my "new" bike hauler!

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bairdco

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
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living the dream in southern california
just scored this for a thousand bucks today...

1960 ford ranchero, rebuilt motor and trans.

needs a steering wheel, tires, tailgate, and some other minor things to get it roadworthy.

left fender and front bumper are smashed, but the frame's straight.

i'll be on the road soon, and won't be buggin' people for rides to the races anymore!
 

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2door

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
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Littleton, Colorado
Baird,
How's the instrument cluster. I have one for a 60, and a couple of other parts that I don't know where they are right now. The cluster is perfect.

Tom
 
bairdco

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
thanks tom, but the cluster is perfect. except for the lousy upholstery, the interior is in excellent shape. everything's there, including the stock radio.

the steering wheel's missing, though. there was a beat up Grant aftermarket wheel thrown in the bed, and after i finished ripping out all the gold-ish house carpeting, i found a handmade, wooden adapter to make it fit on the column. sketchy...

also missing the tailgate.

my roommate restored one and gave it to his dad years ago, and he (dad) has a set of stock wheels with tires i'm gonna pick up tomorrow, then it's probably over to pep boys for a crappy aftermarket steering wheel, until i can find an original.

aleman, i've been wanting a falcon-ranchero for years, 'cause i don't really wanna truck, but i need something to haul bikes and stuff around in. this is perfect.

they advertised "up to 30mpg" back in the 60's!

it'll eventually get a full resto, and then i could get 10 times what i originally paid for it, if i decide to sell...:)
 
chainmaker

chainmaker

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2010
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Ma USA
Bairdco that is a SWEET ride, bikes arent the only things that dont rust away out west. Nice Score!!!
 
Allen_Wrench

Allen_Wrench

Resident Mad Scientist
Feb 6, 2010
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Indianapolis
bairdco said:
...
they advertised "up to 30mpg" back in the 60's!...
Click to expand...
* - going downhill, on the highway, with a tailwind, coasting partway.

Awesome find, Baird! You know, it's hard to tell just from photos but it looks like a little hammer-and-dolly work would straighten that fender. May have to replace the bumper though. I think you could fix it so that the final appraisal exceeds the money invested, if it ever comes time to sell. But I, too, would have quite a lot of fun with it first. :)
 
Nashville Kat

Nashville Kat

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2009
1,503
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Jacksonville, Florida
Back in about '83 I was with this friend racing in Austin, and this mexican dude was driving us up to some bike race near Dallas I think, so the three of us were all crammed into one of these rancheros with the bikes in the back late at night when we got a flat, and guess what? No spare! So we sat there crammed in the Ranchero all night long and missed the bike race the next day. NOT a good day.
 
killercanuck

killercanuck

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Dec 17, 2009
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Wallaceburg ON
Sweet find bairdco! Lot of potential there, for sure :)

That sucks Kat, should've rode the bikes the rest of the way :D But that'll remind baird to at least carry a can of that tire-repair-in-a-rattle-can-goop :p
 
2door

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
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Littleton, Colorado
I love the early Falcons. Here's one I built back in the mid 80s. I found it on a farm north of Denver and got it for $25.00. I restored what I could then got a wild hair and stuffed a 350 Chevy stroker motor in it (383 CI). It looked completely stock on the outside except for the 9" which most people didn't notice. I had a lot of fun with the Rice Rocket crowd. I'd provoke them into a race and surprised them when this 'old car' would blow them away. The Falcon would easily turn a 13 sec 1/4" mile, on street tires.

Tom
 

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maintenancenazi

maintenancenazi

New Member
Oct 22, 2011
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Asheville
^^ Nice one Tom! That's a sleeper for sure. Are those camel hump heads? I can't quite make out those casting marks... And nice find Baird, that will make one fine hauler!!

Peace, James
 
Allen_Wrench

Allen_Wrench

Resident Mad Scientist
Feb 6, 2010
2,784
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Indianapolis
2door said:
I love the early Falcons. Here's one I built back in the mid 80s. I found it on a farm north of Denver and got it for $25.00. I restored what I could then got a wild hair and stuffed a 350 Chevy stroker motor in it (383 CI). It looked completely stock on the outside except for the 9" which most people didn't notice. I had a lot of fun with the Rice Rocket crowd. I'd provoke them into a race and surprised them when this 'old car' would blow them away. The Falcon would easily turn a 13 sec 1/4" mile, on street tires.

Tom
Click to expand...
"MLNEUM" Falcon, eh? You wouldn't have fooled me, Tom. Not with a plate like that on the front. "...Made the Kessel run in 12 parsecs." This boy knows what happens when you race the fastest hunk o' junk in the galaxy. (Although, if I had my 260Z, it'd be tempting.)
 
Greybeard

Greybeard

New Member
Feb 8, 2011
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Sequim WA
I love the Falcon Rancheros. The engines are reliable, and plentiful having been built in 4 sizes. I used to race a hydro with the smallest one, a 144CID.

2dr.
I like your Falcon. I ran a turbocharged 250 in a similarly painted Nova that exceeded the century mark in the 1/4, and sounded like a stocl 6 with a hole in the muffler. Even the Corvair in my sig, though painted, is all about stealth. Guys see the color and dismiss it, and it OWNS the 1st hundred yards.
 
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