“Barn Find” Ranchero Bonneville racer

[redfalken]

Slide show with photos at the bottom.

http://thegarageblog.com/garage/barn-find-ranchero-bonneville-racer-heading-to-museum/

[ew1usnr]

Way cool. It is interesting in that they were racing with a small carbureted 260 rather than replacing it with a 289 or 302. And then the second owner replaced the 260 with an even smaller fuel injected 221 (the original Ford small block) and set a record in 1976. Maybe the smaller displacement engines put them in a category where they were racing against smaller cars. Also, despite being covered with a tarpaulin, the car still had about a 1/4" layer of dust on it. After washing off the dust, the paint was still glossy. It really looks beautiful. I love the "Rod Riders" license plate, and how he left the original padded dash in place, and the "Watch the Damn Tach" painted in red across the face of the original speedometer.

What is that flat plate with the two hoses that sticks out from under the front bumper?

On the link that you gave, I typed in "Falcon" to see what else they had and found this nice story:

"Not too long ago while my wife and I were in Southern California for the weekend we were walking across the street to our hotel after a nice dinner. It was a nice Friday evening as we entered the cross-walk a young guy came to a stop just in front of us in a Falcon Sprint. The car was painted primer gray, had some chrome rims, exhaust was leaking and to say it needed some attention would be putting it mildly. On the other hand it was washed and it was obvious someone really loved that car. As we came closer we could see his girlfriend sitting close to him between the bucket seats. Parked next to them were some other “kids cars” with the usual high dollar rims, loud sound systems, wild paint jobs and so on and also with their dates. I told my wife, “Hey check out that Falcon Sprint. That’s a cool ride and one I wouldn’t mind having.” Remember when I told you how cool they are?” As soon as we got close enough my wife gave the kid in the Falcon a big thumb’s up and said, “My husband really loves your car.” I won’t ever forget that kid’s face. He lit up like a Christmas tree, sat up straight in his seat and said to his date, “See… I told you so. LOTS of people know what kind of car this baby is!” It really made his day and boy was he proud."

See: http://thegarageblog.com/garage/for-the-love-of-cars/#more-2213 (http://thegarageblog.com/garage/for-the-love-of-cars/#more-2213)

[Jeff W]

What is that flat plate with the two hoses that sticks out from under the front bumper?



Could that be a bracket that used to hold a gas tank like on the Gassers?

[redfalken]

I'll bet that's it.