. It runs & drives great, starts right up, new 13" tires, clean little car, minus the rips in the seat and the worn visors. Body is clean & straight, and all trim is in great shape. He took it to the swap meet in Fredricksburg hoping to make some profit, but it didnt sell.

He said he's wanting to clean it up, re-upholster the seat and paint it. He said he wants to run some 15" Torque Thrusts and eventually a fuel injected 5.0 from a late Mustang, and give it a slick paint job. I say NO...

Help me help him. I'd like to see some pics of good looking little Rancheros, or some photoshop magic to make one look "right"

I'll be seeing him this weekend and I can show him the results, in hopes to change his mind from making it a "muscle car". haha. thanks dudes.

(this pic isnt his, just one I found on the net that looks just like it, minus the WalMart caps)

 

All I could come up with but then again it is 4AM here.

 

No pics here but if he's planning on a V8 swap it is a major PITA. He will need to upgrade the brakes, springs, steering, rear end, cooling, electrical system, basically everything but the body. About the only thing that will swap from 6 to 8 are the control arms IF they are the 4 bolt ball joints (I think). I have a 6 cyl Falcon I'm putting a 302 in, when I got it it was just a shell, there is NO way I would do this to a running driving car. Check out tffn.net for an excellent Falcon/Ranchero forum and good luck.

 

I'm guessing that is a stock 144/170" six - have him look around at Fordsix.com for some other ideas.

 

I don't exactly understand your position.

Your dad wants to take an old car that is under-tired, under-braked, and under-powered, stuff in a later model V8, and upgrade the car so that it will look better, go better, handle better, and stop well.

You think he should keep it and motor around on pitiful little 13 inch tires and just enough power to get an impeding traffic ticket.

You are on the wrong side of this deal as far as I can tell....

 

a good start would be to ditch the "Chromies" hubcaps. Damn I hate that crap.

put some beauty rings and chrome lugs on there, paint the wheels red or a color that you like.

 

Even though it's nuts, you should put a big SOHC in the bed, put some fat M/T's on the back, cage it, and turn it into an old-style wheelstander. Give it a "Big John" Mazmanian style paint job with a nickname or something. It's an idea.
-Crew

 

Put it on EBAY and move on .

 

Animal, the way I interpretted his "muscle car" remark, I think he wants to keep his father from putting Crager mags on it, tinting the windows, billet everything, and all the other tacky stuff that "street rodders" and muscle car guys love to do.

 

It's his.He paid for it.And it's SUPPOSED to be a free country.

Not our fault he has bad taste.

Put it on E-bay.Get Germ to write the ad.

 

Deyo is right...I'm just looking for pics of cool looking little Ranchero's or some Photoshop work.

I saw the car the day he bought it, but it was on the trailer and headed to the swap meet.

He's planning on painting it, new wheels/tires, and new upholstery for now. He said he'd like to EVENTUALLY do a motor swap. I told him to keep the 170" inliner and make it a simple traditional custom with the right paint job, and the right wheels. I just want some pics to show him what could be done with this car without going the muscle car route.

Hell I might even buy it from him before he starts tinkering with it.

My dad doesn't have bad taste...He's just throwing out ideas. He's not into billet or chrome, he likes shit simple.
He grew up with 60's Muscle cars...so naturally that'd be the first thing that would come to mind with a tiny little car. His '33 Chev is a late 60's custom, and his '64 C-10 is done right.

 

Do a search for posts of "praisethelowered" HAMB name. His ranchero is the nicest I have seen!


FONZI

 

Talk to Ricky Racer. He's the resident expert on it.

 

Yep, find pics of Rickyracer's Ranchero. It's killer.

 

The 61 is a little harder to put a v-8 in, because the firewall isnt recessed for one. The 62 and up ones are, as they offered a v-8 those years.
Its not really that hard to do the suspension swap, but you do have to change everything. It is alot of work. If you can find a wrecked or rusted donor Falcon, you will have all the stuff you need.
The round body Falcons aren't big dollar cars, so if he wants to change it to sell, I wouldn't. If he plans on keeping it, have at it.
Maybe go with a 200 six, there are performance parts available for them.

 

Anyone got more pics fo RickyRacer1962's Ranchero?

I've only found one other pic of it.

Any other Ranchero's?

The more I search for pics & info, the more I'm considering buying the little truck from my dad.

 

My brother "heyitsnate" started this 61 before sellin it. Sorry Nate, I dont have a better pic, their was more done to it.

 

In an attempt to be helpful....

Keep in mind that not only is the 200 of the same family as the 144/170, but so is the 250. There is no replacement for displacement..... besides, the bigger motors (200-250)have seven mains, and are mostly set up for unleaded from the get-go. Also consider a T-5 transmission; allows a stout gear to zip around town, and cruise in OD.

Personally, I think 15 inch Torque-Thrusts would look good (OK, I admit that in my book, there aren't too many cars that shouldn't wear them...). The adaptation for five bolt wheels would probably be part and parcel of a brake, suspension, and rear axle upgrade program. Certainly not impossible, but not probably a one-Saturday-afternoon deal, either.

These little rounded Falcons are neat cars, and have potential as both a custom or a hot rod. There are certainly wrong ways to go, but from what has been said, I don't think you will go wrong with either your vision or your dad's.

 

[ QUOTE ]
You think he should keep it and motor around on pitiful little 13 inch tires and just enough power to get an impeding traffic ticket.

[/ QUOTE ]


My inline does all right. . .

 

Mine's a squarebody. . .

Roundbodies are cooler in a lot of ways. . . they are too rounded to make good tourque-thrust v-8 muscle cars anyway.

the coolest roundbody I ever saw was posted on here a while back. . it was black. Done by a Japanese guy (of course).

But roundbody's don't have those long horizontal lines. . .

 

Not a Ranchero (and I'm getting tired of whipping out this picture, I have to shoot some new ones), but here's my Futura. It's an ongoing project. Some Cal Custom spiders and mini trim rings will be added soon.

All the old timers in the Falcon Club of America do these cars as muscle cars. There are very few that ever lowered.

 

Sweet ride there Haring. If mine was a round body I would do it up lowered with steelies and a multi-carbed six but I just don't think the 64-65's look right that way. My 64 tudor is getting discs, GT wheels, an 8" and a carbureted 5.0, that is, if I don't pawn it off for HOT ROD parts!

 

there is a bad ass Ranchero on the Imperial Customs site...

http://www.imperialcustoms.com/car.gallery2.html

 

These are pictures of my air bagged, Edelbrock tri-powered 1963 Ranchero that I sold last summer.


As the new owner preferred V8 power, I retained the engine and four speed for my next project, a yet to be located round-bodied sedan delivery.

 

Here's the japanese roundbody- posted by Whizzerick a long time ago

 

another view

 

Sell or keep? Drop it 3-2 and add Baby moon's detail under the hood. Clean, simple result. These other ride's are very nice. The lower the better.

 

I talked to my dad last night...Told him I'd probably buy the car from him...so If he;s going to spend any money on it...just to get the tags updated.

I'm going home this weekend, so I'll snap some pics of it.

I need a car, this one is practically in my lap , and the right price...this should satisfy my needs right now.

I'm thinking slammed, DP-90 on bottom of the car, and a charcoal metalflake on from the hoodline and above, with some black pinstriped flames or something. Rolling on gloss black steelies, chrome trim rings, spider caps and thin white walls...

Any photoshoppers wanna give this a try and see if it looks a good on the car as it does in my head?

 

They look really good done up 60's style w/ Astros, skinny whites, flaked roof, and severely dumped.

 

I think your dad has the right idea.

That ranchero would look good with some torq thrust mags and a five-o engine in it... granada disk brakes... paint, interior...

It's called HOT RODDING and he's right on "Q".

What you're talking about doing is jumping on the bandwagon with black primer, steel wheels... Mexican blanket seat cover... bullet caps, iron crosses, skulls, white walls... JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.

It's getting so mind numbing... all the cattle are following each other around the hill side...

You want to make a 60's car "traditional"?

Painting it flat black with steel wheels is dumbing it down... NOT traditional.

Have some style.... some BALLS.

Those year rancheros look bitchen with radiused rear wheel wells...

So cut 'em out.

Swap in an 8" rear end out of a 70's Maverick or Granada.

Get the disk brakes off the Granada too.

About $500 to do the complete swap using junk yard parts.

Cut the rear wheel wells out... swap the suspension... do the interior red (use stock stuff from a Falcon parts place)
and paint the outside white.

Run your wheel and tire choice... but for GODS SAKE don't paint steel wheels red and run white walls.

I'm thinking white exterior, red interior, five lug hubs and maybe Radirs with black wall bias plys... tube grille, and you're done.

And it won't look like all the other trailer-park cruisers out there...

Sam.