Call me crazy - Ranchero's (again)

[BillP 98201]

Well you could always put the 289 in your next rebuild :ROTFLMAO:
Remembering you are doing this for relaxation [thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

Never say never, but I don't see me doing anything this extensive for myself again. But I am my own worst enemy.

Steve came through with the timing cover and I did a deep inspection and ended up replacing the main bearing just because the thrust bearing was shot (one half of one). New timing set and oil pump "while I'm at it." Was not a cheap day. :(

If I get the timing cover tomorrow - it may be in by tomorrow. The exhaust manifold in the next thing I'm struggling with.

[SmithKid]

Roger took time out from his Flare'hero project today, and spent the afternoon under the dash of my Ranchero. The wiring was all screwed up! The R turn signal honked the horn, and none of the turn signals or running lights worked right. I was VERY confused and I'm sure it would still be mis-wired if he hadn't pitched in for me. All is well now. VERY COOL and VERY APPRECIATEED! Thanks Roger!

[Luva65wagon]

Hey - not a problem Gene. Still had plenty of time to come home and put the timing cover on, put the pump on, the pan, and pull the rockers off, clean all of them, and reassemble the rocker assembly on the motor. Very full day. ;)

[Luva65wagon]

Spent the morning, while it was raining outside, cleaning up and painting the motor. Then after lunch I assembled the rest of it, or most of it, until I had to go to a business dinner. So, the next day I can work on it I will drop this in.

The other picture is the 1-wire alternator I use, which bolts up with zero modifications and requires only a wire to the battery and a good ground.

Still need to figure out what to do about an exhaust manifold. I may have to machine the one Patrick brought a couple years back to the swap meet, which I found in my shed. Unless Steve has one of those too, which I think he said he did.

[doghows]

Exhaust manifold is sitting here at the powder shop.. I am blasting today so I can have it cleaned up and ready to go if you need it. Just say the word and it is yours.
That motor looks awesome, I was going to pull the Ratchero motor but decided to go back to body work on the delivery again. I would like to have at least half as clean a engine bay as your will be. Looks great..

[doghows]

Manifold is on its way. Went out mail and will be there tomorrow. Hopefully it is the right one. I did not see any cracks, but I am pretty tired this afternoon, sooo who knows??:o Anyway looks good post a pic when it is all together...

[Luva65wagon]

You are awesome Steve. Over and above the call.

I will have a look-see when it arrives and hope it will work. Was not looking forward to machining the early model version. I see a steak dinner in your future.

Gene wants to help me tomorrow evening to drop the motor in, and then I am going to look at 4 transmissions to make the best of them I can. I may buy him a BigMac.
:D

[doghows]

Stuff goes both ways. I needed stuff for my barn car and you came through for me so it is payback time. Glad I had what you need to get her back to driving status. Just keep us all posted..[thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

Stuff goes both ways.[thumb]

Oh, then I'll take a Filet Mignon. :ROTFLMAO:

[doghows]

Did you get it, did you get it????? Kind of like Christmas in July right..:D

[Luva65wagon]

Yeah - it was here when I got home. Pretty decent shape. ONly had one corder bolt hole broke off, but with a hefty washer I'll not tell.

Gene came by and we put the motor in and I bolted the exhaust manifold on just to see if the exhaust would line up. I added the belly bar and now the exhaust doesn't fit. So, I'll have to get something done to modify it, but won't until the engine and transmission are connected and sitting on all their mounts.

Was going to mount the new clutch, but I discovered the pilot bushing was a "little" worn out and the kit I bought had a sheet inside that said, simpley, "The pilot bushing for this kit no longer exists." I'm thinking, 'Oh great, STEVE, you got one of those?" But I just ordered on on-line. Hopefully I don't get a note saying it is indefinitely back-ordered.

Next up, tranny...

[BillP 98201]

Looks great Roger........ keep up the good work :rocker:
Big Macs arent good for Gene are they? lol

[doghows]

WOW that is looking pretty good for a daily driver. Now I have to pull the motor out of the Ratchero and clean up my engine bay.:bicker: Oh well I was going to do it anyway.
That is weird the exhaust doesn't fit now?? Everything is the same just clean and pretty now? Just put that pipe stretcher tool on it. That should take care of that issue!?!:D

[Luva65wagon]

I don't think the floor is exactly in the same place now. Or should I say that there "is" a floor now, where before there wasn't. :o

Also that brace-bar under the motor is there now and wasn't there before.

Not a big deal, really. Just need to hold off until I get the tranny in and everything where it is supposed to go. Then I'll get out the pipe stretcher. [thumb]

[doghows]

I am also guessing new motor mounts. I guess it all adds up a bit till it is a few inches? Still looks real good when is the official start it back up day??

[Luva65wagon]

Same mounts - just cleaned up. I think the belly bar/brace is the biggest interference at the moment.

I had to order a pilot bushing, so I hope it is available. The clutch set had a little piece of paper in it saying "the pilot bushing for this kit is no longer available" - so we will see.

Once I have that, I will probably already have all the other parts on and the tranny ready to go back in the instant the bushing shows up. NPD, who I ordered it from, tend to just ship what they have and then tell you on the invoice "oh, and by the way, this part is back-ordered." When the tranny is in I can do a driveline. Then I will consider putting some gas in the tank and crossing my fingers.

[Luva65wagon]

Self, check the parts bins before you order anything else - OK?

Roger finds he already ordered and received a new pilot bushing, but never checked before ordering another one.

[doghows]

I HATE when that happens. Put in the gas its time to run!!!!!

[falcon cobra]

Roger who is going to do the drive line? and do you know how much $ it will cost??....jh:shift:

[Luva65wagon]

Will I ever get this pile into a usable transmission again... :confused:

:D

Yeah, no problem.

So far I have only needed to take 2 of the 4 of these rare beasts apart (I have 5 of them, but one is in my wagon) to make up this transmission. I had another shaft from a third transmission I will be using for the idler. I had some good gears from one, some from another. Good synchro's from another, bad on the other. So, as of 11pm last night, I had sorted out all the good parts into this cluster. Should have it together and ready to install tonight.

[Luva65wagon]

Roger who is going to do the drive line? and do you know how much $ it will cost??....jh:shift:

I have not decided. As I think I mentioned to you... I did my own in my wagon when I upgraded to the Dagenham 4-speed. It was still the puny 6-cylinder driveline - just needed to be a bit longer. I machined a sleeve with about a .001 press-fit and drove that over the tube and made sure I was 100% accurate on the alignment of the tube where I cut it, so the yokes were still aligned end-to-end. Never had an issue of imbalance - that I could perceive, anyway.

I think just about everyone here has used Drivelines NW to do theirs. I used them when I did my 8" swap in my wagon. I paid in the high $2's for that, as I recall. I didn't have a lot of time, then, to mess with it, so I paid the piper. I don't have a lot of time now, either. This one, too, is going to be small on one end and larger (V-8 style) on the other, just like my wagon is, so I will see if I make an attempt to make my own.

If I try my hand at this one, I have a few drivelines laying around to play with. But if tube diameters are not matching anywhere (yokes and tubes, etc.) you kind'a need to go with the professionals who can swage or expand tubing to fit the parts.

[Luva65wagon]

Spent this evening reworking the rest of the innerds of this Dagenham 4 speed. Fortunately I've found good parts in the two I took apart. The cover needs a little attention since seals are no longer available, but I'll do the same thing I did on my wagon, which is holding up so far after almost 7 years. Will show that... next. Stay tuned.

[doghows]

Awesome... I have a question for you, I noticed on you engine pic that the fuel filter canister is facing upwards. I tried to put a pump like that in my Ratchero and the only way the gasket and mounting flange line up is if the canister is facing down???? Are there different fuel pumps for these motors? I need to triple check mine and make sure it is a 200. It has 5 freeze plugs??? Just wondering but the Flarechero is looking good....[thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

I've not seen any that face down on the 200. The lever of the pump has to ride on the cam lobe, so it will only mount one way.

[MacDee]

I stumbled upon the which-way-does-it-go issue with the fuel pump during my engine build. At one point before the engine was completed, I decided to replace the stock fuel pump with a "high performance" pump. I found a Carter fuel pump on the Summit web site and ordered it. When I received it, it appeared physically identical to the stock one. However, when I tried to install it, it would only install UPSIDE DOWN relative to the the way the stock one had been installed.

To this day, I don't understand!! But, yeah, it will only install one way... which ever way it wants to!

The first picture shows the engine with the stock pump, the second is the finished engine with the Carter pump.

[falcon cobra]

I just thought you chero guy would lik to see this nice ride....jh

[Luva65wagon]

Gene came by early this morning and helped me lift that 4-speed into place. I then rebuilt the shifter mechanism and got that bolted on.

While I was cleaning up the shifter Bill Williams came by and I took a break and went and looked at the 302 short-block and headers he picked up. Then he hauled me to Lowes to buy a sheet of ply for my sub box my brother-in-law is eventually going to build for me (thanks again, Bill).

Then I measured for the drive-line and went out back to look at the two I had, just to see if I could make my own for now. When I picked up one of them it looked oddly similar to what I was going to need to make. The new one needed to be 1.5" longer than the stock 6-cylinder drive-line... and this one was 1.5" longer. I began to wonder then what elves stopped by and build me a drive-line that was the correct length and with the correct ends on it. Well - thank you Mr. Elf.

[doghows]

Time to splash some gas and take her for a ride!!! Looking better everyday. I think the Elf's knew it was you B-day and brought you a gift. Nice to not have to spend any more cash.

I like the "Chero" If I don't go 4x4 I like the roll pan look...
And as far as the fuel pump, mine looks like the one in the first pic. No canister? I am guessing from its location that it rides against the crank shaft? I guess I am stuck driving the super duty till the pump gets here.:(

[Luva65wagon]

If you look close at the two pictures Gary posted, the block actually accepts a pump where the pump flange can go either up, or down. He shows two pumps, one going with the fittings down (bare block) and up (running block). So that coincides with my experience with pump variations.

[doghows]

Sorry Roger, didn't mean to divert this thread away from the real issue. Being get the car back on the road. So it looks like the engine trans drive shaft and rear axle are all in?? So when is it time to fire it up?? I want to see it run down the road with no fenders on it...:D Or at least some pics of it outside the garage...:ROTFLMAO:

[Luva65wagon]

I received the exhaust manifold bolts and gaskets yesterday. The exhaust pipe interferes with the belly-bar by about 1/2", so I need to address that. There is no ignition system hooked up yet, but I may be able to rig-up a temporary setup, if I get anxious to fire it up. I have to pump all the orifices with gear oil still, there are no seats installed yet, shift lever needs a little work. Radiator is also out, fan, need a belt to fit, heater hoses. All in all - getting real close. :doh:

[doghows]

Keep going you are far ahead of me and the delivery... But this damn thing called the Ratchero jumped up in the middle of it??? That and my paint guy is busy with the sprint boat race season. It will be done in Sep. Maybe off to paint then..

[Luva65wagon]

Don't suspect I'll be slowing down anytime soon. In fact here I go again. Home and out the door. ;)

[Luva65wagon]

Boy, I must be slacking when my post doesn't stay in the top 5.

[AGREE]

Doesn't mean I'm slacking - though I did spend the day out at Dave's house on Saturday - hauling Bill and Gene along. That was fun. But I came home and my brother-in-law appeared shortly afterward and we put most of the speaker box (which slides under the bed) together and Bill Williams came on Sunday and laid out and cut the openings for the speakers I will put in them. Two 6x9 and two 8" speakers I've had laying around here for years. Will put 6.5" in the kick-panels up front. I'll be fiberglassing the back side where it may see moisture. It'll be like a boat back there, so should hold up well. More on that during the week, I suspect.

Bill also did some sanding on one of the doors for me. Grassy-as Sir.

Have also been going through the 20-million miles of wiring harnesses I have to pick and choose the donors for my new wiring harnesses. Lots of unwrapping and cleaning wires. I'm also slowly mounting the components where they will be going so I can do real-time routing. It should actually go pretty fast once I have a plan in my head and write up a quick schematic.

One thing I am doing is a take-off from something I saw Kenny do, which is to mount relays in a regulator case. These will feed 12 volts directly from the battery to the headlights and the headlight switch and dimmer only need to supply signal voltage to the relay and the relay carries all the current for the headlights making them brighter.

Have to bring out the camera tonight and take some more pictures, but I took these with my phone.

[Luva65wagon]

One thing that has always bothered me about Falcons is their single turn signal indicator. I was determined to make mine "normal" - so I did. It was easier to do considering I had a couple clusters to play with, so I experimented on the worst and perfected it for the second. Turned out pretty nice.

The hardest part was getting the big hole drilled considering I had to eat at the screw location for the voltage regulator - I had to locate it just starting on the edge of the existing screw hole. Though not shown in these pictures, the regulator is just to the right of the original location and still indexes off one of the bumps used to keep it from rotating on the screw.

For those that don't know, the wires to have both left and right turn indicators are there, they just feed them both to the same bulb and the ground path is back to the main bulbs. If you split these wires out to two individual bulbs (w/grounds at the dash) - that's all it takes.

[doghows]

How cool do mine next. I will bring mine when I come over on a parts run. I am still thinking to myself "daily driver"???:rocker:

[Luva65wagon]

Well of course. Bring 'em all. Pretty simple to do now that I have it all fingered out.

And yeah, daily driver I sit in more than a car I'll take to a show. It's got to be cool in there too. Maybe even cooler! [thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

No, that was cool; as in, "cool, man..."

[doghows]

I want to see it out of the garage!!! I bet it is looking pretty sweet, even if it doesn't have fenders on yet. Now that the bran turd is running OK (and stopping) maybe I can run it over your way?!?! You going to be around the next couple weekends??

[Luva65wagon]

I want to see it out of the garage!!! I bet it is looking pretty sweet, even if it doesn't have fenders on yet. Now that the bran turd is running OK (and stopping) maybe I can run it over your way?!?! You going to be around the next couple weekends??

Well, I can't see it out of the garage until I can get it going under its own power. That hill is a long way down. I should be around though.

Spent the day today finishing up some wiring. Have been in wiring hell the past week as I worked to redo all the dash wiring. I also got the wiring reworked going to the rear... complete with back-up wiring. Dash wiring also has e-flasher wiring from a setup of Comet dash wiring I got off eBay. All I have left to wire-up is under the hood, which compared to the dash will be heaven. One-wire alternator helped with that.

[Luva65wagon]

This is the sub box I made to fit under the bed compartment. I teased it in a picture with Bill Williams a week ago, but fiberglassed the entire thing so it won't rot if any moisture does make it in under that compartment. I then placed it in to transfer some mounting holes after I sprayed it with some textured coating. Then I took it out and painted it the Rangoon red. I know, seems like I could do this later, but really, to get the rest of the interior in, this needs to be in at the very least. Or I'd have to pull the seats and rear carpeting sometime. Just best to do things in sequence.

[doghows]

What is on your floor? Did you use some kind of sound dampener? Or am I imagining things? Looks good. I hope to get the delivery back from the frame shop this week. Then more body work for me...:BEER:

[Luva65wagon]

That's just metal with bed-liner sprayed on it, that looked black once - seemingly l o n g - a g o and is now kind-of brown from all the red, then gray, overspray. I do have some really heavy sheets of tar-like insulation material I picked up with all the 65 wagon parts I got. They will roll out soon. Need to warm them up in some sun first. Assuming it comes back.

I hope they are able to "straighten" what we saw that day. They should be able to even it up, at the very least. Fingers crossed.

On that note I went to the Skarff Ford show this weekend with my wagon. I met up with Bill who drove his Mustang out there (thanks, too, for helping him out with his horn wire doo-dad [thumb]) and I bought some raffle tickets, as did he. I didn't really want a lot of Mustang stuff, this being a predominately Mustang show, but there were two things I did want. There were items I didn't have and a couple things I had, but entered for anyway - because they were the "grand prizes." I won the two items I didn't have - one being a Ford oval carrying bag and the other was a free front-end alignment. I'll need that for the Flarechero - for sure. Bill won one of the two grand prizes, an iPod.

I also got 2nd place in the All Falcon class. If Larry (BadBird) had come, he'd have won 1st and I might have taken 3rd. 1st place was won by a 64 hardtop, which was OK, but hardly as detailed as mine or Larry's. It just happened to be the first one you came upon in the row we were in. That's how many people vote at this show. Way too many classes that you end up writing down the first number for the class you see. There were two before the hardtop, but the hardtop was the first that looked real good.

[BadBird]

POOP, I would have won something??? I just got back late Sunday from a week down at the ORV park by Olympia. Spent the week riding motorcycles and quads in a poker run. Didn't win anything there. Nice to be back from so much running. Reno and the motorcycle rides were fun though. Now I am back to work on the car to fix the overheating issues. BADBIRD, Larry

[doghows]

That's awesome Roger, at least I know someone who has actually won something!! Also glad to help Bill out, he is looking a lot more chipper these days.
Brought the delivery home last night and they got it all straight. The fenders line up with no bolts in them as well as the hood, AND I can actually put bolts in the holes now:banana:. Now to finish the body work:doh: and off to paint!!!

[doghows]

OK some one is either slacking or waiting to surprise us with an out of the garage picture... How is the wiring battle going???:confused: Hope it is going in OK..

[Luva65wagon]

It's going. Have been plugging away at wiring.

Hit the Pick and Pull couple days ago to look for a power distribution block. They always have nice big fuses and I need one for the one-wire alternator and a couple fuses under the hood for the headlight relays. Way over-kill, but only cost me $6.99 plus tax. Found this one and had to cut it in half and glue the ends back on. That can go on tonight and then I can do the engine compartment wiring.

And the subwoofer box is in and tightened up as is the sleeve for the radio. That was funny, actually. Going to the stereo store and asking to look at their dash inserts. "Oh, sorry, we don't make anything for something that old." I need to take a picture of what I did using a Volvo face plate.

[doghows]

I like the power distribution block idea. I used one of those on my 72 Bronco when I put the fuel injected motor in. Real handy. I have 2 of them on my shelf still.

[Luva65wagon]

I'm at about 95% with the wiring. Need to wrap the wires to the ignition and connect a couple for the fog lights I decided to install. Have had them for years, needed to put them on something. They sit nicely behind the grill.

It's also on the ground for good now too. All the oils are in and all the last of the under-car things are done. Needed to reroute the brake and gas line because the e-brake lever was riding right over the top of them. That was tough after they were already installed.

So maybe another day on wiring and I'll test it all. Then I can start to work on the doors. Once they are on, the rest is gravy.

[doghows]

It's a beautiful thing... Can I drop mine off and pick it up when it is done?? This body work is definitely not my forte. Guys at the body shop gave me some good pointers so back to the sanding boards.:doh: I hope your's goes better as far as the body work stuff....

[Luva65wagon]

Body work? What's that? :confused:

I've decided to just paint fake rips and tears into it and call it good. Maybe have something living poking its head through the tears - eating a Chevy or something. :BEER:

And yeah... you can come by any.... time.... to grab this stuff before it sinks into the ground any further. :p

And that reminds me - I need to contact Dave. Need to get the 62 headlight doors he found to go with the 62 grill I got from him.

[Luva65wagon]

... here's where I am today. All the wiring is done. I have a couple connections under the dash to connect when I hook up the heater, and then I'll stick a battery in it, put some gas in the tank, and see what happens. Probably do that over the long weekend.

Gene stopped by yesterday after visiting with Pat at his place for a while and we got the floor deadening sheets in and the carpet shoved in. Tonight I trimmed the front half and burned all the holes for the seat bolts. Will do the back half later. I need to look at making mounts for the center console before I get too carried away with that.

[BillP 98201]

Looks great Roger glad that the carpet is black ...... red carpet would be WAY to bright...lol :BEER:

[Luva65wagon]

Yeah, I looked at the interior on a lot of cars and they always seem to keep everything the same colors. Lots of the same colors.

I opted, since it is intended to be a driver (yes, that is still the intention) to go with darker colors on the carpet, door panels, dash pad, etc. The seats are red though as is the paint and headliner. So red high, black low. Should be interesting to see in the next few days as it continues to go together (quickly). 4-day weekend will help. [thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

The forum is pretty slow these days - so I'll post a couple pictures. Some may look like repeats, but there are differences.

I have all the wiring done and got the dash installed, but found I had to have the dash pad installed first, so did that today. I should be able to put some water in the block, gas in the tank, cross my fingers and toes, and see if I can get it running. That will be my goal for Monday. I'll check all the wiring at the same time.

Wish me luck.

[BillP 98201]

You do great work! It looks very nice. Alot better than it looked when you pulled it in there :rocker:

[doghows]

I like it Roger, look fantastic. No one would believe that is the same car you guys joy rode from my place back to Seattle. I hope you enjoy the heck out of it. You deserve it after all that hard work. Let us know how it runs!!!:banana:

[Luva65wagon]

It's running again as of Monday and seems to run well. Its using the stock Duraspark II bits and after a quick 180 degree dizzy reversal and a starter rebuild - it fired right up. Have some pics, but need to transfer them.

I'm now working on the doors because I need to have them in to move it outside. And secure it. Called Steve last night. Could use a blaster on some of that.

[doghows]

Consider it done; See you this afternoon.

Roger just left the shop with his newly sandblasted parts. Look for new updated pics and hopefully out of the garage by Sunday!!!

[Luva65wagon]

Look for new updated pics and hopefully out of the garage by Sunday!!!

:ROTFLMAO:

I may get the doors out of the garage by Sunday. I will say what you did will speed me up getting it out. I have already welded up the holes and splits and cracks on the one which had the loose window frame. I took the one with the bashed in door handle (had about 1/2" thick bondo under the handle) and hammer and dolly'd that until it's currently less than 1/16" dip anywhere. It's really hard to get the dolly on one side and the hammer in the other... without having arms another foot longer.

Here are a few pictures from the past few days.

[Luva65wagon]

And today's efforts.

[BillP 98201]

U r fast!!!!![thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

Had a trade show last week to go to in Vegas, so after blasting the doors at Steve's shop on Friday just over a week ago, I was able to do some damage repair on the drivers door (hinge must have failed and they tried to slam the door). I then primed the doors and painted the jambs before I left. I returned Saturday and worked some that night and Sunday to fix a dent on the passenger (inside, upper painted area). Sprayed the red late Sunday night.

I took this week off, so I started to put on the doors Monday afternoon. Drivers side took all of 10 minutes. I was going to call Gene, but I was able to just set them in the opening and use a bungy cord to hold it in place while I walked around to the other side and climbed through to put bolts in. The passenger side... well, that was a different story.

If you read a few hundred post back you'll see where I had to repair the lower section where the hinges bolt on, and there was apparent damage to the dash. Kenny and I noted that sitting on the ferry driving it home. In essence, the opening was smaller than the door - now. So I had this painted door and a hole for it that wouldn't accept it. So... out came the hammers.

Suffice it to say, I have the door in, and will have to do some paint touch-up. Not too bad. Considering. I got the latches in today and they open and shut nicely.

The front wing windows are all rebuilt and ready to install. Those puny rivets for the rear wing seal were a pain. Could not find the tool for less than $130, though NPD listed it for $30. They were "not available." Had to drill the rivets deeper for them to work right.

So, there you go. I canceled my storage garage for my wagon for the first of October. So, the race is on to get it into the carport within 10 days.

[BadBird]

This is looking really really good. But, I didn't expect anything else from you. Amazing the progress you seem to make in a short amount of time. Badbird

[Luva65wagon]

Well, I didn't come even close to my 4-month plan. But I did a lot more to it then I originally intended.

It's a Chip Foose Overhaulin episode - multiplied my months instead of days. It will be 7 months on Oct 3rd from the day I pulled it into the garage. And my "A" team was Gene and Steve (remote support). We did pretty good if you ask me.

[doghows]

Don't give me too much credit. All I did was supply a couple of crappy cars, some replacement parts, and some sandblasting and powder coating. OK I guess you can put one of my stickers on your car if you want.:D Just kidding, wouldn't want to clutter up that clean machine with a bunch of adds...
Looks very very nice. Now hurry up and finish so we can get mine done. How much pizza and beer does it take to get a sanding party going?? Body work blows...:doh:
Sorry back to the topic, when will you have the fenders and hood painted and on so you can cruise?? Is that the reason for the week off to finish it?

[Luva65wagon]

OK then Steve - you were my "B" team.

I'm working a bit on the hood right now. Ground out all the rust and spread some POR15 on the worst of it. It really isn't the best hood in the world. I may just mask off the underside and use the bed coating there too. Would cover a multitude of sins.

Will post pictures after the meeting, maybe.

I took the week off because I needed a vacation, but yes, it was also to try and get this over to "the other side."

[doghows]

Crap we forgot to go out to the house when you were here. I have 2 more hoods out there that are in better shape than the ones of either of those cars. One is the hood I re-skinned, came out pretty good just need to weld up the back edge. The other was the one I was going to use on the delivery till that guy showed up at my shop with that pristine one.
Either hood is your if you want it. maybe through the one you have on it for now till I can get these to you?? Both are in powder primer so rusting is not an issue. Just need a little love with the filler...[thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

It was a crazy day - no pun intended. No worries. I spent all day yesterday before the meeting cleaning it up and grinding away a lot of the rust scale. It's really not too bad... for a driver.

:)

I brushed on a lot of POR-15 just before the meeting and then after the meeting last night sprayed it with bed-liner for that "custom look."

Took more than an hour to get the latch pin extracted. Sort of "warpred" the spring with the torch. Will probably need those parts replaced now. Used a lot of heat to get that to loosen.

Will have to look at the other hoods when we can meet up again.

[Luva65wagon]

Still need a picture with the coating on it.

[doghows]

Dude that post area is nasty. Both the hoods I have are good in that area. They just need some luvin where the paint goes on!!
I need to get to work on mine so I can get my count up??:rolleyes:

[doghows]

These are the two I have. Your choice. First 2 pics are the stock hood, and the second 2 pics are the one I re-skinned. Both have good post areas.

[Luva65wagon]

Gene and I already put the one I had on yesterday. I'll roll with that a while. Don't let those go and next time you come here or I go there bring or I'll look.

As of last night I'm fighting over-worn window regulators and though I started out with two cars I only have one set of regulators. :confused: The drivers side is in free-run mode with the window brake spring and internals shot. I found a regulator with worn teeth in the gears in the gray tub, with a good-ish brake spring, but the gear/shaft parts were rusted together. So I'm soaking them in CLR to see if I can get them apart. Ford should have allocated this as a lube point... somehow.

While I was dinking with taking those apart, Gene came by and installed my steering wheel and shifter.

Seat on the drivers side, hood latch and catch - I'm down the road. :3g:

[doghows]

Not sure if I have any regulators around, but I will look. I think the spares I had were in that tub at your place. I still the ones in the four door car but they would need to be modified to work?? I will look and let you know.

[Luva65wagon]

After spending all day looking for window regulators and (giving up) then deciding to rebuild the two I had, I got the passenger side working well, but the drivers side "brake spring" was so badly worn it wouldn't lock the shaft like it was supposed to. So I measured the spring wire and wrapped some shim material in the drum part to make up for the worn spring. Now the brake worked and I put it together. After putting them all in the car... I found the other two regulators in the box I store all the trim in.

:doh:

Well, I have backups.

All the glass is in now, everything works, and now I can move to putting some seats in and fenders on. By next weekend it will be in the carport and my wagon home for the winter.

[Luva65wagon]

I still [have] the ones in the four door car but they would need to be modified to work?? I will look and let you know.

I'd pull these. These parts I needed are the same whether four door or two door. The arms are different, yes, but not the crank shaft and brake internals.

[Luva65wagon]

Have been hard at it shooting for a musical cars event on Friday. I moved it back and forth in the garage so far and moves nicely.

Most of the interior is in and tonight I got all the splash shields installed so possibly tomorrow I'll be able to test fit the fenders. Also as you see the hood is on and I also have the latch on, though I've got to take some more pictures of all that.

Got most of the stereo stuff mounted temporarily to get all the holes drilled and aligned, but they'll be the last thing I permanently install just before I start driving it. It was easier to figure a lot of that out before I put the seats in.

Should be posting a full profile picture any day.

The first pictures are of the window regulator rebuilding I did. I used 10-32 x 3/8" button-head screws and nylocks instead of rivets, which are just plain a pain. Though it looks like they hit, they just clear. You have to install two of the screws in opposite directions to clear.

[Luva65wagon]

Interior work...

[BillP 98201]

SAweeeet!!!! :rocker:

[doghows]

I knew that chrome glove box would come into play someday.. You have done the old girl proud as well as the falcon community in general. Now we need about o more month of decent weather, and one more good car show so I have an excuse to come over and see it in person.:WHATTHE:
Very nicely done. You should pat your self on the back if your elbow will let you!!:D

Wait is that a chrome ash tray I see????

[Luva65wagon]

That gray car had a lot of chrome stuff. None of it is "pretty", but it's fine. Still have a lot of stuff to put in, but most can wait for a while. Fenders are being looked at tonight.

I think I noticed that I may have sent you over two of the same small curve bed chrome pieces. I kept the two I wanted, but they must have been the same side. Have a look at the ones I sent over to see if you have two of the same side.

[doghows]

Roger that!?! Uh I mean OK. I have them on the bench in the shop. Do you need either of them or do you have one for each side??

[Luva65wagon]

Here it is outside again after 7 months in the womb. A bit premature, but had to. The wagon is out of storage and back into the garage.

I'll start looking around for a... what did Bill Williams call it... a ghetto garage? I'll be putting one of these up just outside the garage so I can put the flarechero there so I don't have to scrape snow and ice off my daily driver.

It was a real challenge getting the fender to fit on the passenger side. It's going to need some more tweaking, but that side of the car, where the fender meets the door, is tight - just like the door was in its opening. I only have them hanging by a few bolts, since I need to pull them off and do more work to get them on for good.

Still plenty of tweaks to do.

[Luva65wagon]

Roger that!?! Uh I mean OK. I have them on the bench in the shop. Do you need either of them or do you have one for each side??

Next time we see each other - here or there - we can bring the ones we have and look at them again.

[BillP 98201]

Lookin Good! Gotta luv the gas filler :rocker:

[doghows]

Yeah hooray!!!!! Must feel good to have the wagon home again. Flarechero is looking good. No at least the burden of storage fees is gone. Now you can slow up a bit and get it done when you want and not when you have to.
On another note I think those trim pieces I have are different. I think one for each side? We will get them all in a pile and see.
Congratulations on the flarechero I know it runs cause I've seen your driveway and you ain't pushing it there.:shift:

[Luva65wagon]

I'm thinking I'll probably do the all black thing for a while. You know how we hate body work. At least it'll all look the same.

No worries on the trim. Well figure it out.

Gene donated a car cover for it. Fits pretty well. Thanks for that Gene.

[doghows]

The black with red wheels looks good.. Go for it, I had a guy drive me nuts about mine. He finally made me an offer I could not refuse. I won't talk $ but lets just say I did not get hurt. So the black with red wheels is all your again.:D

Did you drive her around the block, or just over to the car port?? I would have gone for a cruise but I have a more remote area for my test drives. (no cops)...

Keep us posted and the more pics the merrier.[thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

No, I just backed it down the drive and up the other side. Did OK but stalled when I got to the top for some reason. Started right back up. Need to still do some fine tuning.

As for black - 7777 Satin black Derusto - Home Depot - maybe $20 total. It'll be beautiful. Ours can be twins.

[doghows]

Guess you missed part of that last post. I sold the black one. Guy was after her pretty bad so I sold her off. Got me eye on another one however.?. What a sickness we have. Anyway glad to see the flarechero move. It looks good with the fenders on the back like that. I'll keep you posted on the new chero if it transpires...

[Luva65wagon]

I did miss that. Good going. Well, be sure to post when you have a new one.

[doghows]

I might use some of the cash to focus back on the delivery again. I sure would like to get it on the road by summer (if we ever get one). Right now is sanding and more sanding...:doh:

[Luva65wagon]

Spent the weekend (after a brief visit to Gene's on Saturday morning) doing some bodywork on the Flarechero. Got a little carried away.

:ROTFLMAO:

[SmithKid]

I LIKE IT!!!!!http://rainierfalcons.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.gifhttp://rainierfalcons.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.gifhttp://rainierfalcons.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif

Your driveway sure has changed though.:confused: I remember a bit more incline than that.

[BillP 98201]

Flarechero and flare driveway! :rocker:

[Luva65wagon]

Yeah - and who put those Oregone plates on it!

OK, just funnin' ya. That one's not mine.

I have been doing that dreaded body work thing though. Steve, I'm with ya... I hate body work. But it's coming along. Almost have the entire right side, hood, and half-way down the drivers side, all smoothed out of it's little dents. I hope to be able to spray the satin black by the end of the weekend. Fingers crossed.

Also, I ordered tail light buckets for lenses with back-up lights. I looked and poked -- seemed the easiest route to go. Assuming they are in stock and ship sometime soon. The others are really nice, so I will sell those to offset the cost of the new ones.

[doghows]

Where did you order the buckets from?? I can't find them anywhere. But mine has a glitch. I grafted in those panels from the 61, so now I need to use the 61 buckets and tail lights. Do they have those???
I have a brand new set of 63 buckets, lenses and gaskets if any one needs them. I bought them for $175 and found they won't work for me anymore.
Roger when you get done with your body work feel free to come over, I am having a difficult time. I think I am over sanding. Seems to me I fix one and find two more!:doh::doh:
Flarechero is looking very good though. Wish my honey do list would take a vacation...:D

[Luva65wagon]

I ordered them from Mac's, but I've looked elsewhere with them either not available or no longer available. What did you get before? The non-back up sets?

I didn't see the earlier style, but didn't really look for that style, so could have missed 'em if they had 'em.

With the satin black - and being a "driver", I ain't sweating the small stuff. I just want it done.

[redfalken]

... - and being a "driver", i ain't sweating the small stuff.

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

[Luva65wagon]

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

OK, I guess I should have qualified that statement by ending it with "anymore ." Burnout has come and gone and been replaced with something resembling two very bald tires. :3g:

[Jeff W]

I thought you jambed it the gun metal gray... At what point did you change to satin black? Did I miss something?

[Luva65wagon]

I did, but in post 340 I'd mentioned doing the all black thing for a while. Maybe a long while. I'd have to do a lot more body work for anything shiny. Just don't have it in me.

[doghows]

Yes I came across a set at a swap meet. I priced out the package new and it was around $200 buck plus shipping. I got it all for 125 I think. They are no back up but I was after the buckets more than the lens part.
Oh well still have lots of time so I will keep looking.
By the way I am off to pick up a 65 "chero" tonight. The price was right so I will let ya know what I end up with.:o (here we go again)

[Luva65wagon]

Well, as I suspected, I got an email from Mac's and the back-up buckets are not available - so back to the drawing board.

I picked up some small halogen bulbs with a wire attached to them and will, I guess, see if I can make an adapter plate to put those in the back-up lens hole. Just more fabrication I hoped I didn't need to do. Oh well.

:doh:

So, then, Steve, I guess you sold the Bronco or traded it for the Ranchero?

[doghows]

No still fiddling with the Bronco. Met a guy at a swap meet and got talking and of course one thing led to another and a smoking deal was struck.
I will put up some pics as soon as I get it out of the trailer.:D

[Luva65wagon]

"one thing led to another"...

Almost as bad as "while I'm at it"...

[Luva65wagon]

I've been doing nothing but body work the past couple weeks and I'm now ready to start spraying some satin black over this thing. Will be doing multiple coats with a light sanding between coats. It'll be fine for a long time like this.

So tomorrow after I visit Dave to look at the back-up tail light buckets he has, I will be beginning the job of masking off all the bits and pieces and hopefully spray coat #1 tomorrow afternoon.

Also, having already driven it from the garage to the carport and back again, the 13.5" steering wheel I purchased from Jay was just too small. So I found this one on ebay and it's a lot closer to the original size.

[Jeff W]

This looks better every time I see it. Do you have the little trim pieces that go on each side of the dash pad (next to the doors) to cover the raw ends. They are just flat metal and would be easy to make. I'm going to be installing mine this weekend and can easily trace a pattern for you.

You may want to save that small wheel to use after you install the V-8 with power steering.

[Luva65wagon]

I do have those pieces Jeff. Thanks for the offer. I just haven't gone back to finish interior stuff.

I'll probably sell the 13.5 wheel

Thanks to Dave who met up with me early this morning with the tail light buckets I needed and to Gene for helping to mask off the car. It has the first coat of black sprayed on it now, but it's so cold in the garage it'll take a couple days to cure enough to sand in preparation for the second coat. And this satin black never looks good wet.

Sadly the image management doesn't work using this tablet. Bummer.

[Luva65wagon]

With a couple heaters going in the garage the car dried pretty well overnight and I was able to spray a second coat on tonight. It's turning out pretty nice. I expected to see a lot more flaws in my "bodywork" but not too bad.. if I do say so myself.

Here's some pics from the first coat and the tail lights and mirrors I'll be putting on it. The buckets only had a socket in one of them, so I picked up some sockets from the O'Reilys and will post some images of the install of those. The buckets cleaned up pretty good though.

[Luva65wagon]

I will add that the 63 backup light style buckets will fit a Ranchero. There isn't anything in the way like the wagon.

[Luva65wagon]

Since these sockets were intended to be removed to replace the bulbs, I've still got to come up with something that holds these in place without having to hold the socket in the hole - from the back-side - while you push and twist the bulb. I've got a couple ideas, so we'll see what I come up with. :)

[BillP 98201]

Looks great as usual....... :BEER:

[doghows]

That's it, I am bringing the delivery to your garage!! You have got more done in 6 months than I have done in 2 years. I have all but given up on the body work.
The "Flarechero" looks awesome, one hell of job Roger, Gene, and whoever else had a hand in this. Is it going to the XXX show on the 4th?? The 65 won't be ready but the 62 might...
By the way, is that sprayed with a gun (looks like it) or did you bomb it? Either way two thumbs up.

[Luva65wagon]

I doubt I'll bring it to the XXX. Won't be driving it much until I can get it to the alignment shop. Still a couple weeks, at best, for that. I'm going to get as much as I can done before I try and play musical cars again.

I'm using my small detail gun for this. I've tried my HVLP gun on this #7777 satin black. Even filtering it, it clogs up. So this detail gun does a pretty good job. Just have to fill the thing 6 times to shoot the entire thing.

The '62? Did I miss something. OMG... you didn't. :WHATTHE:

[doghows]

I did. *see roger club post... I need to come over soon and see the yellow I mean flarechero soon. Will you take the 65 to the XXX show??

[Luva65wagon]

Yes... there is nothing "yellow" on the Flarechero now. Anywhere. All gone.

Yes, I plan to take the wagon to the XXX show. I don't think I'll have the 'chero aligned and all that by then. You never know, but I don't see it in my forward looking periscope.

I had an idea for some pin-stripes this morning too. They'll be all red to go with the wheels and interior. You'll just have to wait to see that... if I do it. Unlike Jeffs car, which I copied too much from, this idea I want to be all mine - first.

My only concern now, on this, will be... do I now have to get tattooed and pierced? :NERVOUS:

[doghows]

Maybe you could get one of those temporary Henna tattoo's. As far as a piercing you are on your own.
Can't wait to see the car. I think I will have the 62 ready by then. I need exhaust and I can drive it. Got the registration done yesterday!!!

[redfalken]

How about these? Just roll them on like pantyhose and when you have to go to work Monday, take them off. And no needles :NERVOUS:

http://www.temporarytattoosleeve.com/images/newking.jpg

[Luva65wagon]

Kenny I think you posted an image, but for some reason I don't see it here. Scares me to think what it might have been.

Gene and I wrapped up coat #3 of the satin black last night and so after work today the newspaper comes off to reveal the final [for now] look. What a milestone. You don't know how good this feels.

Not sure how much I'll get done, or what I'll post between now and tomorrow - so if I don't post anything later...

HAVE A GREAT TURKEY DAY!!

or...

HAVE A GREAT TOFURKEY DAY!!

(just making sure I cover all my bases)

[redfalken]

Hmmmm, I think I know what went wrong. I'll go this route...

[Luva65wagon]

Cool... I can get a 10-pack on Amazon for $15. Or not.
:confused:

[Jeff W]

If you do get a set, be sure they are made in America where it is more likely he printing would not be mirror image like the one shown.

Do you think they come in Small? How about custom printed so we could have all our chapter members wear them at our first Regional with our logo?

Roger, when it is time to go with your original plab for paint (Gunmetal) do you have to strip all the black off or just scuff and squirt? Did you get overspraty in your jambs?

Can't wait to see it in person. January meeting?

[Luva65wagon]

I suspect they are like Buffs, which I tried (having known a couple people - through work - who made them) to have custom Buffs made for work. That went over like a lead balloon. But I'm sure we could all get "tattoo'd" with Rainier Falcon logo's.

As for the gun metal color, I may never go there. Once I found so much "tweaked" around the a-pillar and door jambs, which made it really hard to fit things, like fenders and doors, correctly - that prompted the satin-black look. I left the gun metal color in the jambs, but it's so close in color to the satin black, you can't see where one stops and the other begins unless you look real hard. I used backer rod (foam rope used to stuff into cracks) as my paint stop. Taped it to the door where the weatherstipping goes and shut the door. Worked well. Anyway, I think this color looks pretty cool and fits the car well with the red wheels and the stainless, when I get it all on.

Also, for the tail lights, as I was lamenting about above, I just used pure silicone to glue the socket in. The tail lights look really good.

Here's where I got it to last night. And I started painting a few of the other odd bits I need to start assembly. I don't see anything stopping me from having it on the road for the January meeting. Likely much sooner than that.

Off now to eat some turkey...

[BillP 98201]

Looks great Roger....... :rocker:

[Luva65wagon]

Well - lots of similar pictures, but with more done on it. Pretty much have all the front end on now and tightened up and have started on the back now. Spent a good two hours tonight just to install the "stone deflector" (AKA splash shield) on the tail-end. Love doing those little staples.

Masked of the grille after spending a few hours straightening it up as good as I could and polishing it up as good as it will get. Then sprayed the black masks. Came out pretty good. Spent a good hour trying to figure out why the hood opener lever would not come out the right part of the grille. Clearly there is a 63 and a 62 lever assembly. It is a 63 Ranchero with a 62 grille, so it dawned on me that they probably had a different lever on the 62 to have it come out of the grille off-center. I don't have the 62 lever assembly - so I cut out the center grille bridge. Works fine now. :D

I sprayed Hammerite on the backs of the bumpers to ward off corrosion and mounted the front with lights and finally was able to test all the lighting. Everything works as it should.

Feeling good... :banana:

[BillP 98201]

Looks ALOT better than it did when you first got it. You do nice work....
And you cant beat a garage that comes with its own moving blankets [BOW]

[doghows]

She is a thing of beauty![BOW] I am very happy that the car went to someone with as much passion for the Falcons as you have. I am sure it tested your patients as well as your skills. Now if I can just figure out how to get my delivery into your garage and make you to think it is one of your "daily driver" projects??:D
Nice work.

[Luva65wagon]

Thanks guys...


Steve said...
I am sure it tested your patients as well as your skills.

I'm a doctor now, too? I have no patience for patients. So there, their, they're. :ROTFLMAO:


Steve said...
Now if I can just figure out how to get my delivery into your garage and make you to think it is one of your "daily driver" projects??

If it just happened to have about $20,000 left in the glove box, I might be willing to be "fooled" into thinking it was mine and was also only going to be a daily driver. :)

[SmithKid]

AwSum! AWSUM!! AWSOME!!! AWSOME!!!!

[Luva65wagon]

That was AWESOME Gene. You spent a lot of time on that one...

As I mentioned to Guy, I like posting pictures, so here are some more.

I put the back bumper on last night, followed by installing the inner tailgate panel. Not many of you saw the tailgate on this 'chero, but it looked like someone had put a big block motor in the bed and it had rolled back into the gate. I had to straighten the gate and inner panel - a lot. After putting it all together last night, with new rubber in the corners - it latched like new. I plan to do a bed liner, like Rhino-liner, back there, so even though the inner panel is quite ugly, it'll be fine. Keep an eye out for a better inner panel for me.

Also put on my licence plates and my nifty Pick-n-Pull licence plate frame on the front. That'll look good for a while, but I suspect it will be hard to keep looking good. It's sort of like wire wheels - hard to get at all the nooks and crannies.

[falcon cobra]

Hey there roger did you distort the numbers on the plate? so the falcon theives won't find it ? that will work..jh

[Luva65wagon]

that will work.

Probably not - but don't see the point in helping them either. I've always done this, but nothing keeping people from taking pictures at car shows and posting them on-line after that - so, probably just a futile effort.

[redfalken]

Nice plate frame! I never see any good ones at Pick-n-Pull. Here's one from my collection for your rear plate. The ladies are gonna dig it man! :rocker:

[BillP 98201]

Sex instruction FLARECHERO style!!!!!

[Luva65wagon]

They'd have to get on their hands and knees to realize what the top of it says though, the way the bumper is designed....

...no pun intended.

:WHATTHE:

Hey - this is a family site.

[Luva65wagon]

See - this is what I mean...

It would work fine on the front bumper though. [thumb]

[doghows]

Wow, you are photo shop wizard too!!! Can you make my delivery look done? Maybe that will get me motivated again.:o

[Luva65wagon]

Layers and transparencies are Photoshop 101. But yeah, I'm OK.

But Grasshopper, you must see it done up here [Roger points to his head] and that will be your motivation. But yeah, I could Photoshop it done too....

:)

[Luva65wagon]

I know it's been a while since I posted anything. Have been working on it though... almost every day. Getting closer.

Last week, with Gene's help, I lowered the rear panel into the bed and got it all glued and bolted into place... not to come out again without a lot of heartache. There were a few places between bolts that wanted to bulge, so I had to rig up some method to hold them down until the glue cured. I'm using Loctite Polyurathane roof sealant here, which is also what I used on the underside of the car. Takes a few days to cure, but seems very tough. The bed is the last thing I will clean up before I take it over to Line-X or Rhino-liners to get the bed sprayed. Mostly all done with a wire-wheel and some hammer paint. Easy-peasy.

I have the weatherstripping and the windless in now, as well as the beltline weatherstip similar to what Jeff and Kenny used. I glued mine in, so I have been letting that glue cure before I roll up the window. It's pretty stiff material, so I hope it stays glued down.

:NERVOUS:

The past few days I've been working on getting the tunes all hooked up. Possibly tonight I'll be able to fire that off and get it tuned and adjusted to my liking. As you recall from my summer pictures I now have a speaker box tucked up under the bed in that wasted empty space (hence the need to seal it all off from above). The picture shows how I mounted the amps and rear speakers. I have a piece of red vinyl the same as the roof and will make a curtain for over all this so it can't be seen from outside.

Then it's onto the door panels, which are ready to go in, and then the tune-up on the motor to make it run right. And ta-da! it'll be ready for front-end alignment and bed liner.... and prime-time.

[thumb]

[SmithKid]

WOW! Can't wait to hear it.

[redfalken]

Nice job! Your wagon's gonna get jealous!!

[BillP 98201]

Im already jealous!!!!! Gotta yank my generator out, and do something with my tunes, and door panels, and......... :D
Great work Roger!

[doghows]

One would never know what that car looked like when it left my driveway. Can I have it back now?? I'll trade you a 62 V-8 chero and a 65 6 cyl one for it!!!:D
All I have left to do is ........ EVERYTHING:o

[Luva65wagon]

WOW! Can't wait to hear it.
You mean you didn't hear it last night? It sounds AWESOME and I haven't even tweaked it yet.


Nice job! Your wagon's gonna get jealous!!
It's only jealous right now because it is sitting out under the ghetto garage in the freezing cold. Soon it will be back in the garage snuggy and warm(er) and snickering at the freezing Flarechero.


Im already jealous!!!!! Gotta yank my generator out, and do something with my tunes, and door panels, and.........
Great work Roger!
Thanks Bill! When you're ready to upgrade your tunes... or anything else... just let me know.
[thumb]


One would never know what that car looked like when it left my driveway. Can I have it back now?? I'll trade you a 62 V-8 chero and a 65 6 cyl one for it!!!
All I have left to do is ........ EVERYTHING
They need only look at the first page of this thread. I can hardly believe what I've done in these few short months (though I am only 5 months overdue). And NO! you can't have it back. I don't think I have it in me to do this again - this soon. After something like this I'll need at least 5 years off. You'll soon have yours back from paint, and then it can go as fast or as slow as you want it to go. We'll have to throw a put-it-together party... on the condition that your lovely wife prepares a feast like the last one. I think we could get the whole club to come to that. It was awesome! We were reminiscing just the other day....
:)

[doghows]

No problem. I will plan if for spring when it is warm. I have plenty of room for camping.:BEER::rocker: Hopefully I can get enough parts and stuff together by then.

[Luva65wagon]

As I indicated months ago (seems like years ago) I bought aftermarket door panels off ebay for $80 a pair. Far cry cheaper than factory looking panels. I worked some on putting those on last night. I have the driver's side on completely, and will be adding the 4 screws you see in the picture to the passenger side. The holes behind the panels don't come close to the holes in the doors. The holes for the arm rests and window crank are fine, just not the retainer clips. So 4 stainless screws will help hold it on. Jury's still out, but it's not too bad looking. The arm rests were donated to the car out of the wagon at Steve's house. That car lives on in many ways.

Rolled up the windows into the new fuzzies too last night after a week of letting the glue cure. Stiff stuff, but it should keep the interior of the door a lot drier. The doors sound so.... solid. Though with the issues I discovered on the passenger side of the car, that door may forever shut hard.

[doghows]

So that make your 's a 61-62-63 "flarechero". COOL.. Do the tunes sound as good as the one's in your wagon?? Maybe we can get both your car's to a show and play both stereo's together for super stereo!![thumb]
You have got to be itching to drive it.:shift:

[Luva65wagon]

You have got to be itching to drive it.:shift:
I realized when I woke up this morning that I had just had a dream about driving it. I think Gene was in the car too. How the heck I drove up the little hill along side the road I was on is still troubling me. :WHATTHE::NERVOUS:

[doghows]

61-62-63 4Xflare4Chero??? I don't know if you are rubbing off on me or the other way around??

[Luva65wagon]

...I can taste it.

I'm down to just two things in the interior now. Secure the console and add the spare tire carrier. The latter will be bolted in since I can't weld it if I ever need to pull speakers or the box from under the bed. The spare is going to be a wanna-be I picked up at the Pick-n-Pull.

Yesterday and today I got the driver side door panel finished and sill plates in, the visors cleaned and painted (after a near disaster with a spray can of red vinyl paint gone wild), rear view mirrors and interior lighting done.

Most of these pictures were taken with my phone camera with the garage lights off and the interior lit with the interior lights. Used Photoshop to make them visible, which is why they're pretty grainy. The little light behind the dome light is a light I've had around for about 20 years. Finally found a home for it. It articulates to point anywhere you want. The lights under the dash are the old lights from my friends Mustang, which he replaced with new ones.

So... now I'm torn regarding the side-view mirrors. The ones I got off ebay are really small and I'm not sure I like them. I'm not sure whether I won't just get a set of regular door mirrors. We'll see.

Next up - getting the engine to run right.

[Luva65wagon]

Weekend update. I spent the day yesterday getting the console mounted permanent-like. Made a bracket to mount underneath. I also mounted the spare tire bracket and mounted the wanna-be spare. Still have a lot of room back there.

Today I didn't spend a lot of time out there, but did a few checks to see why it has been running so bad after putting it all back together. I did a compression check first and all cylinders were at 150 psi., which was pleasant to see. I inspected the plugs and they were all fouled. I measured the resistance of all the plugs and they were all over the place, so I picked up a new set and after installing them it did run a little better, but very poorly still. So off with the carb and see for yourself. Not very pretty in there. Who filled my carb with dirt? Anyway, it was a recent rebuild Steve put on it, so I was able to disassemble it without tearing any gaskets. Cleaned up, readjusted the choke, which wasn't working right, installed it, and purrrrrr....
:banana:

Good way to end the weekend.

[BadBird]

This is really looking fantastic. I am so amazed, (don't know why) at your ability to take something and turn it into such a beatiful vehicle in such a short period of time. Congratulations, Badbird,Larry

[doghows]

Boy you would think that putting 2 fuel filters on there would have stopped all that junk.. Guess I should have just junked that tank??
Anyway looks awesome as usual. Got the parts from Gene thanks for that, and hope that bed trim is what you need.
Can't wait to see it out on the road. Toady maybe?? Off to alignment..:rocker::3g:

[Luva65wagon]

This is really looking fantastic. I am so amazed, (don't know why) at your ability to take something and turn it into such a beatiful vehicle in such a short period of time. Congratulations, Badbird,Larry

Thanks Larry. Same could be said of you, I think. Mine's a 20-footer, and was intended as such, whereas yours is a 1-incher. Flawless.


Boy you would think that putting 2 fuel filters on there would have stopped all that junk.. Guess I should have just junked that tank??
Anyway looks awesome as usual. Got the parts from Gene thanks for that, and hope that bed trim is what you need.
Can't wait to see it out on the road. Toady maybe?? Off to alignment..

I tried to clean that tank, but it was beyond the capability of the methods supplied to do the job of cleaning out the rust, so it is just coated. We'll see how long it takes before I have to break down and spend the $300 for a new tank. I may add back in a pre-filter filter.

Sent a PM about the parts. I'm going to shoot for a test drive sometime this week, though I really ought to spend an hour, at least, and get some Christmas shopping done. How long does it take to buy gift cards? :D

I may choose a more local place to get the front-end aligned. Driving it to Renton with unknown alignment may not be wise. I could probably sell-off my "free" front-end alignment I won at the Bowen Skarff car show and apply that to the cost of a more local service.

Then off to Rhino-liners for the bed coating.

[BillP 98201]

You are almost there........... :banana:
Question is....... what are you going to do with yourself after flarechero is finished? :ROTFLMAO:

[doghows]

I think he is going to start on a sedan delivery?:D But only if there is a pile of cash in place of where the glove box should be.[AGREE]

[Luva65wagon]

Considering I've let just about everything else in my life fall by the wayside, I think I'll have plenty to occupy my time. But I also plan to help a certain other member get another Ranchero done.

Come spring, when the sedan delivery is back from paint, you can set up a cot in the garage, feed me, and I'll spend an entire weekend out in Sequim to move that forward too.

And I also have a lot of "stuff waiting for me to list on ebay, so I think I will be busy.

[AGREE]

[doghows]

If you didn't flaunt your talents so much we wouldn't be requesting your skills.
Just kidding, it is great to have someone with the talent and the willingness to help out us less talented people. Your contributions to the club, web site and others is greatly appreciated.
:BEER:

[Luva65wagon]

Ah shucks. Thanks dude, man.

:BEER:

[Luva65wagon]

Maybe this should be my next project. Got the link out of the SCFF chapter newsletter. Heck, he seems to be where I was only a few weeks ago. :)

Only $20K

:WHATTHE:

http://www.Photobucket.com/1963FalconRanchero

[BillP 98201]

Hope Gene doesnt get any ideas now.......lol

[Luva65wagon]

I got it done in time for Christmas. Whew-hoo! Next week I'll take it down to get the bed liner shot and call it good.

Merry Christmas.

[BillP 98201]

Nothin says the holidays like a "Flarechero" Christmas card! SAWEEEET!

[Jeff W]

It looks like you used the clip on door mirrors meant for window frame installation and mounted to the front of the door. How do you like that? Can you post a closer shot of that... I am still struggling on my mirror location. I don't like any of the places I have tried.

[SmithKid]

VERY nice, Roger!
[thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

It looks like you used the clip on door mirrors meant for window frame installation and mounted to the front of the door. How do you like that? Can you post a closer shot of that... I am still struggling on my mirror location. I don't like any of the places I have tried.

I took closer picture of it, but didn't post it. You can't see the passenger side mirror at all. I don't like these mirrors at all and will be ordering a set - of something - after the holiday. Probably the stock Falcon mirror. For this week, so I can take it out for a test drive and get the bed liner done, these are fine.

[redfalken]

Looks great Roger! I've never been in a Falcon that had useful side mirrors. I'd say point them so you can crane your neck to see if you're going to hit something when you back up. For switching lanes while driving, I would just rely on the rear view mirror with a quick glance over your shoulder!

If I ever paint my Falcon again, I'll probably just weld over the old holes (mine are on the door near the front of the wing window) and get some vintage tear drops to clamp on the door window frame.

[Luva65wagon]

Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for a great year of Falcon antics. My year was clearly a Falcon driven year, but not exactly a drive my Falcon year.

Kenny - I agree with you about the mirrors. There is just not a good place if you want to use your wing windows as air pushers (full swing - grab the wind). You really have to mount them aft -behind the wing. Not a pretty spot. I did wander the bone-yard on Friday to get ideas, maybe find something different, but 99% of all mirrors are now in-place-of wing windows. Oh well. Will use the peep mirrors in their funky placement until I get an epiphany.

Ho Ho Ho.

[Luva65wagon]

The Flarechero took it's maiden voyage today. Took it to the gas station to see if, in fact, the gas gauge isn't working... and it's not. Not sure, yet, if it's the sender or the gauge. The wiring is new, so not likely that. It was very pleasant using the Jag filler.

:rocker:

It has a few bugs to work out, for sure. The V8 suspension is really stiff; I think I can eliminate the overload springs in the rear and use regular shocks; it's hard to get into 1st gear, so I think I need to re-align the shifter rods; and it started and ran very smooth for the first 10 minutes in the garage and half-way to the gas station, then started to sputter a little... again. So the carb is certainly not 100% happy yet. Everything else seems to be checking out, so it has to be that. I have a kit to rebuild it completely, so will have to do that next, I guess. If that doesn't take care of it - it's out'ta there and something will replace it. I wish the wagon carb was an exact bolt-on. It's a Holley and this one is an Autolite 1100.

Tomorrow morning I'm taking it to Rhino-Liners to get the bed sprayed. Supposedly will take about 5 hours to do and Gene and I will do some work on his Ranchero while they're doing that. Then I'll be taking it to a front-end shop to get an alignment. I got it pretty close, so it's not going all over the place, but wouldn't want to drive to Sequim or Renton (where I have a free alignment I can use), but Gene and I will stop by a place he's used before and see when they can do it for me.

So, this thread is just about complete. I will post some pictures after the bed liner is done too and the rest of the bed chrome is on.

[doghows]

That is awesome, congratulations!!:banana: It is quite amazing to go back through this thread and see the beginning and to where it is now. Quite the journey. I am very happy the old yeller went to a good place. Now she will live on for another 40 years.
Give yourself a pat on the back for a job very well done and I can't wait to see it live and in person. Maybe my 62 will be drivable by then.
Again job well done be proud!:BEER:

[redfalken]

Good job! That color scheme is just hollering for some Kafka pinstripes...

[Luva65wagon]

Have spent the past few hours researching this Autolite 1100 to see what information is out there on it; mods, tweaks, known weaknesses - etc.

With all the discussion and research I've done based on Kenny's "recurve" thread, I, of course, learned a lot regarding early timing characteristics with these motors too. All things happen for a reason.

As you all know I have 65 wagon and now this Ranchero. Both have similar drivetrain.

The wagon has the stock distributor with Pertronics and when I bought the car in 1997 it had a funcky/warped 1-barrel Holley on it, which was beyond repair. At the time my only choice was to replace it, so I ran up to the local parts house and told them what I needed, and they said they had one in stock for a later model Mustang with a 200 ci/6 and "it should work fine." So I got it, installed it, and other than the little crud issue a couple years ago, it has been working pretty good.

As I do my research tonight I come across a thread on a Mustang forum with a guy trying to rebuild a carb like the one on my wagon. Some guy mentions to the OP that his photo's don't show it having a spark control valve (AKA - the vacuum advance control needed on the Load-o-matic models) and he ought to see if his dizzy needs it (no mechanical advance). And my brain instantly goes - !!!WHOAAANELLY!!! I pull up pictures of my wagon motor and low and behold - I have a Holley 1940 on my wagon... with a Load-o-matic distributor... and NO SPARK CONTROL VALVE. So God only knows what my advance is like on that wagon.

So... me thinks the carb from the wagon comes off, goes onto the Flarechero, the 1100 gets a full-fledged rebuild and goes onto the wagon with a Spark Control Valve... for the first time in 15 years.

Maybe both will run really well after that.

:)

[Luva65wagon]

Good job! That color scheme is just hollering for some Kafka pinstripes...

I sort of mentioned doing something like this up there somewhere. Whether I learn to do it, or take it somewhere...

Always looking to learn new things. Would need to create me a part to practice on. And the brushes. And maybe some on-line tutorials.

[thumb]

[BillP 98201]

I agree with Kenny pinstripes would be the way to go! [AGREE]

[pbrown]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1FgVtsfDoU&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

[Luva65wagon]

Thanks for the link, Patrick. Looks interesting. Will have to watch it when I'm more awake.

Had a bad case of insomnia last night - too much thinking about that carb, I think - and only got about 3 hours of sleep. After watching 4 hours of "Wheeler - Dealers" between 3AM and 7AM I went out this morning before going to RhinoLiners and swapped out the carb from the wagon to the Ranchero and - other than forgetting to plug off the vacuum port on the carb, the thing ran famously all 10 miles I drove it today. Just a little fluttering, which was probably due to the open vacuum port. The Autolite 1100 is now in the carb bath and I'll rebuild it for the wagon - and maybe it will like it better.

Gene met me at Rhino-Liner this morning and we worked on his Ranchero while they sprayed the bed liner, which took them 6 hours to turn-around. Win-Win for both of us (he's getting close to starting his car too!). The bed turned out pretty good, but I got home too late to get any pictures taken. Only a couple hiccups. Using a flashlight I put the bed trim on (sans the transition curve pieces, which I will do tomorrow) and plugged the vacuum port on the carb. I've only got to install the access panels and shock-bolt covers in the bed in the morning.

I have an appointment at 9AM to get the front-end aligned, so I hope I sleep - or don't over-sleep. I am a typing zombie right now. :(

[falcon cobra]

Looks good roger. is it to late to chop the top?? jh[yay]

[Luva65wagon]

Looks good roger. is it to late to chop the top?? jh[yay]

Just a little... :rolleyes:

Here's a couple pictures of the bed liner and while it was at the alignment shop. I have to say that after the alignment, what a difference. Still shaking out bugs, but it's a kick to drive. Brings me back to my high school days with my Falcon I had back then. These round-body cars have a totally different personality.

Gonna take it out and go to Gene's today and let him go for a ride in it. And see what other trouble we can get into on his Ranchero.

Happy New Year too!

[falcon cobra]

Who did the align ? and how much $$ , and is it cheeper to have the bed done or do it yourself ? falcon people have a need to know...thanks...jh

[Luva65wagon]

For the alignment I used a place Gene has used for a long time - American Auto Care in Everett. Run by a guy who's been around a long time and done hundreds of Falcons and Mustangs over his lifetime. I don't really know if I got a "Gene's friend" discount, but expect to pay around $100 plus tax.

Bed liners are bit pricey at $500, but they guarantee them for life. I don't think what I can do at home can match the coverage and density of this stuff. As Gene and I scrutinized the work they did today at his place, the less pleased I am with the job they did. Not sure what, if anything, they can do about it now that it's done. There's no removing the stuff they did. They can only make it thicker. I may or may not call them on it. Still debating. It's a cosmetic thing, so functionally it's fine.

Gene and I drove it to the parts house when I got to his place, and everything went well, but as I was driving down Evergreen way near Fluke some couple passed by on my left and yelled something at me -- all I heard was the last word, which I think was "stinky." Not sure what she meant by that. :confused:

My heater fan does the "screaming thing" too. Bummer. I guess out comes the heater box again. :doh:

[Jeff W]

-- all I heard was the last word, which I think was "stinky." Not sure what she meant by that. in. :

I think "Stinky" is Italian for "Sexy"... do you suppose she was talking about the car or the driver?

[Luva65wagon]

Jeff - You come up with some of the best answers...

I don't think she was Italian either. :(

[Luva65wagon]

I've been driving the Flarechero around on the weekends and working through the bugs. The biggest of them is the non-function fuel gauge. Sadly that turned out to be the sending unit and with as rusty as the tank was, I glued the heck out of the sending unit when I put it in last summer. The ground was questionable when I checked it due to putting so much snot on it, but I added a ground wire yesterday and made no differ'ance. So... broke down and ordered a new tank off eBay and a new sending unit from Ron and Rosie at FalconParts.com.

I also had to pull the heater box out and pull the fan motor, which was squealing to high-heaven. A hole on one end for lube and lube on the front (with a little extra left to linger) I put it all back in and the heater was purring. The switch, on low, is intermittent (got to hold it just right, then let go), but I can live with that. The quality of these aftermarket switches is really no better.

Next came some electrical gremlins which turned out to be caused by some late-night asleep-at-the-wheel assembly. Never a good idea. I had hung a wire on the ignition switch with the intent to put a nut on it - but didn't. So after doing that this weekend all the electrical is now "behaving." With the exception of the fuel gauge, of course.

I did order some regular mirrors for the doors and put those on too. Drilled holes and used thread-serts with 10-32 threads. Very solid. If anyone has want or need of some peep mirrors, I have a pair.

Now onto the starting of this thing with the Holley. When it's cold it starts very oddly. I have the DSII ignition and picking up vacuum from the manifold. I don't know what the carb provides, but I may try that for the halibut. I know the DSII has a built in 5 degree retard circuit on start built in. So, maybe that is the cause. This is all new territory for me, but considering I did a recurve of the distributor based upon the Inline Classics web site, and my distributor didn't exactly match what they said I should have seen, maybe it's a little messed up. Don't know. Once it is running, it runs great. Very peppy, in fact.

One thing I haven't reported, makes me a bit angry, is the quality of the bed liner. When I picked it up Dec 29th it was late in the day, cloudy and just plain yucky outside - I had only a couple hours sleep the night before - and I just didn't see much wrong. Standing out at Gene's house the first time that following weeked, and then again yesterday, I'm not liking it more and more. I see bubbles forming now. It's one of the only things I let "the experts" handle, and they blotch it up. So I am going to have to go talk to them again and see what they can say or do. Bed liners are not exactly a thing you can remove [easily] and do it again. Sigh...

Have a good week.

[redfalken]

Did you say peeps?!! I'm not quite ready for them yet but will be some day. Can you set them aside or bring them to the meeting? Shoot me a price or maybe we can do a coffee trade??

[Luva65wagon]

Did you say peeps?!! I'm not quite ready for them yet but will be some day. Can you set them aside or bring them to the meeting? Shoot me a price or maybe we can do a coffee trade??

I did and I do. I'll bring them in with me to the meeting on the 18th... hopefully along with the Flarechero for it's prime-time debut. They cost me all of $27.10 on eBay, for the pair. Here's a pic from the eBay listing.

[Luva65wagon]

I received my new gas tank yesterday. Fed Ex braved the snow to deliver it. It's a really nice quality tank as best I can tell, but I'm going to bring it into the garage tonight, deburr the knife-sharp edges, and wipe it down with acetone and paint it with some Eastwood Tank Tone spray. I already have the new sending unit as well, which I will install.

Something JeffW might be interested in is the new hose I have on order to join the Jaguar cap to the lower pipe I had made. The one I found was a Gates molded 2.5" ID hose make specifically for fuel filler necks. It looks similar to the style hose found down below. There is no wire in it (supposedly) which made the other hose we both used almost impossible to clamp, much less stretch, over the Jag cap. The Jag cap was originally designed to insert into a machined hole with an o-ring seal.

I have it ordered from Amazon and will probably have plenty of left-over.

I noted some fuel drip coming from somewhere when I was putting gas in the other day, and though it's been too crappy out there to climb under the car to figure out where it came from, this is the only connection I was never certain about. So, while I'm at it...

http://www.amazon.com/Gates-24714-Fuel-Hose-2-1/dp/B001CI31JG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326836703&sr=8-1

[doghows]

Uh-oh those dreaded words again... She'll be a show car yet.?. Oh wait it already is.[thumb]

[Jeff W]

Something JeffW might be interested in is the new hose I have on order to join the Jaguar cap to the lower pipe I had made. The one I found was a Gates molded 2.5" ID hose make specifically for fuel filler necks. It looks similar to the style hose found down below. There is no wire in it (supposedly) which made the other hose we both used almost impossible to clamp, much less stretch, over the Jag cap. The Jag cap was originally designed to insert into a machined hole with an o-ring seal.

I have it ordered from Amazon and will probably have plenty of left-over

http://www.amazon.com/Gates-24714-Fuel-Hose-2-1/dp/B001CI31JG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326836703&sr=8-1

Yes I am very interested as mine is still loose after using the expensive clamps I bought.:rocker:

[Luva65wagon]

Figured you would be. It is due to arrive on Thursday (if deliveries are even possible). So I should be able to bring in what I don't use to the meeting.

[Luva65wagon]

So yesterday Gene swung by with a few empty gas cans and we pumped the gas out of the old tank and swapped it out.

Other than the fact that I had to spend almost 3 hours on Saturday putting in the sender, pulling out the sender, over and over, playing around with it to get it to a) fit by cutting the pickup tube off 1/2" and bending it to go into the recess in the bottom of the tank, and b) read the right resistance at empty and full by bending the rod into the shape of a Z and twisting it to make the float stay level in the tank, it all went pretty well. The new tank was a little "fatter" and we let out a little blue smoke trying to get those tank straps to stretch around to the J-bolts. Nothing a bottle jack couldn't handle. It looks no different to the old one, so with the wind and rain blowing, I didn't "document" the swap. But it did happen, I swear.

:)

The new hose I got for the Jag cap - without the embedded wire - worked famously. Very happy with that. Jeff will get the remainder, which will contain a 45 degree bend. I think that may work out good for him since his filler is rear-ward of the old filler. Mine was in-line with the old filler and needed to be straight down. He can better clear the taillight with it, me thinks.

Good news - the gauge now says FULL!! :banana:

I also bought a new distributor from Rock Auto and recurved it according to the Classic Inlines site. What I saw in the new one better matched the description I read of the process (heavy and light spring) whereas the one I got from Pick and Pull had two heavy springs. Never knew if I did it right. So I will swap that out and play with some timing settings, as well as trying the vacuum port on the carb instead of manifold vacuum. Have no idea how that port signal looks yet, but plan to check it out.

Not sure the weather will be decent to drive it to the meeting on Wednesday. I'd be driving it to work and leaving it uncovered 12 hours or more and I'd like to give it a "controlled test" for water leaks before finding out I forgot to plug-up something. Have not been able to do that yet. I still have tons of snow and yuckiness at the house too, so it would likely still slide down the hill into the ditch across the street. :)

[doghows]

Congrats.. One step closer. O actually drove mine to work today!(15miles one way) She did just fine other than the icy roads this am. So don't be scared Roger it will be fine. I know yours is in better shape than mine.:BEER:

[Luva65wagon]

Drove to Sequim today and picked up the tonneau cover from Steve and saw his two Ranchero's too.

Thanks Steve for helping me strap that on. Going straight into the wind it went very well, but about 2 miles from the Hood Canal bridge it got crazy when the side winds got REALLY strong. All I kept saying was, "Stay up there until I get over the bridge. I just need to get over this bridge. Will this bridge ever end! Thank GOD I'm over the bridge!" That thing was flapping around like crazy!

It held though, and is safely home. Cool, a new project. :D

[Nathan289]

Roger,
When I installed my new tank in the station wagon I noticed the flanges were a little bit bigger on the new tank.. so I used some 2x4s and notched the flanges in the same locations as the old tank.. after this slight mod the straps fit fine..

Nathan

[doghows]

Glad to see you made it OK. I was worried you were going to take off like an airplane. Keep us posted on the progress as usual and put it here so people don't have to go to face-book to see it. (haha):o

[Luva65wagon]

Roger,
When I installed my new tank in the station wagon I noticed the flanges were a little bit bigger on the new tank.. so I used some 2x4s and notched the flanges in the same locations as the old tank.. after this slight mod the straps fit fine..

Nathan

I did a similar thing to bend those flanges a bit more and that helped, but it was still a bit thicker than the old tank. Once I got it hooked up and tightened the straps, they tightened to about the same place as before, so that was good.


Glad to see you made it OK. I was worried you were going to take off like an airplane. Keep us posted on the progress as usual and put it here so people don't have to go to face-book to see it. (haha)

I will start working on that this week. I'll start with duplicating the missing hinge. I didn't have the energy yesterday to do much of anything after Gene and I got back from looking at Bill Williams' motor. Gene helped me off-load it, and it was still in one piece. And of course, a complete photo-op is planned for presentation here. [thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

Have been working on duplicating the missing parts for the tonneau cover I picked up from Steve. It was missing one of the hinges, which I had to make from scratch. There was one of the spring mounts that was all twisted up too, which I had to drive out the rivet holding the spring to the bracket and straighten that up. So I have these parts now done.

Steve, as you saw in my PM, maybe you can get me the measurements from the car this came off of. If you can give me measurements as shown, that would be great. #1 is where the hinge plate bolts, which I think was further forward than the picture shows. Just the distances between the closest screw holes - not the outboard holes. And from the top edge down to the upper-most holes. Should'a done this while I was there.

Will be doing some fiberglass repair and then I can paint the cover black. I have new pinch-weld windlace ordered to cover up all the edging.

[doghows]

Measurements done. Sent you a PM. Hopefully those are what you need. If not I can call you tonight and remeasure whit some daylight left. I should be home around 4:30 today... Hooray for Friday!!!:BEER:

[Luva65wagon]

As I've been helping Gene have fun I've still been having fun of my own working on the tonneau cover I got from Steve. It had a number of cracks in its ribs and I wanted to strengthen the areas between the ribs... here is comes... while I'm at it.

So I laid fiberglass over all the old ribs and weighted the center to close all the crack-gaps while the resin cured, and then I cut a few pieces of corner edging (wood equivalent to a piece of angle-iron) and glued them down and then fiberglassed them. This eliminated most of the oil-can effect between the original ribs. Made a world of difference.

I received the new edge material too, so that will cover all the edges. :D

Steve, I also laid out the hinges on a slab of plywood and confirmed the measurements by exercising the setup. It works as I expected it would. The big spring both lifts and holds the top down when it goes past-center. So no worry about "oops, need to drill the holes a little further down."

[Luva65wagon]

This is used on any pinch-weld, but will work well on the edge of this too.

[doghows]

I swear I am going to just start dropping stuff off at your house. Obviously I am not getting it done over here.
That looks awesome, but be careful or you will be re-building Genes that way to!!! Should look good painted. I am guessing the same black?[thumb]
Glad the whole measure it twenty times drill the holes 19 did not come into play..

[Luva65wagon]

The top side will be black for sure, but I'm leaning towards white underneath just so its not like a tunnel. We'll see how it looks.

Saw your brown ranchero on Craigslist last night. Why not post them here too?

[SmithKid]

I don't think there's any cracks in the one that I got, but I will probably reinforce the big areas if there is any sign of the oil can effect. I just haven't had the time to look at it recently with my other project.

[doghows]

I like the idea of the white, maybe a couple of courtesy lights?? (kidding) should look real nice.
I got a wild hair the other day and tossed the brown one up there just to see if the market is there. Only got I guy wanting to trade me a 52 Chevy panel truck.. I will keep playing with it for a bit it is kind of fun to drive with the 289 in it.. Maybe I will drive it over for tech day and park it next to yours!![thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

A few of you have seen and I mentioned having had the bed sprayed at RhinoLiners NW up in Everett at the new year. Needless to say the experience has been less than stellar. There were runs in it; spray that had clearly been shot heavy from one side, which ran on one side and created a shadow valley on the other (due to the humps in the bed floor); bubbles forming; areas/parts missed. It was far from what I would consider a good job.

With other things (bugs) needing to be worked through on the car, and snow, it took me about a month to get it back to them, but I made an appointment last Friday to deliver it on Wednesday this week, which I did.

When I took it to them at first the "owner/manager" tried to write it off as "Oh, this sort of stuff happens all the time. That's normal." But the sprayer-guy indicated (after his boss had walked away) that he thought it was ugly and he'd make it right. He'd also indicated that they had fired the guy who sprayed mine shortly afterward. Great! That explains a lot.

So I called yesterday to check on the progress because he was sure it would take him a couple days to grind parts of it and spray it again. He said he wasn't done yet, but he claimed he had done the grinding and then had problems with the sprayer and had been working on it all day and would need the car another day because he, quote, "didn't want to test his repaired sprayer on my car." I said OK to that.

This morning at 10AM the owner/manager calls and says he's in a pickle. He'd been asked this morning by the sprayer-guy how he should do some of the things, which irritated the owner/manager because he had already said to us both that day a week ago that "what is, is" and it should have been left at that. His concern was with adhesion of new over the previous application and blah, blah, blah. I said, "but he's already ground on it."

"No, he just said that because he was up against a wall and needed to buy time."

"WHAT!"

Now I'm getting really PO'd at these guys and told them this was totally unacceptable and I wanted them to fix the bubbles (which were the items of most concern) and give me my car back. I said I was blown away at how low their standards were and that of their customer service and would be sure everyone I knew was aware of this. And then pretty much hung up on them.

An hour later I get a call saying "I've talked to my partner and he's got a plan..." (I'm waiting) "and he thinks we can make this look really good. And you do have a nice little show car out there and I don't want you showing that and saying it came from us..." (I'm waiting) "and he thinks we can use an 'adhesion promoter' on it and make a new spray-on work really good." (I'm waiting, here it comes) "and we'll need to keep the car another day to get it done because we have this truck to do first and this trailer is next..."

So I gave them until 2:30 Saturday to make it right. We'll see if they make it.

More to come as this unfolds.

[doghows]

I say we all get in our cars, drive over there and have a impromptu car show. Then tell everyone how crappy the work is and the customer service blows.
If I did that over here in a smaller town I would be out of business in a month or less. People just don't understand customer service anymore???
Anyway I hope they make good on their promise. It would suck to see their crappy work work ruin all your great work.

[Jeff W]

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=2kd2mMa0KqE

Here is one sexy advert... maybe you could install some rear roll bars on you cover to simulate this look. I even like the spoiler on this bird.:rocker:

If it wasn't for having to haul the kids around, I wound have to see about shipping one of these statewide.

[Luva65wagon]

Now you've gone and done it. Now I'll be searching for a roll bar and a wing to add to it... while I'm at it.

:bicker:

(It is pretty cool though. The Aussie's still get all the cool stuff. I noticed that the cover hinges mid-way.)

As for the RhinoLiner deal, they had it for the whole day today too (4 days total), so they didn't get it done in time for me to get it to the muffler shop. Probably won't find the opportunity to do that for weeks now. If I do it at all. I want to have my hacked-up exhaust replaced, but it's not falling off or anything.

Anyway, they resprayed the entire bed again and it does look better. Not perfect, but not ugly like before. I still found one bubble after all that, but I'll fix that by shooting some 5-minute epoxy under it and squeezing out the excess. So, for now the drama is over. It's gonna be covered now with the tonneau cover anyway, so it's back to restoring that.

[Luva65wagon]

Here it is. Done.

[Jeff W]

looks good. I especially like the mailboxes mounted on the rear deck.

I recall you picked up an extra hood. Since you apparently never have idle hands, why don't you start working on some kind of unique bump or scoop contraption. Not the teardrop - that is so overdone. Take your time and make it a showpiece.

I'm talking about something along the lines of the one in the movie "Corvette Summer".

[Luva65wagon]

Sorry Jeff, not sure what a bump or scoop contraption is...

but after a little discussion with Gene this afternoon, I think this is the direction I'll go with it.

[BillP 98201]

What direction are you going to go with Genes Ranchero then? :WHATTHE:

[Luva65wagon]

I've noticed a few times on Gene's thread that people will reply to his thread beginning with Gene (Roger) - but I'm here to say that he really is his own person. We are not the same person with dual personalities. You might have actually met him before, I think. Nice guy, that Gene. His wife Vel could have done a lot worse. And I've told him as much many times.

:BIRTHDAY:

The point is that Gene is actually making his own decisions on his car. But I try really hard to dissuade him from doing the crazy things I have done when I see him heading down that path. I'm always saying to him, "Gene, do as I say, not as I do." Of course, it works occasionally, but more and more I believe I am a bad influence on him. He has contracted WIAI disease, same as me. It may be too late for me, but there is still hope for him if we all pull together and stage an intervention.

[AGREE]

:p

[SmithKid]

I think your stance needs the addition of a 12" lift kit to keep the mudders from scraping off the paint from those re-worked wheelwells. Oh.... and don't forget to put a winch on the front. And , of course, you are going to need some super-bright lights topside for when you go boonie crashing after sundown.

By the way, the direction I'm going with my Ranchero is firmly established. I am just not the adventurer Roger is.

[Luva65wagon]

I think your stance needs the addition of a 12" lift kit to keep the mudders from scraping off the paint from those re-worked wheelwells. Oh.... and don't forget to put a winch on the front. And , of course, you are going to need some super-bright lights topside for when you go boonie crashing after sundown.

I rest my case. He needs help - and fast!

:ROTFLMAO:

[Luva65wagon]

By the way, the direction I'm going with my Ranchero is firmly established. I am just not the adventurer Roger is.

:NERVOUS:

Denial. Obvious indicator of a hard-core WIAI addict. Just look at that shiny radiator and tell me I'm wrong!

[Jeff W]

Sorry Jeff, not sure what a bump or scoop contraption is...


See attached

[Luva65wagon]

See attached

Jeff- missed that. All I can say to it is :WHATTHE:

As for the progress on the tonneau cover project, I have finished repairing and painting the underside white and have now flipped it over to work on the top side. After a moments debate I decided I would re-gel-coat it instead of paint it. So I meandered over to the Fibergass Mart in Everett and picked up some black gel coat.

The corners of these things tended to crack and someone had created an aluminum corner for this. They had it on one side and not the other. After making a duplicate corner on the other side, which gave symmetry to the thing (yes, this is a symptom of WIAI disease), I bonded that to the corner last night.

During the week I will do my first-ever attempt at gel coat. I'm rolling it on, which the guy said would give it a little texture, but not too much. We'll see. Pictures to come...

Also - a big whoaaa-nelly goes out to Steve for turning around the hinges, brackets, and springs for both Gene and I, who both have tonneau covers now. The powder coating turned out fantastic! Thank you sir!

[SmithKid]

Let me be the first to second Roger's BIG Thanks to you, Steve. The hinges look great and WOW, what a quick turn-around time! My tonneau is covered with textured vinyl, so I don't have the worries regarding the top finish, but I think I'm going to follow his lead and paint the underside white. That should really help brighten up looking into the bed when it is lifted. Anyway, again: Thank's to Steve and also to Roger for including my hinges into his shipment.
(don't know why I keep letting my project creep into Roger's thread. sorry Roger!)

[doghows]

Post up some pics of them installed. Maybe I will just start a delivery service back and forth once a week???
Glad you like them and they turned out well.[yay]

[Luva65wagon]

(don't know why I keep letting my project creep into Roger's thread. sorry Roger!)

It's been happening the other way too. Not to worry. Too much happening in common.

I probably won't get mine installed this week with the tech day coming up and the weather looking pretty bleak the next few days. But soon. Gene still has yet to mess much with his bed cover, but he's real close to being able to.

[BillP 98201]

So Roger, are you trying to say WIAI is contagious? :eek: Now Isee why we are having tech days, so you can spread the disease! :ROTFLMAO:

[Luva65wagon]

So Roger, are you trying to say WIAI is contagious? :eek: Now Isee why we are having tech days, so you can spread the disease! :ROTFLMAO:

Yes, if I am there, you're likely to catch it... It is highly contagious and should be listed, if not already, with the CDC.

I did gel coat last night. Clearly going to need another coat, but I like the way it looks already. The thing I learned with gel coat is that it cures semi-flat, which will be perfect for me. I might lightly polish it if it is too flat. Well see after I apply the second coat tonight. In this picture it is shiny because it is still well.

You also see on "cornercover1.jpg" the corner piece someone added, and I created the other seen in "cornercover2.jpg" to add balance to my universe.

[doghows]

Dude that looks awesome...:WHATTHE: Stupid question but I don't know: Gel coats come in colors? I always thought they painted over gel coat to get color.
See the amazing stuff you learn hanging out on this forum!!!:BEER:

P.S. Is that your wagon doubling as a work bench???

[Luva65wagon]

Yes, gel coat is pigmented to all the colors under the sun... sort of like powder coat.

And yes, sadly, in a garage as tight as mine, I use any surface I can find. Lots of furniture pads and paper - so it is well protected. I can't wait to get all this cleared out though. The garage is a mess... even for me.

[Luva65wagon]

Gene came over today and he and I got the tonneau cover installed. Looks pretty good on there. The little filler piece between the cover and the cab was a slight pain in the neck to fit, but I found some really nice press-on weather strip (similar press-on stuff as the edging-style windlace, but with a round seal).

[Luva65wagon]

One of the things Steve didn't have and I'd never seen (Gene's didn't come with one either) is the latch that these things used. So once it was installed I crawled inside the bed and Gene closed me in. I then eyeballed where the latch would need to be and what it needed to look like. After Gene left I whipped one up. Prior to polishing it I installed it and I was pleasantly surprised that it locked the first time with no tweaking.

:banana:

So now... what?

I ordered a bunch of Kafka brushes and accompanying tools and will now learn how to do that! Got a car I can practice on? :ROTFLMAO:

:D

[redfalken]

Pretty sweet! That latch piece polished up rvery nice. The white underside should really help reflect light in the bed. I hope the weather cooperates so you can bring it to the meeting this month. Would love to check it out.

And maybe a write up w/photos for the newsletter?? :D

[Luva65wagon]

I was thinking the same thing... It's got to dry out around here eventually. But, I'm not too freaked about driving in the rain now that the bed won't fill up with water.

[doghows]

Nicely done. Now that one is done time to get Genes on!! Looks as though the "Ghetto" garage is holding up as well.
I am glad to see the cover live on. God know when and if I would have ever got to it.[thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

Yeah - it was a bit of a pain for such a simple project. But lacking actual instructions added to the apprehension of just "drilling holes." If typically life by the rule of measure twice, cut/drill once. But with this I measured about 20 times or more... with moving and tweaking between each.

The car is staying nice and dry under the ghetto garage, It's unsightly, but not any worse that the vehicles that are sitting under those trees and going green by the minute.

Gene's will be far easier to do than mine was. I learned all the tricks doing mine. He's just got to "get there." But he's close. We talked about first pulling his back window out and reversing the rubber and putting it in the right way. Somebody put that in from the outside in (like the windshield is done), but it's supposed to mount from the inside-out.

Also... I heard from a little birdy... that you may be one Ranchero light now and are the owner of a.... CHEBBY! Ahh, the humanity!

[SmithKid]

A CHEBBY? Has he no shame?

[Luva65wagon]

On my way home I stopped at the paint store up on 45th and the freeway and picked up 3 pints of 1-shot sign-painters enamel (red, black, and white) and will now seriously look at putting my hand to doing the pinstriping. Have a few Kafka brushes now and the grid and brush conditioner, ect., all the stuff he uses. Except for maybe the skill. But I can work on that. [thumb]

No takers for a car I can practice on?

I guess Gene will just have to wake up one morning to find I snuck over there and practiced on his "big a** not a Chebby Tundra." Lots of surface area there to work with.

[AGREE]

[SmithKid]

I think I know where there's a coupla Falcon front fenders to practice on. You have to wash the big a** Tundra anyway. That's prob'ly not gonna happen.

Wait a minute! Think you could kinda hide the scrape on the Tundra driver's side rear fender?
Or..... maybe you could practice in the bed of the Ranchero b/4 I have the bed-liner sprayed?
Or..... maybe under the hood of the Ranchero in the four triangular panels b/4 the insulating stuff goes in there?

[Luva65wagon]

Sure [not planning on washing no Tundra]. :)

I do have some rear Ranchero quarters here. Could practice on them... if it would ever quit raining or snowing! It snowed on my way home today.

[SmithKid]

Good GRIEF! This thread is huge! I just spent the better part of an hour going backwards to find the pics you posted of the holes in the bed floor pan.

[falcon cobra]

Hey gene, I started this in 2008 when roger and I were siting in the fog at the first light of the day going to the snohomish show, and said [ how to tell if your are really car crazy ] and he replyed [ just call me crazy ] .....jh

[Luva65wagon]

Hey - I resemble that remark!

You know you are crazy when you find yourself standing in the garage and it's maybe 45 degrees and you are sorting through plastic baggies of screws and bolts and other assorted leftovers from taking 3 cars apart. So yep, the craziness remains...

[Luva65wagon]

Good GRIEF! This thread is huge! I just spent the better part of an hour going backwards to find the pics you posted of the holes in the bed floor pan.

But it was fun, wasn't it?

[thumb]

[Luva65wagon]

After Jeff W posted the link to this company in his wagon thread I stopped the process of getting one of these made from someone who wanted $85 for one. This was $28 inclusive of shipping. It's a very nice part. Can't see any flaws in it.

I'll post a link to it in the tech talk forum (it's sort of technical) and it will remain there ever more.

[Jeff W]

After Jeff W posted the link to this company in his wagon thread I stopped the process of getting one of these made from someone who wanted $85 for one. This was $28 inclusive of shipping. It's a very nice part. Can't see any flaws in it.

I'll post a link to it in the tech talk forum (it's sort of technical) and it will remain there ever more.

What was wrong with the old one? :ROTFLMAO:

Thanks for the reminder, I'm going to order mine this week. How are you going to crimp the fancy rivet guys?

[Luva65wagon]

I have the rivets (he sells them too), but I don't know what tool they use to install them. I'll figure something out. Would like to see if I can do it without removing the door panel, but have not thought that through. Got to stare at 'em a minute or two.

The old one... well... it got stuck in a sand storm me thinks.

[Jeff W]

I studied mine before removal and it looks like the tool goes at it from the front and sort of reaches into this hollow rivet and expands the soft aluminum tube. I think patience and modified tips on my snap ring pliers may do the trick. A dab of RTV wouldn't hurt either.

[Luva65wagon]

Yeah, that's sort of what I pictured in my head and I was going to pick up a cheap pair of pliers or something and grind them into just such a tool. I suspect it takes very little expansion to get these to stay in.

[Luva65wagon]

After driving this to Sequim and back everything went pretty well, but I found I had some issues pulling hills hard. Sort of reminded me of the issue I had with the wagon after the regional a couple years ago. It bucks under hard acceleration and wants to stall out. This has that same carb on it now that I had back then, but was fine on the wagon after I rebuilt it. I'll probably swap over the 1100 from the wagon again just to see if it is the carb.

I'm this close to copying Kenny and go with a weber on this thing - but Kenny, your site is down, so I can't see what you've done. Don't see a thread here on that.

Autolite 1100's are just too expensive (though I noticed Steve seems to keep buying rebuilt units from somewhere over there). They're like $300-$500 on ebay and Pony Carbs doesn't sell, they only rebuild. I don't have a core.

If I do a weber, I see them mounted two ways. Classic Inlines mounts them sideways, but that's not how they are mounted on cars they came on. If they are sideways, isn't that a potential issue?

I just dread this. But I'm tired of dealing with these 50 year old carbs too.

[redfalken]

I'm this close to copying Kenny and go with a weber on this thing - but Kenny, your site is down, so I can't see what you've done. Don't see a thread here on that.

That explains why I haven't been able to get to the POP email in a few days. I'll have to get in touch with the guy hosting it.

Anyways...I don't have anything up about the Weber. One of those things I need to "get to" one of these days!

But I can show you what I've done at the Golden Gardens meet...

[doghows]

I am getting those carbs from my local parts house. They run $175 which includes the shipping. Usually take about 2 weeks to get one.
The one I put on the 65 seems to be doing fine. Haven't had it out too much due to lack of current tabs...
Glad you made it home OK...

[Luva65wagon]

Kenny - can you maybe, in the meantime, describe the bits you used? Post a pic or two maybe? I'd like to get something ordered if possible prior to the 21st.

Steve - See, even $175 gets you a 50 year old carb, which the last one you got (which I now have on the wagon) was riddled with vacuum leaks. It's fine now, but I had to do a lot to it to get it to work right.

The webers I see on ebay (brand new) starting at $299 and then I'll have to decide how to mount it. There seems to be a few ways people do it... ranging from $20 to $65 just for the mount. I have a couple cores I've picked up at swaps for pennies (one is the same as on my mom's 80 Capri 2.3 liter) and so I have an idea of their sizing. Not a fan of all the mods I'd need to do, but if it makes a difference - it makes a difference!

[modified17]

What model/part# is the Weber that you guys use. A friend gave me a new still in the box one a long time ago and I'll see if it's the same or not.... Dave