Worked On 65 Ranchero Today

[Jerry Alfaro]

My son and I worked on the 65 Ranchero again today. After his sudden impact with a semi-truck a few weeks back it's starting to look better. We now have the replacement hood and drivers sided fender cleaned and painted on the underside/inside. We spent a long time pressure washing and sanding two layers of paint from the driver side inter-fender area and A-arms area and painted. Had to order the front fender rear splash shield because the old one was really bad. I did get new front splash shields so I can at least get that on tomorrow. The new radiator came early this week so It will get mounted as soon as I put the final paint on the radiator mount. Attached are a few pictures.

jerry-

[redfalken]

Nice work Jerry! It's always rewarding to get things cleaned up with a fresh coat of paint. Where are you located? It looks dry and sunny...

[Jerry Alfaro]

Nice work Jerry! It's always rewarding to get things cleaned up with a fresh coat of paint. Where are you located? It looks dry and sunny...

I live in the SF Bay Area in a town called Livermore, East of SF. It got up to about 68 degrees yesterday and is supposed to be this warm all the way to Thanksgiving. Chris has the Ranchero already out in the sun this morning to get it warmed up for painting. After we get the Ranchero on the road again I'll be looking at getting a disk brake kit to install. When I do the disk brakes I'll rebuild the upper and lower A-arms with new bushings and ball joints. I plan to box them in to make them stronger. I'm also toying with the idea of relocating the upper A-Arms to lower the the car. I have a line on a complete 9" 'N' rear end that I will narrow to fit the car as I have the kit/tools used for narrowing rear ends. We want this car to be an everyday driver. Who knows, I just my look at putting a new FI 5.0 in it one day.

Do you know anyone who has put a 5sp Tremmic in a 65 Falcon or Ranchero? My Ranchero is an original 4-speed car.

Gotta go, suns out and I'm burning daylight that can be spent on the Ranchero.

jerry-

[Jerry Alfaro]

Do you know anyone who has put a 5sp Tremmic in a 65 Falcon or Ranchero? My Ranchero is an original 4-speed car.

Gotta go, suns out and I'm burning daylight that can be spent on the Ranchero.

jerry-

Well, we got more done today. Got the front Radiator in paint, installed the fan, new radiator, cleaned/painted and installed headlight bucket this morning. We mounted the replacement fender with just the front splash shield to see how much adjustment will be needed and the fender will have to go back a bit more. Also found out that I will need to tig weld the fender nut that secures the bottom of the fender that is under the rear of the fender. I'll do that when I install the back splash shield while the fender is off again. Also got the hood latch all cleaned painted and installed. The hood fits real snug after making the final adjustments. Monday I'll work on getting the bumper mounted so the turn indicators work and it can be driven around.

Attached are few pictures from today.

jerry-

[pbrown]

Do you know anyone who has put a 5sp Tremmic in a 65 Falcon or Ranchero? My Ranchero is an original 4-speed car.


Are you referring to a T5 or a 3550/TKO? The T5 is a popular swap. Find a Chevy S10 T5 tailhousing and swap it onto a T5z tranny to get the shifter to come through at close to a stock location. You can use the longer T5 but the shifter will be farther back and will intersect with the floor support crossmember.

The TKO style will also fit but the shifter box hits the crossmember mentioned earlier. I saw a mod where the stock brace was "C" notched in the upper corners to provide clearance. The TKO has three shifter locations to choose from.

The TKO500 would be a good choice for high performance engines. Most can get by with a T5.

Here are some useful links:
http://www.moderndriveline.com/
http://www.darkhorseperformance.com/

[Jerry Alfaro]

Are you referring to a T5 or a 3550/TKO? The T5 is a popular swap. Find a Chevy S10 T5 tailhousing and swap it onto a T5z tranny to get the shifter to come through at close to a stock location. You can use the longer T5 but the shifter will be farther back and will intersect with the floor support crossmember.

The TKO style will also fit but the shifter box hits the crossmember mentioned earlier. I saw a mod where the stock brace was "C" notched in the upper corners to provide clearance. The TKO has three shifter locations to choose from.

The TKO500 would be a good choice for high performance engines. Most can get by with a T5.

Here are some useful links:
http://www.moderndriveline.com/
http://www.darkhorseperformance.com/


Thanks for the info. I'll be looking into doing this once I complete this assembly project and install disk brakes. Worked on it again today, installed the headlights a bumper after I took out some dents. I cleaned the turn signals and painted the brackets that hold them in place. I need to clean up some wiring that the guy who owned the car that did a pretty poor job.

jerry-

Thanks again.
jerry-

[Jerry Alfaro]

My son and I worked on the 65 Ranchero again today. After his sudden impact with a semi-truck a few weeks back it's starting to look better. We now have the replacement hood and drivers sided fender cleaned and painted on the underside/inside. We spent a long time pressure washing and sanding two layers of paint from the driver side inter-fender area and A-arms area and painted. Had to order the front fender rear splash shield because the old one was really bad. I did get new front splash shields so I can at least get that on tomorrow. The new radiator came early this week so It will get mounted as soon as I put the final paint on the radiator mount. Attached are a few pictures.

jerry-

My son and I haven't worked on the Ranchero much do to the rainy weather here in the Bay Area. Hope to get back working on it when the weather isn't so nasty.
jerry-

[Jerry Alfaro]

Hey I just picked up my disk brake conversion for my son's 65 Ranchero yesterday. The kit comes with everything to convert the drum brakes to disks. As soon as I finish remodeling the wife's bathroom I'll start on the conversion. I also will be converting the stock rear drums to 11" x 3" after I put rear disks on my friends 69 Mustang. He's going to give the the 11" x 3" drums from his Stang. Woo Hoo! The Ranchero will have bigger brakes than my 66 GT-350H. Aren't I a nice Dad?

I'll lay everything out an take a picture to post.

jerry-

[Jeff W]

Hi Jerry, what set-up are you using for the conversion to disc?

[Jerry Alfaro]

Hi Jerry, what set-up are you using for the conversion to disc?

Jeff,

Here is the kit that I purchased. It comes supplied with everything you need to convert your Falcon from drum brakes to disks.

Rotors
Hubs
Calipers/pads
Spindle to Calipers brackets
Master Cylinder
Proportioning Valve
Brake lines
All needed bearings /seals/bolts/dust caps

It's a nice kit. $900 because I picked it up locally.

http://www.mpbrakes.com/products/product_line/front_disc_brakes.cfm

jerry-

[Jerry Alfaro]

Jeff,

Here is the kit that I purchased. It comes supplied with everything you need to convert your Falcon from drum brakes to disks.

Rotors
Hubs
Calipers/pads
Spindle to Calipers brackets
Master Cylinder
Proportioning Valve
Brake lines
All needed bearings /seals/bolts/dust caps

It's a nice kit. $900 because I picked it up locally.

http://www.mpbrakes.com/products/product_line/front_disc_brakes.cfm

jerry-


Since I'm going to be doing a disk brake conversion I decided to purchase new upper/lower arms complete with ball joints. I will also buy new tie rod ends to complete the front conversion to disk brakes. Should stop good!

jerry-

[Jerry Alfaro]

Well, we finally have all the parts needed for converting our 65 Ranchero to disk brakes. I started today on the conversion by removing the entire front suspension. I made a metal template for drilling holes to relocate the upper a-arms. I worked real good for drilling the holes in the exact location. I stamped the template with the information so if I need to make a new template, all the information is there. My son and I will be working on it the entire weekend so hopefully I'll have pictures of the complete conversion. Here are few from today.

jerry-

[Jerry Alfaro]

Well, we finally have all the parts needed for converting our 65 Ranchero to disk brakes. I started today on the conversion by removing the entire front suspension. I made a metal template for drilling holes to relocate the upper a-arms. I worked real good for drilling the holes in the exact location. I stamped the template with the information so if I need to make a new template, all the information is there. My son and I will be working on it the entire weekend so hopefully I'll have pictures of the complete conversion. Here are few from today.

jerry-

Got both sides installed today and only have the new tie rod ends, new brake lines, proportioning valve and master cylinder to install. Should have them completed by Sunday

jerry-

[redfalken]

Looks like things are really coming together Jerry! Nice work. I checked out the MP Brakes website and they seem like a good deal compared to some of the other set-ups I've seen. Give us a review once you've had a chance to evaluate.

And that's a nice template you made for relocating the a-arms!

[Jerry Alfaro]

Looks like things are really coming together Jerry! Nice work. I checked out the MP Brakes website and they seem like a good deal compared to some of the other set-ups I've seen. Give us a review once you've had a chance to evaluate.

And that's a nice template you made for relocating the a-arms!


Redfalcon,

I went out this morning thinking I was going to install the duel resivor master cylinder.... The kit only gives you one adapter fitting for connecting brake lines, right... The brake lines on the Ranchero are 3/16" and the fittings for the new master cylinder are for 5/16" lines. I tried every auto parts store in my town and no one has any fittings. There is a shop open on Monday that carries Airequip fittings and I know he has the correct fittings I need to adapt to the 3/16" line. I was hoping to have the Ranchero driving today. Dang...

The template worked great for making the correct hole locations for drilling.

So far all the parts in the kit fit except I had to grind the passenger side caliper to clear the rotor, it was mostly flashing. All in all everything has fit good. When I'm all done I will write a summary of the complete install.

jerry-

[Jerry Alfaro]

Redfalcon,

I went out this morning thinking I was going to install the duel resivor master cylinder.... The kit only gives you one adapter fitting for connecting brake lines, right... The brake lines on the Ranchero are 3/16" and the fittings for the new master cylinder are for 5/16" lines. I tried every auto parts store in my town and no one has any fittings. There is a shop open on Monday that carries Airequip fittings and I know he has the correct fittings I need to adapt to the 3/16" line. I was hoping to have the Ranchero driving today. Dang...

The template worked great for making the correct hole locations for drilling.

So far all the parts in the kit fit except I had to grind the passenger side caliper to clear the rotor, it was mostly flashing. All in all everything has fit good. When I'm all done I will write a summary of the complete install.

jerry-


Well, I finished the disk brake conversion on the Ranchero today. It sure stops good now. I plumbed in the new duel master cylinder and it wasn't a bad job to do. Overall I was quite pleased with the kit I purchased. All the parts fit very good. The kit did not come with the master cylinder or proportioning valve. I purchased them at the company I bought the kit from.

I did most of the work myself with some help from my son. I started on Friday and finished today only because the two adapter fittings I needed for the 3/16" brake line had to be purchased at a store that was not open on Sunday.

I recommend this conversion if you can afford it. When I was a kid in High School I had a 63-1/2 Futura with drum brakes and when you had to make a panic stop, you also had to say a prayer when you hit the brakes. I also installed new upper/lower a-arms, spring perches and coil spring seals. As a Grandpa seeing his grandson driving around with his dad and drum brakes, I will sleep better tonight. One reason, I'm tired and two, I know the Ranchero is much safer to drive with my best buddy on board.

jerry-

[pbrown]

Jerry,

I'm trying to make sense of your plumbing. The proportioning valve should be in line to the rear brakes. You have it installed on the outlet of the front brake circuit. You also have a "T" fitting connected to the rear brake circuit. I suspect that you have the master cylinder plumbed in reverse. The larger reservoir is for the front brakes and the smaller one for the rear. It matters because the front disk calipers have a lot of fluid capacity thus the larger vessel. There is also a residual pressure valve built into the rear circuit of the master. The residual pressure valve is designed to keep the drum shoes from pulling away from the drums.

[Jerry Alfaro]

Jerry,

I'm trying to make sense of your plumbing. The proportioning valve should be in line to the rear brakes. You have it installed on the outlet of the front brake circuit. You also have a "T" fitting connected to the rear brake circuit. I suspect that you have the master cylinder plumbed in reverse. The larger reservoir is for the front brakes and the smaller one for the rear. It matters because the front disk calipers have a lot of fluid capacity thus the larger vessel. There is also a residual pressure valve built into the rear circuit of the master. The residual pressure valve is designed to keep the drum shoes from pulling away from the drums.

PBrown,

You are absolutly correct. What a brain f*rt on my part. It will be easy to correct the lines this weekend. My son said the Ranchro stops OK, but as the pads start wearing he will also notice that the master cylinder will need constant filling. Thanks for also catching my error. I sent the pictures to my brother and he emailed me back saying almost exactly what you said, you did it wrong. I still can't believe I did this... arrrrggg!

thanks again
jerry-

[Jerry Alfaro]

Jerry,

I'm trying to make sense of your plumbing. The proportioning valve should be in line to the rear brakes. You have it installed on the outlet of the front brake circuit. You also have a "T" fitting connected to the rear brake circuit. I suspect that you have the master cylinder plumbed in reverse. The larger reservoir is for the front brakes and the smaller one for the rear. It matters because the front disk calipers have a lot of fluid capacity thus the larger vessel. There is also a residual pressure valve built into the rear circuit of the master. The residual pressure valve is designed to keep the drum shoes from pulling away from the drums.


I'll post new picture when I redo the lines.
jerry-

[Jerry Alfaro]

I'll post new picture when I redo the lines.
jerry-

Got the brake lines corrected today. Didn't take any pictures because you really can't see the change with the firewall to tower bracing. The Ranchero stops real nice with the disk brake conversion. My son is going to drive it to work for the remainder of the week so we can re-bleed and adjust the rear shoes this weekend.

jerry-