1966 Ranchero acquisition and project

HotSoup

Old Mossy Horns
Should have thrown all that in the scrap pile and bought disc conversion....but I've already said that
 
Deerjager

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
The oddball parts search is still continuing. I ordered shocks that were OEM style replacements. Front shocks fit, rear ones were a different design.

The style I ordered for the rear, based on the computer at O’Riely’s.
IMG_5378.jpeg

What the car actually requires.
IMG_5379.jpeg

The correct shocks I bought at Carquest are for a ‘65 Mercury Comet station wagon. Studs on both ends instead of one stud and one eyelet design of what I initially bought.

This thing has fought me every step of the way. Darayl had to bring over his cutting torch because the shocks on the car had flats milled on the studs larger than the specialized MAC socket designed for shock studs. Without that socket the stud rotates with the shock housing. Between the cutting torch and 5 sawz-all blades, the shocks gave up the ghost. Kudos to Darayl for that.
 
Deerjager

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
The icing on the cake today was the rear, center soft brake line. The line is totally different after Darayl got it off of the rear axle.
This is what I ordered.
IMG_5380.jpeg

This is what the car actually uses. The soft line is part of the distribution block and is not replaceable.
IMG_5376.png

According to what we found at O’Reily’s, this is what a ‘67 up Ford car requires and also some ‘64-‘66 Mustangs. The distribution block doubles as the mount for the axle vent tube bracket using the mounting bolt.

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I have been told & have read on Ranchero forums (got to be true since it is on the internet) that the ‘66 model is a transitional year. The underhood dimensions & some components match a Fairlane, but the front sheet metal is all Falcon Ranchero. The door glass is a one year only item, but luckily I found & bought 2 extra sets.

The parts identification, ordering and installation have been a journey of patience and perseverance.
 
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bigten

bigten

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Deerjager said:
The oddball parts search is still continuing. I ordered shocks that were OEM style replacements. Front shocks fit, rear ones were a different design.

The style I ordered for the rear, based on the computer at O’Riely’s.
View attachment 151887

What the car actually requires.
View attachment 151888

The correct shocks I bought at Carquest are for a ‘65 Mercury Comet station wagon. Studs on both ends instead of one stud and one eyelet design of what I initially bought.

This thing has fought me every step of the way. Darayl had to bring over his cutting torch because the shocks on the car had flats milled on the studs larger than the specialized MAC socket designed for shock studs. Without that socket the stud rotates with the shock housing. Between the cutting torch and 5 sawz-all blades, the shocks gave up the ghost. Kudos to Darayl for that.
Click to expand...

I think they have that black shock listed completely wrong as that is a rear shock. I have never seen a car with that design on the front. The eyelet end goes over a post on a bracket at the axle or install the supplied post on the shock with the other end going through a hole in the bracket.
 
Deerjager

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
bigten said:
I think they have that black shock listed completely wrong as that is a rear shock. I have never seen a car with that design on the front. The eyelet end goes over a post on a bracket at the axle or install the supplied post on the shock with the other end going through a hole in the bracket.
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Those black are correct rear shocks on a lot of Fords, but I see where they are labeled front. I did not catch that, but luckily I did not buy them. Those are identical to what I ordered, mine were Gabriel brand. I ended up with Monroe rear shocks and Gabriel fronts.

I bought the rears local from the Carquest in Spindale. They have a very knowledgeable Ford guy and a former GMC parts manager on staff and they have been provided superior service & knowledge. They are more expensive, but the one on one and knowledge is worth it.
 
bigten

bigten

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Deerjager said:
but I see where they are labeled front. I did not catch that, but luckily I did not buy them.

I bought the rears local from the Carquest in Spindale. They have a very knowledgeable Ford guy and a former GMC parts manager on staff and they have been provided superior service & knowledge. They are more expensive, but the one on one and knowledge is worth it.
Click to expand...

That was what I was referring to, as they are rears instead of front.
And yes, it is worth a few extra bucks to deal with a counter person that is knowledgeable with vehicles vs a computer key puncher.
 
NCbowjunkie

NCbowjunkie

Ten Pointer
Sometimes I wish that they would just let me look up my own parts myself. Move out of the way and let me work the computer then they can check me out
 
Deerjager

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
NCbowjunkie said:
Sometimes I wish that they would just let me look up my own parts myself. Move out of the way and let me work the computer then they can check me out
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I agree. The center, rear hose Lori ordered last night is wrong. It is a 3/8 & 7/16 thread for brake lines. Mine is 3/8 & 3/8”. NO ONE at these parts houses pays any attention to the details. So I actually looked up my part on O’Riely’s website and verified the brake line thread size was 3/8” on each end. I gave the key puncher the part# to order, but now another 24 hr delay. 😡
 
Deerjager

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
So the bad luck parade continues! And a new lesson learned. The new rear brake line junction block was blocked. Darayl (@NCbowjunkie) came by after breakfast to work with me on bleeding the brakes. I had bled the MC on Thursday. IMG_5465.jpeg

We could not get fluid to the rear wheel cylinders. So we went through every brake fitting, front to rear to the rear soft line & junction block. We removed the M/C & re-bled it after reinstalling. There was absolutely no fluid coming out of the ports. Darayl removed the line and could not blow air through it. I don’t know if the hose was collapsed internally or there was machining debris inside the block. O’Riely’s had me a new one by 7pm. Before leaving with it, I made sure air passed through each line port.

I have never had a brand new line come out of the package defective. I will never leave the store with another brake line me that has not been checked for air flow.
 
Deerjager

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
On a brighter note, the passenger door mirror and two pieces of bed trim polished up quite nicely. The passenger mirror was in really bad shape. The scratches and pits kind of disappear into the new shine and are not as noticeable, except up close.

Before:IMG_5471.jpegIMG_5476.jpegIMG_5477.jpegIMG_5479.jpeg
 
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ellwoodjake

Old Mossy Horns
Deerjager said:
So the bad luck parade continues! And a new lesson learned. The new rear brake line junction block was blocked. Darayl (@NCbowjunkie) came by after breakfast to work with me on bleeding the brakes. I had bled the MC on Thursday. View attachment 152591



I have never had a brand new line come out of the package defective. I will never leave the store with another brake line me that has not been checked for air flow.
Click to expand...
Had a bad experience like this once while doing electrical work. Been over 30 years, but ever since, I've never installed conduit (or pipe), without bore-sighting it first.
 
Deerjager

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
ellwoodjake said:
Had a bad experience like this once while doing electrical work. Been over 30 years, but ever since, I've never installed conduit (or pipe), without bore-sighting it first.
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Yeah, new lesson learned & I shared it here so others can learn. They gave me a bottle of brake fluid for my trouble, so that is a plus.
 
Deerjager

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
Delta little froggy tonight. I installed the new fuel p/u & sending unit after days of feeling like crap.

The old sending unit and fuel pick up were, well ready for the scrap bin. As usual, the parts search was frustrating like everything else. Finally ordered one from a Ford restoration shop in Maryland. I have a functioning fuel gage and a happy wife.

IMG_5719.jpegIMG_5722.jpegIMG_2235.jpeg
 
nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I am getting just a small dose of what you are going through. I recently bought a project tractor to pass the time. It was a decent tractor really but had some electrical gremlins from setting in a barn and rodent damage. I just started at the battery and removed all the wiring and completely rewired it and updated it to a modern alternator. When I fired it up, no charge.

I spent two days double checking my wiring, the alternator and everything in between. I was at a loss. I woke up at 3a.m. last night thinking about it and it hit me that the one thing I hadn't checked was the new ammeter I had installed. I had checked to make sure that it was wired in correct but didn't check to make sure it was good allowing the circuit to complete.

I got up this morning and went out there this morning and jumped across the polls on the meter and fired it up and checked it and it was charging just fine. Another brand new part not worth a crap.
 
Deerjager

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
nccatfisher said:
I am getting just a small dose of what you are going through. I recently bought a project tractor to pass the time. It was a decent tractor really but had some electrical gremlins from setting in a barn and rodent damage. I just started at the battery and removed all the wiring and completely rewired it and updated it to a modern alternator. When I fired it up, no charge.

I spent two days double checking my wiring, the alternator and everything in between. I was at a loss. I woke up at 3a.m. last night thinking about it and it hit me that the one thing I hadn't checked was the new ammeter I had installed. I had checked to make sure that it was wired in correct but didn't check to make sure it was good allowing the circuit to complete.

I got up this morning and went out there this morning and jumped across the polls on the meter and fired it up and checked it and it was charging just fine. Another brand new part not worth a crap.
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I can commiserate with you on electrical gremlins. I have owned about 30 different air cooled VWs and the wiring in those are absolute crap. Especially after so many owners/stereos/mods/repairs through their lifespan. I have owned an Opel GT & a Manta and they were both possessed by electrical gremlins.

My daughter wants me to rebuild her an air cooled bug. I would start by ordering a new wiring harness and a disc brake conversion before ever turning a wrench.

Air cooled VWs are why I hate drum brakes btw 😂😂
 
nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Deerjager said:
I can commiserate with you on electrical gremlins. I have owned about 30 different air cooled VWs and the wiring in those are absolute crap. Especially after so many owners/stereos/mods/repairs through their lifespan. I have owned an Opel GT & a Manta and they were both possessed by electrical gremlins.

My daughter wants me to rebuild her an air cooled bug. I would start by ordering a new wiring harness and a disc brake conversion before ever turning a wrench.

Air cooled VWs are why I hate drum brakes btw 😂😂
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Well if it will make you feel better this tractor had the same bullet fuses in it at the start that VWs used to have. It has a conventional fuse panel now.
 
Deerjager

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
I was able to repair the front kick panels today. One had a chunk missing & I found that piece last night under the carpet. I cleaned the plastic on both sides and scuffed the back side w/ some 120 grit.

I made sure the missing chunk fit reasonably well in its place, then carefully sanded all the exposed edges very lightly. I used CA glue & baking soda to mend the cracks from the backside being careful to go a little bit each time so I did not have CA on the appearance surface. The baking soda & CA make an instant & strong bond.

I then added a small flat washer to each screw hole for reinforcement. This was bonded using the glue & soda. Not the best looking, but way better & stronger than what I started with. I added small, stiff wire sections to the seams of the broken piece to reinforce the seams. They may still show cracks, but they are ‘66 original and way stronger than when this thing was built.

IMG_5777.jpegIMG_5779.jpegIMG_5778.jpeg
 
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Deerjager

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
Got the revitalized sun visors back in, look great compared to before. Started the motor, ran for a few seconds then died because I could not get gas in the carb quick enough. The used battery we had used to crank the Massey tractor gave up the ghost, so buying a new battery tomorrow. Then back to engine start & tuning.IMG_5790.jpegIMG_5791.jpeg
 
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