Re-united with my Grandpa's and Dad's Ranchero after thirty years. My Grandpa bought this girl in the Mid 70's. I have a lot of memories with Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, Brother and Sister with this Ranchero. Dad got it from Grandpa in 1983. Dad gave it a paint job in the 90's and it has sat in my parents garage since. I have left her at my parents garage until I retired from the military and built a garage to keep her in. I brought her to Florida two weeks ago and have started going through her to get her ready for the hamburger joint meets. I could sure use some advice on 1)what fuel additives and oil/oil additives that I should use 2) resources for shop manuals 3) steps to take to reduce damage to the engine that has not been rolled over for a decade. She has a 351 Windsor. On the Windsor, can I remove the distributor and turn the oil pump to pre-lube like you can on a chevy 350? Thanks for any info!!
CONGRATULATIONS!! I have a 1969 as well and they are beautiful. I wouldn't use fuel additives, they don't really yield any gains. A good zinc additive in your oil would be helpful though. Turn the engine by hand first before you start it to make sure it hasn't ceased. That's really the only thing I know about starting an old engine. Hopefully someone else will chime in.
you will want to drain any fuel in the gas tank. go through the fuel line and make sure no cracks, probably repalce fuel filter. as brown said, turn over by hand, then maybe squirt a little oil into cylinders from spark plug holes. check ignition wiring for connections and bad wires. you might find that old spark plug wires break internally and will not provide charge to the plugs. i'd replace those. check cap, rotor and points for wear. replace the battery, its toast by now. check engine coolant, check radiator hoses. those will also crack. once engine gets to temp, remember that cooling system looks for the weakest outlet. ie. rad cap, hose, etc. that is why some freeze plugs will leak over time. if it were me, i'd go through and replace all those rubber parts and fluids. no point starting it up and then finding that XYZ started to leak, crack or worse. it will all compound problems really fast. keep us posted and welcome to the forum!
Answer on the distributor is 'yes, you can' pull it and then turn the oil pump with a 5/16" hex driver to get oil flowing. Be careful not to lose a socket while doing this. You'll likely have to use an oil additive to get the needed zinc to protect the camshaft. That has been talked about quite a bit on this board, do a Search.
Drain and replace the oil first. It is going to be quite acidic by now. I would remove the plugs, run the oil pump with a drill as you indicated for a few minutes, put a teaspoon of light oil, like marvel mystery oil, in each cylinder, and turn it at least a complete revolution by hand. Your lifters are likely collapsed, so before starting it, turn it over with the starter until significant rocker noise disappears before putting the plugs in and starting it. The carburetor is also likely gummed up. Good luck, it just might start right up!
Thanks to all for the excellent advice, I will use these suggestions as a check list and update my progress on this thread. Thanks!!
Another '69 joining the fold! NICE. If you need a set of Manuals... Dearborn Classic sells a 2 disk set, one with a parts list, and the other the 5 section Assembly Manuals. $59.99
Thanks! I am looking for manuals. I went on Dearborn Classic and it looks like they discontinued the 1969 set. I will call them to see if they have anything else. thanks!!
Check part number 64-82148. Shop Manuals & Parts Manual on CD-Rom, Fairlane, Falcon, Ranchero, Torino, 1969
I also have found the Component Build Manual useful.. 64-75586, and an interesting read: Ford Ranchero Muscle Portfolio - 64-33098
Thanks, that is the one that they have discontinued. I purchased a CD from RockAuto.com part number DCDF20. It sounds to be very similar to the description of the part number you provided. Once it comes in I will put a review of it on here to let others know if it is worth the money. It was about $27.00 with shipping. I am pretty sure it does not have a search function and it is probably not user friendly, but if it has the correct info it will do.
If any of you find a wiring diagram that shows the wiring to the fuel sending unit a share would be appreciated
Congratulations and I cannot believe that I am the first one to say this....PICTURES! We like pictures Laters, Jeff
