1967 500 - Buster - Main Restoration Thread

That estimate sounds high. What all are you having, or planning on having, done? I discovered my floor pans on my 67 all rotted, and have been taking my time welding in new ones.

I just took my other car to the paint shop and with a budget of 7K they will be replacing both fenders, lining it all up correctly, and doing a thorough paint job for that price, including any minor body work they find along the way.

 

On the fuel injection issue;
I know of no self tuning or off the shelf EFI that will work satisfactorily with a modified engine.
I doubt such an item will ever be built.
If you have the FAST system that allows full control of the fuel and timing maps, you can get it running real well.
Plan on spending an afternoon, but it is worthwhile.
As long as your injectors are big enough and your fuel pump up to the task;
Set the timing map to match your engine build. Set up the MAP to match how you would do the vacuum advance had it a carb.
Start using two people, one with the laptop, and one driving. Put the system in open loop so that the O2 sensor can't alter the A/F.
Starting with cruise, holding speed at various levels +/- 25 MPH from cruise holding the RPM until the guy with the laptop has the A/F locked.
With a hot cam, you probably want an A/F of 13-14 to one.
Then find some steady hills and work the MAP modifier.
Do a few short WOT runs at various speeds to ensure that the MAP brings in enough fuel to prevent a lean condition.

Idle;
Set the temp curve to bring 10-1 AF and + 150 RPM at cold idle as a start point. (while you are in there fatten the A/F 20 degrees above your running temp as cheap insurance). That should get it idling.
Play around with your closed throttle timing point and it should start behaving.

Then;
look at the 3D reps of the of all the different systems, and smooth them. then put it back in closed loop.

At that point, you are ready to start performance tuning.

There is no free lunch. You can get a lot out of EFI, but you have to put a lot into it.

 

I just take really flattering pictures of the truck In reality the rear quarters over the wheel arches have inches of filler and the tailgate has issues as well as the bed. Also both front torque boxes are rusted and need replacing.

Thanks for the fuel injection advice, I will pass that along.

Laters,
Jeff

 

Hi, do you have any pictures of the placement of both the drivers & passenger outside mirrors that you could post?

John

 

Ok well back from the dead. So over the past year I have moved to Austin and have been busy doing house stuff. I haven't brought the Ranchero down here yet because the garage has been full of plywood (and plywood dust) and other sorts of home improvement stuff. So anyway that phase is over and the garage is now ready to accept Buster. So I went up to get it out of storage and take it to the shop for a look at the transmission and a once over before bringing it down here. As you guys know I am very good friends with the shop owner and he said I could drop it off after hours on Sunday March 26th. Well that same day severe weather came up and it started hailing pretty bad just as I was getting to the shop. I was lucky to get it into the shop just the golf ball sized hail started to change into baseball and larger. It got very noisy very quickly!

Long story short the truck is insured through Hagerty's but the inspector said there is so much damage they may have to total it. I have it insured for $15,000. Any ideas what happens if they total it? I mean I have much more than that in the drivetrain alone (Hagerty's would not take that into account when we were talking about what value to place on the truck). I am open to suggestions. Whatever happens hopefully this will help get all the bodywork done either way.

Laters,
Jeff

 

This is a little tricky, but one thing is for sure--you have to end up with Buster after all is said and done. Whether you fix Buster or replace him, you need to have him in your posssession once you get the money. Talk to them on how to do that, go so far as to show them this website and the enthusiasm you have for the Ranchero. Damn, that's a sad fact that you were just a few minutes shy of cover before the hail began to fall.

 

If they total your ride ask what the buy back is you will be suprised at how low it is. Then you have a ugly parts car.

 

And a car to practice body work on.

 

Very true I've heard dry ice can pop out that type of dent

 

Um, we should stop talking about this...you never know who is reading....

 

You can buy the vehicle back for what they deem to be "salvage value" - well worth doing, even if you have a title they stamp it salvage and hand it back. Then you fix it with the money left over. Most companies will total a vehicle after repairs exceed 70% of insured value. Fight them for an estimate, get everything in writing.

 

Thank you all for the advice and comments! So if I get a salvage title and then proceed to fix the truck, can you still get it insured or would that be a no go from this point forward? There is no way I would want to drive around without insurance!

Laters,
Jeff

 

That sucks Jeff.Never read much negative feedback on hagerty.Hope the are fair with you.Have both my cheros insured with them.Please let us know of outcome.
I bought epoxie style dent puller to fix dent on fridgerator which worked ok.Tried it on small dent on hood scoop with less than ok result.Couldnt get behind
dent with spoon or dolly cause brace was in the way.Never thought about shrink freezing metal...

 

Thank you for all the suggestions! Quick update: the estimate for the repairs is around $7K USD so not in danger of totaling the Ranchero. Now it is off to the body shop to see if they can fix the damage with that amount. So another adventure begins!

Laters,
Jeff

 

I don't mean this sarcastically, but good luck to you; hopefully, none of the dents cracked the paint.

 

Ok well a sad day for me but Buster is going up for sale. Here is the list of known issues:

Hail damage
Rotted out torque boxes
Rear quarter panel on both sides need major repairs to old bodywork
Tailgate needs repairs to old bodywork
The motor that will be in the Ranchero at the time of sale smokes on startup so the valve guides will probably need replacing. It will be coming out of the '68 Ranchero that I purchased as a replacement.

All the interior (minus the gauges and A/C) is as shown in this thread. I am not sure about the rims and tires yet.

If you are interested please send me a PM.

Here is a link to the thread on my new to me 1968 Ranchero 500 (dressed to look like a GT):

1968 Ranchero 500 My Stable Section <- click here

Laters,
Jeff

 

Ok Buster is sold and headed down the highway

 

I was told by a body shop guy in Texas that for a lot of hail damage, you can park the car in the sun for a few hours, then drop an ice cube on each dent. That alone get's out much of the dent. I fixed a dent on the fender of my Dad's Impala SS with dry ice. He thought I was full of crap, until the dent was gone.

 

Yeah, when done right, cold shrinkage takes a lot of uncreased dents out.

 

Cold shrinkage, huh? Now I can't get that thought out of my head.