I bought a candidate for a restoration project from an acquaintance in 1997. The project consisted of a dismantled 1965 Ford Falcon Ranchero, which had been taken off of the road in 1994 , where it had served as a daily driver by the two previous owners. I believe the vehicle was originally a California car. 6 years later, I can actually say that it is back on the road.

	Car Spec's. 1965 Ford Falcon Ranchero DeLuxe       Original vehicle was equipped with a 289 CI V8 and a 3 speed C4 Cruis-A-Matic transmission. The original color was Dark Green with a black bench seat interior. Original optional equipment included; AM radio and heater.
	Modifications & Additions; A 1968 302 CI V8 was swapped in after a total rebuild. Modifications to the engine include; Crane Powermax cam, Weiand dual plane intake manifol topped off with a Quick Fuel Technologies modified Holley 650 Double Pumper. Exhaust system begins with Hooker Competion 6901 Headers that lead to 3 inch collectors. At this point a hand built 2 1/4 inch "X" pipe scavenges the fumes rearward to the dual 3 chamber FlowSound mufflers. The tailpipes are custom built to exit downward from the bumper. The total exhaust system is modular because 3 bolt flanges and copper gaskets were used at every junction. Every piece was fabricated by myself and my good friend Chuck Lange using 2 1/4 inch " J "pipe sections and a mig welder. Tenuous but fun. The ignition system utilizes an MSD 6A ignition box that feeds an MSD Billet distributor with vacuum and centrifugal advance.The sprk plugs are fired via  Ford Motorsport 9mm ignition wires. The C4 was rebuilt on my garage bench using Transtar master rebuild and shift kits. The original column shifter was replaced with a B & M Quicksilver ratchet style shifter using a Lokar cable to select the right gears. Autometer tachometer and monitor guages were used to keep things under control.   Tires and wheels were decided on early in the project. An upgrade from 14" to 15" was made. 15 x 7 " American Racing Wheel Torque Thrust D wheels fitted with B.F.Goodrich TA 225 60 x 15 tires. A little wheel well lip rolling via the baseball bat technique and a set of Gabriel Air shocks provide the clearance I needed. Suspension upgrades were effected by ripping out the factory export braces and replacing them with MPG shock tower strut braces. A belly bar was added underneath to tie the motor mount receivers together. A beefier anti sway bar was added.   Monroe air shocks support the rear end. The front shock towers are topped off with 1968 Mustang caps to allow " T " style Monroe shock absorbers to be used. This stabilizes the movement inherent in the factory design.
	Paint & Body The original body condition was thought to be, by me, in very good shape. That is why I sprung for the original purchase price of $500.00. Just kidding. That was a bargain. My biggest obstacle to overcome was the rotted out floorboards. This is indigenous to Rancheros. Call it design defect. Trapped water below the cargo bed hatch takes its toll. I media blasted the entire vehicle using playground sand and a portable bucket blaster. Welded in new pans and fabricated rear floor patches. I followed that up with good old fashioned fiberglass resin and added POR15 paint for longevity. You know the rest. Lots of work and sweat. All surface areas were taken down to bare metal and smoothed and filled. PPG self etching primer and DP sealer were applied again and again. This was all trial and error for me. Once I was happy with the bodywork, I decided on the paint scheme. Definitely 2 tone. I chose PPG base coat / clear coat. PPG Medium  metallic blue and PPG medium metallic gray. I used a combination of 3 different guns, but came out with the finish I wanted.

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