To all, Finally got the 1964 Rockin Ranch Arrow (RRA) on the road today. Oh, what a joy it was driving her again. One of the biggest thrills was listening to the "CD Player". Yes, I know it should be either a 4 track or an 8 track. But it was an upgrade from that to say the least. Driving the RRA brought me back to the olden days of 1964, the year I graduated from High School. Some memories of those days also occurred, and girlfriends of the past were also thought as well. Those were the days of such innocence and the fond memories of that time in my life. The original RRA was a 170 CI six three on the tree. The current drivetrain is an original to this vehicle, a two barrel 260 CI, three on the tree and the RRA is bone stock. Anyway, thank you for having this page and well wishes to all, Frank
One of my early rides came with a 4 track player and 2 tapes: Sonny & Cher, and The Mamas and the Papas. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.
LOL! Yes, nostalgia (and how we forget the bad stuff) IS part of it...trying to teach my HS GF how to drive my '68 340S 4spd Barracuda was quite the laugh. Fortunately it had lots of low end torque. Adjusting the spindle on 4 track/8 track players did become an art after using a pencil to respool the tapes.
I wish to Thank all of you for your kind words. Of course, Murphy showed up for a short visit but was kindly showed the exit door. The former issue with Murphy was the radiator cap. So now a new cap is on and all is well. Thanks again for your support and to the keepers of the keys who make this website available for us. My wife and I would like to wish everyone the very best in your endeavors, Frank Class of sixty-four graduate
The current interior of my Ranchero. Found the original seat covers from a vendor up in WA state many years ago. The "steerhead" pattern is what I remember was in the original Ranchero that was in my father's business that I drove back in the mid sixties. The carpet flooring is a reproduction as well as the door panels.
Last Saturday the 17th some of the local neighbors and myself attended a car show put on by the FFA (male and female students). The attendance was good and the support from the local community was also good. The RRA (Ranchero) won an award for best stock pickup. Good ol Oregon weather came in and rained a wee bit, then quit and the sky cleared up just in time for chow call. After completed chow call, good ol Oregon weather came back in for a sprinkle or too, then quit. Regardless, it was worth the effort to attend the event to support the students. The neatest thing was the awards had been hand crafted by the students. To me that means a lot, rather than ordering awards from some catalog. Take care and have fun this upcoming summer cruising around your Rancheros. The Fireman
Finally getting around to put a photo of the RRA. This is what the RRA looked like when I purchased it with the exception of the hubcaps. I had found some Mustang hubcaps and had the local design store make me some stickers with the word Ranchero on it to put it over the Mustang sticker that was originally on the hubcap. Perhaps I created an issue, but oh well. Will try to put on some current photos in the next post of the paintjob I did. I am a very amateur painter, but it turned out okay with the exceptions of the runs, here and there and some other flaws. But I glad I was able to accomplish the paint job. .
The tailgate area in which I painted the red within the Ranchero symbol. Don't know if that is correct or not, but I think it adds a little something to the tailgate area.
Have to agree with 1978GT , I put a ranchero script badge on my tailgate , thought it should have had one there from the factory. Denis.
 Original 260 CI engine with two-barrel carburetor and power steering. The original mileage is a little bit over eighty-four thousand. Air Cleaner repainted and alternator installed in lieu of generator. Working on replacing the shocks absorbers, the current ones are pretty tired from sitting around all the years of non-use. Tomorrow (Saturday) the RRA will be displayed at the local church parking lot along with other cars as well. The weather should be good, and the church is supplying lemonade and a meal to the participants. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, Frank
To all, The RRA made it to the church car show and back. It was a small show and the crowd was nice. What amazed me (which doesn't take much) is the viewers mentioned more than once, what is it. Somewhat younger crowd were there and most of them had to ask what kind of "car" it was as well. Regardless it was fun and entertaining. Yes, I had my sunscreen on as my immediate supervisor required before I got to go outside. Take care and have fun, life is too short, Frank
To all, Have you ever had one of those days when you found out that you missed something important? Well, I was putting new shocks on the front of the RRA and my neighbor friend came over and helped me. Great guy and is a retired mechanic. Anyway, he asked what I was doing, so I told him. He got on the creeper and started to check out some stuff and with my luck he found some issues that needed attention. He found the upper control arm bushings were shot, as well as both the right and left ball joints. After this was relayed to me, I told him go sit on the chair and have a cold one on me. He did, so I said what the "heck", I got a cold one as well. Thank goodness for friends. I would have gone on my merry way without a clue that something was amiss. The "issue" will be addressed as soon as the parts come in and I can go from there. Take care out there, Frank
Not that hard; I did it on jack stands in my dirt driveway. I'd recommend just buying new control arms rather than trying to rehab bushings. Thumbs up on the cold ones too!
Beer Belly, I did miss that, as it ran together in the sentence. You are correct, there will be new control arms and "bushings - my "bad". I would do it myself, but I have arthritis in my shoulders, lower back and both hands/fingers. Sometimes it sucks to get old. Some of it is probably job related, hands. lower back and shoulders - but when I retired from the Fire Service, I neglected to report it. In my younger years I did rodeo events, that may also be an issue, especially the back. Anyway, thanks for you evaluation and help! Frank
