Can anyone tell me where the drain holes are supposed to be in my 73 who ever painted it covered them up I have looked through the site and I couldn't find anything except the mention of tubes as well as holes
72 through 79 doesn't have drain holes in the bed , not sure about 71 and older but I don't remember seeing drain holes in any years. The bed has the storage compartment under the front of it and earlier ones had the wagon floor under the bed floor and the sides would drain into the inside of the quarter panels causing rust issues so the only drain is through the tailgate.
Avoid parking on a downgrade, and don't place anything on the floor that would restrict evaporation, e.g. a rubber bed mat.
Ford's better idea...sheesh! On my '65 (and '62 and '63) the drain holes ALWAYS would plug causing the rust situation. Simply by making the access hatch hinged and easily lifted for inspection and cleaning a gazillion Rancheros would have survived...but then again Ford wouldn't have been able to sell as many replacements...
I have learned through the years if you leave a lot of wet stuff in the box of your ranchero it will develop its own drain holes!
I'll never forget the time when I went with my youngest son to look at a Ranchero near Raleigh, NC...the CL ad said "no rust"...PFFT! After crawling under it and seeing the whole bed drain area completely rusted out (the guy wasn't able to open up the hatch from the top) I then told my son to look at what I saw. I was VERY tempted to climb up in the bed next to the cab and start jumping up and down and collapse the whole subframe! I didn't but it was a good lesson for my son on honesty...
FYI, the '71 does have drain holes, one on each side maybe 2" from the front of the bed. I can't cover the bed, so I did occasionally get water in there. My quick solution was to thread a couple wires down each hole, give them a quick jiggle to loosen any trash that gets down the drains.
Since the subject is drain holes, it's a good idea to clear the drain holes at the top of the cowl area (under the wipers) on a regular basis. Unless you enjoy repairing/replacing floor pans.
