Hello everyone! I'm a Newbie Member, and trying to figure how to manipulate around the Forum's and website? I've recently purchased a 1970 Ranchero GT, 351C, 4spd car that I'm eager to play with. Tonight was a night of searching for various info on the Ranchero and I happily came across this site. My 70 is "suppose" to be a numbers matching car, thou I couldn't read a block number to verify. The car has a recent paint job but needs to be detailed and some electrical issues corrected. My latest research concerns the various rear gear ratio's offered on this model. I was told it was a posi, thou the VIN number indicates a 3:25 open rearend. Once home a quick jacking up of the car and a spin of the rear wheels verifies it's a non posi setup. No tag on the third member, so only time will tell how we improve the exst 9" rear. Anyways, I'm in the beautiful rainy Pacific NW and once I finish another project (41 Chevy Pickup) I'm on to the Ranchero. Have a great Holiday Season, and GO SEAHAWKS!
Steve, Good luck with your build. I also have a "70" , 351C - now 408ci, 5spd, I had 3:89 gears in it, but changed to a 3:25 for easier cruising. Too old to race - be careful with the brake system. I had to change for safety sake also changed the pwr steering -now it cruises nicely and can stop.
Gary, you've done some great mods to your 70. Would love to see a picture of how all that fit under the hood. The 5spd & 3:25 setup must work well, and I'm curious about the hydra boost... is it the same size as a std vacuum boost? I'm eager to pull an axle and do a spline count on my 3:25 (most likely 28) as I cant find any data that tells me what I truly have? I've actually left my car covered on trailer and stored under a buddies carport while finishing up my 41. Speedo cable, various interior electrical problems and mounting the grill properly are my first to-do's. My 70 looks like it had a trailer hitch (welded on frame now cut off) and a set of cheap 6" Shackles. New Shackles are also on the priority list which will drop it back down a couple inches.
That's a great search, because this place doesn't show up on most search engines until page 4, 5 or later, when typing in Ford Ranchero. Welcome. I also have a 71 and am familiar with just about every part on it, as I've removed and replaced just about every part on it.
Truly has been a lot of searching since my purchase three weeks ago.... another issue for my 70 is speedo not working. Previous owner said the cable was broke? Thought I could just find a part number and order cable but have yet to determine the true length (web sites arnt specific) and upper attachment method (screw on or clip on) for a 4spd car. Guess it will all be figured out once I get to focus on that project. I have noticed that the fifty year old 1970's are somewhat of a unicorn for parts... I also restored a 66 Fairlane Convertible which was also tuff on rare parts. All in all, I'm very eager to play with my new toy!
Beautiful Gary!!! I figured the brake setup was tight.... I used longer hoses on my 66 Fairlane Borgeson mod. The short hoses ran to close to the exhaust manifold and the fluid temp was very high. By routing my hoses up and over the shock tower, then adding a small trany cooler, I got the steering fluid temp down to a reasonable temperature. Also went to a better pump which wasn't working so hard and producing more heat. Is that an Air Gap intake on your rig?
Steve, YES very tight we had to cut the shock tower a bit to allow the lines and the master cylinder to work to the new Borgeson steering box underneath. also had to get an adapter from Texas to be able to position the proportioning valve correctly. We tried to hide the cut as much as possible. Also put a new Saginaw pump in for additional psi since both the brakes and the steering are run off the pump.
VERY NICE! And Welcome to the site... SEA!!! Getting ready for the game! I am just 6 or 7 hours down the I-5 from you! If I have time later I will look up the part number on that speedo cable and see if I have any additional information on it. I have the manuals and parts list.
Thanks for that PonyExpressRider, love your car! My problems with this new project are probably typically trivial as the last owner wasn't a mechanical type guy. Heck, it could be the cable is disconnected in the back of speedo??? He says he replaced the gauge cluster.... it does have a working ribbon Tach, but a couple things like wipers, radio and fan switch don't seem to be working. I played a bit with the hard to see fuse block, to no avail... figured once I get to really pull it in shop and spend a week on things, it will all come together. OK, SeaHawks starting so time to watch them on a TUFF game to win. I'm up in the Silverdale/Poulsbo Wa area (west of Seattle across the water).
I went to high school in Poulsbo, back in the early Eighties (North Kitsap Class of '83), but I reside in Everett. It's cool you got one of the last year's of that body design, and as a suggestion, if you need info, and we don't have any answers (although we will try to answer them), head over to the Kitsap Regional Library in Bremerton, just off Wheaton Way. Last time I was over there, they had a really good auto reference section.
Welcome Steve. As you are finding out, part of squaring things away is finding what the previous owner(s) have done. Sounds like it has good bones. For your electrics, start with cleaning the connections and the grounds on anything that is giving you trouble. The harnesses are just barely adequate and add in a bad splice or a pinched wire and the fun begins. Good luck.
Thanks Handy... were you resident on the Connie at one time? I put almost 39 years in down at Uncle Sam's Canoe Club in Bremerton... 8 years retired this week! I grew up in Silverdale area, was a Central Kitsap grad in 74. Then I moved a whole 3 miles east to Brownsville/Keyport and my kids went to North. Still here, still lovin the area (except for the traffic)! I'll have to check the Library out... been a lot of years since I visited there. I did buy a set of five 1970 Shop Manuals. Also have owned several fords of that vintage thru the years, but this is my first Ranchero. Hooray!
Thanks Garbageman. My car supposedly came out of Yakima area... purchased and semi rebuilt by a gent in Davenport Wa which is where I picked it up 3 weeks ago. I had seen the 70 advertised in CL early summer and after a couple offers, and of coarse a no sale all summer... we made a deal in Dec. We have a camping lot down in Ocean Park, so hit the End of the World Rod Run every Sept. I like the looks of your car, the color is classic.
Thanks. My father had a 71 with the same color. My first driver. Found this one in Seattle, and am planning on a paint job (same setup) some day. Gonna put his initials on it somewhere to honor him.
Yeah, down in San Dog, late '85-late '89. But Dad and I went down to Nanette when Connie pulled in to Bremerton waaaaayyyyy back when! Who knew, three years later, I'd be serving aboard her? Found my Connie ballcap today also!
You probably don't want to see this then... https://www.brownsvilleherald.com/n...cle_9bcea3b0-39e2-11e7-812c-8358aa8fc1a6.html
