Hello! Greatful to have found this Ranchero specific forum! Looking forward to have great conversations on this truck I love so dearly. Lol! I am restoring my fathers 1957 Ranchero which was his second car he ever owned. He's been bugging me for years since I have a body shop and now it's finally the time to give him his baby back. I will have many questions while building this truck. Awesome to be here!
I'm in hard debate about minor changes. The truck originally came with the 292 which is what I really want to set it up with, but I may go for the existing 302 that my father had in it. The rest is going to look full original only slightly lowered. Wheels and tires are up in the air. I ador the T-Bird wire spokes. Might go stock. Or go Cragar. Thoughts?
Definitely going White Wides. Only the steel wheel design is up in the air. I'm in the process now of body working and refinishing all the interior panels, including the dash. I'm doing this to let them stand for a long time to let the clear coat tighten up really good for sanding and polishing in the end. Once it's in the truck, I can't go back in there to sand and polish again if it's starting to haze. After this step I'll be replacing the floor pans.
Here is a little taste of what I have going on at the moment. I'll be posting more pics as I go. And I will definitely have questions on certain parts that I need and where to get them. Got pretty much everything but a few small things. And the red painted parts in the paint booth don't have clear on them in the pics. Forgot to take a pic of it when it was done. More to come.
Well, I am greatly flattered by your compliment Huevos. I actually have many folks in my area wanting me to do their classic car. But the unfortunate deal is I am an insurance collision shop. So restorations, or even full body paint jobs are things I can't take on. This is the only classic I've ever worked on, and this one has no deadline, so I can take my time. But honestly, thank you for the compliment.
I hear ya, I have a Body shop right next to me and all they work on is insurance jobs, Hondas, Toyotas etc.. Whatever the "Fresh off the Boat" crashed that day...
A '57 ranchero , Learned how to drive on a 1957 Ford station wagon. It was a great "take the family on vacation" car. Parents and 3 kids, tent, food, fishing gear and a hand made wooden box carried on the roof. Those were the days ! Post lots of pictures. I bet its quite a shock for your customers to see their bent up Prius next to a 1957 Ranchero clasic.
Just finished two-toning the dash today. I couldn't help but to place the instrument cluster on there to get me amped. LOL!
