Projects nine year old's first car! 57 ranchero

the only y's i have worked on are the 57's... thanks for sharing your knowledge guys.... i should get the kid to sit down and read this.... it would be good for him!

 

P.s. i looks more and more like we will use a y-block! dont really wanna use the ford-o-matic so maybe a c4 kit! although i have the f-o-m behind my 312 and have really had zero problems. and i have a trans in the rebuilding stages on the bench right now so who knows![/QUOTE]

Find an old top loader 4 speed and teach him to actually drive. These are still available and nearly indestructable behind a Y block, small block, or mild FE. He could end up the only kid he knows with a Hurst shifter and the ability to use it.

 

I hate kids,,,,,,,,,,,,who have cooler cars than me.
Watch him, that boy looks smart and he's likely to get the Forditis.
You know the one, other cars just dont exist, and cute girls only fall for Ford guys.

 

I agree - top loader is the way to go.

 

This one is not really my cup of tea but it may be yours, as it is nice.
Got this pic from the colorado goodguys thread and thought of you guys.

 

well kid your 9 & it took me that long 2 build this & now i'm 67 . boy time sure does fly ! this is batruck,darth,& raunchero alll wrapped up in one !

 

thanks for the pics guys...when the kid gets home from his mom's tomorrow morning i will show him and post his reaction!

 

Show him these, Theres a bunch of cool ones in here.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=437714&highlight=anybody+into+the+57+ford

 

thanks for the pics guys!!!

i think he wants it like the white one with the silver scallops posted on the above thread^^^^^... but we got a lot work to do before that!!! thanks for checking out this thread.... and there will be more updates after the weekend!!

p.s i posted some pics of our other 57' fords on the other thread!!

 

this is what he wants! we will mix it up a bit so it is not an exact copy!!! time to get back to work!

 

your son has good taste...that is a great looking car. Im looking forward to seeing yours and his progress

 

My dad built a '57 years ago. Cool cars. Your boy's got a good eye.

 

clean those parts little man!!

 

Great looking young man........ The time you spend together with him is something he will never forget and when he gets older he can tell his friends "Hey I helped build my Car".............

 

Great! My son and I began building his 50 ford club coupe back in the mid 80s...a great bonding experience and he still has that car.
BTW, I had a cheapie 57 Ranchero in '82-83...used it as a winter beater[put a 58 Edsel 360 motor in the back...loose!] as it was a total rust bucket..223 six with a 3 speed column shift and no chrome.

 

awesome its cool to see everyone that has built a car with their kids..... we are having a good time! my son is only nine, so his attention span is a little short. i get a lot of.."dad im going to ride my bike for a while" but he always comes back and helps with whatever im working on. i dont want to push to hard... so i let him come and go!

 

clean and painted...

 

Nice work, Milo. I can almost see those nicely painted parts from my yard! (I'm just 35 miles below ya, off 99...)

I see the Ranchero still has its clutch pedal and thru-the-firewall link. The shift rod and hardware are not too hard to find, if you decide to go that way. (there's a Galaxie club headquartered in Chowchilla, the prez's name is Tom Watkins. A Turlock regular, Tom drives a red '63 Galaxie ragtop. He has parts galore, and connections for more.)

 

I noticed that too Tim. Looks like a SBF was in there. I would go with the Yblock. There are still plenty of yblock engines & parts are not that hard to scare up.

 

i have a y block for it! thanks for the parts lead...Im pretty sure we have everything.... there are 3 parts cars at my pops! It looks like this car is going to be an AUTO.... dad is 70 yrs old...and wants to be able to use the ranchero before it gets turned over to the kid! at 70 he just does not want to shift...lol!

 

The owner of this one also hasa equally fine Ranchero. Both cars are show quality. Keep at it and your will be a really fun drive. Iceman

 

frame is clean and shiny!! fire wall tomorrow!!

 

You are doing something remarkable with your son. The time I had with my father building the Nova and wiring on the Roadmaster are the best times I ever spent with him. I appreciate the cars for what they are, but then there's more---they're time capsules.

He's too old to work on cars, and someday he'll be gone but the cars will remain. It's a legacy.

It makes me really happy to see him working side by side with you. Terrific. Keep sharing.

 

strip....

prime...

paint...

 

Milo, what did you use to strip and clean the firewall?

 

aircraft stripper + scrub brush + pressure washer + a rag and thinner. took a while to get all the little nooks and crannies! but it looks nice!

 

Wasnt the air craft remover really messy?

 

yes it was.... but worked well!

 

Wow, 9 years old, I didn't have my first car till I was 10. I was lucky enough to have a car loving Dad also. Good luck with the sweet Ranchero build. Very cool guys. ~sololobo~

 

I think its great you are teaching your son about cars and it looks like he's really into it. I want to watch this project.
The Y-block is a good choice too and they sound great with glass packs.
I actually remember the first time I worked with my Dad while he was tuning up our '63 Dodge station wagon, and that was in the mid '60s. He taught me more stuff over the years and by the time I was 17 I was working on other peoples cars. I appreciate the fact that the ol' man took the time to teach me. Nowadays I give him advice.