Here we go. As promised i will set up a little Story of the on going restauration of my 1977 Ranchero GT. Ol' Blue, as i named her, arrived here in germany in late february 2011. As she lived in sunny california til now it must be a shock finding ice and snow over here. Sure she needs some work, but i think i will have her back on the road in summer. Not in show condition, but as a working driver.
Engine is there, thats the good news. But She did not start right up an first looks after what was done, or not, to the wiring gives me a hint that there will be some more work than i first thought. Decoding VIN and Doortag shows the following: MODEL YEAR 7 1977 ASSEMBLY PLANT CODE A Atlanta, GA MODEL CODE 48 GT ENGINE CODE S 400 cui V-8 (1975-79) Production Sequenz Number 162xxx Color 3V Brit. Blue Met. DSO 71 Los Angeles Body 97R Ranchero GT Trim EB Flight Bench Blue Sch. Date 13D ??? Axle 2 2.75 Trans U XPL (C6) A/C A If youre interested i will keep posting my future work on my old lady. cu Robert
Ja Robert da hast du aber noch einiges an Arbeit !! Yes Robert ther is a lot of work at your Ranchero !! Yes Pics are very Intrested at your work !! Horst
Hey Fox, Thanks for starting your project thread! It appears that you have a good start, please continue to post details. I am interested in details about the wiring issues you solve, but anything you wish to post is fun to watch! Good luck!
First order of needed parts has arrived snow is gone, sun is coming out every day longer. Time to start the reanimation of the beast.
Very cool project. Don't you just love getting boxes of new car stuff!!! It's like Christmas in the spring/summer/fall
Congratulations Fox, looks like some work ahead of you, but thats what the car hobby is all about And good to se another one in europe. It sayes "S" code 400 cid (75-79) Horst (Gremium) and I has 72 mod "S" bouth of us so we have the 400 cid to, it was in the Ranchero from 72-79
Good luck, my friend. Looks like everything is there. Just dig in! I cannot imagine what it would be be like to take a Ranchero through the TÃœV Please keep us posted. I am finishing the third fixup of my '78 GT that I bought in 1991 when I returned from Germany!
yes the "TÃœV" will be a challenge. But i managed this times before as i am in love with us cars since a long time now. Once infected you cannot go on with a Ricer or four banger So beside ol' blue i have a 1970 Mustang Mach 1 which i am total proud of. Before the Ranchero i had always F-Series Trucks. And my wife used them for her garden work to bring away all that cut gras and stuff. But now it was time for my first Ranchero. "A beautiful combination of truck and muscle" Thats the argumentation i used to convince my wife to buy another "old car" But she wasnt really convinced at all when the carr was dropped in the driveway by the shipper. "AAAArgh why did you sell the Truck for an old weird looking car with an engine thats not running, all that work" . . . . . Now i see here more and more walking around ol' blue whispering "nice, really nice, look at those shape, look at this beauty". Seems shes infected, too Harder to convince was the king of the home my 9 year old son. As his beloved 1994 F-150 California Highway Patrol Clone has to go for buying the ranchero. But he also has a smile on his face when he sees her the first time live. First question: what engine? 400 cui WOW Dad ! thats big block, let me hear it It does not start why not? I dont know So why do you buy a car with a broken engine? Because i can fix it? Ok. can it burn ? Maybe when the engine is fixed. Do you like the car? I dont know. it doesnt run how can you beat this logic So its time to do some work over the weekend to see what happened when its awake and if junior can accept the new car that made us sell his loved truck. . . . an yesssssssssss i love getting all this boxes and packages
After some weeks of fixing the weird wiring and doing some basic tuneup (she has 5 different spark plugs in her !!) lets say it with Henry Frankenstein: ol blue has marked her territory now that shes alive i can go on and next issue will be a look after the gauges. Not one of them works and the cluster feels pretty loose in the there.
Well looks like it can make a burn out now But as mine only one wheel drive Good luck whith the rest of rhe issues and the TUV
Easter Holidays are here and i thought it was time for some nice new shoes. Alcoa Design Wheels in 8.5 front and 10 x 15 inch on rear with 235/60 and 275/60 tires. Happy Easter Robert
