Some may wonder why I picked up “Rusty” the Ranchero. Some background of Ford in the 60s, the small block V8 vs the 6 cylinder. Early 60s the Falcon was primarily a 6 cylinder car with lightweight suspension and small brakes. Perfectly adequate for the intended purpose. An economical family car.
Mid 60s, the muscle car era was in full swing. Everyone wanted a more powerful car, faster, nimble but still priced reasonably. 1964 the Mustang hit the street with both 6 cylinder engine as well as the 289 V8. The chassis, suspension and brakes were designed to handle the added weight and power.
This is where I wanted a V8 Falcon donor car. I can take all the heavier V8 parts, including the V8 and use them on “Blaze” (my 65 Falcon convertible 6 cylinder). Rusty is a good candidate for this. The Ranchero body has a ton of rust. Replacement sheet metal is hard to find. So a restoration could be quite expensive.
Here’s a list of all the items Rusty is donating:
- 289 V8
- Motor mounts
- Steering knuckles
- 5 lug chrome wheels (the 6 cylinder cars came with 4 lugs)
- Front springs
- Radiator
- Buckets seats
- Console
- “8 inch” rear differential
None of the corresponding Blaze (1965 Ford Falcon) stuff will handle the 289. The Bucket seats and console are not necessary for V8, but come-on! Nuff said.
Most of the parts need to cleaned, inspected and painted. I am hoping the V8 will run good enough to cruise and be dependable without the need for a rebuild. I’m going to attempt a startup this weekend. I’ll know it’s condition soon enough.
For more photos (including some video of how my friend Earl and I managed to unload the Ranchero into my garage), check out this SmugMug album where you can run the videos.
